Class had started. It was maths, one of the subjects Ulrich kept on failing in every test. He tried studying many times, but somehow he fails a lot. He wished it didn't happen this way. They laugh at him a lot in class. He's probably way dumber than Odd. Odd proved Ms. Hertz he was smart once, if only that time wasn't erased. On the other hand, Ulrich was getting more dumber day by day, week by week, month by month. His life is destined to decay.
During the science class, Ulrich had heard Jeremy's computer giving faint beeping. Recognising it, Ulrich knew straight away there was an activated tower in Lyoko.
"XANA has launched an attack.", Jeremy said in low voice so only Odd and Aelita could hear.
"What?", Odd exclaimed.
"We have 2 minutes left before class ends. We'll head to the factory right after class.", Jeremy said.
Ulrich eavesdropped them. He was right, the beeping from Jeremy's computer alarmed them about an activated tower. He wished he was with them, taking on XANA's monsters. Was he right to go solo? He was once seen as the best fighter on Lyoko, all the more reason why XANA had to draw its strongest monsters over Ulrich's way. It feels like he made a mistake, yet he has the impression he was doing fine. It's his weakness that's forcing him to not reach his full potential. What is his weakness?
"Have you had the desire to just win through power?"
The voice came again. It seems to be trying to help Ulrich, it seems to understand Ulrich's pain. It has probably noticed Ulrich had once or twice in class glanced at his former friends. It really does want to help him. The acceptance is delayed because Ulrich is hesitant about embracing it.
"Stern"
Oh no, Ulrich snapped back into reality. He realised he was daydreaming again.
"Perhaps you could tell us how to factorise a quadratic equation, considering you are continuously staring into space without any focus on class", Mrs. Meyer, the maths teacher, said.
"Uh...", Ulrich not sure how to explain in factorising a quadratic equation. He isn't even sure if he paid attention on what the question is.
Mrs. Meyer knew Ulrich wasn't listening, being extremely disappointed with him. "That's what I thought", she said.
Afterwards, the whole class stormed with laughter.
Unknown to Ulrich, Aelita had noticed Ulrich eavesdropped on Jeremy's brief conversation, which she believes is what caused Ulrich to lose focus on class. She didn't bother telling Jeremy about it due to her sympathy for Ulrich. Nobody shared the same sympathy Aelita had for him. The friendship between herself and Ulrich is compared to that of siblings, brother and sister bond. Aelita wished she would help Ulrich just like how many times Ulrich helped her. He's all alone, and treated by the Kadic students as though he is invisible.
A sudden burst that came from the door as if there was explosion, which wasn't. Every classmate, and the teacher, looked at the door. They just now saw Ulrich stormed off.
A river of chatting exchanged between the class.
Odd, Aelita and Jeremy exchanged glances.
Aelita had the impression Jeremy and Odd are not worried about Ulrich. They've grown their distance from him. Well Aelita hasn't. Unfortunately, she can't pursue Ulrich with the danger of XANA looming over Kadic Academy.
Elsewhere...
A knife pulled out, Ulrich marks a cut on his arm again. It's the tenth cut he drew since he was thrown out by his own friends. He ignores the pain. He grins and bears it.
Ulrich stands up. He tosses the knife away, seeing no way this can resolve his endless agony. He tried to, it only worsened his life. Why isn't he dead? He hasn't eaten for days, and he is still alive.
"You cannot escape the inevitable, Ulrich."
Ulrich presses his hands over his forehead. "Why can't you leave me alone?!", he questioned the mysterious voice.
"Because unlike the friends who betrayed you, I want to help you."
His head lowered. He feels the mist shrouding him in a peculiar way. He admits his friends have never helped him cheer up, especially after the seeds of jealousy started to grow. Either being friends with them or not, they wouldn't mend his pain. He raises his head, showing his acceptance to the darkness.
"Good, now lower you hand down to what you see below"
Ulrich looks down, seeing a creature with a shape of a scorpion. Its tail was steadily positioned. It was waiting for his arm to reach the creature's tail. He was a little afraid of getting stung by a tail. In Lyoko, pain was never a issue, whereas the real world, pain is unbearable. Ulrich nevertheless reaches his hand toward the creature's tail. After his skin touched the tail, Ulrich feels the stung. Slowly, he lost conscious until everything around him turned black.