Okay this is my first Code Lyoko fic, and I'm new here too, so please bear with me! I'll do the best I can! The title is based on Linkin Park's song "Easier To Run". If you've never heard it you should...haha. Now, on with the story. This will have romance, so for you Ulrich and Yumi fans, it will come! And it is rated PG-13 for some suicidal thoughts and such like that. I hope you enjoy it and please read and review!

It was a peaceful night, and Ulrich was laying on his bed, thinking hard. He was having trouble concentrating during classes now, and his mind always wandered away. After what had happened to him in Lyoko, he couldn't utter a word to his friends, and if he did, he would suffer. He remembered the day that he met Xana face to face....

Flashback:

"You'll never win!" A voice boomed. It rung in Ulrich's ears as he looked up and saw Xana. He wasn't exactly human looking, but he didn't look like he was virtual. He stared the young boy down with his evil gaze, and Ulrich stared right back.

"I will...and I will eliminate you forever!" Ulrich pointed at Xana, who laughed.

"You have a strong will and good perseverance. You would be good for my plans." He thought about this as Ulrich twitched his nose.

"Never will I work for you!" He stared Xana in the eyes again, this time you could see pure hatred. Xana had a twisted smile on his face that made Ulrich's stomach turn.

"Oh...I think you will. I want you to lure the others here, so that I may eliminate them. And then I can do whatever I want without you stopping me!" He said with much assurance in his voice. Ulrich still didn't move. Bound and determined, he didn't want to do this for Xana. He would never betray his friends that way.

"Yeah right. I would never betray my friends to help you." Ulrich was now pissed off, and Xana knew it. He might as well get right to the point.

"See this chip? I programmed it so that whenever you tried to tell your friends about my plan or to help them, I will torment you on the inside." Xana's evil smile stayed pasted on his face, and Ulrich didn't like it.

"What makes you think I'm going to put that piece of shit on?" Ulrich said, clenching his fists tightly.

"Oh I'm not giving you a choice." Xana said, and with that he pulled out a small laser type gun and shot right at Ulrich's arm. He fell over in pain, clutching his arm. It took all of his life points away too, but he didn't disappear as fast as he usually does.
"Ulrich! What happened! Your life points are gone but you are still there!" Jeremy's voice was fuzzy, but he could hear him.

Xana pulled Ulrich off of the ground and held him to his face with a menacing look.

"Not a word of this, or I will kill you first, and you will be virtual, and I will make you watch your friends suffer." Xana threatened, and then Ulrich devirtualized and came back through the scanner.

End Flashback

He couldn't say a word to them? They were his friends, and he needed to. But if he did, he would suffer first, and then he had to watch their suffering. He didn't know which was worse. His dilemma was enormous, and he didn't know what to do.

He looked down at the arm that Xana had injected the chip into. It was fused into him, and he couldn't get rid of it or escape from it. He thought it would be easier to run, but it doesn't look so simple anymore...Xana knew where he was and every step he made. Every thought he could read, even the ones he had about....

"Yumi..." Ulrich muttered to himself as he turned over on his bed and looked at a picture of a smiling Yumi. He had to protect her and keep her safe...but he couldn't now unless he wanted to die. He was bound to fate...

Woot! That more of a prologue, but I hope you like it! I don't know if Xana is an acutal body thing that you can see, but in my story he is, so there! Haha, tell me what you think! Review please! Flames will be used against those who dish 'em out! Mwuaahahaha! O.o And I know that they can't die virtually...so don't say anything about that. I have a plot, so...just go wit da flow!