Chapter 14
Odd held tight to Samantha, looking down at the small plot lacking grass at his feet. Flowers covered the plot, mostly blue and yellow, as a wind came through to blow through the blue ribbon attached to one. The name plate was just a temporary one, reading only the name Gage Albert Della Robbia. He looked down at the girl in his arms, her head turned to look at the plot. "I wish I could've known him," Odd mumbled to his daughter. He looked up, passed the bushed off section for children, and saw people were starting to arrive at the tent. Two caskets sat under the tent, chairs filling the space before them. He saw Ulrich and Yumi step out of Yumi's Citroën, the two dressed in black.
Blue lights caught his attention, getting him to look at the cemetery's entrance. Two police cars sat at the driveway, currently talking to local media. The public hadn't been told much about what had happened and the media wanted to know. David had put up the police barricade to prevent them from interfering at the funeral.
"How you holding up?" Ulrich asked, placing a hand on Odd's shoulder.
Odd turned to look at his friends, Yumi holding her head down to morn for Gage. Odd let out a sigh and admitted, "I'm thinking about moving."
"What?" Yumi asked, ripping her head up to look at Odd in surprise.
"Not out of the area, we've still gotta fight Xana," Odd explained. "I just can't-" His voice cracked, forcing him to pause. He looked over at the tent where Annick and Anthea laid in their caskets and added, "Everything at home makes me think of her."
"That's gonna happen for a while," Yumi offered, a sad look crossing her face.
"If you need to, you can stay with us," Ulrich offered, taking his hand from Odd's shoulder.
Odd glanced at Yumi, the woman nodding her head, before he said, "Thanks." Odd's attention was caught by an old Renault pulling to a stop behind Yumi's car.
Ulrich and Yumi turned to follow his line of sight as a large woman of African descent stepped out of the driver seat. A man of the same stature stepped out of the passenger seat, saying something to his wife.
"Is that Annick's parents?" Yumi asked.
"Yap," Odd said, worry taking root inside him. He held Samantha tight, the girl letting out a cry. He loosened his hold on her, looking down at her as she stopped making noise. "Sorry, Sammy," Odd offered. He led the way out of the children's section, following the pathway until it turned away from his destination. "I'm glad you decided to come, Mrs. Lefevre," Odd started, hoping the woman's face was pulled by grief and not rage.
"How dare you," Mrs. Lefevre exclaimed, raising a hand to slap him in the face.
Odd closed his eyes, grimacing in expectation, as he held Samantha close to his chest.
"Jessamyn," Mr. Lefevre said.
Odd opened his eyes to see the man had stepped in front of his wife, protecting Odd and Samantha.
"He's the reason our daughter's gone to hell!" Mrs. Lefevre said, anger evident on her face. "First you make her pregnant without being her husband and then you- your whatever that Xana thing is kills her!"
"Maybe this was a bad idea," Mr. Lefevre said, throwing back a look at Odd.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry. Yes, we had originally wanted to do things your way but one thing led to another and yes, I got her pregnant," Odd said, staring at the woman with Samantha clutched to his chest. He felt her hands grab at the buttons on his black polo, getting him to want to look down at her but fear of the woman kept his eyes glued to her. "We were going to still get married, we sent you an invite, and when the twins were close to ready to be born, we even sent you a special card. You're biggest regret shouldn't be where you believe her soul to be now but that she died without feeling like her mother cared about her." Samantha let out a cry, getting him to break eye contact for a moment to look at the girl in his arms. He looked back at the couple before him and said, "Now if you'll excuse me, Samantha's hungry. If you feel like accepting her as your granddaughter, she'll be with me." Odd turned his eyes to the ground and walked around them, hearing Ulrich and Yumi's footsteps behind him as he left the couple.
"And I thought we had problems with our parents," Ulrich said, stepping faster to walk beside Odd.
"I hate it," Odd mumbled, looking down at Samantha, the girl still crying. "Don't cry Sammy, we'll get you some food soon." He threw a look at his friends and said, "I wanted her to accept me."
"Odd, is everything alright?" a large woman with brown hair pulled up in a bun asked, turning in the seat she sat in at the front of the tent. "Were those Annick's parents?"
"Yeah," Odd said, stepping over to her. "Elisabeth, can you hold Sammy?"
Yumi and Ulrich took their seats on the other side of the large woman as she took Samantha in her arms.
"Do you know if your parents are going to make it?" Yumi asked.
"They came in last night with Mrs. Myriam," Elisabeth offered, watching her brother dig through the dipper bag on the ground. "They should be on their way here soon."
Odd pulled out the already prepared bottle and gave it a shake, about to ask for his daughter back when Elisabeth took the milk out of his hands. "I can do it," Odd defended.
"I'm sure, but I don't get that much time over here," Elisabeth said, smiling at the small child as she gave Samantha the bottle. "I don't get to spend all that much time with you either, Sammy."
"Hey Odd, how you holding up?" a male voice said, getting Odd to turn around.
A man with spiky hair stood with a shorter man, the two holding similar looks of morning.
"Etêtè, Michael," Odd said, smiling as he got to his feet. "I wasn't sure you'd be able to make it."
"Animation can always be put aside for you, man," Etêtè said, placing a hand on Odd's shoulder.
"Is that the baby bundle?" Michael asked, his American accent evident in his voice. He stepped over to Elisabeth and looked at the girl feeding in her arms. "Aw, she looks like a mini-Annick."
Odd looked at the girl in his sister's arms and a sad smile appeared on his face. "Yeah, she does."
"Hey, we're gonna pay our respects," Etêtè said, patting Odd's shoulder before removing his hand. "Come on, Michael."
Michael gave one last look at Odd before going over to the two open caskets with his partner, finding Annick easily.
"Jérémie and Aélita just got here," Ulrich announced as Odd took his seat again.
Odd looked over at the street to see Jérémie's little Saab parking along the side. An older car pulled up behind them, revealing Michel and Béa Belpois with Franz in their back seat.
"Oh good, Jérémie's parents did make it," Yumi said, seeing the older couple as they climbed out of their car.
"Is that Mum and Dad pulling up now?" Elisabeth asked as a gray car parked behind the Belpois'.
Odd squinted against the glare and nodded his head. "Yeah, I think I see Mrs. Myriam in the back seat."
"Any of the rest of your family able to make it?" Ulrich asked.
"They said they'd all filter in as the week goes on," Odd admitted. He looked over at the two caskets, watching Annick as his friends took their seats. Thinking of a future without the woman's smiling face, without hearing her voice again, without her. Odd quickly blinked his eyes, trying not to cry.
"You want Sammy back?" Elisabeth asked. "I think she misses her Daddy."
Odd graciously took his daughter back, tears running down his cheeks as she looked up at him. Samantha sucked down her milk, reaching up a hand towards Odd.
"Oh Odd," Marguerite said, the only warning he had before he found himself in a hug.
"Mum," Odd cried out, leaning into the hug.
Jérémie waited for his grandmother to get herself situated in her wheelchair as he took in those gathered. His eyes fell on Marguerite holding Odd, his friend having lost the most in the past week.
He assumed the African couple at the casket Annick was in to be her parents, this being the first time he had seen them.
"It's not right," Myriam let out, drawing Jérémie's attention to the woman as his dad stepped away from her. She looked up at Franz and said, "We're the same age and yet look at you."
"I missed twenty years," Franz reminded, waving Michel aside and away from the wheelchair's handles. "I'll push her."
"I don't feel right," Aélita mumbled quiet enough only Jérémie should hear.
He turned to his wife and asked, "You wanna sit down?"
"No, not like that," Aélita shook her head. Franz pushed Myriam over to the tent with Michel and Béa following before Aélita looked at Jérémie. "My mother's dead but I don't feel anything."
"How many times have you had to go through thinking she was dead?" Jérémie asked.
Aélita looked at him in surprise a moment before her features fell. "You think I've gotten numb to it?"
"There's only but so many times you can morn for the same person," Jérémie offered, taking hold of her hand.
Aélita turned to take in her father, the man leaving Myriam to look at his wife.
Franz reached into his wife's casket to brush back a stray strand of pink hair back behind her ear. The man rested his hands on the edge of the wooden box as his mind's eyes took him back to that day years ago when they had first met.
"Hey, you're Waldo, right?"
Franz looked up from the paper he had been writing to see a young woman with striking pink hair standing across from his seat at the cafeteria table. She was balancing her tray on a pile of books, her book bag hanging off one shoulder. Instinctively he let out a sound of confirmation before wanting to add, "Yes."
"Name's Anthea Hopper. You mind if I sit here?"
Franz glanced around, the cafeteria almost empty this late in the night. "You know they kick us out at nine," he offered.
Anthea sat down her tray and books, pushing them off to the side for a moment before sitting down herself. "Wouldn't be the first time Ronny's kicked me out," Anthea said with a laugh. "But if they let us eat in the library then I'd never miss dinner."
Franz sat down his pen and asked, "Pardon me for being frank bu-"
"You look more like a Franz then a Frank," Anthea interrupted.
"What?" Franz asked, surprised.
"Sorry, I get weird when I'm tired and hungry," Anthea offered, trying to brush it off. Franz looked at her, hoping she would continue. "Sorry, you just look like a Franz. Please continue."
"Actually Franz is my middle name," Franz admitted. "But why are you sitting with me? It's a Friday night. Isn't there a party going on in the Hugo house?"
"I don't fit in with parties," Anthea admitted, eating her broccoli. She looked at him and gave him a smile as she swallowed. "And you always look so alone."
Franz's mind was pulled back to the present as a presence appeared beside him. He looked to his right and saw his son-in-law looking into the casket. "How long have you been standing there?" Franz asked, taking off his glasses to quickly wipe away at the liquid at his eyes.
"Only a moment," Jérémie admitted, taking the step to stand beside him. The young man stared at Anthea before saying, "I wish I had known her for longer. For years Aélita would tell me stories about her, random things she could remember got written down on my tack board in my old room, back during school."
"I wish I could've helped her get all of her memories back," Franz said, putting his glasses back on. "I realized shortly after I had to move to the network that I never got to tell you her birthday."
"April twenty-second?" Jérémie offered.
Franz turned in surprise only to quickly realize who he was looking at. "It shouldn't surprise me you found it," he admitted.
"You'll have to tell her the stories now," Jérémie said, turning his head to look towards his wife.
Franz followed his gaze to find Aélita taking a seat beside Yumi. "I hope I can do her justice."
The End
AN: The original title of this is The End Battle and you can find it on Lyoko Freak under my old name of just Kiwi Lee.
ODD: How long have you had that name?
AN: Since seventh grade. Strawberry gave it to me because of how much I loved you.
ODD: Strawberry?
AN: Yeah, my best friends all had weird nicknames that year. Strawberry and Fomey were my closest and then we had Lemon, Grape, Taco, and Burrito. Sadly I was only at that school for one year.
ODD: So you're named after my dog?
AN: Yap.
ODD: And you kept it?
AN: Why not. I've had the nickname now for more than ten years. I think Scipio got added in ninth grade when I got into the Punic wars.
ODD: You are weird.
AN: Yap. ^^
AN: Sadly the story that takes place after this one hasn't been finished. Hopefully I'll get the ending written up soon so look forward to Experiments sometime soon but until then for any of my Ladybug friends, that will be the story I post up next.