(Sits with feet on the desk, sipping a Diet Sunkist, and flips the switch
on the robot.) Yumigirl06 does not own Code: Lyoko, just her imagination
and the new character, Kiki. 'Nuf said.
Later...
Everyone was in Jeremie's room, waiting for Aelita, Yumi, and their ride, Ulrich, who had promised to drive them to the teen club in style.
"Hey, Odd, have you seen Ulrich? Wasn't he supposed to be here by now?" Jeremie asked the blonde haired boy as he checked his watch. Odd just shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to Kiki, his date, who looked confused when Jeremie's grave expression caught Aelita's attention. She had come up before Yumi so Yumi could finish getting ready and meet them up there later.
"Aelita, what do you think? Do you think that "he's" got something to do with this?" Aelita shook her head.
"No, but I can't help but get the feeling that something bad has happened to Ulrich." She said quietly.
"Hold on, I'll call him." Jeremie said dialing Ulrich's number. Yumi walked in while Jeremie was in the middle of calling. A minute later, Jeremie hung up the cell phone, a nervous look on his face.
"He's not answering. In fact, it went straight to his voice mail."
"That's not like him. His phone's always on. I should know. I wake up in the middle of the night and hear his message tone going off." Odd said to all. Yumi, on the other hand, was completely clueless.
"Uh, guys, who are we talking about? Who were you calling?" Jeremie and Aelita led Yumi out of the room to tell her. Jeremie turned to Odd.
"Hey, take this and keep trying to call him. Leave messages, send text messages, anything, just try and reach him. I'm starting to get worried." Odd nodded and the hit the redial button.
"Odd, what's going on?" Kiki asked.
"It's nothing I hope, Ulrich won't answer his phone, and he's our ride to the club." Outside the room, Yumi was getting frustrated because everyone was being so secretive about this whole thing. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed with a mixed look of confusion and frustration.
"Okay guys, what's going on? I though we were about to go. Where's Ulrich? He's supposed to be here already." Aelita and Jeremie exchanged nervous glances before Aelita decided to tell her the news.
"Uh, Yumi, we think something's happened to Ulrich. His phone is either off or destroyed. We want to believe the first. I don't believe Xana has something to do with it, but I do have a bad feeling about his safety." Yumi went pale.
"After all we've been through, I'd be a fool not to go with that feeling, Aelita. Jeremie, what do we need to do?"
"Well first, we need to search the grounds. Oh, and Odd needs to tell his date that we can't go tonight. I'll take care of that. Meanwhile, you and Aelita go and start searching the park." Both the girls nodded and took off for the park. Jeremie told Odd, and had to call off the date with Kiki. She was upset, but understood, and when she left, Odd and Jeremie searched the main grounds of the school.
In the forest behind the factory...
Ulrich stumbled through the dark deep forest away from his car, beaten and bleeding freely. He managed to save his phone, but only had enough power to send two text messages. He decided to send one to Jeremy; he always had his phone. By now, he had received at least a dozen texts, each one from Jeremie's phone by Odd. Ulrich stopped walking and leaned against a tree for support.
Odd or Jeremie,
Hey. I'm in the woods behind the factory. Please hurry, I... I don't know how much longer I can stay conscious. I can't send but two text messages, and this is one. I'm sending the other one to Yumi to tell her I'll be okay, and to wait in my and Odd's dorm. I can still receive them, so keep sending. I gotta go, but please hurry, I thought I heard some growls around here. I just found the tree that's been dug into, the tree shelter, so look for that.
-Ulrich
He punched the send button and clumsily sat down in the tree shelter. He sent the next message so Yumi wouldn't be so worried about him.
Yumi,
Hey... don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I want you and Aelita to go to my and Odd's dorm and wait there. I can't send any more texts, but I still can receive them, so keep sending. It'll keep me awake. Don't worry, Jeremie and Odd know where I am, I'll be okay. Just relax in my room with Aelita. Okay, gotta go. Ttyl.
-Ulrich
He sent the message, then looked around before lying his head down and closing his eyes. Jeremie received the message immediately after it was sent, as did Yumi.
"Odd, c'mon, Ulrich's at the tree shelter. We have to move!" That was all that was said before they turned around and sprinted for the factory. Yumi saw Jeremie and Odd run into the passage through the park and ran to follow, but stopped when she received her message. She was baffled. She turned to Aelita.
"But, I don't get it. Why doesn't he want me to go with the boys?" Aelita read the message then led Yumi to Ulrich's dorm room.
"Maybe it was dangerous, and only Odd and Jeremie know the safest way there and back. He doesn't want you or me to get hurt. Ulrich's looking out for us." Yeah, but I want to go. I want to help them. What if Odd or Jeremie get hurt? Then we'll have more to deal with."
"That's true, they could get hurt, but Ulrich would've asked you or me to come and help if he felt it was needed. Jeremie and Odd'll bring him back, I'm sure of it. You just need to relax. Let's listen to the stereo in Odd's room." She said as they reached the dorm room.
Meanwhile in the forest, Jeremie and Odd searched for their old hiding spot. Odd kept tripping over logs, but they managed to make it to the area where they would hide over the years. Ulrich heard them, but was too tired to call out to them. He threw a rock outside the shelter. Odd snapped up into a fighting stance.
"Who's there? Ulrich? Is that you? Give us a sign so we can find you." Ulrich snapped a twig with his leg and threw another rock. That rock hit Odd's right foot. Odd looked over and caught the figure of Ulrich in the dim moonlight.
"Jeremie, over here! I found him." Jeremie ran over to Odd.
"Wow, Ulrich, you're a mess. Let's get you back to the dorms; Yumi's probably going nuts in your room waiting for us. I just hope Aelita can stay alive with Yumi's ranting." All three boys laughed at that. Odd and Jeremie picked up Ulrich under the arms and carried him back to the dorms. They got about 100 yards to the door to the factory when Odd heard something.
"Jeremie, take Ulrich and hurry. I hear something." Just as he said that, he felt something fly by, then a piercing pain in his arm all the way around to his back. Yumi paced around the room, hands half crossed and worry written all over her face. She worried for Ulrich, but she was worried for the other two also.
'I hope they can find him and get back safely. I don't wanna get a call saying something's happened to one of the others.' Aelita turned up some music that Ulrich used to relax. It was some of those nature CD's that make sounds like the sea and woods. Yumi finally got tired of waiting and called Jeremie's cell. She received no answer. Back in the forest, Odd faced his attacker, showing in the moonlight.
"Odd, let's go! That's a wolf, you can't beat it! It'll kill you!" Jeremie yelled to him. Odd shook his head.
"Go Jeremie! I'll hold him off so you can get Ulrich inside. I'll be there in a minute, just get him to safety!" He said as the wolf charged full speed at him. Odd dodged just as the wolf jumped for him. He jumped on the back of the wolf and put it in a head lock with one arm. (Wow, who'da thought?) He used his other arm to pull his belt off and use that to close the mouth of the wolf. He then tied the rest of it around his neck and jumped off the wolf, pushing him down in the process. Jeremie pulled a now unconscious Ulrich into the door of the factory and called out to Odd.
"Odd! Let's go, we're in!" Odd took off sprinting towards the door, the wolf still following. Odd ran past Jeremie, and Jeremie closed the door right as he came in. A couple of seconds later, a loud thud could be heard on the door. Odd laughed tiredly.
"Hehehe, wolves are so stupid. No matter how much you tie em up, they don't stop, even if it means running into a door. Now, because of it, I need a new belt." Jeremie rolled his eyes and let Odd catch his breath, then it was back to getting to the dorms. They reached the control room, and Jeremie stopped to call the girls.
Aelita answered the phone for Yumi and talked to Jeremie for a minute. When she hung up, Yumi was looking on edge.
"Well? Are they okay?" Aelita took a deep breath.
"I told you not to worry. They're okay. They're in the factory, and heading over here. They'll be here in about 10 minutes." Yumi let out a huge sigh of relief, glad that her friends were okay. Jeremie walked into the dorm, watching out for Jim or anyone else. He didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. When he gave the all clear, Odd ran with Ulrich trying to help go faster. Jeremie opened the door and let Odd and Ulrich through first. Yumi and Aelita ran up to the three boys, tears in both their eyes.
"Are you guys okay? What happened?" Yumi asked the boys as Odd laid Ulrich on his bed, then sat/fell down next to it. Jeremie kneeled down next to Ulrich and checked for any broken bones or blows to the head. Yumi tended to Odd's arm, cleaning his arm and back, bandaging as she went. She took a rag dipped in peroxide and placed it over the cuts on Odd's back. Odd winced and pulled away from Yumi.
"Ow! That hurts Yumi!"
"It's cleaning your cuts Odd. It only hurts for a few seconds, then it's all over, so bear with me." She said turning him back to her. Jeremie turned to everyone after finishing with Ulrich.
"Good news guys. Ulrich doesn't have any broken bones or a concussion, just some cuts and bruises. He'll be fine, he's just tired." Odd smiled.
"He'd better be. I almost died back there." Yumi gave him a puzzled look.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Odd put on one of his sly smiles.
"We got attacked by a wolf." He said plainly. Yumi's eyes got wide.
"How can you be so calm after that?"
"He used to do that all the time. They would actually come to him, not me or Ulrich. He would go out there just to wrestle a wolf some days." Jeremie cut in.
"I think that's why Ulrich wanted you to stay here. He didn't want you to get in the way of that wolf. He said he heard growls and barks when he text us. He also told us you and Aelita were staying here, so we went in and out with relatively no problems." Odd said as Ulrich started to stir. Everyone moved to his bed, anxious to see how he was. Ulrich groaned and opened his eyes slowly.
"Huh? Wh- Where am I? What are you guys doing here?" He said to Yumi and Aelita. Everyone just smiled at him and helped him sit up.
"We're here because we were worried about you. It's okay, it's still pretty early. Ulrich, what happened to you? When I found out you were missing, I tried calling you. Then I got your message and have been here ever since." Yumi said to him. Ulrich motioned for everyone to sit down on his bed, and proceeded to tell them what happened.
"Well, when I got to the airport, I found out what my parents sent me. It was a brand new Escalade, fully loaded. It was for my 17th birthday present, since they'd missed the birthday and Christmas before. I picked it up, did all the paperwork and drove it out of the garage of the airport. I saw these two guys pull out with me and start to follow me, so I drove around for a while. We finally got to the back roads and I floored it, but the followed me. I started to call the cops, but they started shooting at my tires. My guess is they were trying to steal it. The thugs hit both my back tires and my front right tire. I... lost control and flew off the side of the road. It was on elevated terrain and so the trees were below me about 50 yards down. All the safety stuff came out and I stopped by rolling until it wouldn't anymore. I fell out the car when I opened the door, and I stumbled around to try and look at the car. I couldn't see well, so I just stumbled around until I found the old tree shelter. I had heard a wolf earlier, but I kinda left that out when I mailed you Yumi; I didn't want you to worry more than you already were. Then Jeremie and Odd found me, so I let myself fall into unconsciousness. And now, we're here." He ended, trailing off. Yumi, by this time, was leaning on Ulrich's shoulder, and Aelita looked like she was about to cry. Odd was about to blow, and Jeremie was thinking to himself. Jeremie spoke up first after what seemed like forever.
"Tomorrow we'll go back there and try to salvage your car. Then we'll try to find out who attacked you. Did you get their license plate number?"
"Actually, I did. It's a custom plate that had the name "Arrow" with a picture of an arrow on it. It was a royal blue Jeep with the roof down."
"That's perfect. That shouldn't be too hard to find at all. We'll send in the description of the truck ASAP. Maybe they've been in trouble before, oh, and we'll tell Yumi's parents to give the cops the description." Jeremie told them. Yumi looked up at him with a puzzled look.
"Why my parents?"
"Because they can get the police to move faster than if we called, get it?"
"Oh, okay. I guess I better get going. Ulrich, you're gonna have to come with me though, so my parents can see it for themselves." Ulrich nodded and got up with the help of Yumi. Odd stood up with them.
"I'll help you get him there, just in case those guys come back." A smile came across Yumi's face.
"Okay, Odd. That's a good idea. Aelita, are you coming? My parents will get worried if you don't come back with me." Odd walked in front to scout out the dorm to make sure it was clear. They didn't really have to watch out, because everyone was out that night, even Jim. When they reached Yumi's house, Ulrich had become so tired he fell limp. Odd helped Yumi pick him up, then started back for the dorms. Yumi opened the door to her house and called her parents from the kitchen. When Yumi's mom and dad got a glimpse of Ulrich, they went berserk.
"Yumi, what happened to Ulrich!?" Her mom asked Yumi hurriedly.
"There was an accident when he was driving back from the airport. Ulrich was attacked by some guys in a royal blue Jeep Wrangler with the custom license plate Arrow, along with a picture of an arrow next to it."
"Were you there with him?" Her dad asked. Yumi shook her head.
"No, he told us when Odd and Jeremie found him. It's an extremely long story, but we have to send in the car's description to the police. Ulrich's okay, he's just tired. We walked from his dorm all the way over here. Odd walked with us in case something happened, and that's when Ulrich fell limp." She said as she laid Ulrich down on the couch and sat next to him. Her mother got a phone and called the police while her dad got the story from her. Ulrich woke up when the police arrived along with paramedics and gave them the same story Yumi told her dad. The paramedics cleared Ulrich and told him he wouldn't have to go to the hospital and also told him he was very lucky to have walked out with what happened to him. The police got a detailed description from Ulrich and started running scans on those types of cars to find a match. Aelita had went upstairs and cleaned up. Yumi would've gone up with her, but Ulrich asked her to stay for moral support. She stayed by his side the whole time until the police left for the night. Yumi's parents let Ulrich stay with them until the whole thing passed over. Aelita came down later, talked with Yumi and told her that she was going to go back to Lyoko and check things out, just to double check and make sure Xana wasn't up to something. Yumi moved the fold out bed next to the door inside her room, just in case Ulrich had to get up in the middle of the night. Ulrich took a hot shower to wash away everything from the events of the day. When he was done, he put on a t-shirt and boxers and walked in the room to find Yumi sitting in her pajamas and looking out the window. He walked over and sat down next to her.
"Hey. You okay? You seem... well, troubled."
"I... I don't know. I just feel like I should've been there. Maybe Odd wouldn't have gotten hurt as bad as he did, and..." Ulrich reached for her hand to cut her off.
"It's not your fault Odd got hurt. He's been doing that since before we met you. Then after you came, we didn't want to worry you about that, so we stopped going. Odd's just rusty at that. We'd watch him, and sometimes we'd even join him, but for the most part he'd wrestle them. One almost killed me one time, but Odd tackled it and saved me. That was also the day before we met you."
"Oh, so that's why you looked so messed up that day."
"Yeah. I'm glad Odd's my friend; I'd hate to be his enemy. And besides, if he wouldn't have saved me that day, I wouldn't have met you." He told her hugging her tightly. She laughed.
"I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't met you and the other boys. You guys kept me from going nuts at that school. Day school is okay, but afterwards, I had nothing to do. Even sports were starting to get boring for me. Then I met you guys; and the rest... is history." Yumi said kissing him on the cheek. Ulrich returned the kiss and added a hug into the mix. They fell silent for a while, then Yumi stood up to stretch.
"Okay, I'm beat. I'm sure you're more tired than I am; after all, you've had the most stressful time out of all of us." Ulrich stood up as well.
"Well, I could only imagine how much you were worried and stressed when you found out I was missing. I think that you were just as stressed as I was." Yumi giggled and gave Ulrich a goodnight hug.
"Just the same, we both need our rest, and we have a busy day tomorrow. My parents talked to your parents and they told me that my parents are going to pay for the repairs to your Escalade, and your parents are going to reimburse them later. And my parents told yours you'd be staying with us until your healed, but that shouldn't take too long." Yumi ended with a big yawn. Ulrich returned the hug and went over to his bed; Yumi went to her bed and turned out the light.
"Goodnight, Ulrich."
"'Night, Yumi. See you in the morning." All that could be heard was the deep breathing of Yumi's deep state of sleeping. Ulrich smiled, closed his eyes, and let a night of peaceful take him over.
Yumigirl06: Same as before. Send reviews, and constructive criticism.
Odd: How'd you like that ancient history lesson on us, Yumi?
Yumi: I thought you were different before, but now I think you're just plain crazy.
Odd: Thank you. Finally, someone understands my genius.
Ulrich: The only time you count as a genius is when... well... let me think for a minute... that's funny... I can't seem to recall any times that count. Sorry Odd.
Odd: One day, you'll all see my genius.
Jeremie: So while we're waiting for that genius to appear, let's get to the next chapter.
Later...
Everyone was in Jeremie's room, waiting for Aelita, Yumi, and their ride, Ulrich, who had promised to drive them to the teen club in style.
"Hey, Odd, have you seen Ulrich? Wasn't he supposed to be here by now?" Jeremie asked the blonde haired boy as he checked his watch. Odd just shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to Kiki, his date, who looked confused when Jeremie's grave expression caught Aelita's attention. She had come up before Yumi so Yumi could finish getting ready and meet them up there later.
"Aelita, what do you think? Do you think that "he's" got something to do with this?" Aelita shook her head.
"No, but I can't help but get the feeling that something bad has happened to Ulrich." She said quietly.
"Hold on, I'll call him." Jeremie said dialing Ulrich's number. Yumi walked in while Jeremie was in the middle of calling. A minute later, Jeremie hung up the cell phone, a nervous look on his face.
"He's not answering. In fact, it went straight to his voice mail."
"That's not like him. His phone's always on. I should know. I wake up in the middle of the night and hear his message tone going off." Odd said to all. Yumi, on the other hand, was completely clueless.
"Uh, guys, who are we talking about? Who were you calling?" Jeremie and Aelita led Yumi out of the room to tell her. Jeremie turned to Odd.
"Hey, take this and keep trying to call him. Leave messages, send text messages, anything, just try and reach him. I'm starting to get worried." Odd nodded and the hit the redial button.
"Odd, what's going on?" Kiki asked.
"It's nothing I hope, Ulrich won't answer his phone, and he's our ride to the club." Outside the room, Yumi was getting frustrated because everyone was being so secretive about this whole thing. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed with a mixed look of confusion and frustration.
"Okay guys, what's going on? I though we were about to go. Where's Ulrich? He's supposed to be here already." Aelita and Jeremie exchanged nervous glances before Aelita decided to tell her the news.
"Uh, Yumi, we think something's happened to Ulrich. His phone is either off or destroyed. We want to believe the first. I don't believe Xana has something to do with it, but I do have a bad feeling about his safety." Yumi went pale.
"After all we've been through, I'd be a fool not to go with that feeling, Aelita. Jeremie, what do we need to do?"
"Well first, we need to search the grounds. Oh, and Odd needs to tell his date that we can't go tonight. I'll take care of that. Meanwhile, you and Aelita go and start searching the park." Both the girls nodded and took off for the park. Jeremie told Odd, and had to call off the date with Kiki. She was upset, but understood, and when she left, Odd and Jeremie searched the main grounds of the school.
In the forest behind the factory...
Ulrich stumbled through the dark deep forest away from his car, beaten and bleeding freely. He managed to save his phone, but only had enough power to send two text messages. He decided to send one to Jeremy; he always had his phone. By now, he had received at least a dozen texts, each one from Jeremie's phone by Odd. Ulrich stopped walking and leaned against a tree for support.
Odd or Jeremie,
Hey. I'm in the woods behind the factory. Please hurry, I... I don't know how much longer I can stay conscious. I can't send but two text messages, and this is one. I'm sending the other one to Yumi to tell her I'll be okay, and to wait in my and Odd's dorm. I can still receive them, so keep sending. I gotta go, but please hurry, I thought I heard some growls around here. I just found the tree that's been dug into, the tree shelter, so look for that.
-Ulrich
He punched the send button and clumsily sat down in the tree shelter. He sent the next message so Yumi wouldn't be so worried about him.
Yumi,
Hey... don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I want you and Aelita to go to my and Odd's dorm and wait there. I can't send any more texts, but I still can receive them, so keep sending. It'll keep me awake. Don't worry, Jeremie and Odd know where I am, I'll be okay. Just relax in my room with Aelita. Okay, gotta go. Ttyl.
-Ulrich
He sent the message, then looked around before lying his head down and closing his eyes. Jeremie received the message immediately after it was sent, as did Yumi.
"Odd, c'mon, Ulrich's at the tree shelter. We have to move!" That was all that was said before they turned around and sprinted for the factory. Yumi saw Jeremie and Odd run into the passage through the park and ran to follow, but stopped when she received her message. She was baffled. She turned to Aelita.
"But, I don't get it. Why doesn't he want me to go with the boys?" Aelita read the message then led Yumi to Ulrich's dorm room.
"Maybe it was dangerous, and only Odd and Jeremie know the safest way there and back. He doesn't want you or me to get hurt. Ulrich's looking out for us." Yeah, but I want to go. I want to help them. What if Odd or Jeremie get hurt? Then we'll have more to deal with."
"That's true, they could get hurt, but Ulrich would've asked you or me to come and help if he felt it was needed. Jeremie and Odd'll bring him back, I'm sure of it. You just need to relax. Let's listen to the stereo in Odd's room." She said as they reached the dorm room.
Meanwhile in the forest, Jeremie and Odd searched for their old hiding spot. Odd kept tripping over logs, but they managed to make it to the area where they would hide over the years. Ulrich heard them, but was too tired to call out to them. He threw a rock outside the shelter. Odd snapped up into a fighting stance.
"Who's there? Ulrich? Is that you? Give us a sign so we can find you." Ulrich snapped a twig with his leg and threw another rock. That rock hit Odd's right foot. Odd looked over and caught the figure of Ulrich in the dim moonlight.
"Jeremie, over here! I found him." Jeremie ran over to Odd.
"Wow, Ulrich, you're a mess. Let's get you back to the dorms; Yumi's probably going nuts in your room waiting for us. I just hope Aelita can stay alive with Yumi's ranting." All three boys laughed at that. Odd and Jeremie picked up Ulrich under the arms and carried him back to the dorms. They got about 100 yards to the door to the factory when Odd heard something.
"Jeremie, take Ulrich and hurry. I hear something." Just as he said that, he felt something fly by, then a piercing pain in his arm all the way around to his back. Yumi paced around the room, hands half crossed and worry written all over her face. She worried for Ulrich, but she was worried for the other two also.
'I hope they can find him and get back safely. I don't wanna get a call saying something's happened to one of the others.' Aelita turned up some music that Ulrich used to relax. It was some of those nature CD's that make sounds like the sea and woods. Yumi finally got tired of waiting and called Jeremie's cell. She received no answer. Back in the forest, Odd faced his attacker, showing in the moonlight.
"Odd, let's go! That's a wolf, you can't beat it! It'll kill you!" Jeremie yelled to him. Odd shook his head.
"Go Jeremie! I'll hold him off so you can get Ulrich inside. I'll be there in a minute, just get him to safety!" He said as the wolf charged full speed at him. Odd dodged just as the wolf jumped for him. He jumped on the back of the wolf and put it in a head lock with one arm. (Wow, who'da thought?) He used his other arm to pull his belt off and use that to close the mouth of the wolf. He then tied the rest of it around his neck and jumped off the wolf, pushing him down in the process. Jeremie pulled a now unconscious Ulrich into the door of the factory and called out to Odd.
"Odd! Let's go, we're in!" Odd took off sprinting towards the door, the wolf still following. Odd ran past Jeremie, and Jeremie closed the door right as he came in. A couple of seconds later, a loud thud could be heard on the door. Odd laughed tiredly.
"Hehehe, wolves are so stupid. No matter how much you tie em up, they don't stop, even if it means running into a door. Now, because of it, I need a new belt." Jeremie rolled his eyes and let Odd catch his breath, then it was back to getting to the dorms. They reached the control room, and Jeremie stopped to call the girls.
Aelita answered the phone for Yumi and talked to Jeremie for a minute. When she hung up, Yumi was looking on edge.
"Well? Are they okay?" Aelita took a deep breath.
"I told you not to worry. They're okay. They're in the factory, and heading over here. They'll be here in about 10 minutes." Yumi let out a huge sigh of relief, glad that her friends were okay. Jeremie walked into the dorm, watching out for Jim or anyone else. He didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. When he gave the all clear, Odd ran with Ulrich trying to help go faster. Jeremie opened the door and let Odd and Ulrich through first. Yumi and Aelita ran up to the three boys, tears in both their eyes.
"Are you guys okay? What happened?" Yumi asked the boys as Odd laid Ulrich on his bed, then sat/fell down next to it. Jeremie kneeled down next to Ulrich and checked for any broken bones or blows to the head. Yumi tended to Odd's arm, cleaning his arm and back, bandaging as she went. She took a rag dipped in peroxide and placed it over the cuts on Odd's back. Odd winced and pulled away from Yumi.
"Ow! That hurts Yumi!"
"It's cleaning your cuts Odd. It only hurts for a few seconds, then it's all over, so bear with me." She said turning him back to her. Jeremie turned to everyone after finishing with Ulrich.
"Good news guys. Ulrich doesn't have any broken bones or a concussion, just some cuts and bruises. He'll be fine, he's just tired." Odd smiled.
"He'd better be. I almost died back there." Yumi gave him a puzzled look.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Odd put on one of his sly smiles.
"We got attacked by a wolf." He said plainly. Yumi's eyes got wide.
"How can you be so calm after that?"
"He used to do that all the time. They would actually come to him, not me or Ulrich. He would go out there just to wrestle a wolf some days." Jeremie cut in.
"I think that's why Ulrich wanted you to stay here. He didn't want you to get in the way of that wolf. He said he heard growls and barks when he text us. He also told us you and Aelita were staying here, so we went in and out with relatively no problems." Odd said as Ulrich started to stir. Everyone moved to his bed, anxious to see how he was. Ulrich groaned and opened his eyes slowly.
"Huh? Wh- Where am I? What are you guys doing here?" He said to Yumi and Aelita. Everyone just smiled at him and helped him sit up.
"We're here because we were worried about you. It's okay, it's still pretty early. Ulrich, what happened to you? When I found out you were missing, I tried calling you. Then I got your message and have been here ever since." Yumi said to him. Ulrich motioned for everyone to sit down on his bed, and proceeded to tell them what happened.
"Well, when I got to the airport, I found out what my parents sent me. It was a brand new Escalade, fully loaded. It was for my 17th birthday present, since they'd missed the birthday and Christmas before. I picked it up, did all the paperwork and drove it out of the garage of the airport. I saw these two guys pull out with me and start to follow me, so I drove around for a while. We finally got to the back roads and I floored it, but the followed me. I started to call the cops, but they started shooting at my tires. My guess is they were trying to steal it. The thugs hit both my back tires and my front right tire. I... lost control and flew off the side of the road. It was on elevated terrain and so the trees were below me about 50 yards down. All the safety stuff came out and I stopped by rolling until it wouldn't anymore. I fell out the car when I opened the door, and I stumbled around to try and look at the car. I couldn't see well, so I just stumbled around until I found the old tree shelter. I had heard a wolf earlier, but I kinda left that out when I mailed you Yumi; I didn't want you to worry more than you already were. Then Jeremie and Odd found me, so I let myself fall into unconsciousness. And now, we're here." He ended, trailing off. Yumi, by this time, was leaning on Ulrich's shoulder, and Aelita looked like she was about to cry. Odd was about to blow, and Jeremie was thinking to himself. Jeremie spoke up first after what seemed like forever.
"Tomorrow we'll go back there and try to salvage your car. Then we'll try to find out who attacked you. Did you get their license plate number?"
"Actually, I did. It's a custom plate that had the name "Arrow" with a picture of an arrow on it. It was a royal blue Jeep with the roof down."
"That's perfect. That shouldn't be too hard to find at all. We'll send in the description of the truck ASAP. Maybe they've been in trouble before, oh, and we'll tell Yumi's parents to give the cops the description." Jeremie told them. Yumi looked up at him with a puzzled look.
"Why my parents?"
"Because they can get the police to move faster than if we called, get it?"
"Oh, okay. I guess I better get going. Ulrich, you're gonna have to come with me though, so my parents can see it for themselves." Ulrich nodded and got up with the help of Yumi. Odd stood up with them.
"I'll help you get him there, just in case those guys come back." A smile came across Yumi's face.
"Okay, Odd. That's a good idea. Aelita, are you coming? My parents will get worried if you don't come back with me." Odd walked in front to scout out the dorm to make sure it was clear. They didn't really have to watch out, because everyone was out that night, even Jim. When they reached Yumi's house, Ulrich had become so tired he fell limp. Odd helped Yumi pick him up, then started back for the dorms. Yumi opened the door to her house and called her parents from the kitchen. When Yumi's mom and dad got a glimpse of Ulrich, they went berserk.
"Yumi, what happened to Ulrich!?" Her mom asked Yumi hurriedly.
"There was an accident when he was driving back from the airport. Ulrich was attacked by some guys in a royal blue Jeep Wrangler with the custom license plate Arrow, along with a picture of an arrow next to it."
"Were you there with him?" Her dad asked. Yumi shook her head.
"No, he told us when Odd and Jeremie found him. It's an extremely long story, but we have to send in the car's description to the police. Ulrich's okay, he's just tired. We walked from his dorm all the way over here. Odd walked with us in case something happened, and that's when Ulrich fell limp." She said as she laid Ulrich down on the couch and sat next to him. Her mother got a phone and called the police while her dad got the story from her. Ulrich woke up when the police arrived along with paramedics and gave them the same story Yumi told her dad. The paramedics cleared Ulrich and told him he wouldn't have to go to the hospital and also told him he was very lucky to have walked out with what happened to him. The police got a detailed description from Ulrich and started running scans on those types of cars to find a match. Aelita had went upstairs and cleaned up. Yumi would've gone up with her, but Ulrich asked her to stay for moral support. She stayed by his side the whole time until the police left for the night. Yumi's parents let Ulrich stay with them until the whole thing passed over. Aelita came down later, talked with Yumi and told her that she was going to go back to Lyoko and check things out, just to double check and make sure Xana wasn't up to something. Yumi moved the fold out bed next to the door inside her room, just in case Ulrich had to get up in the middle of the night. Ulrich took a hot shower to wash away everything from the events of the day. When he was done, he put on a t-shirt and boxers and walked in the room to find Yumi sitting in her pajamas and looking out the window. He walked over and sat down next to her.
"Hey. You okay? You seem... well, troubled."
"I... I don't know. I just feel like I should've been there. Maybe Odd wouldn't have gotten hurt as bad as he did, and..." Ulrich reached for her hand to cut her off.
"It's not your fault Odd got hurt. He's been doing that since before we met you. Then after you came, we didn't want to worry you about that, so we stopped going. Odd's just rusty at that. We'd watch him, and sometimes we'd even join him, but for the most part he'd wrestle them. One almost killed me one time, but Odd tackled it and saved me. That was also the day before we met you."
"Oh, so that's why you looked so messed up that day."
"Yeah. I'm glad Odd's my friend; I'd hate to be his enemy. And besides, if he wouldn't have saved me that day, I wouldn't have met you." He told her hugging her tightly. She laughed.
"I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't met you and the other boys. You guys kept me from going nuts at that school. Day school is okay, but afterwards, I had nothing to do. Even sports were starting to get boring for me. Then I met you guys; and the rest... is history." Yumi said kissing him on the cheek. Ulrich returned the kiss and added a hug into the mix. They fell silent for a while, then Yumi stood up to stretch.
"Okay, I'm beat. I'm sure you're more tired than I am; after all, you've had the most stressful time out of all of us." Ulrich stood up as well.
"Well, I could only imagine how much you were worried and stressed when you found out I was missing. I think that you were just as stressed as I was." Yumi giggled and gave Ulrich a goodnight hug.
"Just the same, we both need our rest, and we have a busy day tomorrow. My parents talked to your parents and they told me that my parents are going to pay for the repairs to your Escalade, and your parents are going to reimburse them later. And my parents told yours you'd be staying with us until your healed, but that shouldn't take too long." Yumi ended with a big yawn. Ulrich returned the hug and went over to his bed; Yumi went to her bed and turned out the light.
"Goodnight, Ulrich."
"'Night, Yumi. See you in the morning." All that could be heard was the deep breathing of Yumi's deep state of sleeping. Ulrich smiled, closed his eyes, and let a night of peaceful take him over.
Yumigirl06: Same as before. Send reviews, and constructive criticism.
Odd: How'd you like that ancient history lesson on us, Yumi?
Yumi: I thought you were different before, but now I think you're just plain crazy.
Odd: Thank you. Finally, someone understands my genius.
Ulrich: The only time you count as a genius is when... well... let me think for a minute... that's funny... I can't seem to recall any times that count. Sorry Odd.
Odd: One day, you'll all see my genius.
Jeremie: So while we're waiting for that genius to appear, let's get to the next chapter.