Yumi sat silently in her room. She had her arms wrapped around a pillow which she kept close to her chest as though it could heal the wounds of the past and shield her from those of the future.

Her room was dark, no light being emitted from the lamp in her room, no light entering through the window as day had passed by a few hours ago. The only light that existed in her room came from just outside her door, a small splash of light in a sea of darkness.

Her heart was broken, pieces hanging thinly to a cracked core. What was once vibrant, alive and prospering was now beaten, it's dead weight dragging her down with it.

She didn't cry, all her tears already expelled throughout the day. Her eyes were focused on the cellphone she held in front of her with both hands. She unlocked it, the bright screen illuminating her upper body and face.

'Maybe I should call him...' She thought, beginning to dial his number. She got halfway through before she locked her phone again.

'No... If he can't trust me not to lie to him, then he doesn't deserve my time.' Anger taking over her thoughts, she quickly felt bad for her thoughts, but stood by them.

'Ulrich... I wish it didn't have to be this way...'

She brushed her hand against the screen of her phone, her fingers sliding along like a skater on fresh ice.

'If he calls me and apologizes, then I'll forgive him.'

She let out a single tear, but wiped it away before it escaped the captivity of her eye.

'Ulrich... please call...'

As though on cue, her phone lit up and began to vibrate.

She answered so quickly she didn't have time to see the caller ID.

"Ulrich!?" She asked, a heartfelt smile appearing on her face.

"Yumi, it's Jeremy."

Yumi's expression quickly regressed back to its former emptiness.

"Oh, hey Jeremy. What's up?"

"X.A.N.A. just activated a tower. William is already on his way to the factory and Odd and Ulrich are dealing with the attack at the concert."

Yumi cringed at the mention of the concert.

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

With that, Yumi hung up the phone, stood up and exited the lightless room.

She made it out of the house undetected, running at full speed towards the factory. The whole time, one thing lingered in her mind, something she just couldn't stop thinking about.

'Ulrich... why couldn't it have been your voice on the other end when I answered?'

—

"Ulrich, I hope you have a plan for this!" Odd yelled as Sissi spun in the air, yellow clouds of electricity forming around her.

At this point, the crowd had hauled their cheers and were now gazing in astonishment at the supernatural sight before them. The band was left speechless on stage, the packed room now eerily quiet.

"Odd, you get all these people out of here. I'll try and distract Sissi." Ulrich replied.

Odd ran up to the performance stage and tossed himself onto it. He quickly made his way to where the lead singer was standing and grabbed his microphone.

"Hey!" Odd yelled as loud as he could into the mic, attracting everyone's attention. "We aren't safe here! I need everyone to exit the building calmly and as quickly as possible."

Moments later, large groups of people started heading for the exits, leading to a mass panic to get out. The people in the crowd were pushing others all around them in an effort to escape.

"Well, at least you guys are quick..." Odd said before placing the microphone onto the ground and then running back over to Ulrich.

"So, what now?" Odd asked, standing next to Ulrich.

"You head to the factory, I'll handle drama queen Sissi." Ulrich proposed, to the instant protest of Odd.

"No way I'm leaving you here alone. The others can take care of themselves on Lyoko, but we need to work together to keep an angry X.A.N.A. fied Sissi under control."

Ulrich turned to face Odd and smiled, which Odd returned.

"After what I said, you would still want to stay here and help me?"

"Hey, we're best friends; we gotta stick together, no matter what."

Ulrich was glad he hadn't damaged his relationship with Odd, never meaning a word he said to him before. He knew it wouldn't be that easy with Yumi, but he could still hope, he could still dream of a better tomorrow.

—

"This is incredible." Jeremy said, flabbergasted by what he saw on his screen. "I didn't think it was possible."

Both Franz and Aelita stood behind him, only Franz picking up on what was so important.

"I see... this is very troubling." Franz said, moving his head closer to the monitor.

"What is it, Jeremy?" Aelita asked, her understanding of the program he had pulled up very limited.

"X.A.N.A. is pulling power from hundreds of thousands of computer systems across the world and using them on this one attack. If we don't stop him now, he has the power to destroy the whole city."

"Well then, we don't have time to waste. Send me in." Aelita said, just as the elevator door opened to reveal both Yumi and William standing inside waiting.

Hmm... What's the first word that comes into my mind when I read this chapter. Oh yeah, it LATE. But I would like to personally thank you guys for being strong through my busy schedule and helping me become a better writer in return. Don't forget to review! (Next chapter won't be late, dead poet's honor!) - (bonus if you get the reference)