7-7: Icy Breath

People just don't seem to like my polls. What's the deal? I am dedicating this chappie to those few who did answer the last one. Congratulations Dantheman7777, The Bringer of Good Cheer, (Rose), and Black Cherry Soda. This one was written for y'all. Hope you like it.

(((-7-)))

"Wake, you fool!"

X.A.N.A.'s voice brought her out of the dark abyss she had been immersed in, but even with her eyes open she couldn't make out anything.

"Master! I cannot see. Where am I?"

"The warriors are here on Lyoko, but not all. Two are missing. They must be there. You will exterminate them before I lose my patience…unless you would rather return to your former existence. The price of failure is great," he reminded her, raking invisible claws through her brain and causing her to shudder with terror.

The threat was clear and held an irreversible promise.

"No, I will kill them all! I swear it, Master." Bloktra felt his awareness inside her mind vanish and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Cold permeated from her skin as she remembered what had happened. The foolish warriors had been at her mercy, ready to be dispatched, when someone growling like an animal had crashed into her from behind. And then darkness covered her, dispelled by her Master's intervention.

Her hands were trapped behind her back, something solidly holding them in place. The water had stopped falling and the loud sirens were gone, leaving an empty, eerie silence.

The red-haired Pawn lowered her hands to the floor where water soaked into the rope. She focused on it and the threads froze over, becoming brittle. With a little effort the rope snapped.

"Where have you gone?" she whispered as she opened the door and looked out at the waterlogged dance floor.

The two remaining warriors would be hiding someplace, then. Someplace out of sight, or perhaps among other people, but they would—what was that?

Bloktra was distracted by the distorted sounds outside and followed them, drawn almost as if on a leash. It was the laughter and shouts of the students and also a much more piercing, fascinating noise that came closer and closer, drowning out all the others. It was a loud, high-pitched wail that sent shudders down her spine.

The thing making the noise screamed as it approached the school, lights flashing to attract attention. Bloktra could only stare and listen until the sound faded as the large red vehicle stopped.

(V)

Nearby, Yumi was watching the Pawn with blind anger.

"I have an idea. Stay here," she told her friend.

"Why? What are you going to do, Yumi? You're not going to try something dumb and get yourself hurt, are you?" He grabbed her elbow with his good arm. "She'll kill you given half a chance!"

The Japanese girl bent down and hugged him tightly. "I promise I'll be fine."

She had to try her best to stop Bloktra. The fear of her finding Ulrich in his helpless state terrified her. That hellcat had almost murdered him in cold blood already.

"Don't put yourself in danger, Yumi. I'm sure the others will fix it eventually. I don't want anything to happen to you."

She started to stand up, but he pulled her back and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. For a moment she stared at him, her cheeks flushed, then surged to her feet and darted into the crowd before he could say another word. Ulrich's eyes lowered to the pavement, a small smile playing across his face.

The firemen were talking with Jim and the principal. Yumi waited until they went inside the building, only two remaining at the truck. It was easy enough to sneak around the other side unseen.

The black-haired girl clambered up onto the fire truck muttering, "Ice is your specialty, huh? Well how about if we just cool you down a bit with something a little more forceful than a few sprinklers, hmmm?"

The pump started working. There was plenty of water in the truck's tank to last for a while. She grabbed the hose and pulled it out, wedging it between two metal bars on the truck so that it was aimed at the red-haired girl on the edge of the mass of milling students. No one was between them. This was the perfect opportunity!

"Try this out for size, Bloktra!" she sneered as she pulled the lever on the nozzle back.

The Pawn just happened to turn in time to see the water come shooting out of the hose straight at her!

The Japanese girl gritted her teeth as the force of the spray recoiled against her and the metal brace, but she held it down, stubbornly refusing to let go. At first she crowed with delight, but after a few moments she realized that her ploy wasn't exactly working the way she had planned.

The water swirled in a circle around Bloktra, the waves turning to snow and ice that spread out from her in all directions. Instead of knocking her out or even hindering her, the firetruck's water supply was becoming a mini-blizzard controlled by the Pawn!

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all."

Yumi's hands had grown numb and she grunted in an effort to turn off the hose, but the metal had frosted over in the sudden change of temperature, refusing to budge. She let go and scrambled off the truck, but one of the ill-tempered firemen grabbed the back of her shirt.

"Hey, kid! What did you just do to our truck! What's going on around here anyway?" he insisted with a few curse-words sprinkled colorfully throughout.

"Sir, it's that girl!"

She pointed to Bloktra at the heart of the storm, wind and snow howling in a cyclone around her. She could hardly be seen through the swirling white, but her loose red hair was slightly visible. As the man looked over, she managed to slip out of his grasp and join the other students as they panicked.

The sun had fallen beyond the trees, an additional layer of icy breath settling on the school grounds. All the children had scattered…except for one that couldn't go very fast or very far with a torn artery that pained him every time he moved.

The whirlwind of snow thinned and dissipated as the Pawn caught sight of Ulrich trying his best to keep up with the other kids but too weak to manage it. In a trice she was behind him and shoved him face-first into the piles of snow that had blanketed the area.

Yumi peeked out from behind a pile of toppled garbage cans and gritted her teeth. He was writhing on the ground, the acute pain from his injury an inescapable haze of suffering.

"Where is the other Warrior?" she demanded, her foot on his back. He didn't answer, so she called out to the fleeing students, "Will you not come defend your friend?"

Bloktra didn't see anyone stand up for him, not even the cowed firemen, since ice wasn't exactly their forte and her display of power was very impressive. They were satisfied with watching.

"Very well, then. He dies."

Cliffy-alert! You guys will just have to show up next time to find out what happens. Ok, now let's try this one more time. I ask a poll question, you answer. Which one of X.A.N.A.'s monsters is your favorite and why?