Ulrich stands atop the sideways bus as it moves with the current, its strength growing ever more present. He wobbled as a heavy burst hit the bus, lunging it forward. The water below was murky, filled with random objects picked up by the unforgiving beast.

Ulrich fell as an even larger wave hit the bus, water even splashing up to him. He began to slide on the wet and curved metal of the bus, his only lifeline being the open emergency window which he held so desperately onto.

"Ulrich!" A voice, Ulrich guessed Yumi, yelled up to him through the opening. "You okay?"

Ulrich stood up, his balance regained after the waters temporarily settled. "I'm fine, just a bit sea sick." Ulrich joked, laughter returning from below.

"Okay, just make sure to keep an eye out for the factory!" Another voice yelled up, but Ulrich couldn't tell whom it belonged to.

Ulrich returned to his post, occasional splashes hitting, every now and again larger impacts, but he held on. Minutes quickly turned to hours, the slow yet steady flow of water into the bus was beginning to become noticeable, everyone now being forced to sit on sideways seats.

After what Ulrich could only guess had been a trip through the whole outskirts of the city, a beacon of hope was found shining in the water, Ulrich's eyes filling themselves with its image.

"Guys!" Ulrich yelled, his whole head going through the opening. "I can see the factory! We're heading right for it!"

The others were astounded, Jeremy feeling proud of himself for having the idea, but not in a big-headed or self-centered sense, rather one of acceptance that he had done a good job, building his slightly broken confidence in himself.

They discussed plans for getting in, most of them either impossible or extremely difficult. As they neared the factory, they knew it was now or never, and Ulrich began helping his friends into the top of the bus.

Jim walked over to them, the water filling his shoes and soaking his socks. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked, his voice stern, the voice of a commander questioning his cadets.

"We're just going out for some fresh air, Jim." Yumi said, helping Aelita join Ulrich and Jeremy who were already on top of the bus.

"Likely story. Whatever the case, this is an emergency situation, that means we all stay together." Jim said, moving closer, reaching out to help Aelita down.

"Jim, I'm sorry but we have to go, trust me, this will all be over soon." Yumi negotiated, although Jim would have nothing of her treaty.

"We don't have time to argue, now all of you back in this bus immediatly!" Jim commanded, beginning to pull Aelita down, not harmfully, but certainly not gently.

Yumi acted quickly, knowing him important it was for them to get to Lyoko. She used a move Ulrich taught her days earlier during one of their Pencak Silat sessions, her leg raised to kick Jim square in his chin, sending him a few inches in the air before he fell, a student attempting to catch him, only slowing his eventual fall into the water. Yumi made sure to kick him hard enough to put him on the ground, but not enough to hurt him too much.

"Sorry, Jimbo, I'll make it up to you later!" Yumi yelled as Ulrich helped her up, Aelita having gotten through during the incident.

As the children neared their exit, they all braced themselves to jump. As the bus floated over the now covered bridge, the kids jumped off the back, landing in the rivers current. It was now a fight against nature, X.A.N.A. Controlling nature that is.

"So, how are we gonna get in?" Aelita asked, her body working hard to fight the relentless current.

—

William and Odd lie seated against a large board, water squirting out all side. Their reserves of tape had run out long ago, leaving them with brute force. Other holes were open in the wall, they just lacked the ability to deal with them. Odd's headache grew worse again, his medication finally having worn off just an hour ago.

"William," Odd said through grinding teeth, caused by both the pain of the board against his back and his head which now felt as though it had a continually spinning blade inside, "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up."

William looked over at his friend, his dismay and pain openly apparent. "We can't think like that, we have to stay optimistic." William said, seconds later forced to again push against the board which was beginning to crack through the middle.

"What do you think's gonna happen? Do you think some miracle is just gonna fall from the sky?" Odd said, his eyes rolling at William's comment, any trace of his normally upbeat attitude erased by his current situation.

As if on cue, the window above them broke, water bursting through. Riding along the water Odd saw four figures, one after another, enter the factory.

"What was that?" William said, looking over at the shadowy figures, the lights in the building dimmed as the majority of the sun's rays were blocked by clouds.

Ulrich walked over to them, the others behind him. He ran over towards them once he realized they were okay, making it easily apparent to them who had just broken in.

"Ulrich! Guys!" Odd yelled, looking at his soaked friends come towards him, their paces brisk but also not a run, the floor too wet for a successful sprint.

"Odd! William! You guys are okay!" Ulrich yelled, finally arriving at his destination.

"It's great to see you guys." Odd said, his head producing a violent stab, the pain overwhelming him for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to have any aspirin, would you?" Odd said, his hand moving to his head.

"I think we could all use some after today, but no, we don't have any." Yumi said, the three others having caught up with Ulrich.

"Well," William said, relaxing his back slightly as Ulrich joined them in their fight against the water, "what's the plan?"

"We go to Lyoko and beat X.A.N.A., same as always." Aelita said, looking around the factory. "And by the looks of this place, we better hurry before it floods completely."

"Good plan," Jeremy said, joining her in examining the room, "we should hurry. The supercomputer core should be protected from the water, if I made sure to seal it well last time I went down there, but the other parts of the lab will be vulnerable to flooding, so we need to get a return to the past ASAP."

The others nodded in agreement, and soon all were headed for the elevator, the hole Odd and William had worked so hard to close finally burst with the pressurized water it contained, the factory quickly filling.

Only time will tell just how long our warriors have.

Thanks for all the support! Over 2100 views! Good job guys, I appreciate it. Just to inform the public, I plan on having this episode go one chapter longer (I know, it's a long episode, but I love it.) and a total of 13 episodes in total, this being a mid-season special for all the diligent viewers. Thanks again for all the support! Post reviews on comments or questions.