Hey, ya'll wonderful readers. From the reviews I've gotten (and thank you for those, by the way, feedback is awesome! ^^ ) I'm sorry if the last few chapters have been confusing. Not all the questions will be answered, but the pace is slowly speeding up. And after this, we'll spin away from Jeremie for a bit, get some of the charicters in. Hope you like this, that it all makes sense, and thank you soooo much for reading and staying with me on this mad adventure!
Now on with the story...where we left off:
"Outsider?!" The insult rang in Jeremie's ears as he stood only a few steps from the door where Odd had been dragged out by policemen. "What on earth did he mean by that? Blast and damn, what am I doing..." He turned back for a moment, shaking his head. "It's not my place to help, but...damn and blast..."
What had Odd said him, that he, Jeremie had a knack for needing help? Jeremie's eyes narrowed. "Bloody hell if I can't help him now." Cursing softly, he strode forward and out into the hallway after them, slamming the library door behind him.
The officers were already no where to be seen. "Of course," he muttered, glancing behind him. "That'd be too easy." He hurried down the hallway, scowling. By the time he had reached the main floor, the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up. What on earth was going on? The silence in the halls was deafening. He could almost hear the sound of the main clock of the school ticking hollowly over the sound of his footsteps.
Bloody footsteps...
A shudder went down his spine as an echo of his earlier nightmare flickered through his brain. He shook his head hard-
BAM! The door in front of Jeremie flew open.
Jeremie gasped, almost falling over backwards to avoid being hit in the face.
"Oh, pardon m- Belpois?!"
Jeremie stumbled backwards, his eyes wide. A tall man stood in front of him, a politely surprised smile on his face. Jeremie stared. What on earth was he doing here?
"Professor Henabel?!"
The man smiled wider, and twisted the gray top hat on his head. "Well, fancy seeing you here, Belpois." The monocle in his left eye glinted dully as he chuckled. "How is your research coming?"
"I...Well since you got me the job, sir," Jeremie started, taking a step back. He found himself smiling. What had he been chasing after?This, after all, was the man who had sent him to London for this position at Kadic in the first place. "What brings you to London, Professor? I haven't heard anything of you since I left for this city. What's occurring at the university to bring you this far?"
Henabel guestered with the elegant gray cane he held. "Checking up on one my best students." He smiled and held out a hand. "Any luck with your research? I hear the substitute here has given you some trouble."
"W-what?" Taken aback, Jeremie drew his hand away. "The substitute? The professor here..." he trailed off when Henabel laughed and shook his head, setting the tiny chain hooking his monocle to his grey over coat jingling. "A woman, yes? What was her name?" He laughed again. "I'm sure you've got much to teach these..." his upper lip curled slightly. "...poor children, then than she could."
Jeremie's eyes narrowed slightly. "I beg your pardon sir, but Miss Stones is just as adept at the arts of science and-"
Once again, Henabel laughed and waved Jeremie's words away. "Be that as it may, tell me, young Professor..." He trailed off, and the snide glance from before had vanished as if it had never been there. Jeremie blinked and adjusted his glasses. "Your research on the articles I gave you. How has that been coming?"
"The..." Jeremie winced. "Oh...the articles. Not that well, sir." He smiled wryly. "Although Miss Ae- I mean, Ms Stones has actually a great deal of knowledge on the Virtual Timepie-" Henabel held up a hand suddenly, and Jeremie fell silent, confused. But Henabel simply smiled slowly.
"Does she now?" He shook his head. "Stones, did you say? Interesting. I wondered if the rumors are true, and the supposed origins of the thing are here."
Jeremie blinked at him. "That I couldn't say sir, the papers-"
"You haven't found where it came from yet?" the smile vanished from Henabel's face. "I thought you would have contacted the papers, or-"
"I- I did sir," Jeremie stammered, taking a step back. There was an angry tic pulsing in Henabel's jaw and for a moment, Jeremie was at loss for words. A door slammed somewhere, echoing hollowly. "But well..." Thoughts his disastrous trek to the newspaper headquarters the other night flipped through his brain, and Jeremie winced. "Well...they see it as madness," he added lamely. To his relief, his former teacher seemed to have been expecting this answer. He sighed, and smiled, the angry expression fading as quickly as it came.
"Outsiders, the lot of them." He winked at Jeremie. "But we know better do we not, Belpois?"
Outsiders? Taken aback, the sound of shouting reached Jeremie's ears. Frowning, he took a step back. Had class been let out already? The bell hadn't rung. So why...
"Belpois? Belpois, I say, are you alright?"
"- Somebody?! Help, please!"
Jeremie jolted, going back a step and looking around wildly. "What on earth?" Henabel didn't seem to have heard the cry that spilled up the hallway. Someone raced around the corner, barreling down the hallway.
"Yumi?!"
Almond shaped eyes wide, Yumi stopped dead in her tracks a few yards away from the two men. Jeremie stared, meeting her gaze squarely. Confusion and fear pulsed from the normally calm woman, and Jeremie quickly took a step towards her.
"Well, Belpois, I may be here for a while...here." Halfway around him, Jeremie quickly turned back to Henabel, stumbling over his own feet. "My card. The address of my temporary residence-"
The rest of Henabel's sentence was lost as Jeremie muttered an apology, grabbed the out-held the card, and hurried towards Yumi.
To his surprise, Yumi's eyes darted from him back to where Professor Henabel stood. She took a step back, the fear in her face changing slowly. Her eyes narrowed.
"Yumi?!" Jeremie hesitated, stepping closer. It seemed as if she couldn't even hear him. "Yumi, what's going on, what happened? Did you see Odd? He just got arrested, I don't know what's going, but, we have to tell Aelita, she-"
"Aelita's out cold at her flat," Yumi stated softly, her gaze snapping back to Jeremie. Her pale face went ghost white. "We have to hurry. I don't know what trouble Oddric has gotten into now, but Aelita needs help."
His heart leap into his throat, and Jeremie opened his mouth. Yumi glanced beyond him, back down the hallway, then shook her head. "No time to explain, we need to go." Her eyes narrowed once more, then she turned ran off the direction she had come.
Jeremie looked back once, frowning. Henabel was no where to be seen. A shudder went down Jeremie's spine, but he ignored it, and hurried after Yumi.
101010101010101
The man in grey.
Yumi's head was spinning by the time she reached Aelita's flat. She could hear Jeremie puffing behind her, trying to keep up. She ignored him. He wouldn't answer the questions she had no right asking.
"M-Miss Ishyama, please, slow down." He was practically gasping for breath now. Yumi closed her eyes, praying to the spirits for patience, then turned around. "We need to hurry. You have some medical training, yes?" When he just started at her, Yumi growled under her breath, unlocked the door to the small house, and hurried inside.
"How did she faint? She seemed fine when I left, when-" When they rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, Jeremie froze. "Aelita?!" The young man raced forward to the still form on the couch. He looked back at Yumi. "Please, Miss Yumi, how did she get like this?"
Yumi's eyes widened slightly as she watched him. There was real panic in his voice now, a strange shimmer behind his glasses. "You would wake her if you could." She moved forward slowly, her own panic faded as she watched Jeremie gently lifted Aelita's head to place a pillow under it.
"No. She looks peaceful."
"Pardon?"
Yumi looked sharply over at him, but his eyes were trained on Aelita's still face. "Only one evening ago, were not our positions reversed?" He sighed, a sad smile playing on his face. "I was the one who was helpless, and she was the healer. Only..." he chuckled softly, shaking his head. "I am the helpless one, still."
"What?"
Jeremie blinked, and looked over at Yumi. Realizing what he must have been saying out-loud, he blushed a little and shook his head. "I am sorry. I made little sense. I...let me help you to do what we can for her, please, Miss-"
"It's Yumi." Dark eyes still wary, Yumi smiled slightly. "You're strange, Professor Belpois, even for an Englishman." And still untrustworthy, hissed a little voice in the back of her head. Memory flashed back, and she forced herself to the ask the question that had haunted her since they returned to this building. "That man, the one you were talking to earlier. Who was he?"
Jeremie blinked at her. "Man? Oh!" As if recalling ancient memories, he shook his head slowly. "Um...Professor Henabel. He taught me at University, and sent the letter that got me the job here." He smiled wryly. "I never thought I'd see him again, especially not in a city like this."
"He is not from London?"
Jeremie snorted. "Hardly, Miss Yumi. Before today, I-"
"Enough." Yumi stood suddenly, shaking her head.
He was lying. Or had she been wrong? Forcing the questions out of her head, she looked down at the young man, still kneeling by Aelita's side.
"If you wish to help me revive her, come with me." Jeremie blinked, then nodded, standing and wincing slightly. Yumi turned, hiding her face from his view. Glancing out the window, she thought she saw the silhouette of someone standing under the streetlight down on the road. She blinked, and the figure vanished. A chill went down her spine.
"Time is moving too fast."