Chapter 1 - Am I Only Dreaming?
Yumi Ishiama sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. She looked across to the sleeping figure of Aelita. Sleeping. Her favourite passtime. Yumi would live without it personally, but then again how could she fight X.A.N.A on zero energy? Yumi smiled as she looked round the school dorm that she had moved into with Aelita. Her parents had had to move back to Japan because of her father's job, but Yumi had managed to pursuade them to let her get a dorm at school with Aelita. They did, after all, think very highly of the young humaniod-turned-human. But they didn't know that. They just thought Aelita was a sweet girl, who was outstanding in IT and Maths. That was all.
Yumi swung her legs out of her warm bed almost reluctantly. She would never had thought that the school beds could be so comfy. Now she knew why Odd and Ulrich often got up late in the mornings!
Yumi went to get out her clothes, and started off towards the showers, setting an alarm for Aelita, who had been know to sleep a bit too late.Ok, through the entire first period, but they forgave her for that. Now Yumi would set an alarm every morning for her, so Aelita had to get up. Yumi wandered down the hallway, letting her hair swing from side to side as she went.
Once in the shower she mbraced the steamy water and took as long as possible, without using all the hot water. Or else Odd would throw a hissy fit at her, and that was always annoying. Yumi turned off the water and wrapped her towel round her body. She started to walk back to the dorm, silently praying that Aelita was aready up; she was rather difficult to get up, and Yumi wasn't in the mood today.
As Yumi walked back down the corridor, she thought back to her dream. It had woken her up in the middle of the night, whereapon she had found she was sweating and crying in her sleep. Yumi shuddered at the thought of it, and tried to push the memory away. But somehow the girl kept coming to her. Yumi had seen a young girl; virtual and in lyoko. She had a long black skirt that had been ripped off just above the knees, and a black top with long billowing sleeves like a sorceress. She had black lips and eyes, and her weapon was a sword like Ulrich's. She had her hair in a bun at the top, but her hair had grown down and had been tied into three parts, twisted into position. Yumi didn't recognise the girl, if that's what she even was, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she had met the girl before.
Yumi and Aelita smiled as they walked over to Jeremie, Ulrich and Odd, who was already shovelling in his breakfast like it was his only meal for the day. But then, didn't Odd eat like that every meal everyday?
Yumi sat next to Ulrich, thoughts of breakfast forgotten as her thoughts unwillingly returned to her dream. The girl had left her a message, and Yumi wasn't sure what to believe. She tried to figure it all out, but that just made her head hurt. Lots.
'Umm, Yumi?' Yumi jumped as Ulrich looked at her and tapped her on the shoulder. Yumi hurriedly brushed a strand of hair out of her face and turned to face the others. Everyone, even Odd who had momentarily abandoned his breakfast, was looking at her strangly and worriedly. 'Are you ok?' asked Ulrich, putting a hand on her shoulder. Yumi left it there, liking his touch.
'What? Oh, yeah I'm fine, I just had this weird dream last night. Nothing to worry about.' Yumi said hurriedly and rushed. The others frowned as they saw straight through her terrible lie. Yumi cringed as she turned away from them, and made to get up for her breakfast, but Ulrich stopped her. Yumi sighed and sat back down.
'Oh yeah?' Jeremie said looking directly at Yumi from across the table next to Aelita. 'And what was in this dream, may I ask that is making you hide it from us?' Aelita frowned at Yumi, but it was more puzzled than it was mean. Aelita didn't do mean. Not even to X.A.N.A's monsters. Yumi sighed again and sat down fully.
'I saw a girl.' she told them, 'but it was weird - she was in lyoko, in the ... ' Yumi tried to think back to the dream for the region, ' ... the forest region. I didn't recognise her, but I got the feeling that I'd met her before. And I don't remember anything like ...' Yumi stopped as the world went black.
Too black. Yumi couldn't see. Then there was a burst of light and the girl appeared in front of her. But there was someone with her, someone that looked suspicuously like...
The others stood up suddenly as Yumi stopped short and colapsed onto the floor. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing ok. Jeremie got out his laptop and started going through the Lyoko files for towers and X.A.N.A activity. Yumi gasped, and opened her eyes.
'Wha-What happened?' she asked as she blinked her eyes several times. She shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the girl and, and... But she didn't leave. Ulrich and Odd were smiling down at her, and Yumi suddenly got up and ran out of the cafeteria, too confused to listen as they called after her.
She ran to her dorm, and grabbed her bags, taking what looked like a small notebook with her. She ran out just as Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich, Aelita, Jim and Sissy rounded the corner after her. Yumi ran down the other corridor away from them, and headed towards a secret passage nobody else knew about. It lead to the factory, and Yumi had discovered it with her sister years ago.
Yumi quickly slid inside behind a stiff painting of Franz Hopper, star pupil. She pulled the painting back into place, just as they rounded the corner once more, and Yumi was still. She heard them race past, presumably after her, and she followed the passage to the factory. Her skateboard would remain untouched, so hopefully Ulrich and the others would think she was somewhere else.
She came to a halt at the end, and quickly and quietly stepped out behind the elevator. Yumi ran inside it and pushed the button, only feeling her relief wash over her after the doors were closed. She entered the code, and watched the doors open again. Yumi went to the super-computer and locked the doors and the elevator: now no body could get to her without her knowing first. They would have to climb, and Yumi knew that it would take them too long, and that she would hear them coming.
Yumi slumped down against the wall, and opened the so-called notebook. It was, in fact, a photo album of Yumi and her late sister. There was something Yumi had always kept a secret. She had once had a sister, a twin, a partner. Her name was Yana, and she was older than Yumi by ten minutes. Together, Yana and Yumi had found the super-computer, before even Aelita was around. That was when X.A.N.A was almost ruling the world. It had just created sector five when they had come along. Together, Yana and Yumi had defended Lyoko from X.A.N.A, by going virtual many times.
But then they hadn't had their powers. It was only after Aelita came along that Yumi had gotten her powers. Yana? She had died whilst trapping X.A.N.A in sector five, his control center. The last time Yumi had seen her beloved twin alive was when she ran X.A.N.A into the portal it was about to use to destroy Earth. She had gone into it too, and Yumi hadn't seen her again.
Until five years later, in her dream. Yana had come to her, called her name like old times, and Yumi had remembered. She had seen her lost memory of Yana and herself in Lyoko in the cafeteria, when she had passed out. That was when she had realised who the mystery gril from her dream was. Yana.
Yumi broke down into sobs, bending over her precious book that she had hidden so well from her friends and family. It was kept safe under the false-bottom of her underwear draw. No body went through there, and Yumi was confident that none of her friends would find the false bottom she had fitted in so carefully.
Yumi was so busy sobbing into the worn leather cover of her most prized possetion, that she didn't hear Ulrich, Odd, Jeremie and Aelita come in from the vent that ran across the ceiling. Yumi kept on crying, oblivious to thier presence. She hugged the book closer to her chest, and wiped her tears with the back of her hand, not seeing Ulrich come forward so he stood right in front of her.
'What's wrong Yumi?' he asked. Yumi gasped and looked up at him. She was trembling as she saw Jeremie unlock the elevator again. He looked puzzled and spoke quietly to Aelita before they both turned to Yumi, looking deadly serious and confused. Ulrich turned round to them too, and cocked his head at their expression. 'What?' he asked them. Jeremie stepped forwards and looked at Yumi.
'Yumi, you do know that you handled the super-computer like you've used it many times before, don't you?' he asked her. Odd and Ulrich gasped and turned back to Yumi, who looked away, down at her album. She nodded slowly. Jeremie narrowed his eyes at her. 'How many times have you used it Yumi?' he asked her. Yumi shook her head.
'It's none of your business. Keep out!' she said coldly and, with the book still bound to her chest, she got up and ran out into the elevator. Ulrich ran after her, but wasn't quick enough to get inside. Odd was though.
Yumi pressed the button, thinking she was safe, when she turned round to see Odd standing there. She felt her eyes automatically fill with tears, as she turned to face the other wall. Odd gently put an arm on her shoulder, and pulled it round so she was facing him again.
'You don't have to tell me anything Yumi, except why you won't let us know what's going on?' Odd said gently. Yumi stared at him for a few seconds, then burried him in a hug. Yumi felt her tears flow again, and Odd hugged her back. Yumi thought of Yana, and of the comfort she had been for her, and cried harder. She knew Odd would want answers, but she just wanted to cry.
'Please don't run away again Yumi.' Odd whispered to her. Yumi nodded into his chest, and stopped crying. She wiped away her tears and turned to face Odd again. He smiled at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. Not completely. Yumi sniffed, and Odd put a hand on her shoulder.
'I'm sorry Odd.' Yumi started. Odd gave her his full attention, and she was glad. 'I'm sorry Odd, but it's just that I recognised the girl in my dream - we-we were related. Cousins or something like that. We were very close, but she died five years ago. I really miss her.' Yumi told him briefly. She felt bad about lying to him like that, but few had known about Yana, and Yumi almost wanted it to stay that way. She had made her parents swear never to meantion her dead twin to any of her friends, and they had obliged. Yumi had been so upset after Yana's death, and they didn't want to disturb her even more.
The lift stopped, and Yumi ran out, going round the back of the elevator, instead of their usual way. Odd followed her round, but Yumi was already through the passaway, back to the school. Oh how she had missed their tunnel. And oh how she missed Yana.
'Farewell, dear sister...' Yumi found herself whispering as she collapsed on her bed in deep slumber. She was asleep in seconds.
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