Oh boy! Tis time to pretend I don't have homework! I'm listening to music, and I heard somewhere that if you write while listening to music what you write might reflect what you're listening to. If this story screams The Ramones, I apologize in advance. HeeHee Yumi is a punk rocker! Yumi is a punk rocker! Yumi is a punk rocker now! Okay, I'm stopping now.

Animesk8tergirl: No he isn't high off crack. He is being…manipulated.

Industrial Fear: I was joking, I won't hurt you.

Flying Star: JeritaAelita in Jeremie's body. WOOHOO Lottery!!!!

MizZ hypocrite: Well, as you may have guessed, the entire point of this story is to torture Yumi. Well, maybe not the entire point, but its one of them.

One last note: When towers start to get deactivated, Sam's story doesn't change. In other words, what is happening to her is not happening at the same time as what is happening to our Lyoko friends. Otherwise, I would have to write it six times. So it plays out the same way after every "Return to the Past" and Sam doesn't remember. In other words, just pretend Sam's story isn't being constantly interrupted by trips into the past. (She doesn't know it is) Thought that might get confusing.

Ch. 6 C'mon, I'll Take You Out

Ulrich was running, but suddenly he turned around and started yelling, "HEY HO, LET'S GO!"

"Blitzkrieg Bop!" Yumi screamed.

Jeremie was saying "Gabba Gabba Hey."

Aelita looked strangely confused, and turned to stare at me like I was some punk rock broccoli. Then a look of understanding crossed her face, and she said, "I wanna be sedated!"

Okay. This has gone too far. What you listen to DOES affect your writing! I need to start over.

Ch. 6 C'mon, I'll Take You Out

"Focus Yumi. You can do this." Ulrich was being strangely business-like in an attempt to make the situation feel less panicked.

Yumi looked awful. Her skin seemed almost transparent; the blue tints of her veins were completely visible. Though the bleeding from her hand had slowed, it hadn't stopped. It seemed a great effort for her to speak. "It's not the same. It's not the same as it was before. God, I'm so tired."

"I know. I know it's not the same. Focus on breathing. You can always force your muscles to keep going, but not your lungs. You have to try and breath normally." The idea of having to breath on Lyoko at all was strange to Ulrich. He did it as a reflex, but he never felt any sort of need for air.

Yumi, Ulrich, and Aelita had left from the small opening in the back of the cave. Because it was basically impossible for them to fight the hornets, they were sneaking slowly towards the tower by weaving in and out of rocks. (They are in the Mountain Region, in case you were wondering) According to Jeremie, the hornets had all split up to search for them in different directions. Like a giant game of death hide-and-seek.

"Careful." They heard Jeremie say, "There's one that's getting dangerously close to you. Head behind that rock on your left, quick!"

Ulrich grabbed one sleeve of each girl in each of his hands, and pulled them behind the rock. Yumi immediately buried her face into her knees as she curled up in a ball-like position. Aelita was just staring at her, like she was a particularly realistic horror movie, but Yumi didn't notice. Ulrich was thinking about all the possible solutions to their problem. But there didn't seem to be any. Yumi couldn't keep up, and neither her nor Aelita could defend themselves in any way. Should he try to carry her again? He couldn't just leave her there.

"It's gone." Aelita said. Ulrich hadn't noticed her walk away. Yumi looked up at Ulrich. "I'll try." She whispered. Feeling a huge amount of love for her, he helped her up and wrapped his arms around her waist. Holding her tightly, he whispered, "Okay. Let's go."

Jeremie's voice rang out suddenly, "You're getting close. There's just one rock between you and the tower. Can you see it? Head there."

"Yes." Aelita said, turning to Ulrich for instruction.

"Alright. I don't see any hornets out there, so let's all go together." He kept his voice firm.

Ulrich grabbed each of their hands, and they started to move towards the last rock.

"Where are the hornets?" Aelita asked.

"They're waiting for you around the tower." Jeremie informed them as they reached the rock.

"Then you had better stay here, Yumi." Ulrich said, peering around the edge of the rock to see the tower and the monsters. Yumi nodded and sat down on the ground again.

"Aelita, we're going on three."

"Four." Aelita said.

Ulrich looked at her a little strange. "Um, okay four. One, two, three, four. Let's go!" He pulled her along behind him. He felt awful leaving Yumi, but she would be safer that way.

The wasps were poised in a perfect line formation, completely still. Aelita and Ulrich exchanged a nervous glance as they approached the row of monstrous soldiers. Each wasp hung about six feet above the ground, with its stinger pointed strait ahead. It didn't make sense to Ulrich, the way they were perfectly still in mid-air. Their wings stuck out stiffly.

"What's wrong with them?" Aelita whispered.

"I don't know." Ulrich said. "Jeremie, do they look strange from up there?"

"No, they look normal." Jeremie said. "Be careful for Aelita."

"Should we just try and cross?" Aelita asked.

"I guess so." Ulrich answered.

Together, they stepped underneath the wasps, crossing the line. The tower was just ahead. Aelita and Ulrich looked back at the wasps nervously. For a second they didn't change. Then, all at the same time, they jerked violently.

Aelita screamed. The wasps didn't even glance at them. Their great wings began to hum as they shot off in the direction Aelita and Ulrich had just come from.

"Yumi! Aelita go! Deactivate the tower NOW!" Ulrich screamed. Aelita ran towards the tower, as Ulrich ran towards Yumi. He had never run so fast. As soon as he was halfway there two wasps turned and flew right at him. Ready to defend himself, Ulrich gripped the hilt of his weapon. But they flew right over him towards Aelita.

She had almost reached the tower, but they cut her off with a stream of acid, and began to shoot.

"Aelita is down to ten!" Jeremie screamed.

Ulrich turned just in time to see Aelita dive into the tower. He continued to run towards Yumi. It looked as if one of the wasps had found her; it was bobbing up and down, gaining the attention of the rest of them. Ulrich was almost there. He reached the rock and skidded around it, landing on top of Yumi.

"Don't move!" He screamed. At first he tried to block the shots of the several insects, but there were too many, so he simply lay on top of her, to shield her. He was hit once. Yumi closed her eyes tight. Two more times. She held her breath. She felt him jerk as the fourth blast made contact with his head. One more got his leg, and Yumi was all alone.

Terrified, she turned to face them. She was going to die. This was the end. She

Would die helpless and alone. They all fired at once.

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Sam awoke in a quiet, dusty room. The sunlight leeched around the thick curtains filling the room with dull, grey sunlight. She panicked at first, having no idea where she was. Then she began to recognize things. The photographs on the nightstand looked familiar. Then she remembered everything.

Sam heard her stomach growl. She couldn't remember ever being so hungry. She had consumed nothing but beer the day before. Sam groaned, and tried to remember if she had drunk any water. No, she didn't think so. Maybe that was why she was so dizzy.

Using the bed to steady herself, Sam stood up. She felt sick as she began to make her way to the door. On her way down the hall, she glanced into her bedroom. It was deserted. Sam wondered how late it was.

Sam went down the stairs and into the kitchen, watching for people all the way. There was no one there. Sam was surprised when she found from the clock on the microwave that it was 2:49. No wonder they had all cleared out. It was time for school, Sam thought suddenly, and then relaxed when she remembered she was expelled.

Sam searched every cupboard, but found nothing edible. The fridge had been mostly cleared out. Those kids sure could drink. In a last hope, Sam opened the freezer. A pint of ice cream! And it was almost full! Grabbing a spoon, she hopped onto the counter. The ice cream was bourbon flavored, but she could care less about the taste. It was good anyway. Sam got a bit of a shock when she pulled the spoon out of her mouth. It had turned the color of rust.

"Damnit! She cursed and ran into the bathroom. Wiping dust off of the mirror, Sam took a good look at her face. She gasped, touching her mouth. Dried blood had crusted over her lips completely, if she even had lips anymore. Maybe they had been torn completely off…Sam ran her fingers gently over her cheekbone, and winced in pain. It was swollen, and slightly purple. None of it had seemed so bad the night before. Sam returned to her ice cream, which was starting to get soft.

She had only gotten a few more spoonfuls before she heard someone walk into the room. Harvey looked at her for a second, then turned and left. Sam shrugged, and continued to eat.

Less than a minute later, he returned with a bottle of something in his hand, and a bag of cotton bolls. Sam was amazed that he had managed to find cotton bolls. He set the bottle down next to her, and she saw that it was rubbing alcohol. He wet the cotton bolls with the alcohol over the sink, and grabbed Sam's chin.

"Don't touch me."

"Hold still." Gently, he wiped her cuts down, using cotton boll after cotton boll to clear the blood away.

"Please just leave me alone." Sam said.

Finished, he let go of her, and snatched the ice cream from her hands.

"Hey!" Sam said angrily.

"You shouldn't be eating this." Her brother said.

"There's nothing else! Give that back!"

He shook his head, and dropped the entire container into the trash. "C'mon I'll take you out for breakfast."

"It's three o'clock!" Sam felt like arguing.

"So? You haven't eaten and I haven't eaten. Go get ready." He lifted her down from the counter.

Sam headed for the stairs. This could happen sometimes. Usually on the weekends. Harvey would act normal, because he wasn't drunk or stoned. Sam wished it could always be like that, but it never would. These huge raves seemed to be the only thing that drove the thought of their parents out of Harvey's mind.

Sam showered, dressed, and tried to brush her hair. Pulling on her sweatshirt, she jumped back down the stairs. Harvey was still in the kitchen. For the first time, Sam noticed he looked as if he had showered too, and dressed well.

He pulled the car keys out of his pocket, said, "let's go," and headed for the door. Sam followed. As she opened the car door, she realized she hadn't ridden in this –or any- car since her parents had died. That was almost two months ago. They drove in silence for a while, Sam leaning her head on the window. Then Harvey said, "So. I guess we need to find you a new school."

"I don't need to go to school."

"Yes, you do. In fact, maybe home isn't the best place for you right now. Would you want to go to boarding school?"

Sam thought for a minute, and then said, "Kadic." She knew they could afford it. Their parents hadn't been poor.

"What?"

"I know someone who goes there."

"I'll look into it tonight, then."

Sam stared. That had been so easy. "Tonight?"

"Yes, no one will be there tonight," he said.

Sam was happy, but she wasn't sure she believed him. "Why not?"

"Look, Kid. I'm trying to be nice. They're not coming because I told them not to." He snapped as they pulled into a parking lot.

Sam got out, her insides filled with hope for the future.

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I know it was sort of short, but I had to stop there. Review pleeeeease.

Next Chapter: Maybe XANA is Like Us

P.S. The Ramones rock!!