Ulrich POV
XANA began to dissipate and Ulrich couldn't help but break out laughing.
"XANA, did you ever fucking think you could win?"
"Yes, and I will" he muttered as the light disappeared into the magnets pull.
"Yumi!"
Ulrich's phone starting ringing, making him jump.
"Yes Jeremie"
"What's wrong Ulrich?"
"Yumi, I think she's gone."
"What? Why?"
"She's laying in a pool of blood Jeremie, I don't think she could possibly still be alive."
"We still have the jump back in time."
"What about the tower? We have to shut it down first."
"Oddly enough, XANA's appearance and the presence of an activated tower are strangely un related. His manifestation was completely self-maintained. We'll figure out how later"
It seemed as if Yumi might have been seriously injured, but she was not intent on letting go yet. Slowly and painfully, her eyes opened only to be attacked by the sun. Hyper-ventilating and bleeding, she managed to airily mutter something.
"Ulrich, where are you?"
Ulrich heard her strain to speak and quickly reacted.
"Jeremie, don't make the jump. Yumi's still alive. We need to get her to the hospital."
"Understood."
2 weeks later
Intensive Care Unit
"Ulrich…."
He had been asleep in the same chair for 3 days, barely moving to eat. Ulrich jolted to consciousness as he heard her voice.
"Yeah, I'm here"
"Ulrich, are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, what about you?"
"I'll be fine I guess….."
Yumi looked under the covers and lifted up her gown to see the stitched gash in her abdomen.
"Ulrich, what happened?"
"You don't remember? XANA's manifestation impaled you with an energy blade. There was some internal bleeding. We told the doctors you tripped and fell on one of the spikes going into the factory parking lot. They said that if the spike (blade) had gone a little bit lower, it would have cut your tube and…."
"No…."
"It's fine though, that fortunately wasn't the case. Fortunately the blade missed most of the vital areas. Unfortunately it did manage to make contact with your right lung and so… while you were unconscious they had to do a lung transplant."
"What the fuck?"
"It went well though, you'll just have to be on medication for the rest of your natural born life to help make sure that your immune system doesn't attack the transplant lung."
"How long till…?"
"Another day at most, then we'll have the time. But I want you to rest so your not getting worn out so quick"
Yumi chuckled at this attempt at humor. Funny, she managed to have a sense of humor in this mangled state.
"Good night, I'll be here"
"Thank you my love"
2 Days later
Yumi's house
It had been quite a while since anybody had even thought of XANA since his royal ass-whooping at the factory. Jeremie had told the group that it seemed that XANAs vital signs were weak, and Lyoko has stayed oddly enough absent of monsters for some time. According to his theory, XANA had needed Aelita's memory for more reasons then just information. It seemed Aelita's memory could be used to manifest an AI in the real world, in the right amounts. When XANA put all his cards out on the table, he had nothing left, for the time being. Until then, the team had some off time. Jeremie and Aelita had been in Jeremies dorm room for a week straight, only came out to go to class. Odd had managed to stay entertained, unsuccessfully attempting to annoy Jeremie and Aelita for fun. Yumi and Ulrich… well. They've been having fun in their own way.
9 p.m.
Yumi's back porch
As the moon slowly moved to radiate it's calming light through the obstructing clouds, Yumi and Ulrich were watching. Enjoying the calm serenity they had almost never experienced together.
"You know, Ulrich? My parents won't be home for hours."
"Really? Hmm.. 3 minutes?"
"Two and then we'll make up for all this time we've missed"
They both dashed into the house, Yumi pulling off her shirt and undoing her bra as she ran up the stairs and Ulrich undoing his belt and pants before he even got to the top. It seemed that everyone was enjoying the calm cool air, only while they can.
END SNEAK PEAK.
(Author's Note: Yes this is a cliffhanger. We all know XANA is never defeated, in my opinion, you can't defeat what never lived in the first place)