Imprisoned II: Sacrifice
Chapter 7
Yumi stared in disbelief as William disappeared into the sea. Once William was gone, she collapsed sobbing on the ground. Ulrich rushed over to comfort her, but she was hit by a laser and devirtualized before he could reach her.
Jeremie just stared at the screen, in shock at what just happened. "He sacrificed himself to save Ulrich," said Jeremie in a trembling voice. He sighed and refocused on the task at hand. "Guys, we need to deactivate this tower before—huh?" The tower had deactivated itself.
"Jeremie," said Aelita, "do you think it's a trick?"
"I don't know, but we can't be too careful. Odd, Ulrich, scan the area."
Ulrich quickly sprinted around. "Jeremie," he said. "We're in the clear. No monsters, no activated tower, nothing at all."
"XANA's attack must have failed," said Jeremie. "I'll materialize you guys out of there."
Odd, Aelita, and Ulrich all stepped out of the scanners and headed back to the computer room. They found Yumi huddled in a corner of the elevator.
"I can't believe he's gone," she said sadly. "He must have really cared for me, if he saved you like that."
Ulrich nodded, saying nothing. He reached out his hand and helped Yumi to her feet. Yumi hugged Ulrich tightly, putting her head on Ulrich's shoulder. Ulrich, surprised, gently hugged her back.
"It's okay, Yumi," he said. "I know you'll miss him, but there is nothing we can do about it."
"I know," replied Yumi. "I'm just glad that you are still alive." She looked Ulrich in the eye and smiled.
The elevator door opened and Jeremie rushed over from the computer. "Yumi," he said, "are you alright?"
"Yes, Jeremie," said Yumi quietly. "I'm fine. Yet, I don't know if I'll ever get over this."
"You'll have to find a way," said Aelita. "We don't want Mr. Delmas or Jim to find out about Lyoko as a result of this."
"Oh, I forgot about them. How are we going to explain William's absence?"
"We'll think of something," said Odd. "For now, let's get back to the cafeteria. It's spaghetti tonight." Odd winked and Yumi smiled.
"I'd better head home," she said. "It is getting late." The gang made their way into the elevator and closed the door.
William opened his eyes. Huh? Where am I? He took a look around. What is this place? William was still on Lyoko, but he didn't know it yet. Is there where people go when they die? He noticed that he was lying on his back holding something in his hands. He glanced at his right hand. He was still holding his scimitar. Huh? I'm still in this virtual world place? Or, is this where one goes when they fall into the digital sea? Nothing made sense anymore. William stood up and took a few steps forward. Smack! He ran smack dab into something, slamming his face and falling to the ground. "Oof! What the?" Rubbing his head, William stood up and gingerly took a step forward, holding his hands out in front of himself. They touched some sort of invisible wall. He took some sideways steps to his right, feeling the wall with his hands. After taking a couple of steps, William found a corner. The wall turned right by 90 degrees. William adjusted his position and began to feel along this new wall. After reaching several corners, William realized that he following the inner walls of some sort of invisible cube. Great, I'm stuck in here. Now what? All of a sudden, William heard something snarl. He wheeled around. Huh? What's that thing? It was Scipizoa, and it was making its way towards him. William backed up slowly as the Scipizoa approached.
