Epilogue

For the next 3 years, Haley joined the gang in the fight against X.A.N.A. The final fight came in January 2009, the 3rd week of school after winter break. As always X.A.N.A. was creative and managed to cut the heat off to the whole city, just as a blizzard came in. Haley said it was like the blizzard of '78 that her mom had told her stories about, when it the weather was so bad that no one could escape their houses and everything basically shut down for weeks on end. Just the process of getting to the factory proved to be the hardest part of the mission. The temperature was below zero and snow drifts were like obstacle courses. There had never been a blizzard like this before so no one was prepared for this kind of weather. Yumi got trapped in a snow drift and Ulrich sent the rest on because there was no way he was going to leave Yumi there to die in the snow or let X.A.N.A. win. The rest of the gang trudged on through the snow, and it felt like hours by the time they reached the factory. When they approached the factory, the snow piled up so they couldn't get through the doors. They had to break through windows just to get in. Aelita could barely move by the time they reached the scanners and had to help her into it. Aelita, Haley, and Odd got to Lyoko, with Jeremy's help, and fought their way through the arctic tundra of Lyoko, reaching the largest and most heavily guarded tower they had ever fought. Odd and Haley acted as Aelita's body guards so that she could finally get into the tower and shut down X.A.N.A. for good. Odd and Haley managed to distract the creatures and get Aelita in to the building, but Odd was shot too many times and was sent back to reality, which left Haley to defend Aelita from the terrifying monsters. Just as Aelita hit the final code, Ulrich was holding Yumi close, hoping to god that she would stay with him. And then it was over. Time rewinded to before the storm, without X.A.N.A. in the atmosphere, finally defeated. In the next few months, while they were elated that X.A.N.A. had finally left the world, it was hard to relax and trust that they were really free of the entity that had controlled their lives for so long. But they moved on. They all were able to really start to live their lives for themselves. Jeremy was able to help students fix their computers for some extra cash, Ulrich started to assist at a local dojo, and Aelita got a part-time job at the radio station. Life was starting to feel normal. Odd and Haley were as always, inseparable until they had to say their summer goodbye, but they had no idea that those would be the last goodbyes they saw each other say. When Haley returned home that summer, her parents had to sit her down and tell her that her mother had been laid off and that they didn't have the money to pay for her tuition, which meant she couldn't return to France for her senior year. Haley was heartbroken, but couldn't bring herself to tell Odd or any of her other friends. She finally broke down and told Odd a week before school started up when he asked when she was coming back. Odd couldn't handle it and yelled at her for not tell him sooner. Then she yelled back. They fought and said horrible things to each other, as young hot-headed teenagers do. And that was that. They had nothing else to say to each other after that. They both missed each other but couldn't bring themselves to admit it and work it out. Haley figured he could find better. Odd thought she had found someone else. Time went by. Odd had gone to college for graphic design and excelled. He managed to get a job at an advertisement business and after being there for a year, he was sent to New York City for a conference with some of his coworkers. He was 23. Three days into the week long trip, he was out at a bar with 2 of his coworkers.

"We must be some lucky bastards to get paid to come to NYC!" said Paul over a round of beers with Odd and Tom.

"I'll drink to that!" said Tom as he clinked his mug of beer with Paul, "They definitely got some pretty girls over on this side of the world, I wouldn't mind tasting the American cuisine while I'm here." He said with a wink and nug to Odd.

"You'd be lucky to even get to smile from a woman!" said Odd with a laugh.

"Oh right, like you're getting any!"

"I could if I wanted to!"

"Then go get some, tough guy. There's a big group of ladies at the bar, I bet you couldn't get a single one of them to talk to you."

"Is that a bet?"

"Yeah, if you can get one girl's number, then I'll buy the rest of the rounds tonight."

"You're on, Tom," said Odd with a shake of his hand. Odd gets up, takes 3 steps towards the bar and trips over a bar stool. With a roar of laughter from his friends, he gets up with barely a shred of dignity.

"Are you okay, dude?" says a woman's voice from above.

"Yeah I'm fine," says Odd as he looks up and comes face to face with a pair blue eyes, that for the last several years, he has only seen in his dreams, "Haley?"

"Odd?! What are you doing here?" She was smiling at him like she had all those years ago.

"I'm here on a business trip, what about you? I thought you lived in Boston?"

"I'm here for school, I'm at NYU getting my Art Therapy degree. I can't believe you're here right now." She said as she gave him a bug hug. He hugged her back and they just stayed like that for a long moment. They broke a part and smiled at each other. "Here, take my phone number. Gimme a call while you're here so we can catch up." She wrote down her number on a napkin and handed it to him.

"That would be amazing. I'll see you soon then." Odd said with a big goofy smile. She smiled back.

"Well I have to go and meet some classmates for a project, but it was great to see you again!" Haley says with another hug. As she breaks away, "Of all the gin joints in all the world, you just happened to walk into mine." She giggled and walked towards out the door. Odd went back to his table and the rest of the day was a blur. The next 4 days, he saw Haley every night over dinner or drinks or long walks around Central Park. They talked about college. Odd told her about the gang in France and how they were all doing good. Haley told him about how her family was doing okay and why she decided to become an Art Therapist. Then they talked about the fight. They dedicated a whole night to talking about "what ifs" and getting closure over what had happened, since they both had always had that at the back of their heads. When Haley dropped him off at the airport on that last day, they were friends again. They would always have a bond that would keep them connected. Because you never forget you're first love.

The End

I would just like to thank all my readers for the support and kind words over the years. I never would have finished this if it hadn't been for you! I am seriously so happy that I could do this. I honestly thought I would never finish this story. 3