These characters are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.

Jeremie Belpois woke up slowly. The years had taken their toll, aches and pains greeted his every movement. All around him was the scent of his beloved wife, Aelita. He smiled, and reached over to hold her. His hand found nothing.

Then it came back to him, she was gone. Gone away. Gone Ahead. He was alone.

Six Months.

He groaned and got out of bed.

It seemed like gravity had doubled in the time between last evening and the morning. Jeremie shuffled to the bathroom, like he was unable to lift his feet even an inch from the floor.

He showered and refreshed himself, then dressed for the day. He slowly made his way from the master bedroom, down the stairs, to the kitchen where his grand-daughter was fixing breakfast.

When he got to the kitchen, she greeted him with a smile and a kiss, and served him his meal. He ate slowly. There was all the time in the world.

She told him that mother, his daughter Grace, had called and said a car would be around at 10 am to take him to the ceremony. He tried to remember what ceremony she was talking about, then it came to him.

It was Grace's Inauguration as President of France.

It was funny, Jeremie thought. He and Aelita, and all of his friends, did more than the world would ever know to bring about the peace now being enjoyed. They never once even thought about running things, or even accepting the accolades that surely would have been given them if they just stepped up to accept them. All they ever wanted to do was just be kids, or adults, or parents, or grandparents.

But their children saw their parents' deeds and learned; that Good Men and Women must insure that Evil never triumphed, and Just Standing Up For What Was Right was often enough for victory.

So the next generation applied the lessons they learned at their parents feet and entered public service.

Abagail Stern was the first. She saw that the European Union was getting too draconian in some of its law enforcement, long after the heightened vigilance was necessary. Those laws, designed to thwart terrorism, were now being used to try and silence opposition to the majority political party.

Abagail made it her Mission In Life to fix that.

It took ten years, but she finally was elected to the European Union Council. From there, she set about systematically prosecuting every misuse of authority she found. She was reviled in the press. There were attempts to remove her from office. There were attempts on her life. Then there was vindication when she showed the world the Truth, in front of God and Everybody, about the abuses of power. There were impeachments, there were trials, and there were convictions.

Grace Belpois followed in her footsteps.

With her, it was how the French Government seemed to go out of its way to 'stick it' to the average citizen. Unemployment was almost astronomical in France, along with inflation. And being a member of the EU didn't seem to help any. Grace decided that There Must Be A Better Way. She, too, spent a long time trying to convince people of that. Finally, the people decided to give her a chance. Today was the result.

Grace had told Jeremie that she would get a Protective Detail for him, so he would never have to worry about nut cases trying to get to her through him. He told her not to bother, that he wasn't so old that he couldn't handle himself if he needed to.

The drive to the Inauguration was quiet. Part of Jeremie liked the silence. It gave him time to rest, to think. The other part of him didn't like the silence, because it gave him time to Remember.

Six Months.

He remembered their first loss, Franz Hopper, Aelita's father. She was so happy that day, the day they got married, the day Franz Hopper escorted her down the aisle, and danced at her reception. He had been trapped for so many years in that computer that she despaired of ever touching him again. But he and Jeremie figured out a way to get him out, at least long enough to be in their wedding.

What nobody expected was Franz Hopper dying. That night, after the reception, Jeremie's friend Odd Della Robbia took Franz back to the old factory where the supercomputer was hidden. Franz was supposed to virtualize himself back into the system, before his mind and body started deteriorating.

What they found out later was that Aelita's father didn't do that. He must have been planning what he did for a long time, because he set programs in motion in the computer that effectively prevented him from ever being stored in the computer ever again. He then left the factory and disappeared.

It wasn't until the Wednesday after the wedding that Aelita got the call from Desmond, her uncle, saying that Franz had died. He had been found in a park on the other side of town, comatose, and had died in the hospital before anyone could identify him and contact his family.

Aelita was devastated. She raged for days, calling Odd every vile name she could think of, thinking he was responsible for her father's death. No one could offer her any comfort.

Then she got her father's last message. Before he left the factory, he recorded a goodbye message to her and Jeremie, apologizing for his deception. He told her it was impossible for him to remain outside of the computer for any great length of time, and he did not want to spend eternity in those circuits, while she and her husband aged and died.

She cried all through the funeral. At the burial, she apologized to Odd for the things she said, and he forgave her.

The speakers at the Inauguration were droning on and on. Jeremie almost fell asleep three times during the ceremony. Then the moment came. He got up and held the Bible that she swore upon when she took her Oath of Office. All of her political advisers suggested she do without the Bible, but she told them to shove their suggestions sideways, that she knew where whatever authority was given her truly came from, and she would Honor it.

Then there was the fol-der-all parties and congratulations and self serving back slapping that happens after these kinds of things. Jeremie just sat quietly and Remembered.

Six Months.

Odd and Sissi Della Robbia was the next big loss. The gang's fight with XANA went much longer than any of them realized at the time. Even though they quickly defeated XANA itself, defeating the minions it created, and undoing the mischief it had caused, took years.

Jeremie, Aelita, Odd and Sissi had tracked a group of terrorists that XANA created to a remote installation in Belgium. Somehow, these people had set up a chemical weapons facility there, and were creating a biological weapon that made the superflu from Stephen King's 'The Stand' look like a head cold.

Things went to hell in a hand basket just about as soon as they got to the plant. Somehow, the Bad Guys knew they were there, and were doing everything they could to get their little bug into the air before the gang could stop them. Aelita stayed topside to coordinate the assault teams converting on the installation, leaving Jeremie, Odd and Sissi to track down the gang leaders inside.

They finally got to the laboratory and confronted the leaders. In a last desperate gamble, the thugs broke the vials of the germ in the room, hoping to take the three out with them.

They got two out of three.

As soon as Odd saw what they were going to do, he grabbed Jeremie and threw him out of the room, then sealed the airtight door behind him. Jeremie banged on the door, tried everything he could to get it open, but Odd and Sissi just shook their heads and waived goodbye. Odd had told him once that he and Sissi had been given a Promise that there would always be a Way Of Escape for them, even from death, if they chose to take it. This last time, they Chose not to.

They were never able to reenter the chamber where Odd and Sissi died. The entire facility had to be incinerated just to make sure the germ never got loose. But from the video cameras, they were able to survey their tomb.

The terrorists had died in agony. Their faces and bodies were contorted as if they felt the very Fires of Hell itself burning them before they died.

Odd and Sissi lay peacefully in each others arms as if they were asleep.

Everybody in that room died from the same cause. Some found out, at the very end, that they had more to lose than others.

Grace practically begged Jeremie to attend the Inaugural Ball with her and her husband that evening. Jeremie declined, saying he had quite enough celebration for one day. She once again asked him to accept the security detail, because she was concerned about him. He again said no, there was no need.

The car delivered him home late in the afternoon. His grand-daughter was there, waiting for him. He told her that he wanted to sit in the garden for a bit. There, he continued Remembering.

Six Months.

Ulrich and Yumi Stern had a more peaceful end. Prostate Cancer took Ulrich. By the time it was diagnosed, it had spread out of the prostate and into the surrounding tissue. The only thing the doctor's could do is make his final days as comfortable as possible. That was ten years ago. Yumi joined him three months later, dying of a broken heart. Jeremie knew how she felt.

Jeremie and his grand-daughter passed the evening quietly. She asked him how the Inauguration went, and he told her it went well. He described all of the dignitaries making their speeches, praising Grace for her courage and sacrifice, and so on and so forth. He told her if he had lit a match during all of that speech making, he could have eliminated ninety-nine percent of all of the problems France had these days. They laughed at that.

Jeremie then announced that he was going to bed, and went upstairs. He put on his bedclothes, got into bed, sighed, and Remembered again.

Six Months.

He had a good life with Aelita. Ever since that day, so many years ago, when she popped up on his computer screen at school, he enjoyed her company. And when they finally married, he thought he found Heaven on Earth. All of the cares, all of the troubles, all of the dangers they faced were nothing, so long as they were together.

But that changed. Six months ago, Aelita had tripped at the top of the stairs while coming down for breakfast. She tumbled all the way down to the bottom, and lay there unconscious. He rushed her to the hospital, where they told him she had suffered a severe trauma to the brain as a result of the fall. Given her age and severity of the injury, it was unlikely that she would ever wake up.

He sat by her bed, day and night, for a week, praying that she would return to him. Family and friends could not pull him away, could not make him make the decision that he knew, deep in his heart, had to be made.

Then her scent went away.

Through almost all of their relationship, he could smell her. Not smell her, really, but sense the scent of her true self. He always said she smelled the way angels should smell. No matter where she was, no matter what the conditions, he could always find her by her scent. He had etched it in his soul a long time ago, when she saved him from a fate worse than death, a living damnation.

When her scent went away, he knew she was gone. He sobbed for a while, then called the doctors in, and had them turn off the life support equipment. Her body followed her soul an hour later.

It was six months ago today that Jeremie lost the best part of his life. He longed to join her then, but he knew he couldn't. There were things that still had to be done, obligations to meet, promises to keep. Today saw the completion of the last one.

It has been said that a surviving spouse would die within six months of the passing of their love, unless something else could fill the void left. Grace tried, oh how she tried, but the Inauguration was the only thing she could get her father to commit to. Jeremie knew that one day she would understand.

He settled down, and went to Sleep.

"Wake up, lazy! It's time to go!"

The first thing he smelled was her scent, all around him. The first thing he saw was her face, smiling down at him.

He leaped from the bed and into her arms. They kissed and held each other for a long time.

Aelita pulled back from his embrace and said, "c'mon Jeremie, the others are waiting for us. We've got so much to catch up on!"

Jeremie looked back at the bed. He saw himself, his old, discarded self, lying there, lifeless. He thought about the reaction Grace and the others would have when they found out. All that was left there was yesterday's castoffs, nothing really to get upset about. He knew they would, though.

"C'mon, let's go!"

Jeremie turned away and took Aelita's hand. They would never be separated now...