Thanks for the reviews! I'm going to try to post up longer chapters than the first was, so here it goes…
Jeremie, Aelita, and Yumi were just leaving lunch when Jeremie's cell phone rang, Ulrich's name appearing on the display. "Hello?" Jeremie answered. "Ulrich?"
"Jeremie! Odd passed out and won't wake up!"
"Does he heave a fever?" Jeremie asked. He'd never heard Ulrich so worried before.
"Jeremie… It's like that time with the music! I… I've already called an ambulance… He's in bad shape."
"Oh no… Ulrich we'll be right there!"
"What's going on Jeremie?" Yumi asked in confusion.
"No," Ulrich said. "Just tell Jim or Mr. Delmas that Odd is sick so that they know why the ambulance is coming. You three need to go to the factory to check for any activated towers. This could be Xana."
"Ok," Jeremie said. "Take care of Odd. It's all going to be alright."
"Right. Bye." He didn't sound to sure that it would be alright.
"Jeremie, what's wrong with Odd?" Aelita asked worriedly.
"He's passed out like he did that time that Xana attacked through that song," Jeremie explained. "Ulrich called an ambulance, so we have to tell the principal and get to Lyoko quickly."
"Sissi!" Yumi yelled out to Mr. Delmas' daughter as she passed by.
Sissi turned around with a sour look on her face. "What do you want?" she asked rudely with her hands on her hips.
"Can you please go get your dad for us?" Yumi asked quickly. "Ulrich just called an ambulance because Odd is unconscious and won't wake up."
"The scrawny dork?" Sissi asked, her expression suddenly softening as her face paled. "Are… are you sure he not just playing another prank on y-"
"It's serious Sissi," Aelita said sadly. "Please, your father needs to go there."
Sissi looked at Yumi's pleading face and realized this was no joke. "Where are they?"
"Their dorm," Jeremie said.
"I'll take him there," Sissi said and ran off.
Sissi led her father and the nurse to the boys' room hurriedly after they'd given Jim orders to take the paramedics there when they arrived. They found the door open and entered to see Ulrich desperately trying to wake Odd while tears streamed down his cheeks. Sissi was frozen with shock and quilt at seeing such a sad sight. Ulrich looked up at them. "Principal Delmas… He's… I think he's d… dying…"
Mr. Delmas put a hand on Ulrich's shoulder while the nurse, Dorothy took Odd from his arms. "He'll be alright," Mr. Delmas tried to reassure the upset boy. He looked over at his daughter, seeking assistance so that he could take a look at Odd with Dorothy.
Sissi sat next to Ulrich after he father had led him to the bed. "What happened?" she asked timidly.
"I don't know," Ulrich whispered. "I came to look for him and he was passed out. He's not breathing right…" He could hear the sirens of the ambulance at school.
Sissi set her hand on his, for once in a way that was intended only to be friendly, comforting, and unromantic. "It's going to be ok."
That was what Jeremie had told him, but he was depending on the chance that Xana might be behind this. Ulrich had a feeling, however, that Xana had nothing to do with Odd being sick. He tried to form a weak smile, but failed as these thoughts ran through his mind. "Thanks…"
Minutes later, Jim led two paramedics into the room, and they quickly pushed everyone away from Odd. A third paramedic pushed in a stretcher, which he lowered down beside Odd. One of the paramedics working on Odd announced his weak pulse, and the third turned to ask all of the surrounding people questions. Ulrich felt like the victim of a hostile interrogation as the man asked several times if he was sure there no warning signs.
As the three paramedics went to push Odd down the hall on the stretcher, Ulrich stood. "Can I go with him?" he asked unsurely. "If he wakes up… I don't want Odd to be scared."
"Hurry up kid," a female paramedic replied. Principal Delmas nodded and Ulrich went along with the Odd.
"Dorothy, fax the boy's medical files to the hospital," Mr. Delmas said. "Jim, I'm sure that the ambulance probably caused a big commotion. Try to get all of the students into their rooms. Just tell them that a student had a fainting spell."
"What about you, sir?" Jim asked, before obliging to the orders he'd been given.
"I'm going to head straight to the hospital," Mr. Delmas said.
"Daddy, can I come with you?" Sissi asked.
Mr. Delmas nodded. "Let's go Elizabeth."
"There's no activated tower on the screen," Jeremie said worriedly.
"What is Xana messed with the super computer again?" Yumi asked. "He's done it before."
"Yes," Aelita agreed. "We can go to Sector 5 and fix it. Then we'll deactivate the tower and save Odd."
"I'm afraid to send the two of you alone for such a long job," Jeremie said.
Aelita smiled at him comfortingly. "I've done it alone before Jeremie. "Ill be fine."
"Ok." Jeremie nodded to them. "Yumi you'd better hang in there the whole time. It could be harder than last time."
"Of course," Yuim replied with a wink. "You know, Einstein, you really should start working on some weapons for Aelita. It would help a lot."
"Just get in the scanners," Jeremie said, rolling his eyes.
"We're on our way." Yumi and Aelit quickly hurried off.
Ulrich sat with his head in his hands beside Sissi as her father tried to contact Mr. and Mrs. Della Robia about their son's condition. He was completely terrified of what might happen to Odd if this had no connection to Xana. Periodically, he checked his cell phone for any messages from Jeremie, and he became more worried every time nothing was there.
Sissi could sense his growing alarm, but she was also beginning to feel a great deal of concern for Odd. She felt confused by the realization that Odd meant more to her than she'd thought. Being near a miserable Ulrich didn't help much either, as she saw how deeply Odd affected him. People loved Odd. Why was it that she had always pretended to hate him? He was a nice person, and she felt horrible for acting otherwise. She wondered if it was her fault that she and Odd didn't get along all of the time. She silently swore to herself that if he got better she'd be nicer and get to know him better.
Both Ulrich and Sissi looked up as Mr. Delmas came back looking very frustrated. "I couldn't get in contact with them at all," he said. "And they have no answering machine."
"They're always busy," Ulrich explained reluctantly, knowing that Odd himself never liked to discuss it much. "Odd told me before that all they ever do is work and hand out with their friends, so it'll be hard to get a hold of them."
Sissi frowned at this. It sounded as if Odd's parents weren't really there for him much. That explained why Odd was such an attention-loving goofball. It made Sissi angry that two people could have a kid and still be so concerned with only themselves.
She was interrupted from her thoughts when Odd's cardiologist approached the three of them with a grim look on his face. "Mr. Delmas, correct?" he asked. "The principal of Odd Della Robia's boarding school?"
"Yes," Mr. Delmas replied. "How is the boy? Our nurse at school was concerned that this may have been caused by his heart condition. She never expected anything so severe, though she was a bit concerned about his unhealthy size."
Ulrich and Sissi looked at each other in confusion at the mentioned heart condition, but neither of the adults really elaborated on it. "His medical reports, if anything, indicated that his health was improving," the doctor said. "But his heart condition had somehow progressed. Seeing as you are serving as his guardian until his parents come, your consent is needed for the medications he needs. However, I'm not sure how long it can help for."
"Is the poor boy that ill?" Mr. Delmas asked worriedly.
"I'm afraid so," the doctor said. "He has been placed on the recipient list for a new heart. Medication can only do so much for him. In a matter of months his heart is going to fail. At least right now, he is stabilized."
Ulrich felt his chest tense painfully at the thought. He was more afraid than he could ever remember being.
"Do whatever you need to do," Mr. Delmas said. "Just help him and make sure it isn't too painful for him."
The doctor nodded and left. Ulrich and Sissi looked at the principal for answers. "Daddy is Odd going to be ok?" Sissi asked.
Mr. Delmas put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "He's very sick," he said sadly.
"What's wrong with his heart?" Ulrich asked softly.
Mr. Delmas looked at him in shock. "I'm surprised he never told you. You both seem close."
"Odd doesn't like to talk about bad stuff, no matter how important it is," Ulrich said. "Please, sir, I have a right to know."
Ok. So review if you want another chapter to find out why Odd is sick!