Jeremie was the last one to sit down at the lunch table. Immediately upon arriving, Odd began pestering him.
"Uh, hey, you're not going to eat those potatoes, are you Jeremie?" He flashed a cheesy grin.
"Those are supposed to be potatoes?" He grimaced and stared down at the yellowish pile of mush. "Sure. I think I've already lost my appetite."
The boy beamed and slopped it onto his plate, slurping it up noisily. While Odd was munching away, the other blonde seemed lost in his thoughts.
"Is something the matter?" Aelita asked concernedly.
"Huh? No, I'm fine," He assured her. "I've just discovered a new program on the super computer that uses memories to power it, and I was thinking of a way to test it out."
"I will." The pinkette offered.
Yumi joined the conversation. "I'll try to help, too."
"Count me in." Ulrich added.
Having finished his meal already, Odd finished off his tray with a satisfied smack and propped his shoes up on the table, earning a stare from everyone.
"Have you even been listening?" Jeremie teased. "Oh well. I'm still not really sure where exactly we can 'find' memories, though."
"Let's try visiting the Hermitage after lunch. It's a Saturday, so after lunch we have the afternoon to ourselves." Aelita suggested.
"Okay, that's an excellent idea, Aelita." Jeremie smiled. She blushed with pride.
After finishing off their lunches, the five disappeared into the forest to walk the trail to the Hermitage. Green moss formed on rocks and trees with several mushrooms sprouting from the ground. The large, ancient trees provided a relieving shade for the group as they walked on their paths.
The wind blew more fiercely, blowing Yumi's hair in her face. She simply crossed her arms and kept going, much to the amusement of Odd. The gel kept his hair in place. It was beginning to get cold, and pretty soon they were all shivering.
"There it is!" Ulrich cried.
The gang ran through the Hermitage's front doors and slammed them, still shaking.
"Whew!" Odd sighed. "Now, let's take a little look-see."
Aelita was inspecting picture frames on the fire place when she heard footsteps. In fact, everyone stopped what they were doing to listen. The floorboards may have been old and creaky, but the noise was unmistakable. Quickly, most of them rushed to the stairs to see what was up, while the pinkette reluctantly tagged behind.
Ulrich, the first one up there, stopped in his tracks with his mouth agape. Upon seeing what he saw, everyone else did the same. There was another person here. He was short, with purple hair and a blue cape. He had a robe draped around himself, obviously there to keep him warm. It was an elf. But not just any elf. He exactly resembled Mr. Puck.
They stared, and he stared back at them. It was silent for a while, until Aelita stepped forward and spoke softly.
"...Mister... Puck?"
He seemed to acknowledge being called by his name because his gaze intensified even more. Amazingly, he replied.
"A-Aelita?"
She gasped and took a step back.
"Who are you?" Jeremie asked.
"I am Mister Puck. Aelita knows." He pointed at her.
"But how?" She responded.
"We're friends." He smiled. "And I've missed you a lot."
She sighed guiltily. She didn't remember a thing about him actually existing. She could only remember her father telling her stories about her every night, and giving her that doll.
Odd seemed unconvinced. "But if you're real, how come we haven't seen you before? Where have you been?"
"I don't know," The elf admitted sadly. "I can't remember much. I think most of my memories have been wiped."
"Well, we have to go now. It's past our curfew." Jeremie lied. He looked at his friends and they followed him back outside.
"Why didn't you let us stay with him?" Aelita huffed.
"Because." He said simply. "Uh, I'll explain later."
Yumi just shrugged. "Whatever. I've gotta go to swim practice now."
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to keep working on my program." Jeremie walked off in the direction of the factory. Yumi, Ulrich, Aelita, and Odd walked back to Kadic in silence, each spacing out into their thoughts.