Jeremie typed frantically on the computer's keyboard from where he sat in his chair. "Jeremie, how much farther?" Odd asked, his voice ringing loudly from the headset that hung over Jeremie's left ear.
"20 more degrees south,"
"Copy that, Einstein!" The blonde rolled his eyes but continued typing. The elevator doors suddenly crackled to life and he spun around in his chair, eyes widening in fear. Once the doors were fully open, Ulrich limped out with a hand to his stomach, blood streaming lazily out from between his fingers. Jeremie gave a sigh of relief and hopped down from his chair.
"Ulrich, it's good to see ya. Are you okay?" The brunette glanced up at him before leaning back against one of the Factory walls and sliding down onto the floor, panting heavily as he did so.
"If by that you mean being shot by a laser in the stomach and shoulder and bleeding everywhere… than yeah… I'm fine," The young boy genius grinned, if Ulrich could manage to turn on the sarcasm during a Xana attack, then he was fine.
"Well, that's good," He helped the brunette off the floor and guided him over to the Supercomputer. Jeremie typed something on his keyboard before helping Ulrich sit in the chair. "How are you three doing out there?"
"Fine, ugh! Damn, Creeper! That was my tail!" growled Odd. Jeremie smiled and Ulrich chuckled before leaning towards the computer screen.
"Wow, Odd. You sure do know how to make getting hit by a Creeper interesting,"
"Huh?! Ulrich is that you?!" The brunette smiled.
"The one and only, good buddy,"
"You're alive!"
"Yeah, makes you think that I was dead?"
"Jeremie told us about the Krab and Creeper assault before his cameras went out and described how you got shot in the shoulder and stomach… by the way," The kitty boy paused and you could hear the sound of a laser arrow hitting against a creature's skin as it devirtualized. "Are the shots really that bad?" Ulrich gave a sad smile.
"Yeah, worse than you think, bud,"
"Worse how?" came Aelita's voice as she and Yumi joined Odd behind the cover of a large boulder.
"Let's just say that I'm not looking forward to learning about the digestive system in Ms. Keller's class later today,"
"That bad?" asked Yumi, worry lacing through her soft voice.
"Yeah… that bad and probably even worse,"
"Sorry to interrupt the chat but you guys have to get to the tower before Xana sends the monsters to the Factory," Jeremie said urgently. Before either of the teens in Lyoko could reply, a loud bang was heard from the elevator. A quick second later, the doors fell from the hinges and one of the Krabs from earlier stepped out.
"I think it's a bit too late for that Jeremie," Ulrich said bitterly. Before the boy genius could reply, the Krab took aim and shot a laser at Ulrich. The brunette took the shot to his already injured right shoulder and went flying into the far wall with a loud bone-shattering bam! "Oomph!"
"Jeremie, what's happening?!" cried Yumi.
"A Krab just shot Ulrich in the shoulder!" The brunette stood up from his position by the wall, holding his head in his hands.
"Yeah, you might also want to add a very bad migraine headache to the list Jer," The Krab let out a screech and knocked the young boy off his feet and onto the ground before Jeremie could reply. It raised one of its legs and stabbed the brunette dead center on the chest. "Graagh!"
"Damn!" Jeremie grabbed a pipe and smashed it into the over-sized crustacean's back. It screeched and knocked him back with one of its free legs. The boy genius fell flat on his back with a thud, the pipe he held slipped out of his hand and went skidding across the floor, hitting the far wall with a loud clank! "Uh oh," The Krab turned away from Ulrich and began stalking towards the genius. Ulrich gritted his teeth in pain as the long, spindly leg of the creature ripped quickly out of his chest. Blood spurted out of the large, ragged hole and splashed all over the floor and ran messily down the front of his green t-shirt. He slowly sat up, pressing a hand to his chest. His eyes widened when he saw the Krab heading straight towards Jeremie, who was now defenseless. Swallowing back a groan, the young brunette stood and rushed towards the Krab. He jumped off the ground at the last second and landed right on the top of its shell. It screeched and began spinning around wildly, trying to throw the attacker off of its back.
"Jeremie, go find that pipe you were just using. I can use it to destroy the Krab!" The genius nodded and scrambled to his feet. He ran to the far right wall and began sifting through the piles of rubble. After what seemed like ages, he finally found the long, sharpened pipe he had been holding moments ago.
"Ulrich, here!" He quickly snatched up the pipe and hurled it in Ulrich's direction. The brunette caught it with one hand and positioned it over the Krabs shell. Then with a final burst of strength, he brought down with all the strength he could muster and stabbed the Krab's eye of Xana, piercing it all the way through. He quickly jumped off the creature's back as it exploded with a loud, ear-shattering screech. Jeremie ran over to Ulrich, who was standing up from where he had taken cover behind the Holosphere. "Are you alright?" The brunette gave a nod before giving a strangled cough. Blood eroded from the corners of his mouth and ran down the sides of his neck. He fell onto the ground with a muffled thud and didn't move. "Ulrich!" Jeremie knelt down beside him and pressed two of his fingers to the side of the brunette's neck, feeling a faint thu-thump against his fingertips. "He's still breathing," he mumbled. He quickly scrambled to his feet and raced over to the Supercomputer. "Guys? Guys, are you there?!"
"Yeah, we're here, Jeremie," came Odd's voice.
"Are you guys to the tower yet?"
"No. We're about another mile away from it, why?"
"Ulrich's hurt!" cried Jeremie.
"What? Why, what happened?" cried Yumi.
"A-A Krab knocked him over and stabbed him right in the chest!"
"Where at?" asked Aelita.
"D-Dead center," The three teens in Lyoko went silent as they continued running over the icy ground of the Ice Sector.
"Is… is he dead?" Odd asked after a moment.
"No, he's still alive," He heard the three give a sigh of relief. "But barely," Yumi gave a sharp gasp. "So hurry and get to the tower or else he's going to die and we all know the Return To The Past doesn't bring back the dead!"
"On our way, Jeremie! The tower's in our sights now!" replied Odd.
"Good, hurry!" The genius then quickly hopped out of his chair and raced over to Ulrich. He quickly took his pulse again and his eyes widened, feeling an even fainter thu-thump against his fingers. "Damn!" He quickly looked around the Factory, looking for something to press against the wound in Ulrich's chest. His eyes found nothing and he growled, hitting his fist against the floor. His eyes suddenly fell on a green bandana hanging from the left pocket of Ulrich's jeans. Quickly reaching forward, Jeremie snatched it and folded it in half. He pressed it against Ulrich's chest, feeling the muscles in his arms tense immediately when he felt the warm, sickening feel of blood against his bandana covered hand. "Shit… c'mon guys! Hurry it up!" The Supercomputer suddenly beeped, signaling that the tower was deactivated and he smiled, pumping his free hand in the air. "Yes!" Ulrich's chest suddenly stopped moving and the genius' eyes widened. "No. No, no, no! Ulrich! Ulrich, wake up!" The brunette didn't stir and Jeremie shook him. "Ulrich, c'mon… don't die on me!" Once again the boy didn't stir and Jeremie's chest tightened. He scrambled to his feet and raced over to the Supercomputer. He clicked a few keys before pressing the 'enter' button. "Return To The Past now!" A white bubbled erupted from the computer's screen and spread out across the Factory and the city of Paris.