A/N: This is a canon-friendly episode that occurs between episodes 24 and 25 of CL's first season. I wanted to write it as fan-made additional episode to the season, and as such, it follows its basic structure.

In case you're familiar with my other work, CL Reboot, this chapter is not a part of it. While Reboot is an overall rewrite of the series, this one aims to adjust to the original canon.

One final note: it's highly likely that native English speakers may find some awkward narration from time to time. I apologize in advance, since I'm not a native English speaker. Also, I'm aware that I tend to write stories in the present tense rather than the past tense. I hope this doesn't prevent you from enjoying the story.

Escapism

Ms Meyer enters the classroom, carrying a bundle of papers in her arms. Her expression is serious, without manifesting any feelings and, even worse according to Ulrich, any empathy.

'Yesterday's tests have been reviewed. I have to say that I'm not happy with the results.'

Her gaze travels through the room, discretely jumping between seats. Ulrich notices how, for a fraction of a second, her eyes cross his, and then, he confirms what he already suspected: Ms Meyer was not looking at people at random; she was looking at the ones who failed the test.

I should be used to this by now, thinks Ulrich. It's not the first time that he expects a bad grade, especially in math. It's also not the first time that he feels his father's disappointed sigh in his noggin, as if he stalked him while he fails once more in complying with the man's expectations.

Then why this angst? Why does the hair in his arms bristles, accompanied by a shiver?

As if Ms Meyer did it on purpose, she starts returning tests through the classroom, without ever getting to Ulrich's seat. She gives the test back to Jeremie, sitting in front of him. He does not look at his friend's grade, but the latter does not flinch: must be a ten, or something close. Of course. For a brief instant, he remembers Jeremie offering him help to study for the test. It's far too late now.

Then it's Odd's turn. Ulrich doesn't need to look at his test, the boy comments his result: 'Hmm, a six; if I'm honest, I'd say the test's difficulty is going through a period of inflation.'

The third to last test in Ms Meyer's arms is Ulrich's. As she delivers it to him, she spits some more acid over his already bleeding self-esteem: 'I hoped better from you, Ulrich'. As if father wasn't enough.

The grade is a two.

His father's voice resurges: 'You'd better be improving your grades from now on'. Last grade had been a three point five. Whatever.

He takes a look at the test. He doesn't even remember what he did in it. A series of doodles with his writing, incomprehensible to himself right now, are overcome by skillfully struck traces in red ink, taking shape of cold comments, mocking question marks, and enormous crosses.

Ulrich feels Odd's hand touching his shoulder. 'Wow, looks like luck didn't join you this time. Maybe you should consider Einstein's proposal for the next one.'

Show-off, thinks Ulrich, as he shakes off his aprehended shoulder, without looking at his friend.

Jeremie turns around for a moment and looks at him. His expression shows almost pity. More of what Ulrich needed. Then Jeremie turns to face Odd. Ulrich returns to looking down before being tempted to watch Jeremie and Odd's gesture chat.

The class, eternal as always, becomes transparent to Ulrich. The frustration, impotence, anger, and concealed desire to cry filter, as a cloud does the sun rays, everything that happens around him for the next hour and a quarter. Sometimes, he feels Odd signaling him to call his attention. Ulrich simply ignores him. Nothing Odd can say or show to him could possibly improve the current situation.

Finally, the limbo reaches its end, once the school bell announces the end of the class. Although Ulrich feels it like a church bell announcing a public trial. Without even gesturing to his pals, he raises from his seat, takes his bag and leaves the room. As he walks, without a fixed direction, he's joined by a hundred voices that harass him in his head: 'You should've studied more this time.' 'What will your father say now?' 'You clearly aren't fit for this.' 'Idiot.'

'Hey, Ulrich!' Yumi's voice startles him, suddenly closer than he expected any voice. The scare, instead of returning him to the real world, intensifies his anger, and looks at the girl with an involuntary hateful gaze.

'Whoa! Are you alright? Did I scare you?' asks Yumi, who before was walking towards the boy, and now stops, a few feet from him. Ulrich lowers his head, turns around and continues his path.

'Ulrich! C'mon, it's clear something happened. Can you tell me? Maybe I can be of help.'

Ulrich stops for an instant, without looking at Yumi. The desire to cry resurfaces. No, among everybody, Yumi's the last person that should see him like that. He limits himself to sigh, putting his hands in his pockets, and continuing to walk. The girl doesn't follow him, but doesn't say anything either.

At least, Sissi hasn't shown up to worsen even more his thursday afternoon. He keeps walking in a straight line, joined by his inquisitive inner voices. He wonders how Sissi's voice would sound like, scolding him for his academic performance. A hardly daring smile appears in his lips.

His steps lead him to the edge of Kadic's woods. Good, nobody will bother me for a while, he thinks. Now paying attention to his path, he delves a bit more into the forest and finds a tree that seems friendly. He decides to sit under its shadow.

Stupid school, stupid math class, stupid Ms Meyer and her patronizing harshness that reminds him of his father. Besides, how's this even useful for anything? The real world doesn't work on complicated formulas and historical facts and grammar conjugations. To him, the school system does nothing but conspire against him and his scarce self-esteem.

And now he has to prepare for the scolding that his dad will give him. What will he say this time? Will he remind him of the efforts he made when he was a student? Will he blame the "clowns" he calls friends for distracting him from the important things? Or will he shove in his face the effort that means granting him this education, which he wastes as if it were given for free? Hopefully he decides to reuse one of his lectures; that way, it won't be as unnerving as not knowing what to expect.

How he wished to get out of there, to escape, to run away to a place where all of that didn't matter; where his disappointed father couldn't find him, where Mrs Meyer couldn't gatekeep him with her army of crosses and her red pen.

And then, Ulrich remembers the oasis that his student life has: Lyoko. But of course! With the haze that followed him since math class, he had forgotten the existence of the virtual world. And what a world he was forgetting! There, no grades were given, and there were no parents and no math. And there, he was a hero: a sword, a warrior's outfit, and a trio of superpowers. There was danger, for sure, but he could confront it, because there, he was competent. Besides, didn't he fight a real danger? His actions there had repercusions in the real world and, thanks to him and his friends, the world could follow its course. Thanks to Lyoko, he was a hero; not one like in the video games, but a real hero.

The idea of going to Lyoko mingles among his thoughts, and starts clouding the voices that joined him until now. Yes, he now needed to go to Lyoko. The real world is too much right now, and on that alternate reality, he feels safe.

Ulrich stands up, walks a few steps and reaches the cover that leads to the sewers. He puts it aside, descends until his full body is under ground level, and puts the cover back to its place. For a moment, he wished XANA was planning an upcoming attack; he could use a bit of adrenaline.

'Did you say it was a two?' Jeremie asks Odd. The boy with glasses and Yumi sit on the bench in front of the science building, while the third one stretches while relaxed in front of them.

'I'm sure of it. His dad won't be happy at all this time' answers Odd, reaching his shoes with the tip of his fingers, while keeping his legs straight.

'He's in a terrible mood. I don't recall seeing him like that before' remarks Yumi, frowning. Her face doesn't show as much frustration as genuine concern.

'It was probably the drop that spilled the glass' claims Jeremie '. Is there something we could do?'

An uninvited, although known voice, leaks into the conversation. 'With terrible people like you as friends, it's normal that Ulrich feels this way.'

'Don't plant ideas of topics you don't know about, Sissi' Yumi confronts the meddling lass, standing up from the bench.

'Ah, Yumi dear. Due to your lack of control, you're clearly a bad influence to Ulrich. The best you can do for him is to stay away' replies Sissi, with a patronizing tone.

'Sissi's right, Yumi. Stay away _from her_, or you'll catch her stupidity' Odd defends his friend.

'That goes to you as well, you morons' strikes Sissi once more '. Hanging out with you is one of the worst things that's happened to Ulrich. Leave him alone, and I assure you things will go better for him.'

'Why, do _you_ intend to meddle in his life then?' provokes Yumi.

'It's better than what he has at the moment, of course.'

'Hmm, you know what? I think I know how you can help him in his life, Sissi' proposes Odd. 'Become Ulrich's father. I think with a little more beard and a calculated haircut, you'd look exactly the same.'

Yumi realizes that Odd is giving more information to Sissi than Ulrich would have liked, and hits him with her elbow.

'Hey! Whose side are you on?' protests the boy.

'See? Yumi's totally out of control. Anyways, I must leave, I'll go comfort your so-called friend' Sissy says, before leaving, with her usual haughty pace.

The three friends watch her walk away, in silence. Once she's at a safe distance, Yumi scolds Odd.

'Thank you for defending me and Ulrich, but the issue with his father is private.'

'Hey, I didn't say anything compromising. I'm sure Sissi didn't even understand why I said that.'

'Sissi's smarter than we give her credit for, Odd' intervenes Jeremie '; especially when detecting subtleties in conversations.'

'Alright. I guess I have to apologize to Ulrich now. But can I do it some other day? Today's been rough enough for him already.'

'I think we should go look for him and try to cheer him up' suggests Yumi '. Then we can see if it's worth it that you confess your little stumble.'

'Yeah, let's go right now' states Jeremie '. Sissi wanted to go, and if we leave her too much time unchained with him, she'll make him blow his top in record time.'

'Well foreseen, Einstein' celebrates Odd '. Let's go!'

Ulrich arrives at the supercomputer's monitor room. Despite the light in the room being evidently artificial, it grants him a sensation of calm. Here, he's at his element.

He approaches the computer interface, and sees the incomprehensible mess of numbers, technical terms and graphs that invade the three screens. For a moment, he remembers his math test, and wonders if what is shown in those screens has something in common with it.

Without sitting down, Ulrich puts on the headphone that lies over the keyboard (normally used by Jeremie), adjusts it and speaks: 'Aelita? Are you there?'

The virtual girl is currently in the mountain sector, meditating over a small platform, isolated from the rest of the sector. Anyone who didn't know her powers would be reasonably intrigued by how she managed to get there. Once she hears the boy's voice, she opens her eyes, somewhat intrigued, and activates the virtual camera, so that Ulrich can see her.

'Hello? Is that you, Ulrich?'

'That's right. Hey, Aelita.'

'Oh, hello, Ulrich. Usually it's Jeremie's voice the first one I hear at this hour in the afternoon.'

'Yeah, makes sense. Hey, by any chance, are you able to virtualize people from your end?'

'Umm, yeah, although the procedure is imperfect from this side. Why?'

'I want to go to Lyoko, by myself. Could you give me a hand with the virtualization?'

'Is Jeremie not with you?'

'No, he isn't.'

'I think it's better to wait for him, to avoid complications. It's safer to do it from your end.'

'But isn't there a way for me to start the procedure, with your guidance?'

Aelita hesitates. 'Hmm, it's possible, but it's not exempt from risks either. When Jeremie has tried it in the past, it's always meant trouble.'

'I think I'm willing to endure those troubles. Could you help me, please?' insists Ulrich.

'Ulrich, I'd rather wait for Jeremie.'

'I'm not with Jeremie and I don't know how much will it take for him to come here. Please, I need to go to Lyoko.'

'Need?'

Ulrich sighs in frustration. 'It's something private. I won't bother you after this, I promise.'

Aelita finally gives in. 'Okay, Ulrich, but if anything happens, I won't hesitate in calling the others.'

'Sounds good' reassures Ulrich.

'Good, sit in front of the keyboard and follow my instructions.'

Jeremie, Yumi and Odd climb the bedrooms building's stairs, then turn left and open the door that leads to the chambers. At the doorstep of Odd's and Ulrich's, there's a figure, but it's not their friend; it's Sissi. She sees them come, and when she does, puts into motion a small play.

'You'll get better, Ulrich dear, I promise!' she shouts, as if talking through the chamber's door. Then she adds 'Oh, here come your so-called friends.'

Odd's the first to talk. 'Excuse us, Sissi, we're here to rescue Ulrich from you.'

'Ulrich doesn't want to talk to you. He told me himself.' replies Sissi.

'I want to hear it from his own mouth.' Odd defends himself. He approaches the door and knocks three times. 'Hey, Ulrich, buddy! It's your friends, can we come in?'

There's no response. 'Told you' shoots Sissi '. Better to leave him alone.'

'This is weird' Yumi whispers to Jeremie. Then, she approaches the door as well. 'Ulrich! We want to help you. Let us in, please.'

The silence persists. Sissi smiles as she crosses her hands in front of her skirt, pretending inocence.

'Enough, this is my room as well. I'll go in' decides Odd, going forward and grabbing the doorknob.

'Hey, leave him alone, he doesn't want to be bothered!' protests Sissi one last time, before Odd turns the knob and opens the door, revealing the real situation: Ulrich isn't there. The three friends stand, stunned, before the room's threshold, joined by the melodious mocking laugh of their rival.

'All set, Ulrich. You have one minute to access the scanner room' informs Aelita, once the automatic virtualization protocol is set. 'Remember, it's the one on the left.'

'Perfect. Thanks, Aelita. I definitely wouldn't have been able to do this without your help.'

'You're welcome, Ulrich. Let's just hope things go as expected.'

Ulrich stands up, takes the elevator and heads down to the scanner room. He gets off the elevator and walks towards the leftmost scanner, and then getting in. He patiently awaits the remaining seconds. After the countdown ends, he hears Aelita's voice.

'Transfer, Ulrich.'

The scanner door closes, isolating Ulrich. He doesn't flinch, although he shakes his hands a bit, anxious for the virtualization.

'Scanner, Ulrich.'

Ulrich starts to levitate, as it's usual during the scanner process. Losing gravity's weight over his shoulders helps him relax.

'Virtualization!'

Ulrich finds himself at Lyoko's mountain sector. He checks that he's in one piece and that he's carrying his katana, at the left of his belt.

'Everything okay, Aelita, the virtualization went without problem.' informs the boy, shouting. He looks around, but doesn't see Aelita. What he does see is a tower whose signature smoke has turned red.

'Huh, what? Hey, Aelita, there's an activated tower! Where are you?'

He looks around once again, but Aelita is nowhere to be found. He decides to explore using his super-sprint, heading towards the activated tower. Not five seconds pass, when he distinguishes a shape in the distance.

'Hey, Aelita! Is that you?' shouts Ulrich. But he takes a better look, and finds out that it's not Aelita, but rather a krab. Instinctively, he shelters behind a pile of rocks that notices at his left.

'Damn, I can't communicate with Aelita at a distance here. Where the heck is she?'

As he thinks, he hears a low noise, like a large tire that runs through a gravel road. Ulrich recognizes the sound: 'Megatanks.' Indeed, as he briefly leans out, he identifies two huge boulders made of something similar to steel, moving across another route that leads to the tower, in order to join the previously lonely krab.

'Well' Ulrich says to himself ', I could use a bit of exercise. I'll deal with these beasts while Aelita arrives.'

Then, he activates his super-speed once again and leaves his hiding spot, unsheathing his katana and shouting 'Banzai!'

Odd enters the room, followed by Jeremie and Yumi. The former searches the room, looking for signs of Ulrich's passage. Then, he opens the closet's lower drawer and reveals Kiwi, who moves his tail as he sees him.

'Hello, Kiwi, little diggity-dog.' The dog stands up in his hind paws and leans his front ones on Odd's knees. 'Have you seen Ulrich?' asks the boy 'Do you know if he's passed by?'

Kiwi just makes small hops, while panting and moving his tail.

Yumi, now pretty annoyed, turns to face Sissi, who watches the scene behind the threshold, smiling. 'Where did he go, Sissi?'

'Why would I tell you, Yumi, _especially_ you?' the alluded replies mockingly.

Yumi decides to change strategy. 'Okay, don't tell me, but tell Odd. He's his friend and roommate, he has the right to know.'

'That's not what Ulrich told me, so I'll honor the trust he has in me and I'll remain silent.'

Evidently, Yumi knows that Ulrich didn't say a thing to Sissi. She knows Ulrich wouldn't trust her from a moment to another, especially with respect to things that Yumi knows and her rival only pretends to know. She knows Sissi is simply playing, profiting from her little circumstantial advantage. But until then, she had the idea that Sissi had more information than them about Ulrich's whereabouts. And once she noticed that miss Delmas consistently avoided her glare, she realized that she didn't know about it either.

'Wait a moment... You've no idea.'

Sissi, seeing her prank exposed, attempts one last defense: 'Of course I know!'

'Odd, leave it, Ulrich hasn't gone through here.' says Yumi, without paying more attention to the other girl.

'He hasn't?' inquires the boy.

'No; Sissi would know in that case. But she doesn't.'

'How do you know she doesn't know?'

Yumi points at Sissi. 'Stare at her for a while.'

The boy stares at Sissi, and notices how she isn't able to keep her gaze straight. 'You're right. We'll have to look somewhere else.' Odd says in the end.

'I'll call him' says Jeremie, taking out his phone and looking through his contacts.

Yumi looks at Sissi once again, who is still standing in front of the bedroom door. 'Do you mind?'

'What?' Sissi snaps back.

'Giving us a little privacy.'

'Of course I mind!'

Yumi sighs, stands up and slams the door in Sissi's face.

Jeremie puts his phone away. 'The signal isn't reaching him. Could he be in... you know...?' Jeremie hints, lowering his voice in case Sissi is still listening behind the door.

'It's a possibility' Yumi responds, whispering '. Any way of finding out?'

'I'll go to my room for the time being' Jeremie replies '. Maybe Aelita knows something.'

'Okay' Yumi approves '. Odd and I will look for him at the campus then.'

'Sounds good' Odd responds '. Let's go. We'll communicate by phone if we find something.'

'Good luck' wishes Jeremie.

Ulrich stops at a few steps from the three monsters. Trying to pick their attention, he shouts 'Hey freaks! Are you blind or what?'

The krab and both megatanks become aware of the visitor. The first ducks a few inches and aims its weapon, while the other two reveal their cores, looking at Ulrich. The krab begins with a burst of shots, but Ulrich was ready for it. With his katana, he scatters the shots, one after another. Meanwhile, he pays attention to the megatanks, one of which loads its main attack.

At a calculated moment, Ulrich abandons his position and, with his super-speed, he moves until he places himself right below the krab. Just then, the megatank that was loading its attack sets it free, following Ulrich. But the shot, instead of hitting the boy, goes through the exact middle of the krab's head, while the kid jumps to the side, taking advantage of his super-human speed. The krab wobbles and, after a second, blows up.

'Want some more?' Ulrich provokes.

The two megatanks, like answering to the provocation, go back to their boulder state, and charge towards the boy. Aware of the situation, he gets out of the way just in time, after which both boulders collide with each other. The sound that the clash produces, similar to a bell's, resonates inside Ulrich's eardrums, stronger than any other sound he had heard in Lyoko before. He covers his ears, while trying to recompose.

'Oh, no, not this soon. Triplicate!' Ulrich shouts, after which, two identical copies of himself come off his avatar and locate each to one side of the original. Each of the clones approaches a megatank and awaits the reveal of its core.

The rightmost megatank decides to open in order to load its attack, but the clone that is with him is quicker, and before it has time to back off, he sinks his katana in the XANA symbol exhibited inside the core. With a bang, the monster blows into a thousand pieces, carrying with itself the clone that attacked it.

Jeremie closes his bedroom's door and sits in front of his desk. He turns on his computer and loads the remote connection programs. Once they load correctly, he puts the earphones on.

'Aelita! Do you hear me?'

The girl takes a while to answer, but finally does, appearing on the screen.

'Jeremie! Oh, finally you pick up!'

'Did something happen? We're looking for Ulrich' the boy informs.

'It's precisely about Ulrich, Jeremie' Aelita responds '. I helped him come to Lyoko, but now I can't find him. I don't know where he is!'

'What? Ulrich is in Lyoko?'

'He should, at least. Oh, Jeremie, I'm so sorry. He asked me to help him virtualize; I warned him that there were risks involved, I swear.'

'Calm down, Aelita, it's not your fault. Do you know why he wanted to go to Lyoko?'

'I asked him, but he didn't want to tell me.'

'Okay, I'll tell you the details later. Meanwhile, the main thing is to locate him. The gang and I will go to the factory, to help you with the search. You'll inform me about any news when we arrive.'

'Sounds good, Jeremie. I'll keep looking in the meantime.'

'Good luck, Aelita. We'll arrive soon.'

Aelita disappears from the screen. Jeremie looks for Yumi in his phone and calls her. She picks up immediately.

'Jeremie! Any news!'

'Indeed. It seems Ulrich is in Lyoko.'

'In Lyoko! You had a good hunch, Jeremie! I guess the plan is going to the factory then.'

'That's right. Aelita tells me she doesn't know exactly where he is, so we'll help her in the search.'

'Alright, we'll go there then. I'll inform Odd and we'll be on our way.'

'Excellent. See you guys there.'

The other megatank adopts a different strategy. He goes round, keeping a distance from Ulrich's clone, while the latter imitates it. After several seconds, the tank stops, and so does the clone. Then, the tank charges towards the clone, barely giving him time to react. He looks back, but realizes he's against the edge of the map. Before he could attempt to jump to the side, the tank rolls over him, tearing him into virtual poligons.

But the original Ulrich is still in one piece, and it's been a while since he's been paying close attention to the scene. After losing his second clone, the liable megatank ends uncomfortably close to the edge of the cliff. Ulrich takes advantage of his adversary's focus on the clone and tackles him from the back. The tank rolls a bit more and reaches the edge, finally losing its balance and falling to the digital sea.

Ulrich, who finished on the floor, stands up and dusts off his suit. As he does it, he sees Aelita approaching from where he came.

'Ulrich!' she calls.

'Aelita! It's about time you came' Ulrich responds.

'I looked for you everywhere. I didn't know where you got virtualized. Luckily, you were in the same sector as I; otherwise, I'd still be looking for you.'

'It's good you found me. As you see, there's an activated tower, but I already dealt with the monsters.'

'It's true, the way's clear! Good job, Ulrich!'

'It's nothing, princess, it's my job after all.'

'In any case, it's impressive that you could handle it on your own.'

'Well, you know' Ulrich says with false modesty ', I've been doing this for a while now.'

Aelita chuckles. 'Anyway, I'll deal with the tower.'

Aelita enters the tower, while Ulrich looks around. It feels good to be in Lyoko. And even better, being able to help Aelita, fighting nothing less than... one krab and two megatanks! Coming here was worth it, he thinks. Now he feels a bit calmer. The voices inside his head are now silent.

Jeremie's voice interrupts his ruminations. 'Hello? Aelita, Ulrich! Are you there?'

'Here we are, Jeremie' Ulrich responds '. Aelita's deactivating a tower.'

'Ulrich! We were worried about you. Are you alright?'

'Yeah, I'm better now, thanks. I needed to come here.'

'You said there was an activated tower?'

'That's right, but Aelita is deactivating it as we speak.'

'It's a good thing you decided to come, Ulrich. This way, you were able to deactivate the tower faster. As far as we know, XANA hasn't been able to attack the earth this time.'

'I'm glad that's the case.'

Aelita comes back from the tower. 'Jeremie!'

'Hi, Aelita. It seems I'm late, Ulrich and you have already taken care of everything.'

'Indeed. It took me a while to find him, but when I did, he had already dealt with the monsters.'

'That's great' Jeremie replies '. What monsters were they?'

'Two megatanks and a krab.' Ulrich answers, proud of himself.

'Really?' Jeremie asks, with evident surprise.

'Yep. Probably my best mark to date.'

'Wow, fantastic! I want to see Odd's face when he finds out.'

Ulrich laughs, satisfied, and then asks 'He's not with you?'

'He went to the scanner room, alongside Yumi. I was going to virtualize them, but I see it won't be necessary. I'll get you back to earth instead.'

'Okay.'

The scanner door opens, and Ulrich sees Odd and Yumi, each to one side. As he gets out, both of them smile to him. Odd gives him a few pats on the back.

'Well done, partner. It seems that you didn't even need us.'

Yumi gives him a tight hug. 'We were worried about you; but it looks like there wasn't much to be worried about in reality.'

Ulrich giggles nervously. 'That's right, I'm fine. And the world is safe for today as well.'

Odd and Yumi shout with joy. The three of them go towards the elevator, so that they could reunite with Jeremie, while they ask Ulrich about details on his adventure in the virtual world.

Odd and Yumi get off the elevator in the monitor room. The girl approaches the interface and presses the button that activates the environment speakers. Then, she leans the microphone close to her mouth.

'Aelita! Aelita!'

After a few seconds, she hears the answer. 'Yumi! It's a good thing you're here.'

'It's just Odd and I at the moment, Jeremie's on his way.'

'Okay. Go to the scanner room for now. For obvious reasons, I won't be the one to virtualize you. You'll have to wait for Jeremie.'

'No problem, princess' replies Odd ', we're on our way.'

The kids take the elevator to the scanner room, and once they get there, they wait. They notice how the elevator is then called from the top floor and the door closes.

Jeremie, located at the factory's main floor, takes the elevator once it arrives and descends to the monitor room. He deactivates the speakers and puts the earphone on. 'Aelita?'

'Jeremie, good to have you here. Yumi and Odd are in the scanner room.' Aelita explains.

'That's right, Einstein' Odd confirms from the lower floor.

'Very good' says Jeremie '. Any trace of Ulrich?'

'None' Aelita answers ', but I've only looked in the mountain sector.'

'Okay. I'll see if I can locate him from here.'

Jeremie writes a couple of strings with the keyboard. The screen shows a bunch of text being generated in real time.

'No, I can't find him' Jeremie finally informs '. You'll have to look for him yourselves. I'll send each of you to a sector, in order to accelerate the search.'

'Okay' Yumi replies.

'I'll go to the ice sector' Aelita tells the rest '. I'm only a few feet from the way tower that leads me there.'

'Understood' Jeremie confirms '. Yumi, you'll go to the desert sector, and Odd will go to the forest sector.'

'Deal' says Odd ', let's not waste any more time.'

'Initiating the virtualization protocol' says Jeremie '. Transfer, Yumi.'

Yumi enters the closest scanner and the door closes behind her.

'Transfer, Odd' says Jeremie, after which Odd enters a second scanner and gets locked in.

'Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Odd.' The bodies of both kids begin to levitate.

'Virtualization!'

The gang gets out of the factory through the bridge entrance. The sun still illuminates the street, although the factory's shadow covers the whole bridge. The kids thank Ulrich once again for saving the day. Yumi then says goodbye, since she travels home through a different route, kisses Ulrich in the cheek and smiles at him afterwards. As the girl leaves in a hurry, Odd pats his friend in the back. 'Well well well, If I were you, I'd make the move tomorrow at first hour; it seems you're in a good spot.' Ulrich blushes, but doesn't scold his friend; he's in a good mood.

During the way back, Ulrich and Odd perform a series of tricks with their skateboards. The first, after convincing himself that this is his lucky day, decides to try once again to jump on the railing of one of the metal bridges, with the intention of crossing it completely while keeping his balance on the tube. To his own surprise, the trick works no problem, and when reaching the other side, a sensation of adrenaline comparable to an intense Lyoko battle's fills him. He laughs with pleasure, while Odd congratulates him for his impeccable performance.

Once they return to Kadic, at nighttime, they lower the voice so that their presence doesn't alarm anyone, especially Jim. Fortunately, the PE teacher doesn't cross their path, and from the sewer entrance to their bedrooms they were joined by a friendly silence. When they open the door at Odd and Ulrich's bedroom, they notice that Kiwi sleeps peacefully, and their arrival doesn't alert him at all.

'Goodnight, Ulrich' Odd says goodbye, after both have their pajamas on '. Today was a good day after all.'

Only then, Ulrich remembers the math class and the number two marked on his test. For some reason, the number marked in red doesn't seem so threatening anymore. A good day was capable of letting him leave it behind. Besides, there's still some time for the report card to be sent to parents, so it'll be a while before his father finds out.

'Goodnight, Odd. Indeed, it was.'

Ulrich gets ready to sleep. He gets under the covers and reaches the light switch, when he sees his ear plugs on the nightstand. The boy looks at his roommate, who is already sleeping deeply, facing towards the wall, and in a newfangled silence. He smiles and decides to take the bet of sleeping without earplugs for tonight. Who knows, maybe his luck hasn't gone off yet.

The desert sector, usually calm, is today seasoned with a mild breeze that carries sand with it. Yumi, already familiar with the place's landscape, has difficulty looking beyond about thirty steps from her location. The fact that this phenomenon is pretty unusual reinforces the idea into her that Ulrich is near.

'Damn this wind' complains the girl. She would have liked Aelita to be there with her: with her powers, she could have created a sturdy wall that could have cleared some of the view forward.

In a moment, she appears to notice a strange sound. She stops walking and listens carefully. Indeed, she hears the steps of one of XANA's small monsters. Given the speed, she assumes it must be a blok.

'Jeremie, I hear XANA's monsters' Yumi informs '. Maybe I'm getting close.'

'It's possible' Jeremie replies '. If Ulrich's being kept inside Lyoko, XANA must be using monsters to guard him. Be careful, Yumi.'

The girl turns her head slightly in order to locate the sound's source. Finally, she concludes it's at about 2 o'clock. With an even stealthier pace, she continues forward in that direction. As she moves, the sporadic movement noises that the monster makes start sounding closer.

She finally sees it. A square silhouette cuts among the sandy breeze. It is indeed a blok that, still unaware of the girl's presence, travels slowly from one side to the other.

'Okay, let's use our position to our advantage' Yumi encourages herself. She unsheathes her fan, unfolds it, and throws it forcefully towards the silhouette. The latter, alarmed by the whistling of the lass' weapon, turns to look, far too late. The fan goes through its cube-shaped body, leaving a cut at two opposing square faces. After a brief spasm, the blok explodes.

Yumi just recovered her fan when she hears in front of her the sound of a megatank's shot loading. The girl makes a somersault to the side, just in time to dodge the disk-shaped ray that one of those monsters throws from beyond Yumi's gaze.

'Seems like this is gonna be a hide-and-seek game.' Yumi whispers. Slowly with her knees slightly bent, she starts to move, making a detour. The megatank rolls slightly in the direction he shot at, but Yumi manages to locate herself at a wise distance before it finds her. She keeps walking stealthily and, after having moved about ninety degrees on her detour, she sees something she doesn't recognize. Near the megatank's previous location, although a bit further from Yumi, stands a nearly spherical structure, which Yumi notices emitting a reddish glow.

'Jeremie, I think I found something' she informs in a low voice ', but I don't know what it is.'

'Humm, I can't look at it from the holomap, due to the storm' Jeremie tells her '. Could you send me a visual?'

'Sure' Yumi responds. A second later, Jeremie sees through Yumi's eyes in the main screen: a sandy breeze, at the bottom of which glows a sphere, similar to a megatank in size, but slightly embedded on the floor.

'Hmm, looks like a guardian, but stuck to the floor' Jeremie observes '. If you can, get a little closer, please.'

'I'm planning on that' Yumi replies. The girl moves forward, with the same caution as before, towards the object. As she gets closer, she notices that the glow is not uniform; the sphere is covered by some kind of branching.

Jeremie looks at the screen curiously. 'This is something new; I hope it's not that different to a guardian.'

Yumi finally reaches the structure. From there, the reddish glow shines a lot more than before. The girl decides to look, in case there's something inside, and indeed, she recognizes Ulrich, who, with his eyes closed and a smile in his lips, levitates at the sphere's core.

'Ulrich!' Yumi calls, but immediately later, she covers her mouth. She shouldn't have done that, she realizes. And, like validating her remark, she listens again the sound of the megatank charging its attack.

Ulrich wakes up in his bed, after having heard Yumi's voice in a dream. When he opens his eyes, he notices he's barely tired. He can't remember the last time he slept this good.

Next to him, almost as in synchrony, Odd turns to face him. 'Good morning, bud. On for another great day!' he says. Ulrich, happily surprised by his friend's encouragement, gets up to get ready for the morning shower.

'Hey, take your time if you want, I'll save you a spot in line' Odd says to him, after which he takes his towel, picks up his handbag and gets out of the room.

'Thanks, Odd' Ulrich manages to respond before his friend closes the door. Wow, he thinks, looks like heroism has its advantages. They'll end up making me used to saving the day, he jokes to himself.

Once he packs his clothes inside his bag, he hangs his towel over his shoulder and gets out of the bedroom. He just gets out when he sees a tall figure walking towards him from the hall. It's his father.

Ulrich suddenly regains his fear, and tenses up instinctively. He looks at his father's face, and notices how the man becomes aware of his presence and smiles.

'Ulrich, my son' his father says ', it's been a while since the last time I saw you. I've started missing you.'

'Hello, dad' Ulrich greets reluctantly'. I'm afraid I can't say the same.'

His father, usually provoked by comments like this, laughs heartily. Ulrich looks at him in surprise, while the tall man sighs.

'We haven't been getting along lately, have we?' the adult tells the kid, in a more serious tone. 'I know it's my fault, son. I hardly give you time to breathe, and I barely worry about something else than your grades.'

Ulrich keeps looking at him, now with a stunned look on his face. He never imagined his father recognizing so lucidly one of the causes of the problems between them.

'Your mother has made me notice. I've been unfair to you, Ulrich. I'm sorry.'

Ulrich laughs in disbelief. 'Don't be sorry yet. You haven't seen my latest grades.'

'Yes, I imagine you haven't been doing spectacularly lately, besides PE. But I know it's partly my fault. I've been putting an unhealthy amount of pressure onto you, and that surely makes you reluctant to study and learn.'

'Are you interested in my latest grade in math?'

'It depends: do you want me to know it right now?' the man asks, smiling.

'Sooner or later, you'll find out: it's a two.'

His father straightens up and puts his hands on his waist, but the smile doesn't fade. 'Well well well. But you've had it worse, haven't you?'

'Yeah, but not that worse' Ulrich replies. He looks suspiciously at his father: at any moment, his magnanimous approach will be replaced with his stern and loud facet. But what is he planning? Does he want to humilliate him even further?

The father bends, resting one of his knees on the floor. 'Thanks for letting me know, son, but don't worry too much for now. I'd like to know what I can do for you in order to help you with your studies.'

Ulrich finds himself unable to say a word. His father, afer all this years, being this sympathetic? He couldn't believe it.

'Uh... I don't know... Maybe I just need to study more.' he manages to say at last.

'Maybe' his father agrees ', but I want you to be more at peace when you study. Sometimes it's boring and there's nothing to do about it, but I know my demands are yet another obstacle for it. Today I want to get rid of that obstacle.'

The man leans towards his son and hugs him.

'I love you, son, and I'm proud of you. Always keep that in mind.'

Ulrich notices how tears start filling his eyes. His father, for the first time ever, reassures him with genuine fatherly affection. Only then, the boy realizes how much he needed to hear those words. He'd never imagined his father saying them, or giving him such support. It was something both wonderful and unbelievable.

And suddenly, a thought seeps into Ulrich's rational mind: this is, in fact, unbelievable; too perfect to be true.

The boy draws away from his father's hug. He looks at him carefully while he dries a few tears that managed to come out.

'No' he says at last '. This is too good to be true. You're not my father.'

Jeremie's voice echoes inside the monitor room. 'Odd, Aelita! Yumi found Ulrich's location. Go to the nearest way tower that takes you to the desert sector. I'll give you the coordinates once you're there.'

'Okay, Jeremie' Aelita replies.

'Roger that!' Odd shouts.

Meanwhile, Yumi goes back to her stealthy mode. The megatank is too upset and in active search of the girl, so she decides to try to get rid of it.

Yumi makes a detour once again, this time wider than the previous one. She keeps herself at a distance such that she barely distinguishes the spherical silhouette of the megatank. With a bit of luck, it won't be able to locate her at that distance.

After making half a turn, the girl starts moving towards the monster. If her calculations are correct, she should be approaching from the tank's back. Unfortunately, its spherical nature makes it hard to know for certain. Yumi decides to try her luck.

She approaches even more, without the megatank flinching. She manages to locate herself at only three steps from the boulder.

Once there, Yumi takes out her fan and throws it to the opposite direction from the megatank. The buzzing that the weapon produced calls the monster's attention, which turns around while it loads its attack.

'Right into my trap' Yumi says, boastfully. Not a second passes since the ray started loading, when the fan returns in a straignt line and pierces the target that the megatank's core displays. Yumi jumps backwards, to remain safe, and the tank explodes, throwing the fan through the air, which the girl skillfully grabs.

'Very well done, Yumi!' Jeremie celebrates 'That was a great show. You had me nervous for a minute there!'

'I'm glad to be able to provide some entertainment' Yumi laughs '. It's a shame the others miss... Huh?'

Yumi notices that the sand breeze starts dissipating. She takes the opportunity to approach the structure that's retaining Ulrich.

Jeremie hears the computer's alert signal, while the holomap reveals a monster that was previously hidden.

'Yumi, watch out! There's another...'

Yumi barely manages to pay attention to Jeremie when she hears a shot to her right. She just manages to turn her head when she's reached by a freezing ray, totally covering her in a virtual crystal that prevents her from moving. She distinguishes her attacker through the crystal: a stealthy second blok.

'Hurry up, guys!' Jeremie urges 'Yumi's in trouble.'

'I'm already in the desert' Aelita informs.

'Me too, Einstein' says Odd.

'Okay. Aelita, you go south-east; Odd, you have to go west. She's not that far away from either of you.'

The blok shoots once more, this time a light ray. Yumi feels it hitting her torso's right side.

'Come on!' Jeremie shouts 'Yumi just lost half her life points.'

'I'm going as fast as I can' protests Odd.

'Hey, there they are!' Aelita says suddenly. At the same time, both kids manage to see the structure that's holding Ulrich, a frozen Yumi next to it, and the blok.

The blok shoots once more against Yumi, hitting her in exactly the same spot. The shot ends her remaining life points, and the girl's avatar vanishes.

'Hey, cube face!' Odd taunts. The blok turns to face him. 'Nobody hits my friends! Laser arrow!'

Out of Odd's forearm comes an arrow's head heading towards the blok. The latter anticipates it and moves to a side, dodging it. He strikes back, firing two shots.

'Careful, guys, you're exposed!' Jeremie warns 'Take cover!'

'Wait' says Aelita '. Odd, I have an idea.'

'Lead the way, princess.' Odd reaffirms her.

Aelita kneels and starts singing. Odd stands in front of her in order to shield her. As she sings, three straight walls surround the blok, leaving exposed only the face that's oriented towards them. Meanwhile, the monster shoots again, hitting Odd in the chest.

'You lost forty life points, Odd' Jeremie informs.

The blok tries to spin its head to load a heavier attack, but the walls that Aelita raised prevent it from doing it. Then, it tries to move to one side, only to collide with one of the walls.

Odd aims once again. 'Laser arrow!' This time, the projectile reaches its target. The blok once again tries to spin its head, but being restricted by the walls, it's the legs that finally start spinning. After nearly a second, the monster blows up.

'Son, what's going on? Are you alright?' Ulrich's father asks, with a worried look on his face.

'Stop it! Get away from me!' Ulrich says, moving back slowly.

His father stands up once more. 'Ulrich, I'm here for you.' He starts moving towards Ulrich.

'Leave me alone!' the boy shouts once again, turning around and fleeing towards the stairs. He opens the door that leads to them and starts descending as he runs. Once in the first floor, he sees Yumi, at the entrance of the building, looking at him with a surprised look.

'Ulrich! Are you okay?' she says, approaching him.

'No' Ulrich says '. My father is up there... But it's not him, it's not possible. It must be a clone, made by XANA.'

'Oh no' says Yumi. Once she reaches Ulrich, she takes his left hand between both of hers. 'What will you do now?'

Ulrich looks at her in awe, taken by surprise by the girl's tender gesture. Then, the awe turns into horror. Stepping back, he shakes his hand violently, freeing it from Yumi's hold.

'No... You too? What's going on?'

'What are you talking about, Ulrich?'

'You're not Yumi... Yumi isn't like that, so straightforward...' Ulrich starts remembering the latest events. When looked into perspective, a lot of things have been somewhat improbable: Odd acting humbly, his friends celebrating his compromising escape instead of reproving it, the epic victory on Lyoko against particularly challenging monsters... Oh no... Like a flood, the realization starts filling him.

'Oh no, oh no... This isn't real... None of this is real.'

'Ulrich, calm down, you're losing your temper.'

'No! This is fake, I'm sure of it. Never have things gone this well, never! XANA!' Ulrich calls defiantly 'Show yourself! What have you done with me?'

'Ulrich' Yumi says suddenly, with a tone of resignation on her voice 'It's true, this isn't real… But it doesn't need to be. It looks pretty similar to the real world, doesn't it?'

'What's your point?' the boy asks, without moving.

'It's like the real world, but better, don't you think?' Yumi persuades.

'...Yeah, exactly. A trap, for sure. What a fool I've been...'

'But then, why run away? Isn't this better than your reality?'

Ulrich keeps quiet. Yumi's words permeate deeply within his heart.

'Well done, guys' Yumi says through Jeremie's microphone.

'It's a pleasure, Yumi' Odd says, proudly.

'Aelita, what do you know about Ulrich's prison?' Jeremie asks.

'It's similar to the prison XANA used to lock the boys in the ghost channel. It's just a bit smaller.'

'I see. How did you break the other one?'

'Using my powers; they should be enough to free Ulrich. I'll deal with it right now.'

'Great, Aelita.'

'If you stay here, you can have everything you've dreamed of, and you will lack nothing' says Yumi '. Your father's approval, your friends' admiration, better grades...' She gets a little closer and takes his hand once again, this time with her right hand. 'We could try... us... you know...' The girl blushes and fixes her hair with her free hand, staring directly at Ulrich.

The boy gulps. He looks around, like looking for help, and then looks back at Yumi. Her smile is so pretty, her hand so soft...

Suddenly, he comes to his senses. He closes his eyes and steps back once again. 'No!'

The girl gets closer yet again. 'Ulrich, please! I want this too.' She extends her hand, while the boy slowly walks back. As this happens, Ulrich sees how his surroundings start to illuminate. The last thing he manages to see before everything vanishes in the light is Yumi's hand trying to reach him.

Aelita's chant shatters the red sphere that was holding Ulrich. As he falls to the ground, the branches that were covering the prison contract, tightening around the boy. Before he manages to understand what's going on, the branches tighten even more, devirtualizing him in the act.

'Ulrich!' Odd manages to say.

The boy appears in the leftmost scanner from the elevator door. He leans onto one of its edges and looks outside. The elevator door opens, and Yumi comes out of it, running towards him and shouting his name.

'Ulrich!' She puts her hand over the boy's shoulders. 'Are you okay? What were you doing on Lyoko?'

The boy stares at her, then he lowers his head and starts crying out sobs. Yumi, without knowing much what to do, wraps her arms around him in a hug.

The four friends are in the monitor room. Aelita joins them from the screen. Ulrich is no longer crying and dries the last tears with his arm.

'So it was an illusion channel once again!' Jeremie exclaims 'It's the second time XANA uses one of those. Aelita, remind me that we should create a scanner for them.'

'Okay, Jeremie' says Aelita '. We may start working on it as soon as you're able.'

'And did you ever find out it was fake while you were inside?' Odd asks Ulrich, more intrigued by his friend's experience than by techincalities.

'Um… Yeah' Ulrich replies cautiosly, still nervous about his friends' potential reaction to his rushed acting '. Once things became too good to be true, I started to realize.'

'Anything specific that gave it away?' Yumi asks, but after looking at Ulrich's worried face, she immediately adds '…That can be shared, of course.'

'Well, my father showed up… but he behaved too differently than he would usually. He'd never…'

Ulrich stops his speech, prevented from keeping up by a sudden lump in his throat. His friends look at him attentively, as his eyes start to water once more. With a look of mild frustration and refusing to cry again in front of his pals, he sniffs, crosses his arms and looks away to his left.

'Wow' Odd breaks the silence ', XANA did a good number on you this time.'

Ulrich confirms he heard his roommate by exhaling deeply.

'Please let us know if you're going to Lyoko next time' asks Yumi. Ulrich closes his eyes, without looking at her, and nods.

'Can you tell us what you went to do in Lyoko?' Jeremie asks sternly.

Ulrich sighs. 'I wanted to go to Lyoko because... I wanted to run away.'

'We figured your day wasn't going well. Was it because of the math test?'

Ulrich takes a while before answering. 'Yes.'

'I told you we should study together, Ulrich' Jeremie reprimands.

'Jeremie' Yumi intervenes ', this is off the point.'

'Why go to Lyoko specifically?' asks Odd.

'Because... Because in Lyoko I... I feel strong... I feel capable' Ulrich answers.

'And why didn't you tell us you wanted to go to Lyoko?' Jeremie insists.

'Jeremie' Yumi defends Ulrich once more.

'No, it's okay' says Ulrich '. I was angry, I didn't want to talk to anyone. And I'm sure you'd have said no to me.'

'It's true' Jeremie says ', but it's because of relevant reasons. Lyoko's not a game, Ulrich.'

'Hey, Einstein, stop being so hard on him' Odd intervenes 'To me, Lyoko's also a place that helps me shake off the day sometimes.'

'It is to me too' joins Yumi.

'But that can't be your purpose when going to Lyoko. May I remind you we have a mission to fulfill here, right Aelita?'

'Yes, Jeremie' says Aelita ', but I think what they're saying is valid.'

Jeremie doesn't respond, and the silence helps reinforce Aelita's point.

'Nobody's forced to join this mission, Jeremie' the virtual girl explains '. I'll always be thankful for your willingness to help me and come here. But if in addition, you're able to enjoy it, to me that's a reason for joy.'

Jeremie sighs and nods.

'I think' she continues 'that the main problem is that Ulrich came here avoiding his friends, myself included. Because of that, he didn't inform me nor any of you about his motivation to come, and not doing so led to more problems.'

Ulrich looks at Aelita, knowing she was right. Her ability to appeal to reason and her serenity while doing so is something that he was both impressed by and thankful for.

'You're right, Aelita' he says at last '. I... I'm sorry, guys… I just don't like to annoy you with my stupid problems. I know the test result is my fault, and that I should know better.'

'Ulrich' Yumi says 'We're your friends. Sometimes life is hard, or your mistakes show consequences, or things just don't come out as one would like. Well, sometimes there's simply not much to do; but you have your friends, to support you during those times.'

'I'm totally with Yumi on this one' says Odd '. What do you think, Einstein?'

The alluded boy sighs again. 'Yeah, you're right. I think you should communicate these things better, Ulrich. But I know that, in order to do so, you need your friends. You can count on me.'

'And me, Ulrich' joins Aelita.

Ulrich looks at his pals, while they smile at him. He lets out a nervous chuckle. 'Come on, guys, you're gonna make me cry again.'

Odd laughs. 'Now we know you're not made of stone. It's good to know, to be honest.'

'Yeah' replies Ulrich.

'Your father's gonna be real mad this time' Yumi sentences '. I hope the report cards arrive late.'

'Yeah, well' Ulrich says, now more relaxed ', I already know my father. At least I know what to expect.'

'Good way of seeing the glass half-full, buddy' Odd supports him.

'Hey Jeremie' Ulrich calls ', could you help me prepare for the next math test?'

'Sure!' his friend replies 'We could start tomorrow if you want.'

'Thanks, Jeremie. Sorry for not saying yes the first time.'

'Don't worry. One learns from one's mistakes, right?'

'Does that mean I'm wiser than you, Einstein?' jokes Odd 'Because it's clear I make more mistakes than you.'

The kids laugh for a while. Ulrich remembers his test and then his father. He looks at his friends, and can't help but smile. Despite everything, he has the feeling that things are going to be alright.