Hunter Moebius and I don't own Code Lyoko. I do own my OC.
Yumi was also a witness to Sissi's supposed metamorphosis as well, and almost as surprised by it as Odd was. For the longest time, Sissi rarely had a nice thing to say to her, and yet ever since the start of their hospital stay, she had said nothing but nice things to her, and even invited her and the entire gang to a spa treatment. It was so unreal to the Japanese girl. She wasn't complaining, yet after the roller-coaster ride that was the vortex, and Cassidy's coma, she wasn't sure whether to suspect supernatural forces at work, or to wonder if she had been "replaced by a clone," as the psychic brunette asked the night before when she displayed this kind behavior toward her.
Sissi turned to the two. "What? Is there some hot chocolate on my face?"
Yumi blinked. Maybe she was genuine in her kindness and she was overthinking things. "No, Sissi." She smiled, covering her lie. "We just got caught up with our battle with the guards."
"I still feel sore in my arm," Ulrich noted.
"Me, too, Ulrich," both the geisha and the former snob chorused.
"Maybe you can see if the nurse has something to dull the pain, you three," Jeremie said. "In the meantime, I'm going to recheck the footage from last night. Might be useful."
"I'd love to find out how my father came out of the scanners," Aelita smiled, feeling light as a feather. "To think my premonition was about to come true when Cassidy lost her voice."
"She did mention a sacrifice."
"But it didn't happen, Einstein and Princess," Patrick grinned.
"No kidding. The vortex combatted with the events and won." Sissi flipped her hair back and scoffed happily. "I can't wait to meet him, Aelita, dear."
"I am so excited to see him for the first time in years." The pink-haired girl's eyes glistened with tears of joy.
Sissi walked over to her and pulled her gingerly into a hug. "And you will, Aelita, sweetie. I don't doubt it for a minute."
"Why do you want to meet him, Sissi? He's not your uncle or anything," Jeremie observed.
"Well, my father had employed him to be the science teacher at the school, and he told me that I was much too young to remember knowing anything about him. So, I want to meet him myself, and see if he's anything like my father says he was."
"What did your father say he was like?" Aelita inquired, curiously.
"Just that he worked at the Academy until he disappeared, and Mrs. Hertz took his place when he did," Sissi answered.
"That must have been the day the Men in Black came to our home," Aelita added, her voice lowering in volume, as the horrifying memory came back to haunt her. "He brought me to the factory with him, and virtualized the two of us onto the Forest Sector, after that."
"And now, you'll finally be reunited with your father, once again," Jeremie said as he opened his laptop, smiling, and invited Aelita to sit with him. He watched the footage from the night before. Everything fell into place for both of the viewers. Franz Hopper stepped out of the scanner, in full flesh and blood. Aelita reacted in the same way as she did before her first roommate fainted. "Daddy?"
"I think we can say that he had someone that saved him," Kaitlyn smiled.
Jeremie nodded. "Even though she doesn't know it yet, it was Cassidy who saved him from certain doom. She worried that he would sacrifice himself, and that would make you cry, Aelita."
Aelita grinned.
"She is his hero," Sissi cheered, a bit too loudly.
Before anyone could try to get the former snob to quiet down, Cassidy woke with a start. "Huh?! Harry?! Dementors?! Expecto P-Patronum!" She yelled.
Slowly, her eyes cleared, seeing her friends look at her as though she had grown a second right foot. "Oops. I guess I'm not at Hogwarts."
"No you aren't, but I bet you had a wonderful adventure in your dream," Sissi cooed, stealing away from the pink-haired girl to walk to Cassidy's bed. "It sounds like you had a magical time there."
The psychic brunette smiled. "I had a wonderful time there."
Sissi grinned, as she approached the side of her bed, and began gently stroking her hair. "How do you get your hair so soft? No matter how many times I wash my hair, I can't seem to get it quite as soft as yours."
"I use shampoo and conditioner. Suave is my favorite brand to use." Cassidy replied with a slightly sheepish smile, as she fought to contain her purring, without success.
Odd smiled, watching his girlfriend's attempts to stifle her cat-like reactions. "You're really living up to your nickname, Cat Girl."
Her cheeks flooded with red. "You lived up to yours, too."
"But I'm only a cat on Lyoko!" Odd retorted playfully.
"So am I, remember?" Cassidy giggled.
A look of surprise slowly overtook Sissi's face, as she continued softly stroking the brunette's hair.
"Do you mean to tell me that Cassidy is part cat?" she queried, confusion and surprise painting her tone.
"No, Sissi," Ulrich answered. "She is all human. She just does some things that make us think she has some animal parts inside her."
"I know that she breaks into a galloping stride when she runs," Yumi added, to which Kaitlyn nodded. "Sometimes she gets to the passage in the park quicker than we do that way."
"But she purrs when someone strokes her hair!" Sissi noted.
"It's also good trilling practice," Odd smiled. "You do remember that she speaks Spanish."
Cassidy nodded. "Sí, Señor Odd."
The wildcard chuckled, in reply. "I love it when you talk like that!"
"Is that why I went under that one bet with you?" she grinned.
"Both that, and it was fun."
Jeremie smiled. "It's almost time for lunch, guys."
"I'm starving," Odd and Cassidy chorused.
"Oh, great," Ulrich retorted, with a grin on his face. "Five hours of sleep, and she turns into Odd!"
"That isn't very cool, Ulrich," Aelita scolded. "She fainted a while ago. She needs all the nourishment she can get."
Yumi stood beside her pink-haired friend. "Yeah, Ulrich. Cassidy may have woken up from her fainting spell last night, but she needs to get some food into her. She even ate breakfast with us this morning."
Ulrich grimaced, surprised his joke went over worse than he expected.
"C'mon! I was only joking!" he remarked, holding his hands perpendicular to his sides.
Cassidy scratched the back of her head nervously. "I am pretty hungry."
"Ulrich, maybe you could get us our lunch." Jeremie glared at him.
He nodded as he walked out the door.
"Hey, wait!" Odd raised his hand, a grin growing on his face, as he walked over to a desk near the door to their room, upon which sat a telephone, and a few slips of laminated paper. "We're patients here, aren't we?"
Lowering his hand, he reached for one of the papers, and picked it up. "Why don't we call for room service? They can bring our food up to us, just like they did at breakfast time!"
"Right," Yumi smiled, realizing that he was right. "Ulrich, anata, you don't have to leave the room."
Ulrich stopped at the sound of her voice, turning around. "I don't?"
"No, Ulrich," Jeremie smiled. "We completely forgot about room service."
Odd's eyes scanned the menu he held, as he approached the others. "And look at all of the food choices! They've even got meatballs and gravy!"
Everyone smiled. Odd and his meatballs and gravy.
Cassidy's stomach growled. "That sounds delicious to me…"
Sissi gave her a sympathetic look. "You're really hungry, aren't you?"
She nodded. "Anything sounds good right now."
"And they even have chicken wings on the menu," Odd announced. "I know how much you love chicken, Cat Girl."
Cassidy's eyes widened hungrily as her mouth watered. "That's perfect…"
"Chicken wings for her. Sushi okay for you, Yumi?"
"Odd…" Yumi teased, "did you forget which country I came from?"
"Chicken for Cassidy. Yumi wants sushi. Ulrich, hey! They have broccoli."
"Awesome! A good side dish," Ulrich smiled.
"And do they have Brussels Sprouts?" Jeremie asked.
The wildcard studied the options on the menu, eyes scanning for the item the genius of the group wanted. "Hm… Let's see now…" He flipped it over to the other side. "I don't see it, Einstein."
"Oh, that's okay. Plus I feel more interested with the meatballs and gravy," he smiled, not even disappointed his favorite item hadn't materialized as a selection.
"Yes! We have another follower. Sissi, what would you like?"
"A salad works for me," Sissi answered. "Ranch dressing, too."
"Odd! I want some ranch to dip my chicken into!" Cassidy blurted out. "I'm sorry I forgot about that."
"It's okay, Cat Girl. We still have a couple others who haven't given their orders," Odd smiled soothingly at her.
"Chicken wings sound good, too, with honey mustard," Patrick answered.
"And a salad sounds great for me, Odd," Kaitlyn smiled.
"Okay, so two salads, two orders of chicken wings, sushi, broccoli, and two orders of meatballs and gravy," the wildcard read off, taking on the role of a waiter with photographic memory, before turning his eyes toward Aelita. "Princess? What would you like to have?"
"Hmm… Do they have croissants?" Aelita asked.
"As a matter of fact, they do," Odd smiled. "Would you like anything with it?"
She grinned and shook her head. "That's okay. I'm good, Odd. But thank you."
Jeremie cast an inquisitive glance upon his pink-haired princess. "You sure you don't want anything? You really should eat something."
"Yeah, girl. We don't want you to have any eating disorders here and have you extend your own stay," Kaitlyn stood behind Jeremie.
"I totally agree," Sissi nodded. "I think Kaitlyn would pass out on us if she saw you ribby and what not."
The pink-haired girl smiled. "Maybe you all are right. Too much excitement can make someone not hungry, but I think I'll have the chicken, too."
Jeremie smiled, reassured. "Thank you, Aelita."
Cassidy grimaced, holding her growling belly. "Could someone please call them now? I'm starving…"
"Of course, Cat Girl," Odd smiled.
Once his sentence was finished, the wildcard went to the phone, and their food was soon ordered. It was a short amount of time before it arrived, and the nine friends shortly gathered around to eat. Odd and Cassidy ate voraciously, but only the latter retained her table manners. However, in the end, everyone ate and enjoyed each other's company.
It was an hour after the nine finished their lunch, when two pairs of ascending footsteps came to everyone's ears. This time, the eight friends relaxed around Cassidy, no longer worried about a possible threat.
The door gently opened to reveal a brown-haired gentleman in a brown trench coat over a black jacket, wearing red pants. He stood by a woman with blond hair and glasses, just like the Einstein himself. She had on a lavender blouse with an eggshell white skirt, and blue slip-on shoes adorned her feet. It didn't take long for Jeremie to identify the two, his face rising in the process.
"Mom, Dad!" the genius of the group exclaimed.
"Hello, there, son," Michael, his father, said, as he and Jeremie's mother, Cadence, walked into the room. "It's great to see you."
"Oh, Jeremie! You've got a little bit on the bottom of your lip," Cadence fussed, whipping out a tissue and wiping his face with it.
Aelita brought up a hand to her mouth, giggling to herself.
"Mom… Not in front of Aelita," Jeremie whined a bit, red flooding his cheeks.
She stopped and looked behind her, smiling warmly at the pink-haired girl. "Hello, Aelita. It's great to see you again."
The elven warrior smiled. "It's great to see you, too, Cadence."
Cadence nodded.
Ulrich slid Odd a 20 Euro bill. "You win the bet this time," he whispered to him.
Cassidy smiled. "Hi, Cadence and Michael."
The Belpois parents turned to her. "Hello, dear." Cadence greeted her, warmly.
"Where are our parents?" Kaitlyn asked, slightly worried.
"They will come tomorrow afternoon, Kaitlyn, dear," Cadence answered. "They had work today. Sorry about that."
She and Patrick nodded, smiles adorning their faces. At least we won't be forgotten.
"Of course not," Cassidy blurted out, having read the minds of Jeremie's cousins, before a blush quickly overtook her face.
"Of course not what?" Michael asked, confused about the brunette's random outburst.
"Remember, dear? She can read minds," Cadence smiled.
"Oh, that's right. I forgot about what happened over Christmas break."
Odd's jaw dropped to the floor. "Huh? They knew she could read minds, Einstein?"
Jeremie shrugged. "She went with me for the fall holidays before we materialized Aelita. She couldn't read minds then. But after Cassidy and Aelita had a rough run-in with William on Lyoko, when we went home for the holidays, she ended up accidentally revealing that she could read minds."
"It was so embarrassing," Cassidy whined, hugging her knees to her chest. "And I was doing so well, too, during that time."
"It's okay," Cadence smiled, reassuring the psychic. "You just gave us what you wanted for breakfast that morning. That's all."
"I didn't think I would end up preempting your question like that. It scared you."
"Maybe it did, but you don't have to be ashamed of your gifts. They might help people." The Einstein's mother walked up to her and gave her a warm embrace. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I didn't?" Cassidy's cheeks held the blush.
"No, Cassidy," Michael and Jeremie chorused.
"We're proud of you, Kaitlyn, and Patrick, Jeremie," Cadence smiled.
The three Belpois kids looked at her. "Really?"
"Of course," the genius's father grinned. "Plus, it's great that Patrick and Kaitlyn have settled into Kadic life, as well. You know, it's also where I met the wonderful love of my life."
"You met my mom at Kadic?" Jeremie couldn't believe his ears. He never realized he was continuing a Belpois tradition all by himself—albeit a bit unconventionally, due to the circumstances that caused him to unintentionally follow in his father's footsteps in the first place.
"Yes," Cadence smiled. "When we transferred you to Kadic, after what happened at your old school, we knew you had a better chance there than anywhere else."
Odd cocked a brow. He had never known about Jeremie's past life, prior to his enrollment into Kadic; so, naturally, he was curious about what his mother meant.
"I met the greatest friends I could ever ask for," Jeremie grinned. "And I met the girl of my dreams."
"As they say, Jeremie, if the glove, boot, whatever fits, wear it," Cassidy beamed.
Aelita let out another giggle, this time at Cassidy's euphemism. "Cassidy…"
"Come on, Aelita. That was just dying to be said." The psychic couldn't help but chuckle, finding her first roommate's state of emotions contagious.
Yumi cracked a smile. "You're both nuts."
"Hey, out of the two of us, Aelita's saner," Cassidy interjected, jokingly but truthfully.
Sissi smiled at the scene, herself finding it hard to keep a straight face, when presented with the insanity Cassidy came up with. "That's so dumb, it's hilarious!"
The psychic brunette cackled, unable to hold it back any further. "Yeah!"
Cadence smiled. "At least we were able to make your day after waking from your c—"
"Mom!" Jeremie, who was momentarily stunned happy from the chaos that Cassidy unfolded, suddenly snapped back to reality, before his mother could finish her sentence. "She woke up from her fainting spell."
Michael and Cadence shared a look; they knew it was unlike Jeremie to assertively reply in such a manner. He was rarely this forward, and almost never cut either of them off in mid-sentence. What made him want to start, all of a sudden? And why was he referring to Cassidy's coma as a mere "fainting spell?" At first, they began to suspect a cover-up of some sort: that either Cassidy's sensibilities were too fragile, or something worse. They could have even been playing some sort of word game, before their arrival. But it also wasn't like Jeremie to sugarcoat anything. They knew he frequently used big words when speaking normally, and therefore could easily drop a bombshell on someone, even if they hadn't understood what exactly he said. Yet here he was, talking as one would about the weather, or even their day. They had some idea as to the extent of Cassidy's fragility, especially when she visited during Christmas vacation, but was something like this enough to send her over the edge?
To be absolutely certain they weren't about to walk into a minefield, the Einstein's father turned his attention to his incredibly smart son.
"May we talk to you in the hall, son?" Michael asked, being careful to choose his words.
Jeremie nodded, walking with his parents out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Once they were outside, Michael and Cadence turned their attention back toward him.
"What's going on, Jeremie, honey? Is there something we should know about?" Cadence opened the floor, concerned about their son's behavior.
"Yeah, everything's great, but for now, Cassidy should not know that she had been in a coma for a while. She might have a meltdown from the overload," Jeremie whispered, arms crossed against his chest. "She came very close to breaking down last night, in fact. If it weren't for Odd reminding her about her favorite foods at Kadic, she'd probably be hurting herself for answers."
Michael and Cadence mouthed an "Oh…" simultaneously, fear and surprise overtaking their faces.
He nodded, before he continued. "We just don't want to traumatize Cassidy. We will reveal it, but not before she is ready. And judging from her reactions last night, she isn't there yet."
The genius's mother and father smiled and nodded, understandingly.
"So promise me that you will refer to her coma as a fainting spell, and don't mention the vortex, either. That's also in the out-of-bounds area for now."
"We promise, son," Michael nodded. "Thanks for clearing the air about this subject."
"We'll do our best. You can count on us," Cadence grinned.
"Thanks, guys."
Having cleared up his parents' confusion, Jeremie led the two back into the hospital room.
"Is something wrong, Einstein?" Odd asked, once the three had re-entered.
"No, it's better, Odd," Jeremie answered.
"At least we could brighten your day," Cadence added with a smile, as she turned toward Cassidy. "Hopefully today has been better than last night, when you woke up from your fainting spell, Cassidy."
Cassidy nodded. "Last night was really interesting and intense for me."
"But now, you have friends who will stand by your side," Michael said.
"They have always been in my corner," the psychic brunette agreed, a smile plastered across her face. "I couldn't ask for better ones."
"Me neither," Jeremie agreed, his cheeks flooding red.
"I'd say we picked the perfect place to come together, guys," Odd grinned, sitting on his girlfriend's bed.
"You said it," Yumi and Ulrich chorused.
Cadence approached Cassidy's bed, before gently kissing her on the temple. "You and Aelita are always welcome to spend the summer holidays with us."
"A winter with the Della Robbia family, and a summer with the Belpois Clan? I think that's perfect!" The psychic brunette nodded, getting excited at the mere thought.
"Keep up the good work, Big Guy!" Michael extolled, turning to Jeremie, before patting him on the shoulder. He then turned to his niece and nephew, repeating the gesture for each. "You too, Kaitlyn and Patrick. You're all destined for greatness. Don't forget to call us from time to time…especially you, Jeremie."
"I promise," Jeremie grinned.
"It's great to properly meet you all," Cadence smiled.
"It's great to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Belpois," Yumi agreed. "Jeremie, Patrick, and Kaitlyn couldn't be in better hands."
Sissi nodded.
"We should go for the time being, but we will drop in later," Michael smiled.
"Have a wonderful day, Uncle Michael and Aunt Cadence," Kaitlyn called out, as the two neared the door.
Michael turned around and grinned. "You, too, Kaitlyn."
"I hope we'll see each other at the next family reunion," Patrick commented, nodding.
"I'm sure you will," Cadence smiled.
The two soon reached the door, waving to the nine friends as Michael opened it with his free hand.
"Goodbye, Mom and Dad." Jeremie waved back, abeam.
The two soon disappeared through the door frame, closing the door behind themselves, as the room fell silent.
As the door shut, Odd cast a curious glance in the Einstein's direction. "You used to go to a different school?"
"Yeah, but it was before I changed my middle name. I don't like to talk about it much, considering what happened one time," Jeremie replied with a frown.
"Really? What?" Ulrich asked, his curiosity piquing.
"Some bullies smacked his glasses off, punched him in the gut, and one of them smashed them with his shoe," Kaitlyn answered. "It hurt his self esteem so much he lost all pretense and threw a fit in his room at home—he was a day student at that school."
Aelita rushed over and hugged him, both out of surprise that she had never known about this event, and to comfort her knight-in-glasses.
"Oh, Jeremie!" she exclaimed in surprise, as she embraced the blond.
"I would have loved to come up to his bullies and kick their sorry asses," the blonde continued, her tone becoming dark, as anger filled her eyes and heart.
"Kaitlyn!" Patrick and Jeremie chorused in surprise, appalled by her language.
"Well, it's true! I would have called the police and had them arrested for hate crimes!"
Odd smiled, always the one to find the sunshine in a dark situation. "If they ever show their faces in our school, Einstein, they'll have to answer to us!"
"No doubt about it," Ulrich agreed, wrapping an arm around his dorm roommate's shoulder.
Yumi nodded with a grin. "Absolutely none."
"We'll teach those bullies that they messed with the wrong genius!" Sissi stood up from her bed and threw a fist into the air.
Jeremie blushed, unused to such loyalty and praise all rolled into one. "Thanks, guys."
Cassidy nodded. "Plus, we can't lose our Einstein."
"We will protect our Einstein," Odd corrected in agreement. "Because we'll make sure nobody will ever do anything like that ever again! Odd the Great, the Brave, the Magnificent's seal of awesome approval!"
"No one will ever hurt you again!" Kaitlyn growled in determination, balling her fists to further cement her feelings.
Jeremie couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of pride that began to well up within him, as his friends pledged to keep him safe. He knew that his friends were true friends, and it was moments like these that further reinforced the trust he placed in them, as well as his cousins, and reminded him of how highly they regarded him. Even if his position was both the ringleader and the programmer, and he lacked the physical strength of the rest of them, he, his friends and cousins instinctively knew they had each other's backs, and that they all shared a very special bond, that nothing, not even XANA's many attempts—and the A.I. threw roadblock after roadblock—could break.
A few minutes later, a softer pair of footsteps led into the room. The door opened to reveal a nurse, carrying a bag of IV fluid. "I just need to change hers out. We will see about taking her off tomorrow."
Cassidy nodded, extending her arm toward the nurse. A nagging feeling within her brain told her that she was ready to go without it, but the sensation was minimal at best.
A few moments later, Cassidy shivered from the chilly feeling in her arm. It reminded her of how Jim tried to keep her hydrated after she passed out, the day she and her then-smaller group of friends had been to his commando camp. She had been sick all throughout that afternoon, but it was thanks to the medicine Jim gave her that her stomach was finally able to settle down, and allowed her to sleep for a while.
"It'll take a bit to warm up," the nurse noted apologetically, citing the brunette's reaction. "But you did a great job."
"She's my brave Cat Girl," Odd smiled at her.
A wan smile flitted across the psychic brunette's face. "I am so glad that my friends could be here, to support me like this."
Patrick smiled, walking up to her. "Of course, we would be here to help you, Cassidy."
"Just think about all the love that the other students will give you when we get back to Kadic," Jeremie grinned.
"But what about you guys? I wouldn't want to keep all their love all to myself," Cassidy worried.
Ulrich's brows shot up slightly. "Oh, that's right. You remember how she drowned when we gave her too much praise? She's bound to get buried six feet under, with all the praises everyone else is gonna give her."
"I can convince my father to limit the amount she gets," Sissi posed, smiling pridefully.
"That might be a great idea," the samurai agreed.
"Plus a limit might help her get used to it," Aelita suggested.
Cassidy looked at them, abeam. "That sounds like an excellent idea. Good thinking, Sissi."
Jeremie nodded. "I agree. A good plan to go on."
A thought suddenly flicked in her head. "I just hope Ulrich's father will take it easy. He scares me."
Sissi walked over to the hapless girl. "We will call security if he goes too far."
It didn't take long until they heard indistinct conversation in the hallway. Ulrich sighed, bone-weary as he recognized the voice. "Well, it's showtime, guys." He pulled Odd to his feet, positioning him to the defense behind him beside Cassidy's bed. The samurai stood in front, taking a deep breath. Nothing in the world could possibly prepare him for what was about to happen. "Aelita, take cover."
"Huh?" Aelita was curious, yet confused; this was the second time in sixteen hours she had been told to cower. "Why?"
"He'll chew you like a dog chews a bone."
"Is he really that tough with you?" Sissi asked, helping Aelita to duck under her bed.
"If Cassidy is sensitive now, once he gets through with you, he might make things worse for everyone involved." Ulrich nodded.
It fell deathly silent in the room. Jeremie paused his progress in typing on his laptop. Cassidy failed at her multiple attempts to stay calm. She had only heard horror stories about Mr. Stern's attitude, so the idea of meeting the man face-to-face, particularly while she was in the condition she was in, did not bode well for her in the slightest. She couldn't help but liken Mr. Stern's imminent appearance to a sudden visit from the Kolossus, who would rip the ceiling off from their room, before retrieving herself and Aelita, King Kong-style. Yumi joined Odd near her Savior's bed, squeezing in next to the psychic brunette to wrap her up into a comforting embrace.
Sissi, for the most part, shakily handed Aelita the book Jeremie had selectively read parts of to keep her occupied when her friend was still comatose, her own heart racing a thousand miles a minute. Kaitlyn and Patrick stood at the ready, surrounding the pink-haired girl.
A few seconds passed in tense slowness, seconds which felt like hours. The entire room was soon enveloped in a blanket of fear. Ulrich could almost feel the sweat fall down his temples. Okay, Dad. We're ready for you. Come in. In all honesty, he wanted to face down his own dark clone again, rather than face a Stern Family Reunion, complete with shouting matches and fights that never end.
Cassidy held Yumi's hand, every muscle tensing. She was even less prepared for the upcoming moment than Ulrich was, if such a thing were even possible.
After what felt like forever, the door opened with eerie slowness. In the doorway stood a strict-looking man with dark brown hair, dark eyes, still wearing the same yellow business suit over a white shirt with a dark red tie. Beside him was a brunette woman with kind eyes. She was wearing a yellow button-down blouse with a burgundy coat over it and a long, dark brown skirt.
Bruno Stern locked eyes with his only child. "Hello, Ulrich." His voice was neutral, with a slight hint of anger.
"Dad," Ulrich regarded him calmly. I see you forgot your happy pill already.
Cassidy fought to hold in every instinct to squeak.
"I trust you've been mostly well, since our last meeting."
"Yup," Ulrich folded his arms, his own neutral gaze unwavering. "Everything's been just fine."
Amidst the storm about to go down, Philipinna Stern walked over to the tense brown-haired girl. "Hello, dear. Everything okay so far?"
"Aside from the blitzkreig about to rip open, I think all is well," Cassidy trembled.
She took a gentle hand and placed it upon the scared teen's shoulder. "I think it's going to go a bit differently than what everyone thinks."
"I've been looking at your grades over the past few days," Bruno continued, seeming to pull his punches on the surface. "You told me you would improve over the course of a month, and all you've done is lift your grades from a D+ to a C+. I expected better from you!"
"I think we're going to be in the hurricane's wrath," Odd noted, trying to keep quiet.
"Have you even looked at my other grades?!" Ulrich's voice slowly began to rise in tone, nearly mirroring his father's. "That was only in math! My history and chemistry grades are much higher!"
Yumi watched the drama. Not even one of her parents fights could be compared to the fit that was going to hit the shan. She knew that Ulrich had it rough with his parents. Now it seemed to be boiling over.
"You've only gotten Bs in those subjects!" Bruno's hands began to ball into fists. "How do you expect me to compare them favorably, when they're not much better?!"
"You really don't think I'm trying hard enough, do you?!" Ulrich directly challenged him. "You think I can't do it very well at all, don't you?!"
"Yup," Odd commented under his breath, wincing at the sight of the battle. "Our little hurricane's just been upgraded to a category three."
Not even wanting to reason with the samurai's father, Jeremie picked his laptop up and moved himself around the bed to join Aelita.
"You don't even know how hard I've been trying!" Ulrich continued, glaring daggers at his father. "You just think that, because I don't get straight A's like you did, that I'm somehow not good enough! You don't know what I'm going through!"
"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU, YOUNG MAN!" Bruno's tone escalated to a terrifying level, as he leaned closer to his son, who remained unfazed by his intimidation tactics.
"Bruno, dear! Watch your volume!" Philipinna scolded.
Just as the others had predicted, Cassidy's will had been broken by Bruno and Ulrich's intense shouting match, as tears began to fall from her eyes. She had never seen such a display of parental force, and it felt as though there truly was no love between the two, or if there had been, Mr. Stern had a terrible way of showing it.
Sissi, who was uncomfortable, but unfazed by the display, walked over to the psychic brunette's bedside, joining Yumi in embrace. "Just whimper the word, and I'll have this ingrate thrown out!"
Cassidy nodded, heart still racing.
"Can't you see that you made my friend cry?!" Ulrich verbally shot at his father.
Bruno turned an angry glare, with gritted teeth, toward the bawling psychic for a few seconds, before returning his gaze toward Ulrich, letting out a quiet growl as his eyes closed.
Why is he trying to blame this on me?! He thought to himself, as he lowered his head, before flattening his left palm against his forehead. How dare he bring her into this! It's only between him and me!
"You just couldn't be civil, Bruno, dear. We should be proud of him for what his heroic actions have done, but you just have to be all high and mighty!" Philipinna whispered vindictively.
Bruno's growling began to slowly intensify, before he raised his head, turning his attention toward his wife. "Do you think saving the world from some sort of… of… computer, is gonna get him into ENS?!"
"ENS, ENS… That's all you want him to be! Plus saving the world is a grander achievement than grades lifting mere increments."
Yumi nodded slowly in agreement, yet feared opening her mouth to add her own voice, worrying that the conversation was going to take a turn for the worst.
"You can't put that on a college application!" Bruno shot back. "Hi, my name is Ulrich Stern! I saved the world from a maniacal artificial intelligence! How do you know he won't get laughed out of France for that?!"
"Bruno, Ulrich has confided in the principal and in me that he doesn't even want to go to ENS. He is just as much a human being as you and I are."
"Don't play the 'human being' card with me!" Bruno gritted his teeth.
"And don't you remember what the principal told us? This precious girl just woke up from her coma, and she is a bit fractured now in her mind. You yelling and getting all tense won't make her mind fix itself," Philipinna scolded softly. "For once, forget about his grades! The principal has told me that he has a few surprises planned for when they all return to school, one that might even make you happy." She scoffed.
Bruno gritted his teeth once more, turning his gaze to the floor as he balled his fists. For once, he wasn't sure how to reply.
Eyes tightly closed, Cassidy whimpered into Sissi's ear, "Please… keep him away…"
The former snob grinned in such a way that if Cassidy's eyes were opened, she would have been reminded of the time the principal's daughter had eavesdropped into the conversation between her and Ulrich. She grabbed the button and pressed it. "Sorry, Mr. Stern! But you have crossed the line!"
Bruno's gaze turned toward the principal's daughter, surprise making a slight crack in his stone-faced expression. "What are you talking about?!"
"You made my sister so upset that she doesn't even want you in the same room with her!" Sissi proclaimed, flashing fierce bedroom eyes at him. "Maybe if you were a bit nicer to Ulrich, this whole situation would probably never have happened."
"Sister?" Cassidy's voice cracked in surprise.
"You heard me."
Now Bruno was more surprised. What was she planning on doing with him? His eyes turned toward the door to the hospital room, and then back to the room's occupants, starting to get a slight feeling of fear. His gaze turned toward his wife, whose face showed her disapproval with his actions, before he folded his arms.
"You can't do this to me!" he protested.
Ulrich grinned. "We had planned this for a few hours. I even called Mom to help us when I threw away the trash from lunch."
Bruno was flabbergasted. His entire family had ganged up on him. He couldn't believe his eyes, or ears. He was not pleased with the development of the current situation in the slightest.
"FINE!" he yelled, seeing as though he had no way out of the current situation. "Maybe… Ulrich has done well. Especially on Lyoko."
"See, dear, wasn't that easier?" Philipinna smiled.
"But Cassidy is still…"
"Crying? It's genuine." It was Aelita this time, popping her head up from under the bed. "She hates it when someone yells like that. She had a moment when William had shouted at her during American History class. It'll take a bit for her to calm down."
Odd nodded and hugged his novia, gently rubbing her back. "It's okay, Cat Girl… Just let it all out… There, there…" he cooed into her ear.
"B-but the button…" Bruno interjected, unsuccessfully.
Sissi held it up. For all intents and purposes, it looked real. "A wrapped-up, stripped to the bone chicken wing, with a red toothpaste cap!"
Bruno began babbling incoherently, unable to contain his surprise. "You… you… you…!"
She giggled. "Fooled you!"
"And Ulrich gave us enough time to prepare." Yumi stretched her legs on the bed. "Good thing, too."
"You have a lot to think about, dear," Philipinna sighed.
"Maybe you're right," Bruno replied, adding a sigh of his own, while his tone still carried a slight tinge of anger. "Our son… has done things I never dreamed of."
"Plus, he's made a few great battles on Lyoko: Especially with that dark clone."
Ulrich smiled, a slight blush rising in his cheeks. "He was distracting me from what was really important."
"He's right," Aelita agreed. "XANA was trying to outsmart him, so he could stop Jeremie and me from decoding my father's diary."
Cassidy, meanwhile, gradually regained some semblance of normalcy, as her breathing slowed and deepened. Maybe there was some love in the Stern family after all.
She opened her eyes to a blur of arms surrounding her. Instead of wondering which pairs belonged to who, the psychic brunette smiled as she reached through and brought them closer. "Thanks, guys…"
"That's true, but you did destroy him," Bruno's face and voice slowly began to soften as he continued, "and I'm sure that's no mean feat."
"He also did wonders when he was up against his XANAfied friends months ago," his mother smiled.
"Why XANA didn't probe my powers is a mystery to me," Cassidy interjected, "as well as why he possessed me that day. I guess I will never know."
Bruno let out another sigh, giving the impression that he was having great difficulty in finding the right way to formulate his next response, while turning toward the psychic brunette. "I suppose I owe you an apology, don't I…?"
"You certainly do, Mr. Stern," Sissi nodded.
Yumi nodded in agreement.
"See, dear? Even his, as you called them, 'good-for-nothings' agree with you," Philipinna nodded.
Bruno rolled his eyes, disgusted that his wife would use one of his own nicknames for them against him. Heaving another sigh, he turned his attention toward Cassidy, adopting a shameful look that was slightly rough around the edges.
"I guess I'm… sorry… Miss McGuire," he lamented.
"Cassidy," she said quietly.
"Hm?"
"You can call me Cassidy, Sir," Cassidy looked at him. "But, it's okay. I just hope you can lower that expectation bar one day. Being average isn't the end of the world."
"I just wanted him to have a good future, like I did!" he raised his voice a tiny bit, as he pointed his hands at Ulrich. "Was that too much to ask?"
"Sir, if my intuition is anything to go on, he might have a brighter future sooner than you think." She winked.
He folded his arms. "And I suppose your psychic powers are telling you this?"
Bruno's reply caught Cassidy off-guard. She hadn't remembered hearing Ulrich tell his dad about her secret abilities; how else could he have found out?
"Bruno!" Philipinna scowled. "Have you forgot that she has intuition just like every woman?!"
"I wasn't questioning that!" Bruno's gaze turned toward his wife, as his expression softened, slightly.
Cassidy blinked, unable to think. Her mind descended into a frenzy of questions, rendering a blank expression upon the psychic's face.
Sissi waved a hand in front of her face, worried for her sister. "Odd…?"
"I'm on it!" He grabbed the real button and pressed it.
Doctors Porter and Chantal charged in at once. "What happened?" the female demanded.
"My father said something, then she went into this state," Ulrich stated.
A look of shock and worry permeated Bruno's face. "But how was I supposed to know she'd react that way?!"
Odd snapped his fingers rapidly in front of her face. "Cat Girl?" Just as fast as fear started to sink into his entire being, a memory struck him. "A man walks into a fancy restaurant and is seated into a booth. He reads the menu and is shocked that an item isn't on the list. So he calls over the waiter, and asks him, 'Do you have frogs' legs?' And the waiter says, 'I don't have frogs' legs! That's just the way I walk!'" He chortled.
In an instant, the questions in Cassidy's mind came to an abrupt halt. A grin spread across her lips as a cackle escaped between them, eyes refocusing. "Odd, I haven't heard that one in a long time…!"
"I guess laughter can help cure something," Dr. Porter smiled.
Bruno turned his gaze to the floor, feeling more ashamed for what he had done to Cassidy. "I suppose I'll have to ask your forgiveness, again."
She blinked once again. "What for?" The lapse from the bombshell he inadvertently dropped took away the memory of the question.
Surprise filled his eyes, as he gave her his gaze, this time. "I might have… said something that sent you into that... catatonic state…"
"Oh… It's okay. Plus, sometimes I zone out badly."
"It's true. She once sat in the science lab for two hours, staring at nothing," Sissi noted gently. "She sat through the eleventh grade biology class, even though she was in the eighth grade at the time. Mrs. Hertz didn't even notice her there until after the class was over."
"That was one time," Cassidy muttered as Dr. Chantal examined her eyes. "I've learned to control those now. Besides, that's the day she invited me to knit with her."
That's… very interesting, Bruno thought to himself. He then turned to Ulrich, adopting a calm look. "Well, Ulrich… even though your grades aren't the best, in light of recent events…"
He placed his hand upon his only son's shoulder, as he continued. "...I've come to realize that your friends aren't good-for-nothings; they show trust, and care very much for you. And having said that, I'm proud of you. Really, I am."
A grin slowly crept up Ulrich's cheeks, the samurai unsure exactly how to respond, or feel. This was the first time, in a very long time, if even such a memory existed, that his father had ever behaved in such a way. He had gone from a berating sentence to one that left him feeling something that he rarely felt after talking with his father: pride. His father was actually proud of him. Proud of his deeds on Lyoko. Proud of his friends, and how they and him interacted. Had his father and mother not been in the room, he probably would have exploded from the excitement.
While Ulrich was reeling from his father's surprising admission, Bruno lifted his hand up from his son's shoulder, as he turned his unchanging expression on Yumi, next.
"Take good care of him, young lady."
Yumi nodded, bowing slightly with a smile on her face. "Yes, sir."
His next target was Cassidy, as he slowly approached the bed-bound psychic, the two doctors leaving the room. "I admit I was wrong about you. You are a special girl. And I don't want you to take any of your gifts for granted. Use them wisely. Do you hear me?"
Cassidy grinned. "I will do my best to use my gifts for good. I've already done it several times over. I vowed to do it like that, and that's what I will do."
Bruno nodded, in reply, before walking back toward the door. "Good. And maybe all of you are good for something."
As he neared the door to the hospital room, he glanced over at his wife, who was embracing their grinning son. I don't understand half of the things he's done, he thought to himself, but I don't even know how my upbringing even ranked according to that.
Philipinna had her arms wrapped around Ulrich, giving the boy a warm hug.
"I'm proud of you, too, dear," she extolled. "Just because your father can't bring himself to hug you, much less even smile, doesn't mean he doesn't feel the same way."
Ulrich nodded, in reply, while returning a similar embrace. "I know, Mom."
After a few seconds, Philipinna slowly pulled back, but left her hands upon Ulrich's shoulders, while looking into his eyes. "Now I know you've heard this before, but I want you to be good. And don't feel embarrassed about calling me. If you need to talk to me about something, send a text, borrow your friend's laptop to shoot an email, write a letter… anything. I will do my best to help out in any way I can."
"Yes, Mom," Ulrich nodded. "And thank you."
His mother gently kissed his temple, before pulling away, and walking toward Cassidy.
"You be good, too," she embraced the brunette, soon planting a similar kiss upon her temple as well. "I know you're in great hands, with all of your friends. I hope you get well soon, and that that computer virus, or whatever it is, doesn't wreak havoc on you, or your friends, any longer."
"Thank you, Mrs. Stern." A smile flitted across her face.
A few more seconds passed, before Philipinna gently broke free from the embrace, and followed it with similar hugs and advices to the room's other occupants. Once everyone had been embraced, she rejoined her husband near the door to the hospital room.
"We should be going now," Philipinna commented. "It was lovely meeting you all, once more!"
She raised her arm into the air, gently waving to the Warriors, as Bruno opened the door to the hospital room, allowing his wife entrance to the hallway outside. After she walked out, Bruno walked around behind the door, before turning his gaze on Ulrich, one last time.
"Take care of yourself, son," he advised. "And take good care of your friends, too. They seem to be taking good care of you."
The samurai nodded, a smile still plastered on his face.
Bruno added a nod of his own, his calm face softening a tiny bit further, before he gently pulled the door closed behind himself. Two pairs of footsteps could be heard descending into silence, as Ulrich turned his gaze toward the floor, still overcome by his father's unusual actions.
Odd was the first to make a noise, sighing in relief. "I guess that we can say the damage the hurricane wrought was small time. No need for a disaster relief fund!" he grinned.
Kaitlyn giggled, turning toward the wildcard. "What about disaster relief food?"
His smile threatened to separate from his face. "There's always room for disaster relief food!" He chortled. "I like the way you think, Kaitlyn!"
"You okay, Cassidy?" Yumi asked, concerned for her Savior's well being, ignoring the jokers.
"More questions than answers at the moment, but I guess they can wait," she smiled a bit.
"That's true. We have all the time in the entire world," Jeremie said.
"Definitely," Ulrich agreed.
Patrick grinned. "And the best part about this is that we're all together."
"That is true, but one thing that I, for the life of me, don't know is what about your mother, Aelita, sweetheart?" Sissi asked gently.
Aelita blinked at her, an unsure look crossing her features. "I don't know. We still haven't been able to locate her, yet."
"What will happen to her?" Jeremie noted calmly, asking it more as an aside than a direct question to his sweetheart. "That is a good question."
"I just hope she won't get in trouble or worse," the former snob trembled.
"Heaven help us all if we end up kidnapped by those bastards," Kaitlyn feared, feeling her insides turn to jelly.
"You said it, cuz, even though I don't like your language," Patrick agreed.
Cassidy held her knees to her chest, her chin resting on them. "I think they would probe me first, and I don't want that to happen!" Her body tensed. "I'm just a regular teenaged girl!" She trembled.
Sensing her distress at the thought of being probed by the Men in Black, Odd, Aelita, Sissi, and Yumi leaped into action. The four converged on the psychic's bed, surrounding her on all four sides, and embracing her. The cat girl immediately began to relax, as she felt the warmth of four pairs of arms surrounding her tense, trembling body, attempting to ease her worries.
"They'd have to go through all of us to get to you," Sissi and Odd proclaimed.
"Definitely," Ulrich nodded, cracking his knuckles. "If you think we're just gonna sit back and let them harm you, they'd better watch out!"
"We've got your back, just like you've had ours in the past," Yumi reassured.
Cassidy looked at the group. "You really think so?"
"Come on, Cassidy. We wouldn't have you hurt in any way, shape, or form," Kaitlyn smiled.
Patrick nodded. "We can't let it happen."
The psychic brunette grinned. "How did I land such awesome friends like you all?"
Odd chuckled. "The Supercomputer, of course…"
Cassidy giggled. "Possible…"
Ulrich smiled softly. "I think the school is where we brought you into our group."
"Please, I think that we came together of our own accord."
The air grew thick with laughter, thinning gradually with silence blanketing the room.
"What if it's too late to save her?" Aelita worried, breaking the quiet.
"Don't think like that, Aelita," Jeremie and Cassidy scolded at once.
"If she's still over there, we can rescue her," Odd smiled encouragingly.
The brown-haired psychic nodded. "I would be surprised to find Franz in the room with us. I don't know what will happen. What if he is hurt that I let his only daughter die at XANA's hands? What if he doesn't want me to be roommates with her? What if he is disappointed that I didn't stop William from—?"
"Cassidy!" Yumi shouted, interrupting the anxiety-filled questions the cat girl was spouting. "Calm down."
She took a breath. "Sorry. I'm worried that, even though he helped me some of the time, he's unhappy with me."
"Why would he?" Aelita smiled calmly. "He's a warm person. He rescued you as well as me that one time."
She put her fingers to her chin. "True, he did save me, and he helped me deactivate that tower."
"Ya see, what did we tell you?" Odd grinned. "You've done more good than harm."
Cassidy grinned, straightening her legs. "You're right. I'm probably overthinking things or letting what that XANA's clone of Franz said get to me."
"That was an emotional time. You had random shivers for a week after the attack," Odd nodded.
"It wasn't my fault that he decided that I should be electrified and then suffocated." She winced, the memory flashing in her mind. "I swear, I don't ever want to be attacked like that again."
"Everything will be alright, Cassidy, dear," Sissi smiled.
The door opened, and Dr. Chantal stood in the frame. "Do you have room in the evening for one more set of visitors tonight?"
Jeremie's eyes widened. "But Patrick's and Kaitlyn's parents won't come until tomorrow afternoon."
"It's not their parents, Mr. Belpois," she smiled.
"Is it one of the teachers?" Odd asked. The presents that they got were great, and they loved them, but a formal visit from one of them sounded good, even for the wildcard.
"No, Mr. Della Robbia."
"Is it my parents?" Cassidy worried.
"Not them, Miss McGuire," she answered.
"Then who?" the other nine occupants chorused in surprise, their curiosity piquing. The doctor had knocked down every single one of their suggestions as to who the visitor was going to be. They were beginning to run out of options. It could very well be someone they had never met, whether at the school, or somewhere else, who possibly admired their work from afar, especially after the vortex was unleashed.
Jeremie, however, began to formulate another idea. His mind immediately recalled the factory surveillance camera footage that William had thoughtfully saved to his laptop's hard drive, which showed Franz Hopper strangely emerging from one of the scanners. With this in mind, his eyes began to light up at the possibility of the mysterious visitor being none other than Aelita's father, the developer of Lyoko, XANA, and the builder of the supercomputer.
Just as quickly as this thought came on, however, another one pushed it out of the spotlight. How would Franz know his daughter was in the hospital? Could William tell him? Did he somehow find out on his own by browsing the internet, before he was materialized? Or would he somehow just… know?
But he also remembered what Dr. Chantal had mentioned: there was more than one guest. Based on what ideas his brain was hatching at that very moment, if he was certain that Franz was to be one of those guests, the next obvious question was… who was the other one?
While the Einstein of the group was lost in his thoughts, Dr. Chantal turned her head and waved her hand to the mysterious visitors. "Come in, but be very careful, you two. Miss McGuire is still recovering."
A matched thought echoed through everyone's minds. Two… Is it Milly and Tamiya?
A long shadow slowly slid across the floor, signaling the room's occupants' theory was about to be disproved. Instead of two small teenaged girls, an elderly man, whose face was mostly covered by his gray hair, and thick, round glasses, wearing a dark red sweater, pants that were a chestnut shade, and dark brown shoes, slowly walked into the room, causing everyone's eyes to widen, and jaws to bounce off the floor, once they recognized him.
Aelita gathered her jaw first. "Daddy?"
"Aelita," Franz Hopper walked over to the pink-haired girl, bending over to hold her.
Sissi slowly grinned, happy to see father and daughter reunited, but for the most part, she stayed quiet.
Cassidy couldn't even begin to describe how awestruck she had become. Here she was in the presence of the legendary computer programmer. Questions threatened to boil over and leave her mouth, but her face refused to obey her brain.
Odd closed his mouth, whispering, "Einstein, I know that things have gone differently since we came here, but it feels like a dream now…"
Jeremie found himself squeaking, dumbfounded, unable to put words together. It was as though Jim had stepped into his room without his knowledge while he was video chatting with his parents.
"Yeah, me, too," Odd muttered.
Yumi and Ulrich found themselves in similar states of shock. Was this really happening? Did they all fall into a coma, similar to their friend? They couldn't believe it.
Aelita hesitantly wrapped her arms around her father; the last time she had hugged him, she and Cassidy had fallen into a honey trap. It wasn't even her father, but a projection of such that fooled them. Her psychic friend berated herself for almost three days after, before the two finally settled into life with Jeremie's family.
Patrick and Kaitlyn were stunned solid. They had heard stories about their friend's father, but to actually see him was something else altogether. Their minds could only draw blanks at the sight.
"It's been so long, honey." Aelita's father could barely contain his emotions. "It's great to finally come together and enjoy each other's company."
A smile sliced across the pink-haired girl's face, eyes glistening with tears. "Daddy! It's really you!"
"Of course," he chuckled slightly. "And I didn't come alone."
"You didn't?" her voice piqued in curiosity. "But who came with you? We went to Lyoko alone, Daddy, and—"
"Sh… It's someone that you and I both ached for a very long time, honey."
Next came a woman with long, somewhat-disheveled pink hair. She donned a sky-baby blue turtleneck, similar to what Jeremie used to wear, and a worn pair of denim jeans. Light bags hung under her emerald green eyes, but one look at her daughter made them brighten up. "Aelita!"
Her eyes widened like dinner plates. "Mommy?!"
Odd, this time, looked back and forth between the father-daughter duo, and the mother, dumbstruck. He was at a loss for words.
Jeremie, on the other side of the coin, smiled gently at Aelita. She didn't need to worry about it being too late to save her.
However, Cassidy's mind came to a wall and crashed. This was Aelita's mother! And she was alive. Yet, something didn't add up properly. Her eyes flicked between her first roommate, her father, and her mother, trying to fill in the blanks.
Aelita warmly embraced her mother. "I always wanted to see you again…" she sobbed happily.
"Me too, Sweetheart."
"I missed you two so much…"
"She really did, Mr. and Mrs. Hopper," Jeremie cut in warmly.
The mother glanced at the father amusedly. "You used my maiden name for your last name?"
"It was in dedication to your memory, my dear," Franz nodded.
A cherry red flooded her cheeks. "You did that for me?"
"Of course… Plus it was your old surname anyway. It worked for a couple years," he cocked a grin, but with the beard, it seemed impossible to tell.
"And Aelita underwent the same name change?"
He nodded. "I did what I had to do to keep us both safe."
"Oh, this is so beautiful…" Sissi whispered, smiling happily.
Franz turned, alerted to her whispering. "And you must be Elisabeth Delmas."
"You knew Sissi?" Jeremie asked.
"Yes, she was about four years old then. I'm so glad to see she has turned out just fine."
Sissi blushed hard. She had never personally met this man, Kadic's former biology, chemistry and physics teacher, and Mrs. Hertz's predecessor, and yet he knew her, even if it wasn't for very long. Already she could tell there was something mysteriously amazing about this man.
Cassidy, on the other hand, slowly found herself able to calm down. "H-hi, there, um… Mr. and Mrs. Schaeffer…" she gulped, slightly nervous.
Franz looked up at her. "Ah, yes. Cassidy."
"I'm so confused right now. Where do I even begin?!"
"If I were you, I'd start off with some deep breaths, Cassidy," Jeremie advised. "You look as though you will explode before you can even get a fraction of your questions answered."
Cassidy nodded and took a deep, cleansing breath. "I guess the first question that comes to mind is: How is this possible? Last I remember is that Jeremie didn't have enough time to rematerialize you, and you had to escape into the internet to evade XANA's wrath."
"That, young lady, is too complicated to explain all in one sitting," Franz chuckled.
"I guess that's true. And I don't think it's wise to explain it all here…"
"Maybe it's best if it waits until we're all out of the hospital, so that way we're not all bound up over me and my wife's sudden reappearance?"
She nodded. "Another question that might be similar: Do I have the Keys to Lyoko since the deactivation of that one tower?"
"I don't think I sent you a copy of them when it happened."
"Hey, speaking of, wasn't there some activated tower that caused all this in the first place?" Sissi asked.
Jeremie's eyes widened. She had a point. "We didn't think about that…"
"What if it's still activated?" Aelita asked. "I should deactivate it."
"But we're still patients here at this hospital," Odd protested. "And Cassidy has only started to learn to walk again."
Even the brunette herself knew Odd was right, as she gave the wildcard a nod, accompanied by a sheepish grin. Her "fainting spell", as everyone around her called it, was becoming more and more of a distant memory as the days wore on, but its aftermath still lingered. She still wasn't completely herself, yet, even if her personality was the first thing to recover. Therefore, how could she possibly fight back against XANA? Sure, Jeremie could try to virtualize her as she was, if he somehow convinced the others it was an incredible idea, but what good would that do? She had no idea what the scanners would do to her, and part of her was afraid to find out; if it was anything like the multitude of times she and Aelita were virtualized while unconscious, she could have absolutely no control over herself, whatsoever. So, waiting out her recovery was probably the best option they all had, regardless of what hers, or anyone else's, opinion was.
"We can wait for her to get back to normal," Sissi smiled, walking over and hugging her sister. "Besides, we have plenty of time to bond."
"I just have one more question, and I hope that this doesn't offend anyone in this room, but um… To try to ask this tactfully… um…"
Franz nodded in understanding. She was worried that this could be a threat or a trap. If the vortex was anything to go on, she wasn't fooled the first time, and (figuratively and literally) fell for it the second time. "I have a simple idea." He turned to Dr. Chantal. "Could you find a test tube so she can use it?"
She nodded and fled the room.
"Why a test tube?" Ulrich asked curiously.
"I think it's okay to have her rub it on the bottom of our feet," Franz said. "Plus, it's less harm that way."
Ulrich nodded.
"I do regret the times I failed your daughter, Mr. Schaeffer," Cassidy muttered, the previous anxieties kicking her heart.
He looked at her. "Cassidy my dear, don't ever blame yourself for that. XANA is a very manipulative program. It only has one goal in mind, and it will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. You have done nothing that I would personally hold against you."
"But she died at his hands because I tried to fight the monsters surrounding us and got separated from her." She held a hand firmly on her chest. "That ended badly before you came into the scene."
"XANA had wanted the Keys to Lyoko ever since I virtualized myself and Aelita, ten years before," Franz continued. "It had already gotten mine, but even if it had gotten Aelita's as well, I certainly don't blame you, or anyone else for that. You and your friends tried your best. XANA can sometimes be three steps ahead of any good plan, and you really shouldn't blame yourself for that, my dear."
"Ain't that the truth. He ruined a few of my flirtation evasion plans because I was overheard. The only plan that worked merely succeeded because of the fact that I only told two people quietly."
"And it was a marvelous plan," Sissi smiled. "You really had him boiling mad."
Cassidy trembled at the last two words. "Um… please don't use those two words like that again. 'Boiling mad' makes me think of a certain slime monster."
Odd raised an eyebrow, surprise contorting his features. "Huh? Gooey Gus scared you?"
She nodded. "Even as a teenager now, he still scares me."
"Sorry, Cassidy. I didn't realize that," the former snob rued.
"Not your fault, Sister." She cracked a tiny smile. "You couldn't have known."
Aelita beamed, as the warm embrace her mother was giving her sparked a memory of the time she received a very special gift. "I still remembered where Mister Pück was."
Franz returned his gaze toward her, a smile gracing his features. "Well done, my angel!"
She laughed happily. These had to be the best two days of her life so far. "I almost thought we would never see each other again."
"She had a premonition, Mr. Schaeffer," Cassidy added, in an attempt to help explain why her first roommate thought that way.
A sheepish grin overtook Aelita's face, as her eyes closed. Although she was closer to laughing at it now, in the months following their rescue of William from XANA's clutches, the mere thought would have sent tears to her eyes. All she could think about was what it would take to power Jeremie's XANA Destruction Program, and feared that one person, who was very near and dear to her, would end up making that sacrifice. Even if her vision had ended in the malevolent multi-agent system's total and complete destruction, the thought of having to live without her father, and being even more clueless about the whereabouts of her mother would have driven her up a wall, and stuck to the ceiling. Therefore, when Cassidy disproved her vision, and unconventionally so, the word "relief" could not begin to describe what she felt in reply.
"It's understandable, Aelita," Franz affirmed.
"Plus, now, we can say that 'premonition' was nothing more than a bad dream," Odd smiled.
"Good thinking, Odd," Cassidy found his facial expression contagious.
Aelita grinned in reassurance.
Franz sat in a chair. "I guess all we can do now is wait for your young friend to recover."
"You're right," Anthea agreed.
Cassidy nodded. "I still feel unsteady on my feet."
"It's just a question of time," Yumi reasoned.
A calm soon filled the room, with the sun slowly setting, outside. Beautiful orange, red and blue hues filled the windows of their hospital room, as Jeremie contemplated all of the questions he wanted to ask Franz, now that he knew the real creator of Lyoko was sitting in front of him, and not some polymorphic specter that XANA had created, as the A.I. had done at least twice in the past. Yet, he knew that most, if not all of them, could wait, as he was liable to exhaust not only the remaining minutes of daylight, but also the remaining time the Schaeffers had to visit them, with most of his questions.
Aelita's gaze briefly bounced toward the window, before returning to her long, lost father and mother. Her thoughts soon turned to Franz and Anthea's possible sleeping arrangements for that night.
"Are you going to the Hermitage, Daddy?" she asked.
"It's too cluttered in there, honey," Franz said.
"We did everything we could to clean it up a bit," Yumi interjected.
"Still has a long way to go," Ulrich confessed.
"I also found that someone raided my sock drawer," Franz chuckled amusedly.
Cassidy squeaked, a rose blush flooding her cheeks. "Um… I just wanted to find what Aelita's date of birth was… 'just ended up finding it there."
Franz chuckled. "Of course… But the fact of my socks being in disarray… It was amusing…"
The psychic brunette melted in relief on her bed. If that False Franz Hopper attack was anything to go by, Aelita's right about him being fatherly.
Stopping herself from getting lost in her thoughts, her attention soon returned to the gray-haired man. "Everything doing okay on Lyoko?"
"As far as XANA's concerned, it's been silent."
"I guess I'm still trying to connect the dots right now."
"You'll be alright, Sweetheart," Anthea cooed, giving Cassidy a warm, comforting smile, as Dr. Chantal returned with the test tube. "You just need time to calm down."
Seeing the doctor's return, Franz took off his shoe and sock. For being on Lyoko for almost thirteen years, his feet still looked and smelled just as they did the day he was virtualized. It was as though he had a shower, after his materialization.
He raised his bare foot to Cassidy's level. "Ready to answer your question, Cassidy?"
"Okay," Cassidy replied as she took the tube in her hand. Gently, she ran it up and down the sole of Franz's foot. Almost instantly, the former science teacher clenched his toes, chuckles threatening to leave his mouth.
"Who knew that one of the ways to check if someone's a polymorphic specter was to tickle them, huh?" Odd noted under his breath, to which Jeremie shrugged.
She finished with the father of her friend, before testing Anthea. To her relief, the woman laughed.
"Okay, you two are definitely real," she commented, relieved, handing the test tube back to Dr. Chantal, who then left to dispose of it.
"No doubt about it," Ulrich agreed, smiling.
"I still can't believe it in some ways," she muttered, "but I am glad that you are still alive."
"Me, too," Franz and Anthea chorused, replacing their socks and shoes.
"And we can worry about that tower later," Jeremie replied, suddenly feeling the urge to yawn, before a cursory glance out the now completely darkened window confirmed his suspicions. "These past few days have been like an emotional roller coaster, in terms of craziness."
Yumi nodded, feeling similar levels of emotional exhaustion from all the excitement.
"Don't worry, young man," Franz commented understandingly. "We will go for now, and then come back tomorrow afternoon."
Jeremie suddenly blinked, upon hearing Franz's reply. If they weren't planning on spending the night at the Hermitage, he wondered, suspiciously, where would they go?
"I thought the Hermitage was too cluttered," he voiced his concern.
"There is the Academy," Franz replied with a wink.
Just as suddenly as it came on, the Einstein's mistrust deflated.
"Um…right." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Okay. Good night, you two."
At this, Franz and Anthea rose to their feet, and approached the door to the hospital room, but not before hugging their daughter.
"Good night, everyone," the two parents chorused, before opening the door, and exiting through it.
Two pairs of footsteps could be heard pacing in the opposite direction, slowly fading away, until complete silence filled the room, once more.
For the first time in her life, Aelita felt an immense feeling of relief in her psyche. Not only did her bad dream not come to fruition, but she now had a family. No longer would the pink-haired girl have to make up the fact that she was an orphan from Canada, but she still wanted to play up the "Odd is my cousin" part to keep students from wondering if they were still family. Aelita felt as though the gaping hole in her heart had finally been sewn up, after more than a decade of being open; this happiness led to a few tears falling down her face.
"Are you going to be okay, Aelita?" Cassidy and Kaitlyn asked their roommate.
She turned around, raced up to the psychic brunette and wrapped her arms around her. "I'll be much better, now…"
"I'd say a dinner at a restaurant after we're discharged is in order," Sissi smiled, seeing the pink-haired girl hug her sister.
"That sounds so good," Ulrich commented, before finding he was the next person in the room to yawn.
"And I will not disturb either of you at all," she found her friend's yawning contagious as Aelita released her friend.
"Domo arigatou, Sissi," Yumi smiled, appreciating Sissi's decision.
"It's my pleasure, Yumi, dear."
"Good night, everyone," Odd announced, crawling onto his girlfriend's bed and resting his head on her chest, wrapping his arms around her.
Cassidy smiled tiredly and placed a hand on his back. "Night, Ninja-Cat Boy… It's great to have you keeping my nightmares away."
"And it's great to have you back," Jeremie smiled, crawling into bed, before sending a playful warning look in the direction of his sweetheart. Don't even think about tickling me, tomorrow morning, to wake me up.
Aelita shrugged and smiled slightly, as she climbed into her own bed. Even though she pretended to question Jeremie's glance, she knew exactly what it meant. He was wise to her tactic from that morning, and didn't think too highly of it. She'd probably end up tickling another part of his body, instead.
Kaitlyn and Patrick nodded, soon adjourning to their own respective beds in a similar fashion.
Once she and her boyfriend were in their respective beds, Yumi gently extended her hand outward, mere milliseconds before Ulrich followed suit, and their fingers soon touched, softly. During Cassidy's coma, it slightly helped them to sleep at night, despite the two having nightmares about losing their best friend. It felt instinctual, even after she had awakened from her black hole.
Cassidy smiled softly at their gesture. She might not have known its meaning at that moment, but at the very least, it removed another weight from her heart. Yumi and Ulrich still novios, check.
She pulled Odd close to her and kissed his lips. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Cat Girl," he replied, his heart jolting happily. Her personality might have been fragmented at that moment, but he still thought she was a great kisser, regardless.
Sissi smiled in awe at what she saw, as she curled up in her bed, her heavy eyelids slowly lowering themselves in front of her eyes.
As she passed by the room, Dr. Chantal's eyes beheld the sleeping friends. Smiling, she stopped, reached inside the room, and gently flicked the lights off. "Good night, everyone," she whispered.
