Author's Note: So here I am again! I didn't really plan to write a second chapter, but here it is!
Chapter 2: Forever
Ulrich's Point of View
"'Cause I will try, night and day
To gather fully the thoughts we can't say
And every word starts getting wonderful
All of these web of lies I wish I could undo
As I decide to run and hide
Disguised to people blind, I need to go
Take me to another world with you.
-Kitty Shack, Another World
The plane ride, although long and tedious, was pretty nice. For the last couple of months, all I've been worrying about is the kids and Yumi and the wedding. Too much pressure, I guess. Too many what-ifs.
I get off the plane and I go through all of the necessary steps until I'm able to leave. When I do, I hail a taxicab and tell the driver to take me to the police station. I get a weird look from him at first, and then he starts up the car and pulls away.
I look through my phone as we're on the road, and see that I have a message from Yumi.
I think we should break up.
My head doesn't know how to respond to this, neither does my heart. But, as for my hand, it does. I drop the phone, and then I instantly pick it back up. Instead of texting her back, I call her. What picks up the phone isn't her voice, but the voicemail. I hang up without leaving a message, and I place my phone back into my bag.
The cab ride seemed to take forever, but I knew it'd be worth it, because soon I'd be able to see my old friend. It's nice, seeing somewhere else than Milan, the closest city to where Yumi and I (and soon, the kids) live, and where I work. For now, I work at a large fashion industry, delivering the amounts of clothing in and out of the warehouse. It's not my dream job, but at least it's something. While in mid-thought, the car stops, and I see that we've arrived. I pay the driver, grab my stuff, and climb out of the car.
You see, I don't exactly know how to bail someone out of jail, but I thought the police station would be a good first start.
I walk into the building, and talk to the first person I see, which happened to be a middle-aged woman with her auburn hair done up into a ponytail typing away at a computer on her desk.
Excuse me, ma'am, but do you know where I can bail my friend out of jail?
Well, you can start by telling me their name.
Right. His name is Jeremy Belpois, from-
How do you spell his last name?
B-e-l-p-o-i-s.
Okay- well, that's strange...
What?
You said you were here to bail him out, but he is already been released. Actually, he's at the courthouse next door, or so I've heard.
Thank you.
I leave the small office and walk to the large courthouse. I'm about to open the door when I hear a distinctively familiar voice behind me.
Ulrich, is that you?
I turn around, and my eyes set on a blonde, straggly man sitting on the curb of the road.
Jeremy?
What are you doing here?
I came to bail you out. Don't you know? Lyoko's been turned back on.
I move away from the door and sit beside him on the curb. Getting a good look on him, I also note that he wasn't wearing glasses, and his arms have various cuts and bruises on them.
What happened to your arms?
Nothing.
Jeremy.
It was Becky. She always does it, I guess. At nights, she drinks, and in the morning, I wake up with cuts and bruises and scratches. But honestly, it's no big deal. We broke up anyway.
So, why were you in the courthouse?
She locked me out of the house. All of my things are in there, even my car keys. She won't let me in. I've no place to stay, Ulrich.
C'mon, Jeremy. I'm taking you home with me.
I stand up, and Jeremy does the same. He gives me a smile, and then hugs me.
Really? Jeremy, people could be watching.
Aelita's Point of View
We got bored of the forest sector, so we traveled to the mountain sector to have a little fun. At least things are in motion here. In this sector, we race from one end to the other, smiling and laughing the whole way.
Things start to get a little rocky though, when company starts to show up. And since no one's out on the super computer, there's no way we can gain any weapons or vehicles.
Ulrich's Point of View
After we arrived at the airport, I received another message from Yumi, informing us instead to meet her at the warehouse, rather than back at home. I was confused at first about the message, but I did as she told, and bought two tickets to arrive at Orly Airport, which is the closest airport to Sceaux.
I was worried, from the time my alert went off to when I found Jeremy. I think it's because maybe XANA is back. What if he's trying to kill us now? Maybe, after these nine years, he's gotten stronger.
After we landed, it was pretty late, around eleven o'clock. But Jeremy and I both slept on the plane, so we're pretty awake. The closest we could get a taxi to the warehouse is by the school, but it's fine, as we've had to do many late-night missions before, and we know where to go.
When we reach the outside of the warehouse, we see Yumi. I keep some distance, while Jeremy goes up to her and gladly gives her a hug.
Jeremy, thank you so much for coming.
No problem, Yumi. Are those your bikes?
No, I don't have a bike. Must be Odd and Aelita, then.
I didn't call them. Did you?
I'm sure they got the message. Aelita wouldn't just let this go unnoticed.
Jeremy nods, and we make our way inside. While in the elevator, I swear I could've heard voices. I didn't mention it, though, as I didn't think it was necessary.
The doors to the elevator opened, and two faces turned to look at us. The owners of the bikes.
Aelita's Point of View
There was nothing we could do to escape the krabs, other than run. Odd tripped a few times, not looking at his footing, paying attention to me, who ran in front of him.
Then, the voices came on. Two of them, actually, a man and a woman.
Hello? Who is this?
Jeremy? Is that you?
Jeremy? No, I'm Milly. Hiroki's here with me, too. Who is this?
Milly? It's me, Aelita. Is anyone else with you?
No, just us. Are you hurt?
Not yet, Milly!
Odd, be quiet!
Odd, you're here, too?
See, Aelita? I don't need to be quiet!
Just let me talk! Okay, Milly, on the screen, you should see Odd's profile, since he was last activated, right?
Uhh... Yes, I see it!
Good, now click on it, and activate Odd's weapons. Okay?
I think I got it. Did anything happen?
Behind me, I could hear Odd shooting off his laser arrows, followed by one of the krabs being destroyed.
Milly, you're a life-saver!
I got worried, since Milly didn't respond. Did XANA know she was here? Is she getting hurt?
Milly?
Milly's Point of View
It's hard to hear anything apart from what I'm truly putting all of my focus on, but when Hiroki lightly nudges my arm, that's all it takes for my focus to change direction.
Hiroki? What are you- how did you find this place?
Well, hello to you, too, Yumi. Never once did you think that you might have been followed, you and your friends? Without us-
You turned the supercomputer on?
Why does it matter anyway? Odd and Aelita are already solving the problem.
Jeremy steps out of the elevator, and two of them, Yumi and Ulrich, stay behind, continuing down the elevator. Hiroki looks back towards me and pulls me from the computer. He then waits for the elevator to come back up, and he walks in it, motioning for me to follow. I didn't like what he was up to, but I followed him anyway, not letting him do whatever it is by himself.
Hiroki, what are you doing?!
Do you think I'm just going to let Yumi go in that place with all of that danger?
You did before, what's so different now?
Oh, gee, I don't know. Maybe because she's carrying two other human beings with her!
Aelita's Point of View
It's been a while since Milly had last spoken to us, and things just keep getting worse. Once Odd had finished off the krabs, some bloks had shown up. He'd gotten through only half of them before he ran out of arrows, so we had to resort back to running. I honestly didn't think we'd get out of this one, before I heard Jeremy's voice ring throughout my ears.
Aelita? Odd? Are you two okay?
Jeremy!
Aelita, is everything okay?
Not really, Jeremy.
Odd, what is happening?
Oh, you know, the usual. I so happen to be in love with the best girl I've ever known.
Oh, not that! What's happening on Lyoko?
You should be asking what isn't happening.
Well, to help out, I'll be virtualizing a few people.
We stop and hide behind a boulder to catch our breath, and Odd grabs my hand and smiles, placing his fingers in between mine. We then move a few feet from the rock and turn back to see what we're up against, while still holding hands. Continuing to back up, I then bump into something. I turn to look what it is, and I let go of Odd's hand. A smile, as big as I've ever made, came across my face, while hugging my friend Yumi. Odd greeted Ulrich, too, but their reunion was a little less subtle.
So, you two, what was with the handholding?
I look back to Odd, who was already looking in my direction. I could feel my cheeks getting red, as if they were on fire. Whether that was from us running all this time or not, I didn't know.
Jeremy's Point of View
Typing away on the computer, I barely noticed that Hiroki and Milly weren't around until I noticed the elevator opening. A young woman walked out, and tapped me on the shoulder. She had long, bright blonde hair, which she left down. She was wearing a dark blue cardigan over a light yellow shirt, and she also wore a matching blue skirt with black Maryjane's.
Excuse me, sir, do you know where my student is?
What?
Hiroki Ishiyama. He left class earlier today, and I found his bike outside. Is he here?
Hiroki still goes to school? But he's nineteen.
He and a small group of students decided to stay another year at the academy to gain more college credits. If you don't mind me asking, what's your name? I think I remember seeing your face somewhere.
My name is Jeremy Belpois. I don't really live here, I live in London. Or I did. I'm still working it out. So, you work at the school?
Yes, I'm now a math professor. I just moved here from Spain about two years ago. My name is Laura Gauthier.
Nice to meet you, Laura. Now, I'm trying to work.
I have to admit, this girl was pretty... pretty. And she's pretty smart, too.
What are you working on?
A... simulation, of sorts. Odd, do you need your vehicle? You need to get Aelita out of there.
Wait, 'Odd'? I dated a guy named Odd once. It was a long-distance relationship. It didn't work out, though. He was from France.
Laura? Is that you?
Odd?
Odd, shut up!
Jeremy, what is this?
It's Lyoko. A virtualized world. We can send real-life people there to save it. We can also bring the people back.
Is that where my student is?!
No, he's not there. He was here, though.
Then, something popped up on my screen. Two people, the missing students, had entered the virtualizers. I guess that's where Hiroki and Milly has disappeared off to. Then, Laura had slapped me on the head, knocking off my headset.
Hey!
You lied! My student is in that place! Bring them back!
I can't bring them back myself. We'll have to wait until they get devirtualized by one of XANA's monsters for them to be sent back here.
Yeah, because that totally makes sense.
We laugh at that, because in Lyoko, although Laura doesn't know this, nothing truly makes sense.
Aelita's Point of View
It took a while, but we finally got rid of the monsters. That's when XANA truly showed himself. Shaking the world violently, we all fell to our feet. A few feet over, I hear a thud. I look up, and see that two new people had joined us. Milly and Hiroki.
The world stopped shaking, as if XANA was trying to figure out who these new people are. Then, Lyoko spun. The world spun and spun, like a merry-go-round when a parent pushes it with all of their might.
XANA didn't care who these people were, they just wanted them out. Dead. Either one, he didn't care. We held on to the ground as much as we could. I held onto Odd, who dug his nails into the rocks. Ulrich stabbed the ground with his sword, and the others were holding onto that. We kept our heads down, to keep from flying off the terrain. I used Odd's back to dry my tears. Why does XANA do this? He took my father, my life, and now, my friends. Soon enough, he'll take away the Earth, too. The only time Lyoko seemed actually peaceful and nice was when that lever was in the off position.
Off.
Jeremy!
Aelita? What's happening? Lyoko's going crazy!
It's XANA! He's messing it up! Turn it off!
Turn what off? I'm not doing this!
Turn off the supercomputer!
What about you?
Jeremy, Odd and I turned the supercomputer on. We came here. We didn't know what we were doing! Just shut off the computer!
I could already hear a lone blok, one we couldn't destroy, walking near. I heard it shoot once, then twice, then I heard it make a screeching sound as it flew off the rocks and down into the mist.
What happened?!
Hiroki and Milly! They got devirtualized!
Now was the time. Turn off the computer, and us four, the people who've been on Lyoko many times, the people who know this world, who've fought to save it.
Jeremy! Now!
Aelita?!
Do it!
And that was it. After a moment of his final word, my name, the world stopped spinning, and we fell down to the ground. We flipped on our stomachs, and gasped for air. We were now safe.
We ran towards the forest sector, waiting to see baby girl, Lola. Yumi had lost the other baby in a miscarriage. She was depressed about it, but at least she had one of the babies.
Growing up on Lyoko isn't like growing up at all. You don't look different, even after what feels like an eternity.
Odd flies above me on the hover board. Jeremy had virtualized the vehicles before the computer was shut down, so we were fortunate enough to have them. I laugh and I was running below him, before he helped me up on the board and smiled, and then he kissed me.
We couldn't hide our relationship from Yumi and Ulrich. As for them, they soon got back together, settling their differences. That happened soon after Yumi lost the baby.
We landed, and we saw Yumi sitting near a tree, cradling the baby in her arms. Ulrich was climbing up a tree, as he never lost his athletic side. Yumi looks at us and lets up a small laugh, and then hands the baby over to me. She doesn't really trust Odd with her.
She is the sweetest baby, lighting up whenever I hold her.
Aelita, I want to ask you something.
Anything, Yumi.
Ulrich and I would like to know if you wanted to be Lola's godmother.
Are you serious? Yes!
Hey! Am I the godfather?
Actually, Odd, we thought about it, and, since there's really no other option, yes. We want you to be Lola's godfather.
Really? That's a big step, seeing how you won't even let me hold her!
I never said you can't.
I hand the baby over to Odd, and I go back over to the hover board. Odd notices and quickly gives our godchild back to her parents, and he climbs back on. I hold onto him around the middle, and we take off.
Yumi and Ulrich stay behind with their child, watching her sprawl around in the soft grass, with her tuft of black hair and her green eyes. Happy as can be, we will forever be in peace, never lonely, doing whatever we want. We will never starve, nor grow tired. In our own little eternity, time doesn't pass, but we continue to grow.
Lyoko is a world far, far away. Only a select few know about it. And those who do know about it have pledged to save it from evil. Saving that world will save the one you currently live on.
It's a world full of color, from bright blues to soft greens. It's a world full of love, if you choose to embrace it. I, for instance, have found love because of this world. I have also lost people because of this world. A friend, a father, a future.
I have lost a future because of this world, but it's okay. Because, now, I'm living my future here.
You can spend forever here, and never know it. You can go to any biome you want. From a cold tundra to a rocky mountain, this place has it all. Because, this place has been here forever. It has changed, it has evolved. It will always be here forever, because it is a home to us. We are the people of Lyoko. It's our castle, and we are its royalty.
To CodeShadowX - Thanks for the help in convincing me to write another chapter! It took me a while, but I hoped you liked it!
To RCS - Thanks! I know it wasn't my best writing ever, but it's the bad writing that makes us better, I think.
To Guest - Well, here it is!
To the other Guest - Yeah, I guess my brain kind of wrote it as it's pronounced. And thank you, my friend!
To Princess Unikitty - Thanks! I love your picture, by the way!
Since I did you all a favor by writing this, you all can help me by giving me some help in writing my last chapter of The Shadow Life! Technically, it's not the last chapter, there's an epilogue, but I'm aiming to put it up next Friday, as I spent too much time writing this for you!
(please review)
