The following days were marked by a strange calm at Kadic, but for Yumi, this lull brought no comfort. On the contrary, it heightened the anxiety that had been gnawing at her since the incident on Lyoko. Every morning, she woke up with the same knot in her stomach, a growing sense of unease that followed her throughout the day. Her friends, though present, seemed increasingly distant, as if an invisible wall had been erected between her and the rest of the world.

In every class, every conversation, she felt more and more detached, as if she were watching life through a pane of glass, a spectator rather than a participant. The recent incidents, those inexplicable manifestations of power, replayed in her mind on a loop, depriving her of sleep and inner peace. She couldn't help but watch for signs of another outburst, the fear of losing control again sometimes paralyzing her.

Sitting in math class, Yumi tried to focus on the teacher's monotonous explanation, but her thoughts kept drifting. The blackboard covered in formulas seemed to blur before her eyes, replaced by the haunting image of the pebble floating in her hand. She lowered her gaze to the pencil lying on the desk in front of her and stared at it intensely, a part of her terrified that it too might defy the laws of gravity.

When suddenly, a sheet of paper placed next to her notebook folded itself, Yumi almost screamed. Her heart raced, and her fingers clenched the edge of the desk to avoid losing control.

"Yumi? Are you okay?" Aelita asked softly, sitting next to her, her voice filled with concern. Aelita had noticed her friend's distress for days, and her worry was growing, not knowing how to help.

Yumi blinked and forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Yes, yes… I'm just having a hard time concentrating," she replied, trying to mask her fear under a facade of normalcy. But the slight tremor in her voice betrayed her state of mind.

Aelita looked at her intently, a glint of worry in her eyes. She had known Yumi long enough to recognize when something was wrong, but before she could ask more questions, the teacher turned his attention to them.

"Miss Ishiyama, if you're so interested in decorating your paper, perhaps you'd like to share your artwork with the class?" he said, his dry voice cutting through the room like a whip.

Blushing, Yumi lowered her head, trying to blend into the background. "No, sorry," she murmured, trying to regain some semblance of calm.

The rest of the class passed without incident, but Yumi couldn't ignore the looks from Aelita and Ulrich, their eyes filled with concern they didn't yet dare voice. The weight of their silence was almost as heavy as her own fears. How could she explain what she didn't understand herself? How could she tell them that she was afraid of becoming a danger to them, to those she loved most in the world?


The bell signaling the end of classes finally rang, its chime releasing the students into the bustling hallways of the school. Laughter and conversations filled the air as students rushed to their next activities. But for Yumi, this familiar sound didn't mark the end of her anxieties. She left the classroom quickly, hoping to avoid questions from Aelita and the others, her hurried steps echoing in the hallway like a race to escape her own thoughts.

As soon as she stepped through the door, she felt a troubling presence behind her. It wasn't a vague intuition but an almost physical sensation, like a shadow following her. A shiver ran down her spine. She turned slowly, her senses on high alert.

That's when she saw Yolande, the school nurse, heading straight toward her. Yolande's face, usually warm and friendly, was strangely expressionless, her features frozen in an impenetrable mask. But what disturbed Yumi most were her eyes. They were fixed on her with a cold, mechanical intensity that sparked a sense of terror in the young girl's heart.

"Yumi, could you accompany me to the infirmary, please? I need to talk to you," Yolande said in a strangely monotone voice, devoid of her usual empathy.

Yumi frowned, a silent alarm ringing in her mind. Something was wrong. Every instinct told her not to follow Yolande, but she also knew that refusing could be dangerous. The tension in the air was palpable, and she realized that XANA wasn't far away.

Without a word, she nodded and resigned herself to follow the nurse, hoping it was just a simple medical check. But the closer they got to the infirmary, the more the unease grew within her. The hallways, usually full of life, suddenly seemed cold and silent, as if the whole world were holding its breath.

Once inside the infirmary, Yolande closed the door behind them with calculated slowness, a gesture that seemed to resonate like a mental lock for Yumi. When she turned around, her face had taken on an almost sinister expression. Her eyes, now glowing with a sinister light, never left Yumi's.

Yumi's unease turned into a cold fear. She was ready to act, her body tense like a bowstring. Then Yolande, with a slow and precise movement, raised her hand, placing it in front of Yumi's face, her fingers spreading slightly as if to frame her face.

"What are you doing…?" Yumi began, but her voice died in her throat as a strange sensation emanated from the nurse's palm. A soft but insistent warmth, enveloping and dangerously soothing, made her shiver.

"Everything will be fine, Yumi. You need to rest," Yolande said in a soft but mechanical voice, devoid of any emotion. The words seemed rehearsed, empty of sincerity. "You're tired, aren't you? So tired…"

As if the words held a hypnotic power, Yumi felt a crushing heaviness descend upon her. Her eyelids grew heavy, each heartbeat seemed slower, and the world around her began to dissolve into a mist of artificial fatigue. She swayed on her feet, struggling to stay conscious, but it was as if all her will was melting away, sucked into this enveloping warmth.

Yolande advanced slowly, keeping her palm just inches from Yumi's face, the hypnotic effect strengthening with each step. "Yes… rest," she murmured, her voice becoming more insistent, almost sing-song. "Close your eyes… let go…"

It was at that moment that Yumi realized with icy horror that XANA had taken control of the nurse. She was no longer safe, and XANA was trying to subdue her, to render her unconscious and take her to the factory. But Yumi wasn't ready to give in. Despite the drowsiness overwhelming her, she knew she had to act, and fast. Every second counted, and she refused to become a puppet of XANA.

Gathering all the energy she had left, Yumi focused on the little strength she still felt within her. Her thoughts, blurry and disordered, zeroed in on one idea: to break free. In a desperate move, she closed her eyes and, drawing on the mysterious energy she so feared, used her telekinesis to violently hurl Yolande against the wall, breaking the hypnotic effect.

The impact was brutal. Yolande collapsed to the floor, her body hitting the wall with a dull thud. For a moment, silence fell in the infirmary, broken only by Yumi's labored breathing as she tried to collect herself. But she had barely begun to calm down when Yolande, still under XANA's control, started to get up, her movements now jerky, mechanical, almost inhuman.

"You can't escape me, Yumi," Yolande said, her voice distorted by XANA's influence, a coldness piercing each of her words. "I must take you… XANA is waiting."

Yumi, breathless, felt her heart pounding wildly. She had managed to break free once, but the possessed nurse was back on her feet, ready to complete the mission XANA had assigned her. Yolande's crazed gaze locked onto Yumi's, determined, relentless.

Without wasting a second, Yumi turned on her heel and bolted for the exit, her mind on high alert. Her legs, still trembling from the previous effort, carried her at full speed through Kadic's hallways, while behind her, Yolande's jerky steps echoed, relentlessly pursuing her target.

The chase was on, and Yumi knew she had to find a way to warn her friends before XANA succeeded in capturing her. Her determination was fierce, fueled by fear and adrenaline. She had to hold on. For herself. For her friends. For the world.


Time seemed to stretch infinitely as Yumi sprinted through Kadic's hallways, her heart pounding in her chest. Each step echoed heavily, marking her desperate flight. She had no idea how long she could hold off Yolande, but she knew she had to buy time. Every second she could steal from XANA brought her friends closer to deactivating the tower.

Her mind, usually so calm and collected, was now overwhelmed by a wave of panic. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, a raw force pushing her to run faster, think faster. The world around her became a blur, reduced to a simple maze of hallways she had to navigate to escape XANA's relentless grasp.

In her frantic dash, Yumi grabbed her phone and, with trembling hands, dialed Jeremy's number. She could barely hear the tone over the pounding of her own heart.

"Jeremy! XANA has taken control of Yolande, she's chasing me! You have to deactivate the tower, quickly!" she shouted, her voice betraying the panic she was struggling to contain. The fear threatened to overwhelm her, but she knew she had to stay lucid, that she couldn't afford to give in to it.

There was a fraction of a second of silence, then Jeremy's voice, tense but resolute, came through the line: "We're on our way to the factory, Yumi. Hold on!"

Jeremy's words were reassuring, but they didn't erase the threat that was inexorably closing in behind her. She could hear Yolande's footsteps getting closer, fast, precise, relentless like fate. The sound echoed in the hallway, a terrifying reminder of her own fear.

Yumi felt the walls closing in around her. Every turn, every closed door added to her panic. The school she knew so well was transforming before her eyes into a nightmarish labyrinth, each hallway seeming to lead her to a dead end.

"You can't run, Yumi," Yolande's voice echoed behind her, strangely metallic, cold, dehumanized. "XANA wants you… and you will belong to him."

Those words, spoken with an implacable coldness, shook Yumi to her core. She abruptly turned a corner, desperately searching for an escape route. Her eyes frantically scanned for an exit, a hiding spot, something that could give her a moment's respite.

That's when she spotted the door leading to the gym. Without thinking, she dashed inside, her body reacting before her mind could analyze the implications. The door slammed shut behind her with a sharp click, abruptly cutting off the sound of Yolande's footsteps. Yumi rushed behind the bleachers, pressing herself against the cold floor, her breath short, her chest rising and falling irregularly.

She tried to calm her breathing, each breath seeming as loud as a scream in the oppressive silence of the gym. The silence was heavy, suffocating, broken only by the regular thumping of her racing heart. But the silence didn't last. The sound of footsteps resumed, echoing through the gym, amplified by the empty space, each sound reinforcing the fear that consumed her.


Meanwhile, at the factory, the tension was palpable. Jeremy and the rest of the group were already in action, each fully aware of the urgency of the situation. Ulrich, Aelita, and Odd stood ready, their determination etched on their faces as Jeremy initiated the virtualization process.

Within seconds, they found themselves on Lyoko, their avatars materializing in the Mountain Sector. The jagged landscape, with its steep cliffs and gaping chasms, left no room for error. The red tower loomed in the distance, a sinister beacon on the edge of the precipice, a symbol of the imminent threat posed by XANA.

"She's in the Mountain Sector, right on the edge of a cliff," Jeremy explained, his tense voice echoing in their earpieces. The holographic map floated before his eyes, the glowing dots representing his friends moving quickly toward their objective. "Hurry, Yumi doesn't have much time!"

The trio dashed at full speed across the sector, every second a race against time. The Bloks soon appeared, their cannons lighting up as they tried to block the team's path. But they were ready. Ulrich drew his sabers, his movements precise and swift, each strike slicing through the monsters with deadly efficiency. Beside him, Odd dodged the shots with agility, retaliating with his laser arrows that hit their mark every time.

Aelita, meanwhile, kept her eyes fixed on the red tower shining in the distance, her face marked by intense concentration. She knew time was running out, and every second won in this battle brought Yumi closer to freedom. She deftly avoided enemy fire, weaving gracefully between attacks, determined to reach the tower.

"We're almost there!" Ulrich shouted, his voice full of hope as the tower rapidly approached. Their efforts seemed to be paying off, but the danger was not yet averted.


Back at Kadic, Yumi's situation was growing increasingly desperate. The oppressive silence of the gym only amplified the fear gripping her. She could feel Yolande's menacing presence drawing nearer, each step echoing like a hammer in her mind, the trap tightening around her.

Suddenly, a creaking sound broke the silence. Yumi realized with horror that the gym door had opened. A cold shiver of terror ran down her spine. Yolande had entered, her silhouette stark against the dim light of the gym, her eyes locked on Yumi with a vacant, inhuman stare.

"Don't run, Yumi," Yolande said, her monotone voice echoing through the gym, the echo spreading into every corner, like a serpent coiling around her. "It will be easier if you stop resisting…"

Yolande's tone, cold and unyielding, seemed to drain all warmth, all strength to resist. Yumi crouched further behind the bleachers, trying to disappear, to escape this waking nightmare. But the fear kept growing within her, a visceral, paralyzing fear.

"No… No, I have to hold on… They're going to deactivate the tower…" she whispered to herself, trying to convince herself, to avoid succumbing to panic. But every word she spoke was a struggle, a battle against the terror threatening to engulf her.

The sound of Yolande's footsteps grew closer, slow, measured, relentless. Yumi knew her friends were close to deactivating the tower, but every passing second seemed to bring her closer to capture. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, trying to hold onto something, to avoid drowning in the fear consuming her.

It was a race against time, and time seemed on the verge of stopping.


On Lyoko, the battle raged on, but Aelita, focused and determined, finally reached the tower. Without wasting a second, she dove inside, finding herself in the ethereal, familiar space that constituted the tower's interface. Numbers and symbols flashed before her eyes, but her mind remained focused on one thing: deactivating the threat.

Outside, Ulrich and Odd fought relentlessly against the Bloks attacking them. Every swing of Ulrich's saber was precise, methodical, slicing through the enemies like a razor. Odd, with his usual agility, leaped from point to point, his laser arrows streaking through the air to take down the Bloks attempting to surround them.

"Hurry, Aelita!" Jeremy exclaimed from the control room, his gaze fixed on the screens, closely monitoring the indicators reflecting the critical state of the situation. The anxiety was mounting, each second seeming longer than the last, Yumi's fate hanging in the balance.

Aelita, her fingers trembling with adrenaline, began entering the code with feverish precision. The letters "L-Y-O-K-O" appeared one by one on the holographic screen. She felt the tension dissipate as she completed the code entry, but she knew that until the process was complete, the danger remained imminent.

Finally, she pressed the final key. The tower, which had been emitting a menacing red light, suddenly changed color, shifting to a pure, brilliant white. A beam of light shot from the center of the tower, spreading across the entire sector like a wave of purifying energy, instantly deactivating XANA's forces and restoring peace to Lyoko.

Simultaneously, in Kadic's gym, Yolande, who had been about to seize Yumi, stopped dead. Her eyes, once vacant and expressionless, widened, and a spasm ran through her body. Then, without a word, she collapsed heavily to the floor, inert, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The threat looming over Yumi had vanished, at least for the moment.

Yumi slowly emerged from her hiding spot, still in shock. Her legs trembled, and she had to hold onto one of the bleachers to keep from collapsing. The relief of knowing the immediate danger had passed was mixed with a deep-seated terror that continued to gnaw at her. She was safe, but deep down, she knew this respite would only be temporary. XANA wouldn't stop there. He would return, more determined than ever.


Shortly afterward, the team regrouped in the supercomputer room, their faces etched with worry and fatigue. Jeremy, already immersed in analyzing the data, typed furiously on his keyboard, his eyes glued to the lines of code scrolling rapidly on his screens. His face, usually calm and composed, was now marked by an unusual gravity.

"The XANA specter that possessed Yolande had plenty of energy to spare, no doubt," he said in a tense voice, his fingers still flying over the keys. He paused, his gaze hardening as he tried to understand the motives behind this attack. "But why target you directly, Yumi? Usually, he goes after the whole group."

His words hung in the air, creating a silence heavy with meaning. The others exchanged perplexed looks, each trying to find an explanation for XANA's new strategy. Until now, XANA had always attacked in a way that weakened the entire group, but this time, he had specifically targeted Yumi, raising many questions.

"Maybe he wants to weaken her first, then go after us?" Aelita suggested, her tone thoughtful but tinged with palpable worry. She had never seen Yumi so vulnerable, and the idea that XANA had found a way to divide them from within terrified her.

Yumi looked away, her mind swirling with confused thoughts. She felt increasingly guilty for not telling her friends everything, but the fear of their reactions, of their misunderstanding, paralyzed her. How could she explain something she didn't even understand herself? How could she tell them she had felt this shadow, this oppressive presence, growing within her?

Jeremy, who had stopped typing, looked up and fixed his blue eyes on her, a mix of concern and suspicion in his gaze. "Yumi, are you okay?" he asked, his voice gentle but firm, as if trying to uncover the mystery surrounding his friend.

Yumi opened her mouth to speak, to tell them everything, but the words stuck in her throat. Hesitation gripped her, and she could only muster a vague response, disappointing even to her own ears. "Just… a bit shaken, I suppose."

Odd, who had been standing back until now, stepped forward, an unusually serious expression on his usually playful face. "I don't know, Yumi. You haven't seemed well for a few days. Are you sure everything's okay?" He searched her eyes, trying to catch a clue that might confirm or deny his suspicions.

Ulrich, standing beside her, never took his eyes off her. He had that protective intensity that was so characteristic of him, that fierce determination to watch over those he loved. "We're your friends, Yumi. If something's wrong, you can tell us anything." His voice was gentle, but it carried a firmness that wouldn't tolerate lies.

Yumi lowered her eyes, unable to meet their worried gazes. The grip of guilt tightened around her. She wanted to tell them everything, to reveal the terror that consumed her, but the words eluded her. "I told you… you'll be the first to know if something's wrong," she finally said, her voice weak, almost a whisper. But she knew that this promise, like the ones before it, was just another lie.


Night fell over Kadic, wrapping the school in a silent darkness. The hallways, usually bustling with activity, were now deserted, bathed in the pale light of the outdoor lamps. After such an exhausting day, the others had returned to the dormitory, their minds weighed down by the recent events. But Yumi hadn't had the courage to follow them. She had used the excuse of a late assignment to stay behind, far from her friends' scrutinizing eyes.

The truth was, she didn't dare face them, not until she understood what was happening to her. Every time she met their eyes, she felt the weight of their worry, their expectations, and it paralyzed her. She needed time, solitude, to understand this shadow growing within her.

Yumi headed to the park, the same place where it had all begun, hoping the cool night air would help clear her thoughts. The cold wind caressed her face, brushing against her skin like a distant whisper. The leaves rustled softly, creating a natural melody that contrasted with the turmoil of her thoughts.

Sitting on the same bench where she had once felt the first manifestation of her power, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The silence of the park was soothing, almost comforting, but it couldn't chase away the anxiety gnawing at her from within.

"What's happening to me?" she murmured to herself, her voice lost in the wind. The words were laden with despair, a silent prayer for an answer she knew she couldn't obtain.

But the silence offered no response. Instead, a strange heaviness settled in her mind, a sense of oppression, as if something invisible was slowly creeping into her. This shadow, which she had never noticed before, seemed to be growing, feeding on her fears and doubts. For the first time, Yumi felt true terror, not of what surrounded her, but of what was happening inside her.

The sensation of not being alone in her own thoughts, as if someone or something was watching her from within, made her shiver. She abruptly stood up from the bench, her eyes wide with fear. This presence, this shadow, was not normal. Was it XANA? Had he managed to infiltrate her, to slip into her mind and control her from within?

"No… No, I can't let that happen," she murmured, her heart racing. Her breathing quickened, the panic growing as the idea took shape. She had to fight this shadow, but how could she battle something she couldn't even see, something she couldn't understand?

Despite her resolve, Yumi knew this shadow wouldn't disappear so easily. It was there, lurking in the darkness of her mind, and it was growing, threatening to take control. For the first time, Yumi realized she might not be strong enough to face what was coming, and that thought terrified her more than anything else.

Under the starry sky of Kadic, Yumi stood alone, a shadow on her heart, a fear that would only grow until she found the answers to her questions. But she knew she wouldn't have the luxury of time. XANA wouldn't wait for her.