Ulrich POV, enjoy
I stared at the blank screen. The Supercomputer screen was totally black. What's more, it was smoking. But, Jeremie said we did it, we got rid of her.
"Wait, wait, I'm confused. What did you do?" I asked.
"I overclocked it." Jeremie said with a proud smile on his face, although when he looked at our blank faces, he frowned. "I forced the Supercomputer to work faster and better so that I had enough energy to run the multi-agent. Running at that level, it could break the Supercomputer any moment, but I only needed a moment."
"So wait, is the Supercomputer busted?" I asked.
"Yep, completely out of commission. In fact, I should go check downstairs to see if there's a fire or anything." Jeremie jumped up from his seat.
"That means no return to the past?" I asked.
"Uh, yeah. Why?" Jeremie asked.
"Uh oh, bad news. I was really counting on that. A lot of people are really hurt over at Kadic."
"Is anyone dead?" Aelita asked, shocked.
"No. At least, I don't think so. I don't know."
"Well, We can't really do anything about it anymore except trust modern medicine." Jeremie frowned.
I looked around at everyone. They looked bummed, and sort of shocked and...helpless? I knew what they were feeling. The Supercomputer was just suddenly gone. Jeremie hadn't had enough time to tell us this was the plan. So many times we thought for sure we were on our final mission, but this had actually been the last trip to Lyoko. And I didn't even get to go.
The Supercomputer was our main way of feeling like we had any sort of control or power. We were superheros with that thing. And now, all of a sudden, we were nothing. Well...we didn't need to be. The threat was gone. But, uh, William had the gun. So, it was time to go get it back. Taelia gave that gun to me. It was my responsibility and I didn't want it to accidentally fall into the wrong hands. Not that I didn't trust William, but I trusted myself much more.
"I'm going to Kadic to check on things. Anyone wanna come with?" I asked.
"Sure." Yumi answered.
"Let's go." I said. I looked back to see if anyone else wanted to come with us. Seemed nobody did. Oh well, I would be alone with Yumi. Heh, alone with Yumi. Wait, was she just coming with me so she could see William? I couldn't believe her.
"Hey what's with the face?" Yumi asked as the elevator started up.
"You just want to hang out with our good buddy William." I accused. Yumi rolled her eyes.
"And You should stop being jealous for two seconds of your life. He could have been really badly injured, any normal friend would be worried, so calm down, would you?" She snapped. I looked in the other direction. We were all a little on edge right now, that much was obvious. The Supercomputer was gone. Morgan was gone, but she had left this one last disaster that we could not fix. Just how bad was it? Well, just one way to find out.
We headed to Kadic. It was a disaster. There were ambulances everywhere and craters in the floor and walls. Students lay on the floor, groaning from pain. Paramedics were trying to help all of them, but there were only so many stretchers around.
"William!" Yumi cried out. I whipped around in the direction she was calling. There he was, on the ground, unconscious. He didn't have other obvious injuries unlike the burns some of the others had. Yumi and I ran over to him. "Wake up."
"You'll never do it that way, here." I slapped him across the face. That did the trick. He sat up suddenly, confused. Then he looked over to me.
"Ulrich, what the hell?"
"Sorry, it was the only way to get you up."
"Are you ok?" Yumi asked.
"Actually...my head's a bit of a blank. I remember going to Kadic to get away from all the noise, and then I thought to get Jeremie's laptop. On the way out Morgan stopped me...After that, nothing." He said. Then, he looked around, like he didn't notice his surroundings before. His eyes went wide, and he asked, in a small voice. "Did I do this?"
"No, at least, we don't think so. This is the work of Sissi's clone."
"And uh, Morgan...?"
"Gone. Jeremie relaunched the multi agent...it destroyed the Supercomputer, though. No more trips to Lyoko, but no real reason to go back to Lyoko, either." Yumi said. William nodded and struggled to get up. Yumi and I gave him a hand. As soon as he got up and dusted himself off, I saw something out of the corner of my eyes. I quickly turned around. It was Emily, holding the EMP gun. Not wielding it, just holding it. She stared around wide eyed and scared. Well, who could blame her in a place like this?
"Hey, give that back!" I yelled and ran up to her. She winced and seemed to freeze in place. I used that chance to run up and grab the gun. I pulled, but she pulled back, then I quickly yanked it out of her hands. She looked between me, Yumi, and William, and then, without a word, she ran off.
What was Emily doing with the EMP gun? Did she find it on William and take it? Or did something else happen? The only person who knew for sure didn't remember. Well, it didn't really matter, as long as she didn't keep it. I needed-
Er, well, now that Morgan was gone, I really didn't need it. But it would be dangerous if someone else had it.
"I think we should get out of here." Yumi said. William and I nodded and ran into the woods towards the factory. As we ran, we could hear Jim calling for us weakly.
"Stern...Dunbar...Ishiyama...get back here." He probably said something else, but we were already out of range. We went back to the factory to check in with Einstein.
"So, you were possessed...again." Jeremie said. "Why am I not surprised."
Honestly I was thinking the same thing. Possess him once, shame on Xana. Possess him twice, shame on him. Possess him three times, well that was just getting ridiculous, wasn't it?
"I know. It's embarrassing. I wish I could take her out myself." William said, punching his hand.
"It's a little late for that. She's history. I've done dozens of searches on my laptop looking for all sorts of different indicators. All traces of Xana code are completely gone, off the network. No extra Replikas, no nothing. It's over for good this time. But we lost Lyoko in the process." Jeremie explained, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"And any chance of finding my father..." Aelita mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Aelita" Jeremie said. Aelita just nodded in response.
Well, I dunno about you guys, but today was the last day of finals...and that makes today officially the first day of Summer. So, if you'll excuse me, I want to go see a movie. Stacey, would you come with me?" Odd asked.
"Sure." Stacey smiled and went with him. He totally had it bad for her, probably cause she smelled like french fries.
"I could stand to let off some steam too. I'm gonna go swimming. Anyone wanna come with?" Yumi asked.
"I'll come." William and I answered at the same time. I looked at him sideways.
"What, we have a truce, right?" William asked. We did, we made a truce so that we wouldn't fight in the shelter. I guessed that extended to now, too.
"Right." I nodded.
"Let's get going then." Yumi said.
"Wait...what if something happens?" Jeremie asked. "It's chaotic out there I don't think it would be wise to go out."
"Don't worry. We're certified warriors. We can handle it, Einstein." Odd said.
"Yeah, and I can take Taelia's stuff." I said, picking up her backpack and slinging it over my shoulder. Before he could say anything else, we left. All of us were just a little bit stir crazy and we could use a break, a celebration.
And so William, Yumi, and I went to the pool. It was abandoned except for a guy who ran the shop in front. We bought swimsuits from him, since our swimsuits were at Kadic...if our rooms were still in tact at all. We also bought some energy drinks. We jumped into the water. It was cool and refreshing. We swam for a while, then decided it was about time to head back. We toweled off and got our drinks. Yumi lifted her bottle.
"A toast, to Morgan's defeat." She smiled.
"Cheers!" We clinked the bottles and drank.
"Watch my drink, I feel like diving." William said, getting up and heading over to the high dive.
"You're gonna show me up again?" I asked.
"Did it ever occur to you I actually like diving and I'm not trying to impress anyone?" William asked.
"I'll believe it when it's true." I half joked. William shrugged it off and climbed the ladder. He was doing it to impress Yumi and he knew it. I wished I could outdo him and prove I was better...but I just couldn't make myself deal with the height. The one time I tried I ended up making a fool of myself. He went to the highest diving board, jumped, flipped, and dove in flawlessly.
We waited for him to come up...and waited...and waited. Ok, now he was just showing off. After a few more moments with still now response, Yumi looked over into the pool. We saw it at the same time. William was unconscious at the bottom of the pool, and his hair was stuck in the pool drain, it looked like. He was drowning.
Yumi reacted first, and wordlessly dived in after him. I watched the surface of the water, waiting for Yumi to come up with William. Any second now...I kept waiting. Oh no, did Yumi get stuck, too? I got myself read to dive in after the two of them when someone surfaced.
William surfaced, by Yumi did not. He jumped out of the water and onto the concrete by the side of the pool, smiling calmly. As he rose, thousands of tiny strands left his body...like some sort of crazy web. I know I called him Spiderman, but this was ridiculous. As the strands hit the pool they crisscrossed on it's surface and created a solid floor on the surface of the water. I heard banging coming from underneath the surface of the pool. What the hell was happening?!
"YUMI!" I ran over to the pool but William blocked the way. "Get out of my way!" I yelled at him.
"Sorry, can't do that, Stern." William's voice was suddenly cold and mechanical, as if he were...possessed.
"What? Why not!" I tried to push past him but he kept me back.
"Why do you think?" William smirked and pushed me back a few feet. "You killed my girlfriend the least I can do is return the favor." Yumi's banging became louder and more frantic with each passing second. I tried running to the pool again but William threw me backwards. His eyes didn't flash the eye of Xana. If he wasn't possessed...then what was happening? Did he actually care this much about Morgan? That wasn't right!
"Girlfriend?! Last time I checked you hated her!" I argued.
"What do you know?" He growled, and started to advance.
"William, I don't wanna hurt you!" I exclaimed.
"Good, that makes my job a lot easier." He punched me hard in the jaw. I fell to the ground but quickly got up.
"I THOUGHT WE HAD A TRUCE!"
"Truce broken." He kicked me in the gut and I skidded across the floor. I grit my teeth in pain...I heard Yumi's muffled screaming, more banging on the pool surface. I needed to go save Yumi, before- but William stood over me.
"Ya know if you really want to be with Yumi I can make that happen." William said. Just then the guy working in the swim shop came in, his eyes widened as he looked at us.
"Get out of here if you know what's good for ya." William said. "And anyone you call will end up dead too." The guy nodded weakly and ran off. "As I was saying-" I punched William in the gut and he doubled over in pain, then I ran over to the pool. The wall...mesh..,thing was thick enough that I could walk on it, thick enough to keep Yumi from breaking it. It was also see through...and I could see Yumi, sheer panic in her eyes. I panicked too. I couldn't let her die I just couldn't I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just let this happen.
I wound up to punch through the wall but William grabbed my fist.
"It's a pity, she loved being in the water, now she's gonna die there." He pulled me into a headlock. "Let's watch her, shall we? Then don't worry I'll snap your neck nice and easy." He squeezed on my neck, making it hard to breathe.
"William what's wrong with you!" I managed to choke out.
"Nothing. I just remember." As he spoke, I heard Yumi's muffled screaming underwater. Her banging on the pool surface got weaker. Yumi was strong, but even she had her limits. She was weakening.
I looked around frantically and saw Taelia's backpack. The EMP gun... I didn't want to have to, but...I looked at Yumi, who was slowly sinking.
I elbowed William in the ribs and managed to break free of William's headlock. I made a mad dash for the backpack. I ripped through it, grabbed the gun, and pointed it at William. He raised an eyebrow and slowly put his hands up
"I don't...want...to have...to use this." I said, still catching my breath.
"Then don't." William shrugged. "It doesn't really matter if you threaten me or not. Yumi's drowning, and there's nothing you can do about it." he smirked. I backed up towards the pool without turning my back to him, then glanced down. He took that split second opportunity to roundhouse kick the gun out of my hand and tackle me to the ground. He threw punch after punch then pulled me to my feet and threw me into a wall. He approached me but I got up and kicked him onto the pool's surface, which gave a little under his weight, but it was a solid wall above Yumi. Did it...respond to him? Whatever it was?
Then the strands acted like a trampoline and launched him onto the ground in front of me.
"Ok, enough of this." William pushed me against a wall and took out a Swiss army knife. "Time to die, Stern." I felt around desperately for something, anything to defend myself as I saw the knife come down on my head. I found something on the ground. I held it in front of me and squeezed it. There was a gunshot. The knife stopped. Blue static rippled through William's body and he fell to the ground.
What did I just do...?
I ran over to Yumi. She was at the bottom of the pool. I- I needed to rescue her soon, or...
I gave the surface of the pool a punch, and another and another. It was the same it was completely solid. I, um, I needed to do something quick. I was kind of on a timer here. My heart was racing. It was hard to concentrate. Then, in a flash, an idea. I threw William onto the surface of the pool, and it gave. I jumped after him. The strands were far enough apart near his body that I could pull the strands apart and pull through and swim to Yumi.
I pulled her to the surface. I listened to her breathe...there wasn't any. I felt for a pulse...it was there! But very weak. A return to the past, but now that was impossible. She was pale...and cold. What was I supposed to do...cpr? Mouth to mouth? I tried both, trying to remember what Jim taught us in swim safety class. After a minute Yumi coughed up water, took a sputtering breath, and her eyes fluttered open. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yumi..." I instinctively held her. "Yumi I thought I-"
"Ulrich there isn't much time. Listen, I'm not going to make it."
"No, don't say that that, you're going to be fine...You have to be."
"It's too late...I'm sorry..." My eyes widened.
"No. No you can't! I WON'T LET YOU!"
"Ulrich, stop." Yumi strained to reach up and kiss my cheek, her lips were cold. "It's too late." I slowly shook my head. "But I don't want you to do anything too drastic on my account. I want you to get better, ok? The guys need someone to look after them, Jeremie can't do it and Odd's too scrawny." She laughed but it turned into coughing and hacking. When it calmed down she spoke again. "Can you promise me that, Ulrich?"
"B-but I need you!" I admitted.
"Can you promise me?" She was more insistent this time.
"Yes." I answered, Yumi nodded and put her head down, closing her eyes.
"Yumi?" She didn't move. "YUMI?" I shook her, nothing. Her pulse had stopped. "YUMI!" She was gone.
I whipped around, gritting my teeth.
"DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU DID?! YOU KILLED HER!" I took my anger out on William but my eyes fell to the floor. He was gone too.
I collapsed. Everything was just...numb. Yumi...no. She just...no it couldn't... I couldn't. Nothing made sense. It was like the blizzard...but this was permanent.
In the distance I heard something. A siren. The police? Yeah, that was it. The EMP gun. The police couldn't get their hands on that, couldn't get their hands on me. The guys needed me, Yumi said so. I looked down at Yumi, then stashed the gun in the backpack, and darted away from the pool building.
Haha, wait til he finds out that on top of all that, Morgan's still alive. Oh, the warriors are in for a bad time.
Time elapsed since last chapter: They happen at about the same time
Time elapsed since chapter 1: 3 weeks, 2 and a half days
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