(A/N) Unfortunately, I do not own Code: Lyoko. But I do own this story. Enjoy!

He's Back!

The piercing ring of the school bell signaled the end of another day. Jeremy and Odd were walking down the hall towards the gym field and their favorite bench. They spotted Yumi go the opposite direction with Theo beside her. Odd was putting on a set of headphones when Jeremy spoke quietly.

"I wonder what Ulrich would do if he saw Yumi with Theo," he said as he opened the doors.

Pausing only to grunt in confusion, Odd turned on his headphones. Playing his music loud enough for Jeremy to hear, Odd began humming to the beat of the song. Sitting down on the bench, Jeremy opened his laptop and immersed himself in his project.

Feeling restless with the fast paced song ringing in his ears, Odd wandered off. Without paying much attention to where he was going, Odd soon found himself out in the Kadic School parking lot. For some reason, he also found Sissi and her gang there too.

Sissi was pacing back and forth as she was talking to her minions. It was apparent that she was upset and her cronies had to endure her wrath. Odd would've ignored them until a break in the song. Between that break, he could barely hear her say one word, Ulrich.

He put on a big, fake smile as he walked up Sissi. He watched as she whirled around at the sound of his approaching music. Sissi started talking to him with her usual swagger and attitude. However thanks to the volume of his music, Odd didn't hear a word.

Putting on a genuine smile, he interrupted her. "My dreams come true! I can't hear a single word you just said!"

Sissi's face contorted slightly with anger. She started yelling at him at the top of her lungs apparently as her face turned several shades red. With a concerned look, Odd shushed her and said in a calm voice, "You shouldn't get so mad, Sissi. Otherwise, your face might get stuck in that position—oh wait! Stupid me! That would be an improvement!"

Laughing loudly at his own joke, Odd walked away. He left behind a thoroughly ticked off Sissi. He could just barely hear her seething remarks above his music. His spirits were quite high as he rounded a corner toward the game field.

Suddenly the music was playing on death ears as Odd stared. There, in the shadows of the tool shed, was a figure he'd not seen for two months. It was Ulrich! Standing there at the corner in disbelief, he watched as Ulrich suddenly vanished behind the shed.

Finding his voice, Odd cried, "Ulrich!"

Odd ran for the shed. With his adrenalin rush Odd made it to the shed in less time than he thought it would take. In the race to reach the building, Odd's headphones slipped from their place on his head and fell down to his shoulders. However by the time he got there, he was quite out of breath. He found no one by the shed and no one in the bushes or trees nearby.

Stopping to catch his breath, he pulled his headphones from his neck. Clicking the CD player to off, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Hitting the speed dial for Yumi's number, he felt a smile creep up his face. Time to spread the news, he thought as he listened to his friend's phone as it rang.

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Jeremy and Odd found him in Odd's dormitory room that he shared with Ulrich. With his back to them, Ulrich slept soundly on his side. The only items that were near him was his phone and a new watch, both rested on a nearby bedside table.

Ulrich no longer wore his green jeans or shirts. He was dressed in faded, black sweatpants with a white shirt that was tucked slightly into his pants. His brown hair was considerably longer which explained the thick strip of black cloth that was tied firmly behind his head.

"Did you tell Yumi?" Jeremy asked quietly from the door.

"Didn't get a hold of her," Odd answered. "So I left a text message. Should we wake him?"

After a moment's notice, Jeremy shook his head. "No. He came here to sleep for a reason. We'll talk to him later."

Grasping Odd's arm, Jeremy forcefully extracted Odd from the room. Closing the door carefully, Jeremy turned to Odd who wore a skeptical look. Shrugging, Odd turned and left, muttering about playing a new computer game.

(A/N) This is my first fan fiction. I hope you all like it. I have big plans for this story. Even though I haven't seen that many episodes, I hope that the characters are 'in character,' so to speak.

The next chapter may take awhile before I get it up. I have only begun typing it and it's reasonably long. For those who are interested, the next chapter title is Prelude to Trouble. I sure that is enough of a spoiler as to what is going to happen.

Please review and bring on the flames!!