Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of updates, and for how short this chapter is.
Yumi races into the chamber of the elevator, slamming down hard on the button to shut the doors as the others rushed in after her. She praises the longer legs that her superior height grants her- that, and perhaps more begrudgingly, all of those hours of track and field Jim forces on the nineth grade class.
"I'll call Jeremie," Aelita exclaims between breaths. It hadn't taken that long to get to the factory, especially since they hadn't needed an excuse to slip out of breakfast early, but Yumi supposes that her observation, having been voiced just before the attack, probably unsettled Aelita.
The boys nod; Odd slips toward the back, standing tensely beside Aelita, while Ulrich takes his usual place beside Yumi. They're used to the protective positioning by now. Yumi trusts Ulrich at her side- after all, she practices pencak silat with him the most frequently.
She presses down on the button for descent, and they wait. The dial tone on Aelita's phone hums tinnily through the small space. Yumi releases a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when she faintly hears Jeremie's voice, but her stomach drops once more when she realizes that it's his voicemail.
Her own words replay themselves in her mind. If XANA persists in the trend it's been following lately...
Wordlessly, Yumi stops the elevator on the floor of the mainframe. No one protests.
As the giant mechanism in the center of the door unlocks and the door begins sluggishly to slide open, a loud bang makes her - and everyone else in the elevator, she's quite certain - jump a good mile. As soon as the entryway is parted enough, she and Ulrich shove their way through, both taking on the long-practiced fighting stance.
What she sees makes her freeze. The millions of thoughts racing through her head, the screaming "what if's" and frantic "please, no!'s" all screech to a halt.
It's Jeremie, held up against the wall by his neck, his white-knuckled hands clasped around Principal Delmas's wrist and his face screwed up in a grimace of pain. There's blood running down his lips, just barely gleaming in the occasional light of Lyoko's hologram map, and his glasses are gone; even in the dim lighting of the mainframe's chamber, she can see unusual shadowing in a few parts of his shirt.
The observation as she sizes up her foe is brief because Ulrich is already rushing forward, his hands in tight fists and a battle cry tearing out of him. She surges ahead, sweeping low for the legs. Satisfaction bubbles in her as his knees buckle, and a distorted cry from Delmas confirms Ulrich's successful blow to his upper body, as well.
His figure flickering in static-ridden interference, Delmas crumples to the floor. A wet gasp sounds from against the wall, and once Yumi's certain that the principal is no longer a problem for the time being, she turns to check on her friend.
"Are you okay?"
Ulrich's hand is already on Jeremie's shoulder; Jeremie's gripping his throat, his eyes tightly shut and his chest heaving. Even so, he nods. "Y-yeah, just- just give me a sec."
The relief that washes over her is immense. Her legs are suddenly wobbly beneath her, and her pulse thrums in her temples in tune with her rapid heartbeat.
Yumi's eyes pass beseechingly over the floor. Finally, she spots the familiar black frames, and she stoops to pick them up and pass them to the blond.
After a few moments, Ulrich begins to haul Jeremie to his feet. His hazel eyes fall upon Yumi, angry and reactive, but she knows it isn't towards her, and he gestures curtly towards the elevator. "Go deactivate the tower. I'll deal with Delmas."
She wants to protest, but the principal is already beginning to rouse. It takes only a glare from his hateful, XANA-fied stare to subdue her objections.
"Be safe."
"You too."
After that, it seems to take hours for the elevator to reach the scanner room. Jeremie's voice is shaky and hoarse over the speaker system. "Your transfers are ready. Go ahead."
Yumi isn't at all placated as she steps into the scanner, but deep in the rational part of her mind, she knows she doesn't have any other options.
Aelita tries to smile at her before the scanner shuts with a clang; out of her periphery, she can see Odd fidgeting impatiently in his.
Once hers is closed, she lifts her chin, letting the wind raise her hair.
There isn't anything else she can do, after all.