Banding Together

A/N: I'm out of school tomorrow again! D: We have to study for finals! Ugh! We were out today too because of snow, but my mom was on *another* cleaning spree so we cleaned most of today. Though, it's nice to have days off, we need the studying. Anyway, my awesome reviewers!:

Kilo'E'Prowers: Eh, I'm too lazy to find the line break button on this thing. XD And the line breaks bug me a bit. XD I don't know why. Lol.

lyokodreamer: Yeah, it's worked out nicely up till now. X3 I type it on my computer with five dashes, but turns it to one. XD

flyboy961: I really don't want people asking me every time who was being followed. XD It's happened a lot in the past. XD

YoruichiKittyCat16: XD Thank you. X3

Onto the story!

-Ulrich-

He bolted up in bed and grabbed his shoulder as pain seared through it. Next time I ask you to stop talking, please do so.

Sorry Ulrich… I didn't mean for you to get hurt, okay?

I don't blame you, Jeremie… I just want you to know that I hope you'll listen next time I ask you not to talk during a fight. Ulrich looked around the room and realized that whoever had brought him here had brought him to Kadic and into Jeremie's room.

"I see you're awake, Mr. Stern," the principal said as he entered the room one minute later.

Jeremie, fill me in. Did you hear anything while I was out? Who brought me here?

Yumi. She was worried.

Greeeeeeeeeeeeat… Ulrich stared at Mr. Delmas and waited for him to speak again.

"Your parents have been worried sick. Where have you been for the past year?" he finally asked.

Ulrich looked away from Mr. Delmas and scowled. Yumi needs to learn to keep her mouth shut.

"I could turn you over to the police, you know?" Mr. Delmas told him.

"I know, but you won't."

He raised his eyebrow and looked down at Ulrich. "And why won't I?"

"You won't remember all this after long. Trust me."

"There are security cameras so that if you attack me others will know."

"I'm not going to attack you."

"Then how are you going to get away?"

Think I should try to run now?
Give me a few more moments and I might be able to hack into the supercomputer's mainframe to begin a return to the past.

I'm putting my faith in you. Ulrich stared at Mr. Delmas. "I refuse to tell you."

"You know you're just making matters worse for yourself. Do you realize that people are putting you as the biggest suspect in the disappearance of Jeremie Belpois now?"

Ulrich nodded. He'd decided a long time ago that if he re-appeared to anyone that he'd get in the situation before long and he'd be targeted as Jeremie's kidnapper. "I didn't do anything to him, though."

"I don't think you would, but the police and Jeremie's father don't agree."

"They don't know me."

"I know. They only one that can truly tell us that you didn't is Jeremie. Do you know where he is?"

Just about in…

Hurry. I can't hold off his questions much longer.

"Ulrich, do you know where he is?"

Ulrich shook his head. "I'm not even sure why I'm here anymore…"

"What do you mean?"

"It's complicated. It would take years to explain and I don't have that long. I'm sorry, Mr. Delmas, but I can't allow myself to be held here any longer. I have urgent matters I must attend to." He stood up on the bed and ran out the door past Mr. Delmas and pushed himself to super sprint toward the factory.

-Odd-

"Yumi, I kind of agree, but we still shouldn't have betrayed his trust like that. We only just got him back here and this could be what makes him leave again," Odd told her at breakfast.

"He wouldn't have been able to fix that cut in his shoulder had I not brought him back here…" Yumi said.

"We're not going to play the blame game or start yelling at each other. If anything, we need to make sure that he's still around and tell him that we're helping him now. There's nothing that he could say that could make me change my mind," Aelita told them.

The other two nodded in silent agreement.

After breakfast they agreed to meet up at the factory and search for Ulrich after they went through the return to the past.

(*)(*)(*)(*) At the Factory that Afternoon (*)(*)(*)(*)

When they walked in Ulrich was busying typing away on the supercomputer like he always was.

"Ulrich, we need to talk," Aelita said.

Ulrich spun around and grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you alright..?" Yumi asked carefully.

"What do you think? You told Mr. Delmas and forced me to do a return to the past. Do you really think I'm alright at all, Yumi?" he snapped.

"We're just worried about you, Ulrich…" Odd told him frowning.

"If you were worried you'd leave me alone. I refuse to go back to school while everyone is still in danger," he told them, facing the computer again.

"Don't bite our heads off for trying to help you," Yumi told him,

-Jeremie-

He hated seeing his friends fight and decided to go into a memory a few months after Ulrich had left Kadic.

=====Flashback=====

Ulrich frowned. "Jeremie, you know that doesn't make sense. All the laws of the world are against you."

Do you really believe that Lyoko or anything in or involving it has anything to do with the laws of the world? You'd be wrong, Ulrich.

He sighed. "We need a way to get you out…"

Don't I know it?

"I think the police lost my trail finally," he commented, remembering when he'd left his phone back in the knot of a tree.

Yeah. They can track a cell phone signal so, it's a good idea to keep it hidden.

Ulrich nodded. "Xana and them found me that way, too… It'll keep them chasing us so we can lead them away from Kadic."

Jeremie left the memory. The rest was blurry and almost forgotten. It was the first time that Ulrich had thought he'd seen Odd, Yumi, or Aelita following him. It had seemed to tear him to pieces back then.

-Ulrich-

At that moment he really wished that he'd listened to Jeremie back a few days ago and hadn't come at all. He sorely missed the times he could sit alone and think or work at the computer. He realized why Jeremie had liked it so much. His shoulder burst with pain as the alarm went off that Xane was coming.

"Are you sure you're alright, Ulrich?" Yumi asked.

Ulrich sighed as the pain split through his arm again. "Really," he grunted out. "I'm fine, okay?"

Yumi frowned and shook her head in disapproval. "Leave this to us, okay? We can handle better when we're all together."

Odd nodded in agreement.

"I have to agree with them. Ulrich, you've done this by yourself for a year and now it's time to join the group again," Aelita told him.

He stood up and went to the door. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to you guys due to my mistakes…"

"What do you mean?" they asked in unison.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he remembered when Jeremie had asked him the same question and he'd almost tripped with surprise. "You don't remember a year or so ago when all this really began? I let Xane manipulate me. Jeremie would still be here if I hadn't listened to Xane back then. Jeremie would still be here if I could have protected everyone here better. Jeremie would still be here if-"

"Don't beat yourself up," Odd said putting his hand on his hip.

"We all make mistakes. It's part of how we are," Aelita told Ulrich.

"Let us help and you'll be able to get things fixed faster, wouldn't you agree?" Yumi asked.

Ulrich sighed.

They're right, y'know…

And if they get hurt because of me?

Like Odd said, don't beat yourself up. It's not all your fault that Xane did that to you. And just by refusing help you won't get anything accomplished and I'll disappear.

Alright. "Come on, then. What weapons do you have?"

"I'm using my energy fields," Aelita stated as she had one hover above her head.

"I'm using these," Odd stated holding up a pair of what looked like a bunch of thin spikes. "They fit between your fingers without scratching you. They're like claws."

Yumi held up knives that were created for throwing. "I'll use these and my telepathy."

Ulrich nodded. "I hope you've practiced. Xane's hard to beat."

A/N: If there's anything that you'd like to see in this, please let me know. For part three, is there anything specific that you'd like to see me tell? Like, years later and what happens? No part three? Ummm… Anything else. Anyway, thanks for reading!