"You mustn't forget me, Aelita, ever. Never forget!"
Forget what? Who said that? I look around Lyoko. How did I get here? I don't remember being virtualized.
"Yumi?" I cry out. "Ulrich? Odd? Jeremie?" No answer.
Why am I here?
I look around, confusedly. I feel frightened, even though this is my home. Suddenly, I am hit with a massive migraine. I fall to my knees, holding my head in agony. I'm having visions again.
"Aelita!" I hear a male's voice cry out.
"Daddy?" My younger self cries in return. I look around. "Where are you?"
"Here I am, Aelita!" But where? I don't see him, but it sounds like his voice is coming out of this glowing white orb besides me. What is this? Where am I? Why do I look like an elf? I'm confused and scared.
"Daddy?"
"I can't materialize myself into human form yet as you can, Aelita. I still have work to do. Lyoko needs to develop more." Lyoko? What is Lyoko? I don't understand. Small, bug like creatures scuttle towards me. They have an oddly shaped eye on their foreheads.
"Daddy, there are some strange looking creatures over there…"
"RUN, Aelita!"
I obey my father's orders, running into the tower.
"Daddy…" I call out, but he does not respond. "Daddy!" I cry again, but still, he does not answer. I sit alone in the tower, curling into a ball. I'm alone. After a while, I get bored. I want to explore this strange place more. How does this place even exist? Is this what daddy did in his free time? I always thought he had been acting strange and distant lately. Ever since my mother disappeared, he hasn't been the same. I step out of the tower. To my horror, I see a herd of giant, scary looking wasps shooting lasers at my father's virtual self. "Daddy!" I yelp.
"No, Aelita!" he frantically shouts. "Get back to the tower! To safety!"
"But, Daddy!"
"It's all over Aelita. I have to shut down the super computer. XANA has become too powerful."
"But, does that mean we'll die?"
"You mustn't forget me, Aelita, ever. Never forget!"
I awake on the floor of the scanner room, curled into the fetal position, my head still aching. I am disoriented. Now how did I get here? Wasn't I just on Lyoko? I'm cold. My father's voice echoes in my head.
"You mustn't forget me, Aelita."
Too bad I did. Thanks again, XANA.
I wish I could remember more of my past. I feel so scared and alone, like I'm worth nothing on this Earth. I keep having such strange visions that I can only assume are related to myself, but I can't be sure. My face feels wet. I brush my fingertips against it, feeling water flowing from my eyes. Jeremie told me this is called crying, and people do it when they are sad. Sometimes happy, too. I definitely don't feel happy right now.
"Aelita!" a familiar voice calls out.
"Daddy?" I respond, stupidly. Of course it's not him.
"No, Aelita… it's me…" Jeremie approaches me. I smile. He sees my tears, and appears concerned. "What's wrong, Aelita?" He looks down at me, and reaches out his hand, offering to help me up. I accept.
"I'm so happy to see you, Jeremie." I kiss him on the cheek, feeling his cheeks flush and grow warm.
"I wish I could hear your voice, Aelita." What? I just told him I was happy to see him.
"Jeremie, I'm talking to you right now…"
"I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going to talk anyway." What the hell is he talking about?
"Jeremie, what are you…"
"I miss you, Aelita."
"Jeremie, what the hell has gotten into you?" I become frustrated. It's like he doesn't even know I exist all of a sudden. Great, just what I needed.
"Wake up. Please, Aelita. Please wake up."
"I'M STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!"
"Wake up…"
Now I'm at the Hermitage. Did I develop teleportation skills? I grab ahold of the dusty railing, taking my time in climbing up the stairs. I enter what would seem to be my old bedroom, the wallpaper peeling at the edges, the window frame falling apart, the sheets on the bed torn. I walk to the fireplace where Mr. Puck was hiding behind this large photo frame of a tree. I close my eyes, letting my fingers explore the roughened texture of the painting, the cold, golden trim of the frame.
"Do you remember where Mr. Puck is?"
My eyes jolt open. Huh? Who said that? Am I hearing things now? I have problems.
"Aelita."
I turn around. There he is; my father. I am overwhelmed with an intense feeling in my stomach of which I cannot even find words to describe.
"D…daddy…" I stutter. He nods at me, and extends his hand. I happily grab ahold of it.
"I want to help you, Aelita."
"Help me? With what?" Is everyone I know going crazy?
"Aelita, you must be strong. You must wake up!" Oh, my God. I AM awake. Hello! I'm standing right in front of you! What is with the whole 'wake up' get up?
I'm awake, right? Or is everything just part of one big dream…
Am I awake? I don't know.
Nothing seems real…
Why can't I wake up?
I'm trapped.
