Prologue
Moscow, Russia
5 days after X-Day
That day was brisk and cold. Snow fell from the dark and cloudy sky above Moscow. Large mounds of snow stood along the sidewalks near the eerily empty Red Square. The Kremlin stood tall above the once proud and majestic capital of Russia.
Down below destruction prevailed. Many buildings were on fire and the streets were littered with debris and wrecked cars. Civilians were running hastily in search for safe hiding spots. The few who stayed uncovered were dragging the wounded soldiers, who attempted to stand and defend the city, off the streets. Some of the troops were still alive, but many others were not so fortunate…
A lone figure of a boy emerged from the smoke. His face was covered in dirt and blood and his glasses were broken and shattered. His blonde hair were a mess. He limped a little on his left leg as he walked; on the same leg was a large rip near the knee.
Yet in his arms he carried a limp body of a young girl. Her head was tucked into his chest and her legs dangled in the air. Blood trickled down the girl's face. Her eyes were closed and mouth open, as she breathed heavily.
Jeremy glanced at his girlfriend. Her pale face showed pain. Her clothes were tethered and ripped. He looked down to see a wound in the side of her leg and numerous needle marks on her skin, the effect of the past few weeks which destroyed her. He could not help a feeling that he failed her lately…
A loud flapping noise closing in on him gathered his attention. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Aether landed a few feet to his left. The monster ran up to him and pulled out a dagger. His mouth opened and his eyes glowed orange.
Suddenly, a white plum of smoke appeared in front of Jeremy. The smoke thickened as a young, black-haired boy jumped out of it. As Aether got closer, the boy ran to intercept him.
William punched Aether across the face as hard as he could. He could feel the pain in his hand and hear the sound of breaking bones, but he succeeded in stopping Aether. The monster was hit so hard that he fell to the ground and landed on his side.
Jeremy felt a surge of anger rise in him as he continued to walk past the scene. He remembered clearly how Aether had become the cause of all of their recent trouble and how he helped bring the world to its knees.
Jeremy looked to his right. In the distance, behind a curtain of snow dancing in the air on its way down, one of the New Titans was battling a boy in a purple suit. He watched as the two-headed Titan fired a blaze of fire at the boy.
Odd dodged the fireball and ran up to the two-headed fiend. He punched the beast in its golden scale covered body as he fired a laser arrow at it. The arrow exploded; the Titan flew in the air and landed on its back next to Jeremy's feet.
Having glanced at its ugly face, Jeremy remembered how this one almost killed one of his friends. He remembered the pain and fear racing through all of their minds as they saw what this beast had done and how many people it hurt before it left.
Suddenly, a large fireball leapt off the ground, followed by a thundering boom from the explosion. Shrapnel and sparks flew everywhere; the flames lept into the air. Jeremy tilted his body to the left, trying to protect Aelita from the shrapnel. He felt hot burning sparks bounce off him, followed by the thudding pain of metal hitting him. Yet his mind was still fixed on Aelita.
He then noticed a car which stood close by. It was actually in pretty good shape, considering the amount of bullet holes and shattered glass on the ground. Considering it a safe spot, Jeremy gently laid his injured angel on the hood of the car. Her eyes slowly opened. As he removed his hands from her back, Aelita winced and squirmed in pain. Suddenly, she gagged and spit. Jeremy saw what she had spit out of her mouth. It was blood.
Jeremy then heard a distinct sound of claw like footsteps approaching from in front of them. He slowly looked up and saw the face of his greatest enemy… the one thing that haunted Aelita to this day.
Xervix emerged from the dense smoke and snow like a ghost. In his claws he carried his scythe, which gleamed in the darkness of the day. It seemed he hadn't spotted them yet, however, it was a question of time. In Aelita's and his condition, Jeremy knew that escape was not a option.
Jeremy stepped back from Aelita. Suddenly, he felt her faint hand grab his shirt. He looked down and saw Aelita's tear filled eyes looking up at him. One of her eyes was swollen so bad he could barely make out her eye, while blood dripped into the other one.
"I love you," he whispered as he leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He let go of Aelita's hand as he turned to walk towards Xervix. Streams of tears poured from his face. He knew this was it.
Aelita laid on her back, helpless. Blood trickled down from one of her eye sockets. She was so cold, hungry and tired. Her body felt unbelievably weak. She tried to help, tried to fight with her friends, but had fallen short.
Despite her blurry vision and headache, Aelita tried to focus on Jeremy. Yet she noticed a faint blue glow coming from her right hand. She thought for a second it was just her imagination, but she soon realized it really was glowing.
She shifted her vision back to Jeremy in a distance. Suddenly, she saw a form of a creature walking towards him. It was tall and massive. As she recognized more details on the beast, Aelita's heart froze.
"No... No..." Aelita said quietly as fear took control of her lungs.
She tried to reach her hand out, warn Jeremy of the danger somehow, but found no strength to do anything. Her hand, weak and bloodied, just laid on the hood of the car.
Meanwhile, Xervix looked up and spotted his target. It was a face Jeremy was all too familiar with. He could make out the head of the beast, a large wolf like skull with protruded snout, horns on the side and a large scythe.
The beast slowly walked towards Jeremy. Its claw like feet punctured holes in the ground as it slowly made its way forwards. The beast lifted its foot up and kicked a large car out of its way. The car skidded onto the sidewalk. Xervix glared down at Jeremy, his eyes glowed bright red.
The boy also approached the beast in suicidal desperation. Jeremy's heart raced as he realized what exactly he was doing. His eyes watered as he realized that he may not see his parents or Aelita again.
But he knew what he had to do. There was no one else to protect Aelita.
"I know what you want and you know what I must do." Jeremy said as he finally came to a stop in front of Xervix. "Just promise me one thing. Please, don't hurt Aelita!"
Xervix stopped also as he stood within a few feet away from Jeremy.
"I SHALL PROMISE YOU NOTHING, WORM!" he shouted. Then Xervix stopped and looked at the weak, wounded boy. "Have you come to… surrender?"
"No! I'm here to fight you!" Jeremy shouted so loud that it even startled Xervix.
"Fight me? But you have no weapons, no powers... And no hope."
"I don't care! I'm not gonna let anyone harm Aelita again. Even if it means the loss of my life!"
Xervix was taken back by this. For a split second he admired Jeremy's bravery and boldness. Here was a boy who was willing to sacrifice himself for his girlfriend and he felt no remorse for what was about to happen.
"Humans… such irrational beings," he muttered.
Aelita sat up on the hood with great effort. She wanted to move, but she barely had the strength to crawl off the car. She weakly sat her head up and shouted Jeremy's name in a hoarse voice.
She had to stop him somehow and save him…but she could barely feel the System's energy inside her. It wasn't that the energy wasn't there or that it was drained; she just didn't have the mental or physical capability to use it. She was too weak. But then why was her palm glowing? Why was it a different color then the usual multicolor lights that emanated from her when she could use the System?
Her feet slowly lowered to meet the ground when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see the face of a thin man in camo. He had long hair and extremely long side burns.
"There's nothing you can do," the tall man said with a look of concern and worry on his face.
"No!" Aelita said as she looked down the street towards Jeremy. "Let me go. I... I have to save him... I can't lose him…"
"Aelita, I'm sorry." the man said with Scottish accent. "You're in no condition…"
"Captain Richard... Please let me go."
The tall Scottish man grabbed a pack of bandages from a bag behind his back. He tried to treat Aelita's wounds, but Aelita wiggled herself away from him.
" I HAVE TO SAVE HIM! I LOVE HIM!" she cried.
Jeremy could hear Aelita's cries from down the street. Her voice made him cry even more.
Xervix's face showed no emotion at all. He could hear the cries of Aelita, which filled the air like a symphony.
Civilians who were helping the injured now stood and watched the scene before their eyes like hypnotized.
"I love her. I love her more then my life. I just want her to live. That's why... I'm going to stop you even if it kills ME!" Jeremy said, sobbing loudly.
"Arrogant fool." Xervix said quietly. "You would die for her?"
"More than you know." Jeremy picked up a large steel bar and held it in front of him like a baseball bat. He swung it back and forth as he prepared to attack Xervix.
Xervix took his scythe in his hands and lifted it up in the air… But he hesitated this time. He stared down at Jeremy. His face still showed no emotion, though.
Jeremy stared straight into Xervix's eyes with cold intent.
"Well, what are you waiting for!? Do it!"
Xervix looked down at his feet and grunted silently.
"DO IT!" Jeremy shouted in anger, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
Further down the street, Aelita continued to scream and cry for Jeremy. Meanwhile, a familiar face appeared and stood next to her. His blond and purple hair was a welcomed relief to her eyes.
Odd squatted down next to Aelita and the captain. He gently placed his hand on Aelita's shoulder. He saw a lot of fighting in the past few days. With everything on the line, he knew that their loss here in Moscow would reflect on the Earth facing a grim future... And they were losing.
"Odd, help Jeremy!" Aelita pleaded loudly.
"Where is he?" Odd asked.
Suddenly there was a loud noise, followed by an explosion. Debris and smoke filled the air as the sound of the explosion echoed down the street. The flames from the explosion rose high into the air.
Aelita curled up into a little ball. Odd laid on top of her and covered her the best he could together with Richard; small rocks pinged off their bodies.
As the smoke and noise from the explosion subsided, Aelita saw what she prayed she would never see.
Jeremy's body flew in the air and landed on the cold unforgiving ground. His body flipped and rolled just a few feet away from her.
Odd stood there, watching his good friend come to a stop. He had always known it was possible for one of them to get hurt, he just pushed that thought away from him far enough. He felt his whole body grow cold as he realized what just happened. He begged for a sign that Jeremy was alright, yet the only thing that moved was his hair on the wind.
As she realized what just happened, Aelita violently clawed and dragged herself towards Jeremy's limp body.
"No..."
He laid in the same spot, motionless; the wind ruffled his hair.
"NO!" Aelita screamed.
She somehow found the strength to stand up and run towards Jeremy. She tripped and stumbled a little but managed to catch herself. Pain and weakness in her body were suddenly gone. All she cared about now was making sure Jeremy was alive.
Aelita finally made it to Jeremy after what seemed like eternity. She dropped to her knees in front of him like a dead weight.
Jeremy's face was covered in blood, which dripped out of his nose. He breathed heavily. His glasses were gone.
Jeremy tried to smile a little as he looked into Aelita's eyes. He realized these would be his last words to her, so he had to make these short.
"I'm sorry… but I had to. I had to protect you." he whispered.
Aelita placed her hand around Jeremy's head.
"But why? You're the one I never wanted to lose!"
"I just wanted to make sure you would be safe. I was... desperate."
"But... But…" Aelita sobbed as full force of her sorrow filled her mind. "I love you! And I wanted to spend the rest of my life and more with you!"
"I'm so sorry, Aelita... I love you too…" Jeremy said as he felt colder.
Aelita looked around frantically for any sign of a friend or ally.
"Help me." She murmured.
The only sound she heard was the wind and the roar of distant fires.
"HELP ME!" she shouted as she placed her hands on a wound on Jeremy's left side.
"Yumi! Ulrich?! Odd? Travis!? Sissi?!"
There was still no response.
"MOTHER!" Aelita shouted; she screamed so loud that more blood came up to her mouth.
She placed her head on Jeremy's chest and cried madly. She could hear Jeremy's heart beat slower and slower. His once strong heart that used to put her to sleep when she listened to it now sounded sad and alone. Then, it came to a stop.
Jeremy was gone.
As Aelita realized that, her face turned from sadness to sheer rage. She sat up and looked towards the grey sky, screaming at the top of her lungs.