Silver Bullet Productions presents:
New Home
Chapter 1: Finally
"Ready to take the big jump?"
"Ready."
"Then here we go."
Jeremie pressed the last key and watched the screen as his program began to read Aelita's virtual genetic code.
"Code: Earth."
Aelita watched as she levitated above the platform and waited for the materialization to begin. As she looked at her tower, all the data screens around her showed the tower scanning her genetic code. Knowing that she didn't have to do anything, she wondered what it was like to be human, what it'd be like to feel, to touch, to breathe, but she knew that the waiting was over.
Everything around her became more and more bright, the light so intense that she had to close her eyes, and a persistent humming in her ears that was getting louder and louder every second. It was so odd, she could've sworn she felt like her entire body was being split into molecules, every bit of her light as air…until the humming got even louder, and all of a sudden, she felt…heavy.
It was a sensation unlike any other she'd ever had, anything she'd ever imagined. It was like her entire body was changing shape, and being created from thin air at the same time. She then felt for the first time as her legs, arms, body and head took on physical shape, like she was being molded and manipulated. And just when she thought that the constant humming couldn't get any louder, it stopped.
She felt her body slump to the ground as it finally materialized, the small impact forcing the inexperienced girl to rest on her side. As soon as her warm skin touched the surface, however, she felt a sharp sensation against the polished and smooth material that contrasted with the strange feeling she felt inside her own body. She wanted to open her eyes and finally take a look at her surroundings, but it was still too bright and she kept her eyes protected. But Aelita felt the light dying now as she felt a rush of air moving towards her, along with a loud hissing sound.
"She's finally here…"
Aelita immediately recognized that voice…it was Jeremie. Was she with him? Did it work? Was she finally…real? Feeling a curiosity unlike anything, she opened her eyes and finally looked up. Everything seemed so blurry, she couldn't distinguish any of the colors and shapes in front of her, but as her eyes gradually focused, she was finally to make out that mysterious figure…Jeremie. His adorable face was right in front of her, looking at her with the same kindness and sweetness she had seen so many times.
"Welcome to Earth, Aelita…" he spoke, almost not believing that she was really there. But no, his eyes weren't lying…Aelita was there, looking back at him with her lovely green eyes, orbs that were even more gorgeous when they were real and looking right at him. And not hiding behind a computer screen, but actually here, in the physical world... Jeremie felt his heart swelling with strong feelings - pride, joy and relief certainly, but there was also something else, something more subtle...
…then he heard the voices of his friends cheering in celebration, reminding him of their presence.
Oh, but it didn't matter... for Aelita was finally here, in the flesh. Oh, how long had he dreamed of this moment? It had taken up all of his time, his energy, his thoughts for over a year. Materializing Aelita had become more than his hobby; it had become his passion, his obsession, his life. And now... she was here, looking even more beautiful than he'd imagined her to. All of his work had come to this lovely goal.
Meanwhile, Aelita kept her gaze fixed on him, marveled that she had actually made it here, that Jeremie had done it, she was finally here. She was finally a real human being. It was all thanks to him, wasn't it?
"Thank you," she said politely and turned her gaze away from Jeremie and back to her own body. The first thing she noticed that her clothes had changed, her earthly attire had a more plain style, but it was comfortable. As she looked at her arms and legs, however, she felt this strange sensation. Almost like she could feel their presence without even looking at them...it was so strange.
"No problem...it was all for you," Jeremie replied, still taking in the sight of Aelita, remembering how long he had dreamt of this moment...and it was finally here. Aelita remained silent, unable to take her eyes off Jeremie for some reason. Was it because he had worked so hard to bring her here, and she was thinking of all the adventures she could have now...
"Well, real life's not gonna be much fun if you stay lying down, Princess," Odd joked.
"Oh," Aelita realized that she was still on her side and felt her cheeks take on some of the color of her hair.
Using her arms to support her, Aelita started to lift herself off the floor of the scanner...only for her inexperienced muscles to give way, and she ended up falling back to the floor. As soon as she fell to the hard metal floor, Aelita felt yet another sensation running through her body, only this one didn't feel good. Aelita couldn't help but exclaim a short cry, wondering what was this unpleasnt feeling. She'd have to be more careful, as moving around here on Earth took a bit more effort than what she remembered from Lyoko.
Jeremie let out a quick gasp. "Are you okay?... Here, I'll help," the boy offered and knelt down, extending his hand.
Aelita's nodded while readjusting her body so it was in a better position to stand, and then lifted her hand to allow Jeremie's to wrap around it. Aelita couldn't help but gasp as she felt a wild series of pleasant sensations on her own hand, coming from the warm contact. Before she could say anything, Jeremie pulled her to her feet so she was now standing just a few feet from him. The girl wobbled a bit once her feet were supporting her, but hardly even noticed as the pleasant feelings on her hand trumped everything else.
"Wow, that... feels..." the girl found it hard to put her thoughts into words as she continued to run her fingers over Jeremie's hand, tracing over his knuckles and the individual fingers, amazed at how her fingertips were picking up the information. The flesh felt warm and soft, yet at the same time strong. She was stunned by how much detail she could feel, and how that warm feeling exended to her hand as Jeremie lightly squeezed it. And yet for some reason, Aelita felt more than fingertips touching Jeremie's, almost as if there was something else happening inside her chest.
Jeremie couldn't stop his cheeks from turning red as Aelita continued to softly caress his hand. His other hand was placed bashfully behind his head, gripping his hair.
"She's reading his palm to see if they're going to be together forever," Odd whispered and playfully nudged Ulrich.
At Odd's voice, Aelita's eyes snapped to the rest of the group, just now acknowledging them. She noticed that Odd had a huge grin on his face and was shaking from barely repressed laughter. Ulrich was glancing sideways at Yumi, silently blushing, while the girl was glancing at Aelita herself with a kind smile. And that's when she realized exactly what she'd been doing.
"Sorry Jeremie," Aelita apologized and after an affectionate squeeze removed her touch. "I've just... never... felt like this before... it's all so new." Her green eyes looked around the scanner room and rested back on her friends. They looked so different here on Earth, so much more detailed...their clothes were different, their faces seemed smoother, all of them looking so happy that she was with them...
"I-it's ok-kay," he stuttered, and suddenly found himself wishing that she hadn't let go of his hand. "I uh, yeah..." Jeremie stuttered, then fell silent as he felt at a loss for words, not knowing what to say next.
"Yeah, so let's get out of this factory, huh?" Yumi suggested to break the awkwardness. "There are a ton of things to see outside."
"Yeah, I can't wait to..." Aelita began, but stopped in her tracks as she saw standing behind her friends a very large man, bigger than everyone else. She had never see him before, his appearance was almost frightening to her, despite his smile and relaxed pose. Jeremie quickly realized what was wrong and talked before Jim tried tried to explain it himself.
"It's okay, Aelita. That's Jim. He's a friend. A new friend, you've got nothing to worry about," he reassured her, but Aelita was still staring warily at Jim. She wasn't sure if he was really a friend, but if Jeremie said he was, then she trusted him.
"Well, Aelita, ready to go outside?" Odd said with a smile on his face, imagining Aelita's reaction when she stepped out of the factory.
"Of course...I've been wondering what Earth is like. That's all I've thought about for the last year." She turned to look at Jeremie. "And you've told me so much about it, I can't wait to see and do everything we've talked about," Aelita gave Jeremie a tender smile, which he returned, his heart racing in almost surreal happiness as he felt his cheeks getting warmer once more.
"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Ulrich asked and headed for the elevator.
The other kids and Jim followed, suddenly eager to get out of the musty, cramped basement. Aelita found herself wobbling instead of walking, as she was still getting used to her new limbs, with flesh, muscles, and bones to control. But after a few baby steps and stumbles, during which Jeremie was eager to offer his help, the girl had finally made her way into the elevator, her ticket to freedom.
The golden metal doors shut the six of them in, and after a hissing sound, started moving them upwards. A feeling of weightless gripped Aelita's body for a moment before the rush of the elevator realigned her sense of where she was. It felt so strange, having a physical body...
Once the elevator reached its destination, a clanging sound was heard, indicating that the door was ready to open. As Aelita waited for the door to open and show her the outside world, she felt a strange hammering sensation in her chest. What puzzled her was that it seemed like it was coming from the inside of her body. What was that, did it mean anything?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door finally opening. She was greeted by the sight of the factory's interior, and it wasn't exactly the sight she had expected; it pretty much looked like metal and concrete built to encapsulate a huge empty space. But unlike the cramped elevator, the enormous interior was a welcome change, as there was space to roam, to walk, to run, to explore...
"Well, come on, the world is not gonna explore itself. Let's go outside," Ulrich said behind the pink-haired girl, feeling uncomfortable in a such a small space with all his friends. If the elevator were any smaller, him and Yumi would be practically touching each other...he quickly shook those thoughts out of his head and walked out of the elevator before his cheeks would incriminate him to Odd. The last thing he needed was to have Odd making fun of him; Ulrich hated to be teased. The group followed the boy into the open space, and they soon approached the stairs that would take them to the bridge outside.
While walking up the stairs, which provided a new challenge for Aelita to concentrate on, she kept on wondering about something that felt so odd...as she kept getting higher and closer to the exit, the hammering sensation in her chest intensified in anticipation. Excitement run through her veins and her hands started to shake as she tried to recall her attempts at imagining the outside world...Jeremie had called it "impossible to describe...you'll see when you get there", and that moment was here at last. She was getting closer and closer...she could see the light pouring out of the exit...
As soon as she stepped out of factory, Aelita saw the sun above her, shining bright light and emitting warmth to her body. It took a few seconds for her green eyes to adjust from the shady factory to pure sunlight...but as soon as she could see, she immediately gasped in awe at the world stretching out in front of her.
The sun shone high above her in the midst of an ocean of blue sky stretching out into infinity...a horizon that extended endlessly, with white cottony clouds painting the sky in so many shaped and sizes, each of them unique and so high up...tall buildings of every height, even a few that seemed to reach out to the sky, green trees that dotted the grid of buildings, giving the city of metal a brighter color...the blueish water below her, reflecting everything like a perfect, peaceful mirror...the colors of everything, mixing and combining...it was such a beautiful world that reached out to the horizon endlessly, and all for her to explore...oh, it was almost too much for her. She had imagined so many things, yet not once had she thought that Earth could be so vast and gorgeous.
"Jeremie," Aelita breathed his name almost by instinct; he had become where she went and who she talked to whenever she had a problem or felt overwhelmed. And the latter was certainly true at the moment.
She turned from the gorgeous sky to Jeremie and looked straight into his eyes, only for that mystery feeling in her chest to increase. While the sky was beautiful in its own right, Aelita found herself getting lost in his impossibly blue eyes. Her heart clenched again, and she had to look away, unsure of all of these new sensations and emotions.
"Jeremie... it's so beautiful... I just... I never expected... all of this..." she spread her arms out as in an attempt to gather the whole world in them.
The boy was smiling. "Take a breath, Aelita," he instructed. She tilted her head and looked back at Jeremie perplexed, not quite understanding his request.
Jeremie noticed that she didn't follow, and instead of clarifying, he took a deep breath for her to see what he meant. Though still confused, the girl imitated his action, and rather awkwardly inhaled the cool afternoon air. The moment she felt her chest filling up with air, she could feel energy flowing throughout her body, making her legs and arms strong. Aelita smiled at this new discovery, just to feel a light breeze blow past her, cooling her body from the warm sunlight. How odd...she felt both warm and refreshed at the same time.
"Wow..." was all she could manage to voice, unable to describe how she felt. The sight, the fresh air, which carried a faint afternoon scent, the warm sunlight and all that it illuminated...it was all truly beautiful. Oh, never before had she felt like this, with so much energy and so much joy... for the very first time in her life, Aelita felt truly alive.
"Come on, Aelita," Jeremie said as walked past the girl, guiding her towards the city. "There's lots more to see."
"Uh, guys, I hate to interrupt, but don't forget we all still have class this afternoon," Yumi reminded everyone sensibly, crossing her arms.
Jeremie stopped and checked his watch, only to make a face upon realizing Yumi was right. He'd been hoping that classes would be over for the evening, but their earlier trip to Lyoko had only taken up one hour. He started mentally going over the classes he had this afternoon. If it were Chemistry or math he would miss it without a problem, but he still had Literature to go to, his least favorite class, and the only one he had less than a 98% in.
But there was no way that he was going to leave Aelita alone even for an hour, not when she was so naive about the world and could get into a lot of trouble. Not only that... but seeing how happy the girl was now, he didn't want to spend another moment without her. He wanted to explore the world with her, show her stuff, experience life as if for the first time with her. Her happiness was all Jeremie had come to want for a while now, and now that she was finally here... how could he let something like school drag him away from Aelita?
"She's right," Jim finally spoke. "And Jeremie, don't forget -"
"I won't," the boy said quickly, frustrated that he was forced to make this choice. He turned to look his two classmates in the eye. "Uh, guys... do you think -"
"No problem, Einstein," Odd interrupted as if he could read Jeremie's mind. "I understand if you two lovebirds want to be left alone."
"Hey, it's not that, I just want to uh," his normally brilliant mind failed him. "Uh, show her around..." Jeremie weakly protested as his cheeks lit up once again from embarrassment. Was it really that obvious that he had feelings for Aelita?
"Don't worry Jeremie, we'll cover for you in class," Ulrich promised kindly as him and the other two kids headed back to Kadic Academy.
"Thanks Ulrich," Jeremie called out to him.
"We'll meet you guys after class later, I'll call you," Yumi called back before the three of them ran back to the school, knowing there would be no return to the past to save them from detention this time.
"Well... I guess you kids really do care about school," Jim noted and looked at Jeremie and Aelita, who was busy looking down into the river, mesmerized by the way the water was flowing and glittering like diamonds on the surface. It was nothing like the digital sea back on Lyoko... for a moment she wondered what it would be like to touch the waves. Would her hands go right through them? They weren't solid, but they weren't air either...
"Sure Jimbo... oh, and... um," Jeremie cleared his throat. "Don't you have anything to you know... do?" he hoped beyond hope that Jim could take a hint.
"No, not really, ever since I got fired I've had lots of free time, so-" Jim commented, but one look at Jeremie's face told him that he was actually politely asking him to leave them alone. "You know what, I got some, uh...appointment with some doctor, so...you two have fun alone!" he waved at the two teenagers, then walked away, with a smirk on his face, knowing what Jeremie wanted to do.
"Come on, Aelita," Jeremie said as he turned to her pretty face again, happy that they were now completely alone. The thought thrilled him to the core. "I have something I really want to show you."
