Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko.

Summary: Jeremie's gone missing and no one has any idea why. When XANA launches an attack, who will work the super computer? Will they have to result to someone else? And will they ever find Jeremie again?

Author's Note: A bit shorter than the first chapter, but not by much. In this chapter, the plot of the story starts to unfold.

Reviewers: Princess Aelita Lyoko, XANA-Zach45

Missing

Chapter Two

Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi sat on Jeremie's bed, thinking. Kiwi lay on the carpet with his ears drooped, whining softly. It'd been four more days since Jeremie's gone missing, making a total of eleven days.

There was a soft knock on the door, making it creak open. Odd got up and opened the door all the way. His smile grew as he saw who was there.

"Oh, hi Odd," Rose said, surprised. "Isn't this Jeremie's room?" She looked around Odd to see Ulrich and Yumi sitting on the bed.

"Yeah, this is his room," Ulrich answered. The girl in the doorway seemed confused.

"But I thought he was sick," she questioned. "Is he in the infirmary?"

Yumi raised an eyebrow at Ulrich. She leaned over near his ear.

"What did you tell her?" Yumi whispered.

"That he was sick," Ulrich replied. Yumi opened her mouth to speak, but closed it and shook her head instead.

"You guys just made it worse for her," she said, standing up and walking over to Rose. "Your name is Rose, right?"

She nodded, looking up to Yumi. "What happened to Jeremie?"

Yumi put an arm around Rose's shoulder.

"Jeremie's been missing for over a week," Yumi answered quietly. Rose's eyes widened as she looked around the room. Odd and Ulrich lowered their heads and Yumi let go of Rose.

"Where'd he go?" Rose questioned, her eyes filling with tears. "Did he tell anyone?" Yumi shook her head. Rose put a hand over her mouth and let her tears fall. She ran out of Jeremie's room to find a silent place to weep.

Yumi looked over at Ulrich. "See what happens when you hold in the truth?"

"Hey, it was better than telling her during class," Ulrich defended. Odd nodded.

Out in the hallway, Sissi was walking towards her room. Rose was too busy running and crying that she ran right into her. They both fell in a heap on the ground.

"Hey!" Sissi yelled, standing up and brushing herself off. "Watch where you're going, stupid! You could have hurt me!" Rose tucked her knees under her head and cried into them. She couldn't run anymore. Sissi looked down at Rose and smirked.

"Aww, did Ulrich dump you?" Sissi mocked. "That's what you get, you know." Rose glared at Sissi and stood up. Sissi smirked at the crying girl. Rose raised her hand up and slapped the stuck-up girl across the cheek.

"And I think that's what you get!" Rose yelled as she continued running out of the dorms. Sissi was appalled.

Down the hall, Odd was watching their conversation after he heard Sissi yell. He burst out laughing when he saw Rose beautifully smack her across the cheek.

"Ulrich, you missed it!" Odd exclaimed into the room. Ulrich lifted his head up from Yumi's back, where he had fallen asleep.

"What is it?" he yawned.

"Rose!" Odd said, still laughing incredibly hard. "She," he took a breath. "She just slapped Sissi across the cheek!" At this point, he couldn't support himself standing anymore. He fell on the floor and kicked his legs in the air, trying to keep himself breathing. Ulrich chuckled.

"She defiantly needed that reality check," he yawned sleepily. Ulrich laid down on Yumi's back again and fell asleep quickly.

Odd stopped laughing and started petting Kiwi.

"Come on, boy," he said to Kiwi. "Let's go back to our room and get some shut eye." Kiwi barked in agreement. Odd happily walked down the hall to his room.

x0x

Rose sat under a tree in the park crying. The one she loved dearly was gone without a trace.

Suddenly a spark came from the power lines above the trees. A thin line of dark grey smoke emitted from the power line. A squirrel was on a tree branch, squeaking loudly at the disturbance in his atmosphere. The smoke entered the shrilling squirrel through the mouth, slowly taking over its brain. The squirrel squeaked and struggled trying to get the unknown substance out of its body. But it was too late. The artificial being, XANA, had taken over the squirrel.

Rose stared out in front of her, zoning out. She heard the squirrel above her and looked up. The squirrel stood motionless, but its eyes were concentrating on her. Rose narrowed her eyes to study the squirrel. The being planted its feet on the branch and readied itself. Rose stood up to get a better look at the squirrel. Just then, the squirrel launched itself at Rose. She moved and watched the squirrel land perfectly on the ground. Rose tilted her head and noticed its eyes. They had a pulse of their own and a symbol instead a pupil. She gasped and started running back to the school.

The squirrel, or rather XANA, scurried back up the tree. It went into its burrow with the other squirrels. The rest of the squirrels noticed a disturbance in one of their squirrel's environment. The group snarled at the unwanted visitor, brushing up their tails and looking fierce. XANA was less than intimidated. The artificial creature made its eyes glow red and stiffened its fur. The other squirrels launched to bite their guest, but XANA beat them to it. XANA had spread itself to all of the squirrels in the group.

x0x

Rose got to the school and was terribly out of breath. It was about two in the morning and everyone was asleep. If she was caught outside of her dorm, she would certainly be in major trouble. Rose decided to wait until morning to tell anyone about the squirrel. No one would believe her if she woke them up so late, anyway.

She quietly tip-toed up the stairs and down the hallway to her room. Outside of her door sat Odd's dog, Kiwi.

"Hey Kiwi," Rose whispered, as she bent down and held out her hand for Kiwi to sniff. Kiwi licked it and she started petting his head. "Why aren't you with Odd?" Kiwi started wagging his tail and barked loudly. Rose jumped at the noise and quickly put a hand over his nose.

"Shh, Kiwi," Rose whispered. "Do you want Jim to find you?" Kiwi licked her hand again, making her wipe it on her jeans to rid herself of the slobber.

Rose stood up and held out her arm, pointing down the hall.

"Go home, Kiwi," she instructed. "Go back to Odd." Kiwi panted and chased his tail. Rose sighed and dropped her hand. She opened the door to her own room. She was so tired that she could barely keep standing. As Rose walked into her room, Kiwi followed. Rose looked down at the mutt.

"Do you want to stay in my room for tonight?" she gave in. Kiwi wagged his tail and barked again. Rose sighed.

"Alright, but you've really got to stop barking," she smiled. Kiwi jumped on Rose's bed and fell right asleep. Rose giggled softly and climbed into bed as well. She didn't even bother changing her clothes. Sleep couldn't wait any longer.