(A/N – Hope you guys like this chapter. It's no walk in the park writing them, I'll tell you. Let me know what you think.

-Kayleth)

The rain beats down on my head relentlessly. The water level is still growing higher still, but I won't stop; and neither does Yumi.

Finally I recognize where we are; The Factory. The sewers are too flooded to travel through, so we never had a moment to escape the pounding droplets.

My hair clings to my head; water is sliding down my face and into my eyes. Pulling my sopping wet sleeve over my face doesn't do much to help.

Sliding down after Yumi I duck under the door, moments before it closes, shutting me in.

I can tell Yumi's afraid. She's looking at me like I'm might hurt her at any moment. "Yumi," I start, looking at her wide eyes. Her pupils are huge, taking up more space than I've ever seen before.

"Who…who are you?" she asks, shaking. She sneezes and sniffs; I feel sorry for her condition. She looks like she's been crying all the way here.

I'm about to say something but then the elevator jerks to a stop. She hurries over to the key pad and frantically types in the code.

"The Scanner Room's flooded!" Jeremie announces, shaking as he pulls up windows and codes on his screen.

"Are Odd and Ulrich on Lyoko with Aelita?" she asks, panting.

Jeremie nods, but then takes a grim look to his face. "Xana's not stopping there. He's going all out this time. Not only is he trying to flood the whole city, but when he breaks through the encryption codes he's going to electrocute everyone too!"

Yumi just stands in dull shock. It's like I'm not here; like I don't exist.

"What can we do?" I ask, stepping forward. This news means dad's in danger, and I won't let anything else happen to the only family I have left.

They just stare at me for a moment until a flashing red light goes off on Jeremie's screen. "Ulrich's just been de-virtualized." he states grimly.

Yumi doesn't wait for any more to be said. She dashes back into the elevator, pressing more buttons and the door closes.

It takes several long, long, long moments before anything happens again.

"She's got him in the elevator; somehow…" Jeremie mumbles and starts clacking on the keys again.

I turn and face the doors that I know will open soon. Water gushes out across the floor as two forms stay crumpled together in the elevator, gasping for the oxygen they need so badly.

I walk over to them, but don't enter the elevator yet. They're just staring at each other, a bond of trust and love that's understood without words. I just walk away, over towards where Jeremie sits. I should just be happy their alive, but the whole "love" thing is just unbearable to me in this mood.

"Are they going to make it in time?" I ask, staring at the screens into the world I guess is called "Lyoko".

"Aelita's in the tower," Jeremie mumbles to himself, still ignorant to the fact that I'm really here.

I can feel suspense building in the air; or maybe it's just me. I'm about to settle on the latter when the air comes alive with screams and yawls and cries. Even Ulrich and Yumi are joining the chorus, half closing their eyes and yet I know their hearts are breaking to see the other in pain.

There's a huge red exclamation point on Jeremie's screen. He looks drained of all motivation; like he's powerless to do anything now. It looks like the pain is nagging at him too, as I feel it snip at my skin. It hurts!

I hold my breath without realizing it until all the noise suddenly stops. Ulrich and Yumi lie still on the elevator floor; I don't even know if their breathing. The whole world seems to have stopped…

"Return to the past now…" Jeremie manages to say in a weak, mumble. I look at his eyes and I know he's thinking, "Please let it not be too late." He tries to push down on the 'return' button and then seems to collapse.

My eyes are wide with terror. Shaking more than I ever have in my life I push the button I think he was intending to press, hoping, praying,that it all turns out right.

Nothing happens; I feel my heart freeze in cold horror. I'm about to scream when that bright white light that I know all too well bursts into the air and engulfs everything.

Please let it not be too late…