This chapter doesn't have to do with the story line; it is just a special behind the scenes recollection of 9/11.
PurpleSatinRose is to be called Rose for this chapter.
Rose's heels clicked against the tile as she walked down the long hallway. She glanced at her clipboard one more time, scanning the notes she had made about the last chapter of CLDR. (Code Lyoko Destinies Realized.)
Producers, writers, and other people that worked for Rose nodded their hello's to her as they passed the young teen. She was the story's creator, after all. Rose's dirty blond hair was tied back in a messy bun, and her black dress swished as she walked. Her blue eyes were glossy, but she did her best to keep an unemotional face.
Today is September 11, 2011.
The ten year anniversary of 9/11.
Rose walked onto the set, where the main characters of CLDR were already waiting. The characters nodded their hello's, before taking their seats on several red couches.
"We're live in thirty seconds Miss Rose." Gary, one of the workers spoke from off set.
As the kayos went on behind the cameras, everything was quiet on set. The characters carefully watched Rose as she stared at the American flag plastered on the wall behind them.
"Quiet off set." Gary yelled over the noise. Silence filled the studio as all eyes turned to Rose and the Lyoko characters.
"We're on in five, four, three, two…" Gary motioned 'one' with his index finger, before pointing at Rose.
"Good Evening." Rose said to the camera, aware that although she was physically only speaking in front of a hundred people or so, the broadcast was showing live throughout all of America, Britain, Australia, and everywhere else that could understand English.
"Today we are not going to be showing a chapter of Code Lyoko Destinies Realized, we are going to be talking about what happened exactly ten years ago." Rose took a deep breath and glanced at the flag once again.
"Today, September 11, 2011, is the ten year anniversary of 9/11, the day the twin towers were attacked in New York City."
"September 11th, 2001, American Airlines flight 11 had left Boston on its way to LA. 92 people were aboard that plane. At 8:46, the plane traveling at a speed of 470 mph, hit the north tower of the world trade center complex."
"Within minutes, officials coordinated the city wide emergency response. Their base of operation was a city wide command center located on the 23rd floor of world trade 7. Confusion and panic struck not only New York City, but the entire nation. Everyone deemed it a terrible accident, but that changed in less than twenty minutes."
"At 9:03 Am, United Airlines flight 175, containing 65 people and going at speeds of 590mph, crashed into the south tower. President Bush declared that the crashing of the planes was not an accident, but a terrorist attack. After that, every Airport in America was shut down. It was the first time in history that had happened."
"Phone lines had been jammed with more than 230 million phone calls in New York City."
"At 9:47 Am, American Airlines flight 77 hit the pentagon."
"At 9:59 Am, the south tower of the world trade complex collapsed. It had only lasted 56 minutes after the hit time. Moments later, part of the Pentagon collapsed. America was crumbling."
"At 10:03Am, a plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Flight plane had been run by terrorists as well, and was heading for the white house. The braze passengers on board rose up against the terrorists and knocked the plane off course. None of them survived but they had saved thousands of people."
"At 10:28 Am, the north tower of the world trade complex collapsed. All power was down in lower Manhattan. Hundreds of fire men were trapped in the towers. Hundreds more raced to the scene."
"That night, President Bush declared a war against terrorism."
Rose looked around at the Lyoko characters, then back at the camera. "The day the twin towers collapsed, was one of the scariest days in American history. From that moment on, planes were not only seen as a method of transportation, but as weapons."
Rose glanced at Odd and Vanessa, signaling them to speak.
Odd turned to the camera. "I was five years old when the planes crashed into the twin towers. At the time, I still lived in California. Vanessa and I had been getting ready for school when our mother called us into the family room."
Vanessa nodded. "Our parents and older brothers were gathered around the TV. Our father told us that school had been canceled. For a moment, we were happy, but then I noticed the tears that ran down my dad's cheeks. Our mother explained to us that two planes driven by bad people had crashed into two very important buildings, and that hundreds of people were still trapped inside and thousands were already dead or injured."
Rose nodded to Candy who turned to the camera. "I was six years old when it had happened. I was visiting some family in New Mexico. My cousins and I was playing in the living room when the adults ran in and turned on the TV. That was the first time I had ever seen my mother cry."
Yumi turned to the camera to speak. "I was also six years old when it happened. My family still lived in Japan at the time. My father had just left to go to the airport, he had an important meeting in the United States. I had gone to bed, but soon my mother woke me. My dad had returned, telling us that all flights heading to the US had been canceled because of several terrorist attacks. My mother, father and I stayed up the rest of the night, watching the news and praying for the victims of the attack."
Jeremie turned to the camera. "When the twin towers collapsed, I was only four years old. I don't remember much, but I do remember seeing my older sister bite her finger nails as she and I watched the news. We were actually watching when the second plane hit the south tower. We actually saw it live."
Ulrich took a breath, for it was his turn to speak. "I was five years old, and living in Germany. I was sleeping when my mother came into my room and woke me up. She told me that a plane had hit the world trade center. I started to cry. My grandfather worked in the north building. My mother took me down stairs where we found my dad talking on the phone. He was speaking to my grandfather. I begged my dad to let me talk to him, and he finally agreed. My grandfather told me that he had just gotten out of the building. That he would be ok. I remember his next words so well, it's like they're engraved in my brain. 'It's ok Ulrich. As soon as I get out, I'm going right to the airport. And when they open up the airports, I'm going to get on the first flight to Germany…' And then there was a huge blast in the background. The phone call ended. It was 10:28 Am in America. I was so terrified that my grandfather had been killed, but he called back seconds later saying that the north tower had collapsed."
Rose finally turned to the camera. "I was very young when the twin towers were attacked. I can remember that our teacher had been teaching us how to spell words like cat, dog, rug, when our principles voice came on over the loud speaker. All of us looked up, surprised. Our principle hardly ever came on the announcements. She explained to us what had happened, and I remember that my teacher had started crying. I was so young; it was hard for me to understand. But somehow, I knew that it was bad. Very, very bad. I started to cry. Some kids in my class started crying too. My school was only 300 miles or so from New York City."
Rose looked at the American flag. "That day, our nation had been shook. All sense of safety was gone. We had nothing. But we had each other. So American's turned to each other for guidance. We came together as one. As one nation."
"Today we take the time to remember all those who died. The victims, the hero's. We take the time to pay our respects to the innocent lives taken by those careless terrorists. We take our time to thank the people on flight 93 who knew that they were going to die, but rose up against the terrorists to save thousands of people in Washington D.C. We take our time to thank the firefighters and rescuers of 9/11, those who lived and those who didn't."
"And most of all, we take our time to remember the most powerful thing of all." The Lyoko warriors and Rose grasped hands. "The uniting of a nation."
"And… we're clear." Gary said. People began to clap and then started to talk again.
The Lyoko warriors glanced at each other, before glancing at Rose.
Rose was looking at the flag once again. Her face was natural, emotionless. She closed her eyes and whispered something, before turning and leaving the set, and disappearing within the kayos of the studio.