Author's note: Merci pour les reviews/favourite/follow. I just thought saying 'thank you' in French would be nice ;). I've been struggling with this chapter. But I loved to write it. Sounds somewhat like a contradiction. Yes, I believe the word is 'contradiction'. I hope the result will please/satisfy you. Enjoy?!

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko! Only my imagination:)!

Chapter 4: Together and apart

Ulrich saw six crabs. "Great, my favourites," Ulrich said sarcastically. XANA had sent other monsters to the forest as well, but Ulrich was unaware of that, since they were spread out across the entire forest. Ulrich searched the ground for something that could serve as weapon.

Before he even looked up again, the crabs shot lasers at Ulrich, one after another. Ulrich wasn't in a great shape to confront them. However, Ulrich skillfully dodged all lasers. He ducked to avoid three lasers in front of him. He rolled over to the left to prevent getting hit from the right. While flat on the ground, he jumped with almost all the strength he had left to dodge five lasers. Ulrich had forgotten about number six, which was basically standing above him. The crab shot and Ulrich's leg was hit. "Aaah!" Ulrich screamed, grabbing his leg, affected by the pain.

He noticed his leg was bleeding and he knew he had to hide until he had found useful tools that could be used as weapons. Behind the crab that wounded him, Ulrich had spotted two thick branches, which had fallen from a tree. Ulrich crawled under the crab, dragging his leg with him. At the same time, the other crabs were still firing their lasers, which cut off the sixth crab's legs.

Ulrich got up and limped towards the branches. He picked them up, examining them for a while. "Just like my sabers, except the sharp endings are missing," Ulrich thought, relieved he had found something to defend himself with. He watched the crab that could no longer stand, since his legs were gone. "Consider it a payback, even when your fellow crab mates are the cause of your trouble," Ulrich said, grinning satisfied.

Two crabs quickly ran towards Ulrich, who swung the branches as fast and as hard as he could. The left crab stumbled and ended up lying on top of the second crab. Ulrich was astonished that he had taken down the crabs that easily. It only was a small victory and Ulrich would have time to celebrate later. First, he needed a safe place to take care of his wound and search for a better weapon. It was obvious he wouldn't last long enough with the branches that were in his possession.

Meanwhile at Yumi's house...

Yumi did two back flips and within seconds she stood next to the small table and near to the place she had dropped the stick. A lot of time seemed to have passed. Yet, it was only two minutes. Yumi wondered if she would ever return to her normal life. Yes, for her normal included near death experiences, facing XANA attacks, battling monsters and fighting along her best friends in a virtual world.

The tarantulas began firing lasers and Yumi dodged rapidly, spinning and flipping around the room. She kicked the tarantula in front of her in the face causing it to turn around. She then moved into the splits position to avoid the lasers of the tarantulas on either side of her. The lasers raged over her head destroying both of them immediately afterwards. "Two down, three to go," Yumi sighed, she just wanted to know if her friends were all right. She stared off into the distance.

Suddenly, blue lasers circled around her with incredible speed, forming a wall around her. Yumi was trapped and secluded from her surroundings by the blue wall. Yumi desperately started looking for a weak spot, somewhere she could break through. Instead she discovered numbers in the wall. It took her a while to realize that the blue lasers actually consisted of numbers only. She was enclosed by something digital. "A computer program?" Yumi wondered. Yumi felt nothing but anger and she had a strong urge to scream loudly. But, oblivious of the reason, she could only cry.

She snapped out of her emotional mood, when she flew up in the air. "What's happening?!" Yumi shouted frantically. Then she was thrown against the wall of the living room. Pain was all she felt that moment, as if a lot of bones were broken. The blue lasers approached her and she couldn't do anything. Yumi could not move. Her body was held still with so much force, which seemed to be pushing her through the wall. Blue became black and then a sudden white flash appeared. Yumi firmly closed her eyes, not wanting to be blinded by brightness.

All that followed was a thud and an unconscious Yumi was lying on the ground.

Meanwhile in the forest...

Ulrich wandered the forest for almost an hour, until he found a shed. He opened the door and closed it with caution. He glanced across the shed until his gaze dropped on a girl lying on the ground. "Yumi!" Ulrich yelled. Swiftly he ran towards her, forgetting about his aching leg. He stumbled next to Yumi and shove to her. "Yumi, are you all right? Talk to me," Ulrich said, fearing something really bad had happened. He gently took her in his arms and stroked her hair out of her face. Yumi opened her eyes and she saw Ulrich. "Yumi, what happened?" Ulrich asked with a trembling voice. Yumi smiled, comforted by her good friend, hearing his caring tone. Yumi trusted him more than anyone.

After some time, Yumi had regained most of her strength. In the meantime, Ulrich had found a helpful first aid kit and useful sharp tools in a closet. Ulrich and Yumi would need them because he had seen blocks and tarantulas in the forest as well. He took some of the bandage to treat his wound. Luck had been on his side for a change, because the wound was not very deep. With great difficulty he managed to bind it around his leg. "Let me help you," Yumi said. "No, you should rest. After hearing your story, I have nothing to complain about. I'm fine," Ulrich said in a rather blunt way, but one could still hear his concern. Ulrich flinched because the bandage was bound too tightly. Yumi ignored Ulrich and carefully treated him, bandaging his wound correctly. When she was finished, Ulrich looked at her. They held each other's gaze, staring at one another for a while. Yumi and Ulrich both realized it and immediately blushed.

"Thank you," Ulrich paused, "Yumi, I..." He was interrupted by a loud and strange noise. They heard multiple heavy footsteps and then they were able to identify the sounds. "The monsters," Yumi and Ulrich said in unison. Respectively, they took an ax and a saw. Ulrich also attached a belt around his waist with several screwdrivers and Yumi figured out some knifes would be helpful and slid them in her belt, which was exactly the same as Ulrich's belt. "Are you ready?" Ulrich asked Yumi. "Ready," she replied.

Once again, after waiting long enough, Ulrich opened the door cautiously. He peered through the opening to see if everything was clear. He did not know why, but he softly grabbed Yumi's hand and they walked out of the shed. Yumi smiled and blushed again. However, she held up her ax - ready to strike any second - which hid her face. Ulrich did not see her reaction. Together they continued their quest to return to their world as they knew it.

Meanwhile with Odd and Aelita...

Aelita had almost squished Odd's hand when they travelled forwards. "I know you are strong, Princess, but was it necessary to squeeze my hand that hard," Odd said as he started to laugh. He had regretted his remark, when he saw Aelita's sad face, she was crying. He hadn't even thought of her true feelings that time. "I am sure that your father and mother are very proud of you, Aelita," Odd said, attempting to cheer her up a bit. Aelita smiled a little and wiped away her tears. "Thank you," she whispered. "To be honest, it isn't only my past I've been thinking about lately, it's also my parents,"Aelita explained, admitting that she appreciated Odd's comment.

They stood in front of the elevator and pushed the button. Odd and Aelita waited patiently, while the elevator was coming up. Its' door opened and kankrelats, crabs and creepers were revealed. Odd estimated that there were thirty monsters. Aelita froze. She had actually thought that XANA would just give her instructions. Odd yanked her away from the monsters, which aimed for them. "Come on, Aelita, we have to get out of here!" Odd shouted. Aelita was brought to her senses again. "Aelita, run to the lab, I'll hold them off," Odd said. She nodded in agreement and quickly ran to the stairs leading to the corridor. Odd watched her leave. For now they would have to fight separately.

Aelita climbed down the ladder and sat in the chair in front of the screens. No message from XANA. However, something strange caught her attention. There was a weak signal. Someone was virtualized on Lyoko, but who? And why was the signal so weak?