Author's note:
Greetings! This is my second story, and my first time diving into the Code Lyoko fandom. It's been a while since I've watched the series in its entirety, and, as such, there may be errors in canon or OOC moments. Please let me know via review or PM if you see something that needs work. Each chapter of this story will be of varying length, and I've broken the chapters up by perspective. This chapter is quite short, but I think most will be longer. I'll try to keep a consistent update schedule, and will probably be uploading weekly.
Chapter publish date:
26 Jan 2017
Content warning:
This story will contain some blood, minor violence, fluff, and angst. Please keep all of that in mind before reading. If you think the story is in the wrong rating, please let me know.
Chapter One
Code : Nightmare
It was Saturday, and in France it was a chilly morning. Frost clung to every surface, and the sun's rays had just barely begun to melt what little of the ice they could. Winter was coming, heralded by the bite of the gentle breeze that swept through the tranquil city and the bitterly cold nights.
At Kadic Academy, the mornings were always quiet, and this morning, the coolness of the air crept into everything it could, leaving the halls of the dormitories too chilly for most students' liking. If one had the displeasure of being a fly on the walls of Kadic when the weather was like this, many a complaint would be heard.
'Why can't we control the heaters in our rooms?' some would say.
'Kadic must be run by cheapskates,' others would grumble.
This morning was much like the others before it. It was still too early for most to be awake, though, so the dormitories remained quiet. Come breakfast time, many a curse and groan would escape the Kadic students.
For now, a peace had settled over the campus. Stars still filled the sky.
One dorm room was not quiet, however. It was filled with the whimpers and cries of one lost in the terror and hopelessness of dreams.
The resident of this room lay in bed covered in a layer of sweat despite the chill that surrounded her. Her hands were clenched tightly, gripping her pillow so tightly that her knuckles were white, and her pink hair clung to her skin.
Her name was Aelita.
To say Aelita had nightmares sometimes would be an understatement. She had terrible dreams more often than not.
Sometimes she'd dream of wolves.
Most of the time, her slumber would be haunted by visions of her parents. Each night she saw them, they would be killed or would vanish before her eyes.
Very rarely in her dreams, she would watch her dearest friends meet their fates in the virtual world she was so familiar with. All the 'could-haves' manifested in her nightmares. Several times, she woke up thinking she'd lost them all to the digital sea.
This dream was different from the others.
Now, she dreamt of something completely new.
Aelita's eyes were wide as she approached the fallen boy. His body lay crumpled like a forgotten doll, limbs bent at distressing angles. Maroon splotches covered his skin and his garments, and by the smell she knew it was blood. A lot of it. The boy's hair was black with his life fluid, and clung to his head as if magnetized.
She couldn't tell who it was. She'd never seen the clothes he wore, and his hair was too far altered to recognize.
When she finally reached him, she felt her body shut down, and she dropped to her knees in the grass. It was cold, but she hardly felt it, for her body was chilled to the bone already. A thin sheen of sweat covered her body, which was quivering violently.
She hadn't even noticed that her hand was to her head, holding her phone up to her ear. Only when she began to speak did she realize it.
"Jérémie. Return to the past. Please. If we don't-" As she heard herself speak, her voice cracked with emotion. It felt strange to hear her voice without actually speaking.
The phone dropped out of her hand and landed with a dull thud.
Her body was wracked with a cough, blood expelling itself from her mouth. She ignored the physical and emotional pain and crawled closer to the fallen boy. Each centimeter caused her agony. Her chest felt like weights were compressing it, and her hands stung.
She heard herself wailing, pleading.
"Please, no, please, stay…"
The scene shattered, and Aelita awoke with a start, tears pouring out of her eyes.
"No…."
Sobs tore through her body. Though the physical pain she had experienced was but a memory now, her heart felt like it had been ripped in half. The misery of the dream felt real. No, it was real now. It had made sure of that.
For what was not the first time, Aelita was glad she didn't have a roommate.
She curled up into a tight ball, lost in her grief, and waited for her morning alarm to come.
Author's note:
Thanks for reading! Feel free to let me know what I've done wrong (or right). I will take care to address anything that may concern you. :)
The next few chapters will be mostly fluff to set up the story.