AN: Thank you all so much for your continued support and your reading of my work. I was in a bit of a creative slump these past few days, but after prayer, I honestly felt that I could finish this chapter in a way that was suitable to all I had built thus far. Thank you again, all so much for being my inspiration to continue giving you great content, and thanks be to God for his help in my slumps. As always, read, review, and enjoy.

Pagliacci-11

Chapter 24

Johnathan, Yolanda, Hendricka, Enrique, and Emilio stood before their new leader as they observed the three bodies taking on their morning exercises. Yolanda, for one, was shocked at just how far from the old methods things had progressed. As she observed the fully functioning and coherent beings before her, she had all manner of questions in her mind occurring.

As the forms finished their twelfth repetition with weights, Yolanda asked, "Don't you think you should take a break for a bit?"

The shorter form replied, "No. It's a shock to the body that is needed most considering what I'll regularly be doing for the foreseeable future. I need to get the muscles accustomed to my neural signatures so the integration can be far more dependable."

Yolanda nodded, "Isn't it a bit of a risk what you are doing? I mean, I see little difference between your presence and that of a bacterium in this current situation. So, how do you anticipate overcoming that?"

The taller form replied while stretching, "Simple. The premise is much the same as a computer. These vessels, and indeed the human body, in general, are the epitome of a perfect machine. It just needs time and dedication to bring out the very best of itself. The only thing that needed to be done was to remove the first CPU. Once that was done, the installation of the VRX-9192 could be successfully begun. Except for Contact A, these other two vessels had had sufficient time to calibrate and tune into the signatures of their new guidance hardware."

The third form spoke, "I can assure you, Yolanda; this is a much cleaner and smoother implementation and accustoming than we have had in the past. I know the work in the past made you sick to your stomach. So, to remedy that discomfort, we took our time over the past few years to develop the VRX, and from it, we have moved a large portion at least for you directly of physical discomfort."

The three forms then began to run in place, "But at any rate, this will work perfectly as to what I must do. I have been able to extend myself into additional sources through practice, but I will only be inhabiting one body chiefly at a time. As you see before you, we are running in tandem, but the relay has a two-second command ping, which allows solid use of three vessels seemingly at once. However, I have downloaded the personas of two people of my choosing to be used as the base program for each person to keep up the illusion of three individuals. However, they are painstakingly doctored and acclimated to their purpose. That is why I initiated several plans already to take place by Monday so that we can begin the work that truly needs to be done."

John nodded, "Okay, so, what is the next part?"

"I have arranged for a house to be purchased in the city, and that is where we will have a secondary headquarters, but it will be a forwarding relay station to our other projects. Also, once everything has been submitted, we will be able to infiltrate what needs to, to shore up our allies in the field, and ensure greater aspects of progress to be continually delivered."

John nodded, "I see, you're implementing what we went through in Tripoli."

"Exactly. And as my essence doesn't need sleep, I can line things up to be taken care of by my hand in alternating shifts to achieve our most crucial work first. Of course, I will need your help in some elements, but at the same time, what we are doing will have a positive impact on our overall layout by what I estimate sixty-five percent. Of course, once these units are successfully in the field, there will inevitably be some adjustments, but it is nothing we can't handle."

John nodded, "Very well. And what amount to time do you estimate for the shells to be of best use to you in the field?"

"I'd say for this one from which I speak, ideally two weeks. That buys us enough time to get comfortable and suitably situated for what we need to do. In the meantime, you are to return to your regular routines until I call you back here to proceed with the next phase."

Yolanda said, "Okay. And when will you be moving into your domicile?"

"Within I'd say four days, and from that point, I'll continue to make it look more like home. Now what we have a heading, we will continue with our traditional routines until I call us to reconvene."

That said, the team checked out of the facility while North-Gate called in one of her taxi cabs to bring her both food and clothing for the next few days.

The next day, Jeremy was entering the pool building and saw Aelita in her bathing suit arms on the edge of the pool, her back firmly against the back of the pool and kicking both her legs until fully-extended as high as she could go and then back down again. Jeremy watched her do one right after the other. But after the fortieth pump of her legs, he could see the pain on her face, but she persisted, and soon she was at forty-six. He could hear the anguished cry in her voice as she pumped her forty-seventh, and as much as it hurt Jeremy to see Aelita do this, he was amazed at her tenacity. There was a small shriek as she gave it her forty-eighth, and Jeremy could see the pain was so intense Aelita was truly gritting her teeth, her face looking up towards the ceiling. Lowering her legs, she then slowly kicked up her forty-ninth. She took a gasp through her mouth as if she had been shot, and she screamed in near agony as she kicked the final fiftieth and finally stood on her feet.

"Oh, fuck, that hurts!" she said to herself as she headed to the left ladder and got out of the pool and headed towards the girl's steam room and went inside.

Jeremy was silent as he sat at the pool's edge, waiting for her. Some time passed, roughly twenty-five minutes before Aelita came out of the steam-room and then to Jeremy's amazement, she jumped headfirst in the pool, the cold water visibly shocking her system.

She surfaced and saw him, "Oh, Jeremy! Want to exercise with me?"

Jeremy nodded, "Uh, sure. What do you have in mind?"

Aelita thought a moment as she treads water, "Want to try drown-proofing?"

Jeremy's eyes went wide, "Uh, excuse me, what is drown-proofing?"

Aelita shrugged, "It's straightforward. You hold your hands behind your back, let all your air out underwater, letting your body sink to the bottom of the pool. Then using your feet, kick yourself back to the surface for new air."

Jeremy said, "Uh, can you show me?"

Aelita nodded, and she swam to the mid-upper portion of the pool put her hands behind her back and fell backward, and she breathed out her air as Jeremy saw her descend to the bottom to her back, and then she propelled her body upward breaking the surface with a gasp and then going back down to the deep, released all her air, and surging back up again. She did this for eight repetitions and came back to Jeremy.

"Want to try?" she asked

Jeremy nodded, albeit warily, and he jumped in, and he swam with Aelita out to the upper mid-section where the pool was deepest.

"Now, Jeremy, the key to this is not to panic. Only when you are ready, put your hands behind you and lock them like this," She showed in front of him, "Once that is done, don't fight the water. Go down and let out your air. That's the only way you'll get the bottom, and once there, use your feet and launch from the bottom to break the surface. Once broken, breathe, gasp, and don't panic. If you do, though, I'll be here to help you get to shallower water."

Jeremy took a deep breath and said, "Alright, I'll give it a shot."

He clasped his hands behind his back and lay back and began to let out all his air, descending to the bottom quickly. However, a feeling of dread overcame him as he began to jolt so far down. He remembered Aelita's instruction and used his feet to launch him towards the surface."

"Breathe!" Aelita's voice said as he was in mid-air, and he gasped and fell back under again and then unclasped his hands and tried to get back to the surface. However, he was beginning to panic, and he felt he couldn't get back to the top. Aelita's hands grasped him by the armpits and she pulled him up, and she broke the surface, she said to him, "Kick! Kick to get the side!"

Jeremy kicked and kicked until his fingers touched the side.

Aelita smiled at him, "You did good, Jeremy! Just gotta' remember, don't panic and collect yourself."

Jeremy nodded feebly, "I think I got it."

"You do. Tell you what, I'll do the next few with you."

Jeremy nodded once more, and they went out to the mid-point. She put her hands behind her back. "Remember, calm, don't panic. I'm right here. Keep your eyes on me. I know you may not be able to see me, but when I give you the signal, a touch on your leg, you go up. But if you can't hold your breath, that's fine. It's not a contest."

They both descended into the water and gradually both let their air out and Jeremy's came to rest on the bottom and there was one second, two, finally, four and the touch came and both shot towards the surface, breaking the surface. Both gasped and went back down, and Jeremy kept his eyes on Aelita, her pink hair shining like a beacon in the blue around him and she counted by a tap of her foot on his leg, one, two, three, four and then once again, they shot up towards the surface.

Aelita grabbed Jeremy and pulled him back towards the side to shallower water, "You see? You can do it. It just takes a clear head and please, remain calm."

Jeremy nodded as he caught his breath, "Aelita, what would you use this for?"

"You mean apart from not drowning? Nothing."

"When would this scenario in your mind ever come up? Us having our hands tied and being chucked into a body of water?"

"Hopefully never, Jeremy. But, in case we are, well—never hurts to be prepared, now does it?"

Jeremy sighed, "Okay, so what else would you like to do?"

"Well, we'll do two laps or so, then we'll do reverse pulls," Aelita said.

"Uh, okay, what are reverse pulls?" Jeremy asked.

Aelita smiled as she lined her body up along the pool edge, put her hands on the small ledge, and performed a full-body pull up with just her arms serving as the lift for the rest of her body. As she descended into the water she said, "That's a reverse pull. We'll do three sets of ten after two to three traditional laps."

Jeremy's eyes were wide, "Is this what you do every day?"

"I do this at least once every other week. How else do you think I stay fit? Come on, it'll be fun."

Aelita went to the far end, kicked off the wall and began to swim. As Jeremy watched her surge almost fish-like under the water, he was amazed as her body didn't pop up once except during the last quarter for air towards the other end of the pool. Once she got there, she raises her hands as if saying, "What do you want an invitation?"

Jeremy took a deep breath and began swimming towards her. He concentrated on the black lines, the interval points. There were three in the pool and he knew he'd need a breath soon. He wasn't as strong in the lungs as Aelita, but he was still amazed at how she could go practically the whole length of the pool in nearly one breath. He was so amazed; he found the tightness build as he became lost in his musings. He burst for air and breath and continued through, but that breath set his lungs on fire as he felt the tightness in the upper lung. He took one last breath and he made it to Aelita's position. He looked at her, clearly winded.

She looked back and said, "Not bad. Not bad for an endurance swim."

Jeremy rolled his eyes, "Give me a break. I haven't been training in a pool for two years-worth of spare time."

Aelita smirked, "Hey, it just takes practice. Sex is also good for your cardio; you should know that well enough."

Jeremy chuckled, "I'd much rather have a sex session or two with you than compete with you in a swimming setting, I know that well enough."

Aelita laughed aloud, "Maybe after our workout. Now, come on, three laps of the pool, front to back. Take your time and don't rush, Jeremy."

Jeremy swam alongside Aelita, and he knew he wasn't going nearly as fast as she was, however, he was enjoying the swim overall. The laps became gradually far more pleasant as Jeremy better learned to control his breathing after his second lap. The third lap was done, Aelita got out and went to one of the supply rooms. She came back with a pair of goggles and a ten-pound weight. Aelita placed the weight on the edge and got back into the pool, handing Jeremy the goggles.

"Here, I know you have a hard time seeing underwater, especially with chlorine and other things in it. Put these on, and I'm going to walk you through our next exercise. We'll do reverse pull-ups later."

Jeremy snapped on the goggles and said, "I don't exactly need these, you know?"

"You will for what I have planned for us next," Aelita said as she waited for Jeremy to adjust to his goggles, "It will require you utilize holding your breath, patience, and synchronization with me if this is to be successful and for us to be synchronized, you'll need full use of your vision."

Aelita then took the ten-pound weight, and after putting the weight at the bottom of the pool between them, she said, "Now, what I'm going to show you is what I'd call Team-Based Evasion. The objective is to move with me, moving the weight along the pool while only surfacing for breath where needed. This will be signified in that we will breathe in turns. When I run out of air, I will tap you on the shoulder to signal I am coming up. However, you are not to surface until you run out of air. This allows us to move quickly and silently with minimal eyes to see us if we were in a hostile environment. Plus, this is an exercise all about trust. You need to trust me and me, you, if this is to work. Do you want to give it a few test runs before we start in earnest?"

Jeremy exhaled, "Okay, so we both go down and stay down until we run out of air, and when that happens, we tap each other on the shoulder to take in-turn breaths and then re-submerge?"

"Yes, that's correct. Let's do a few test-runs until you are comfortable with the premise." Aelita said.

As Aelita and Jeremy continued to work out in this fashion, Ulrich was on the field with select members of next year's team practices passes and follow-throughs. His speed had drastically increased as he had his precision over the past two years. It was something that he knew that his parents would be proud of, for he certainly was.

Jim's whistle sounded, and Ulrich kicked the ball. As the team played their set, Ulrich bobbed and weaved with the ball, but the dominant player he had to overcome was Nicholas. The goofy brute may not have had that much of a brain in his head, but damned if he wasn't a formidable force in sports. Not only was he big, but he had a kick that Ulrich knew he got 'accidentally' clipped by it would hurt like hell. Not to mention that the kick itself would send the ball rocketing back, undoing any major progress Ulrich had made up the field. Nicholas was a great team-player, that was for sure, but in practice, he was an absolute nightmare.

Ulrich moved and moved swiftly to circumvent the lumbering dirty-blonde yahoo barreling towards him. Ulrich thought quickly and fired off a push-pass to his right, circumventing Nicholas, which was received by one of his teammates who proceeded to pierce-pass through a closing wall of opposing players. Ulrich ran with all his speed and maneuverability and fired off his best lob pass. If it went how he'd hoped it would, it would be a simple dribble, and direct shot into the net provided the goalie wasn't too attentive. However, to his amazement, Nicholas jumped with the strength of a kangaroo and, with a solid thud of his head connecting with the ball, sent the ball back, which was taken by an opposing player back towards Ulrich's goal.

As Ulrich stormed down the field to try and catch up, he thought, "Fuck! What does that guy have for a head, never mind the strength that must be in his neck!"

Ulrich caught up only to have through a powerful long pass send the ball powering back through the field. Ulrich proceeded to dribble the ball and then spotting one of his teammates on the outer reaches of the field and made his long-pass to the player who proceeded to catch it and fire it cleanly into the net. The whistle sounded, and Jim called the teams to fall in.

"Alright, good work, good job, Team B on defensive pressure. Team A, while movement is good, your communication sucks. Other players, Polyakov, good job on defense, Ulrich good job on accuracy over power. We don't need you too gassed when it comes to big games, keep working on that but don't be afraid to switch it up. Right, now, Polyakov, you're goalie for Team B. We're going to test your defense as best as we can. Team A, each player takes turns and practice on push passes. You emphasize too much on long passes, and that will leave us with our noses wide open in the face of an alert opposing team. Team B, each player is to take turns practicing passes and then try and overcome Polyakov's defense on the net. After twenty minutes apiece, we'll switch objectives. Once we have been through two rotations, we're going to start keep away training."

As the team began their drills, Yolanda was observing the drills from one of the upper floors of the main building. She was silent as she observed the team. She noted many qualities which she knew would be of use in later aspects of the overall plan. But, for now, all she could do was take suitable notes until North-Gate initiated the next phase. And that didn't particularly bother her. It was a good bit of hiatus and rest at least until some greater elements had time to blow over. Yolanda knew most of the heat right now would be on John and Maria, respectively, at least for a little while. So, those two, she knew, would likely go to ground and stay there until told otherwise.

While Yolanda was watching and thinking on the plan overall, she heard footsteps come behind her and saw Jean-Pierre, "Oh, Jean, how are you?"

He smiled, "I'm well enough, thank you. We've finally agreed on an upgrade to security, and that puts me at ease, especially considering recent events. However, as you know, this time of year, we get all manner of applicants from all over the world to process into the system. From those who have been approved, I am having their medical forms sent directly to you to log so that you can sort them in your traditional fashion."

Yolanda nodded, "How many are we anticipating both for the semester and full-year?"

"For the semester sixty and for the annual, we have eighty new borders," Jean-Pierre said as he looked out at the team practicing with her.

"Yolanda, I wish to apologize for any inconvenience that the apprehension of John may have caused you. I know he was a friend of yours."

She shrugged, "He was a friend, but it had been a while since I knew him last. I don't know what all he got involved in, and truth be told, he never told me too much anyway. It's a pity he's gone, the kids seemed to like him, but in light of larger elements at play—there's not much more that can be said on the subject I don't think."

"True." Jean-Pierre said as he continued to watch the team outside, "Well, I'll be on my way I'll have Nicole bring you down the verified forms for you to look over this evening and once done, we can transfer the no longer current student files to the warehouse."

Yolanda nodded, "Very well. I'll get started now. I mean, I have nothing else really to do so, why wait?"

She turned and headed back to the infirmary to await Nicole. Yolanda sat in her chair, waiting, but soon a thought came to her, and she patched into her implant to link up with North-Gate.

When the connection was made, Yolanda asked, "Where do our operations stand when making a protection unit for Icarus?"

There was a moment of silence before North-Gate responded, "Typically, Icarus has had no conventional need of a guardian unit due to the ability of Icarus to mend broken units and even generate its units from within itself. Do you have a suggestion?"

"I do. I have been watching several students just as closely as we have watched Icarus, and I have a suggestion for someone to be integrated as his protection unit. I realize that it may take time to integrate such a component on such short notice fully, but I figured I could ask your opinion."

"I understand. Send me a profile picture as well as a physiological breakdown and wellness package so I can review it while I prepare for my field excursions. I will review what you send and see when, if, and how we can integrate such a unit to our overall cause."

Yolanda got up, and she went to the student file-cabinet and took out a file. She plugged her field scanner into her implant through her watch and scanned the file in its entirety. Once done, she placed the file back into the cabinet and sent the data to North-Gate's internalized files.

"Thank you. I should have a response for you in the next week, I'd say." Came North-Gate's reply.

Yolanda said, "Thank you. Is there anything else you need before we initiate Hazen's second phase?"

"All necessary paperwork has been sent ahead to its corresponding recipients. You will receive such documents shortly. Also, a request from you for a full medical lab and infirmary has been approved. But we still need you on sight. Therefore, we have arranged a grant to be given to Kadic to specialize the school in a junior nursing and healthcare program. Under such an initiative, you will have full unrestricted access to all resources from that program as well as you being a primary recipient of all medical supplies and necessary tools that come as a natural form of runoff from such a project. We will use a partnership with a school that we have set up in the greater Ivey League to outsource the program. From that, we will have a legitimate claim to use Kadic as a recruiting station in addition to natural student intake through proper traditional channels."

"Very good." Yolanda replied, "Thank you. When will this grant be given?"

"Before the start of the next academic year. It takes just a bit of time to get the necessary paperwork on its way. But rest assured, you'll have what you request."

"Okay, again, thank you. I meant to ask, how has the loss of Chloe affected the overall program?"

"There were some drawbacks, I do admit. That said, we have taken care of the situation at large. Our former acquaintance has been sidelined enough to where she won't be too much of a problem anymore, and if she wishes to stay alive truly, she'll hold her tongue. As for Chloe, we have secured her body from the morgue, and we have sent it back to her family in Kazakhstan to be buried."

Yolanda was silent a moment, and she said, "Thank you. I'll be back in contact whenever you need me."

The transmission ended.

John and Maria were back in the North-Gate training room sharpening their skills at hand to hand combat when John side-kicked Maria in the stomach and suddenly Maria saw his heel coming down to crush her forehead, she moved out of the way at the last second, got back to her feet, and she continued to defend against John.

As her fists flew, North-Gate's transmission came through to John's head, "Keep sparring. I want to have a word with you. I'm concerned about Yolanda. She asked about Chloe and the impact her loss may have had on the system at large."

John countered Maria and backflipped, and as he did, he responded, "Remember, Chloe was her friend longer than any of us were, and she was, in fact, one of Yolanda's original friends from back home. It's only natural that she seeks closure of some kind. Because she's hoping her friend's sacrifice wasn't in vain. These questions are natural in her position because, unlike the rest of us, Chloe was her first personal loss. We have all lost friends in former trials and former initiatives, but not her. Chloe is her first such loss—" he ducked and evaded Maria's incoming set of kicks and punches, "so in a way she's experiencing this loss for the first time with shall we say virgin eyes."

North-Gate replied, "Of course, I understand. I didn't think of it necessarily along those lines. I didn't realize they were that close."

John thought, "We all have secrets, darling. You, me, Maria, all of us. Many of us came into this program as members of a much larger group." He dodged Maria's left kick, caught her leg while she whirled with her opposite leg and clipped him in the head, sending him off balance, "My point being, many of us, including you, have lost those dearest to us. But we all knew what the sacrifices were for. But sometimes our soldiers need reassurance. And that is all this is."

John seized Maria's right arm as she came in the form a punch, but her blade came out of her forearm and nearly got him. He slid underneath her and, with a breathtaking whirl of his right leg, knocked her out with a kick to the head.

John exhaled and patched back into North-Gate, "Yolanda is in pain right now, beloved. Comfort her; she needs reassurance and love right now. A lot of us are used to this, but Yolanda was always the most innocent of us. Console her in soft words and remember she like you, would do anything for the vision we seek—but none of us is an island."

John ended the transmission and then gently awoke Maria. Her head was throbbing in pain, but John gave her an aspirin and soothed her head with ice, "Maria, fight smarter, not harder. You put too much into your attacks, and you run out of gas. Next time, take your time but don't aimlessly wander either remember old Dan, "Move with purpose is what he used to say."

Back at Kadic, Jeremy and Aelita had just finished a two and a half-hour workout session from swimming to deadlifts to rowing, to finally incline press and bench press. Jeremy was nearly broken, but Aelita gave him a cold bottle of water she'd refilled from the drinking fountain. Jeremy had a massive headache pounding behind his eye. He wasn't sure what it was, only that he wished he could tear out his eye.

Aelita said, "You got too dehydrated. Did you have breakfast today at all before you came in?"

"No, I didn't have anything. I just came in, and we worked out." He said as he winced and then took another refreshing drink of the ice-cold water.

"No wonder you're in pain. You're under-nourished and your dehydrated. Drink up and get water in your stomach after that we'll go into town for some Italian and get some calories in you. How do your arms feel?"

"Like I can't extend them. Those reverse pull-ups in the pool were a nightmare, and I tried to overcome your crunches that I saw you doing earlier, damn my guts feel all shredded."

"Well, it's an intensive workout. You did well, though, honestly. You matched me so, what are you complaining about?"

"The damned pain, Aelita. That's what I'm complaining about." Jeremy said.

"What you need is rest. Some food and some rest. That's the point you work hard like this and then rest your body for the better part of two days. Your arms are going to be extremely sore tomorrow, which is good because tomorrow's Sunday. So, you'll have plenty of time to rest and recuperate."

Jeremy nodded, "Aelita, where did you learn the things you learned? The drown-proofing, the tactical swimming, where did you learn all of that?"

Aelita smiled as she walked with him outside the weight-room to the exit, "While in Lyoko, I did extensive research as to what traditional aspects of fitness were for you here on earth. I researched military standards of training to keep myself alive. Many of you use exercise as boasting or bragging or seeing how much you can exert for your ego's sake. For me, what I researched and what I have practiced for two years now, is just that, survival in the event of some shall we say inconvenient fortuitous circumstances."

"What else did you research?" Jeremy asked as they headed towards Delmas's office.

"All kinds of things. History, Economics, Banking, Military History, and Technological Progression, Science, and its history. Trust me, Jeremy, when you are in a virtual world for a long time, you have nothing to do but scour the databanks and learn as much as you can so when your angel comes and liberates you, you are prepared—at least in an advanced academic sense." Aelita said with a small laugh.

As they reached Delmas's office, Aelita knocked, and once inside, she asked, "Hello, Mister Delmas. May Jeremy and I go off campus to get a bit to eat at a small café in town?"

Jean-Pierre nodded, "Of course, I see no reason why not. Just be back before lunch in three hours."

"Thank you, Sir."

Heading out, Jeremy and Aelita made a call to Ulrich to see if he wanted to join them. Ulrich was shredded from the intense practice in preparation for next year and was recovering in his room, so he opted to take a raincheck. Odd had his cellphone turned off and so was unreachable but was honestly just in his dorm having his dick sucked by Heidi Klinger and so he understandably didn't want to be disturbed.

As they headed into town, Aelita's phone rang, and she saw it was her mother's number. She answered immediately, "Hello, Mom, is everything okay?"

A man's voice was on the other line, "Yes, this is Ms. Aelita?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"This is Dr. Dietrich Tauber from St. Meredith's Intensive Care. We got your name and number from your mother, a Miss. Anthea Schaeffer. We called to let you know that your mother is okay and that she is going to survive her injuries."

"Injuries, what happened?" Aelita said, stopping on a sidewalk.

"She was attacked in her room by an assailant and shot three times. We wanted to call you sooner, but we had to operate as soon as possible, and it is only now we can tell you with certainty her condition."

Aelita took a deep breath in and exhaled, "Alright. Tell me what all did you have to do?"

"We took the ventilator out, and so now she's breathing on her own, and there is severe damage to your mother's spleen, we may have to take it out. However, we were lucky the other two bullets. They went through and through with only minor damage. They missed her organs but chipped portions of her ribs and hips, but it's nothing that cannot be healed with time and some therapy."

Aelita was silent a moment as she processed just what was happening, then she said, "Where is my mother now?"

"She is resting in her room right now. We're going to take another look at her spleen to determine if we need to take it out. It's not a major problem because the spleen is something you can live without, but we'd rather be sure and ensure she has a stable road to recovery than take a risk."

Aelita said, "I understand. Where is your hospital?"

The doctor gave her the address, and she thanked him and hung up. She said, "Jeremy, my mother, was shot and is in recovery at St. Meredith's. I need to see her. How can we arrange that?"

Jeremy looked at her and could tell she was just about to break down. He knew that even though Anthea had largely been absent from her life, that Aelita still had a love for a woman who she knew was her mother. Did he fault her? Heavens no. But he knew that this closure was needed and so he decided upon himself to do the very best thing he could.

He went to Aelita and embraced her. He felt her body shake, and she began to cry. He rubbed her back gently and said, "Come with me, we'll go back home and tell Delmas what is going on. I'm sure Aelita we can arrange for you to see her. Trust me, this will be done, and things will work out. Come on, let's go."

The two headed back to Kadic, and once they were at Delmas's office, Aelita told Jean-Pierre what had happened.

Jean-Pierre nodded, "Of course. I more than understand." He picked up his phone, and he pressed a button. He then said, "Yes, Yolanda. I need you to run Ms. Aelita stones to St. Meredith Hospital as soon as you are able." There was silence, and he said, "Her mother has been shot, and she wishes to be with her." There was another silence, and Jean-Pierre hung up the phone.

"Nurse Yolanda will be with you in just a few moments. Aelita, know you have friends here, and I know this isn't an easy time, but please, understand that we are here for you should you ever need us. You're not alone at this time."

Aelita nodded, and after a moment, "Thank you, Sir." Her voice was soft, but Jeremy could tell she was just keeping the pain within her as best as she could.

Yolanda came into the office and said, "Ms. Stones, are you ready?"

Aelita nodded and went with Yolanda out front.

Jeremy was going to follow, but Jean-Pierre put his hand on Jeremy's shoulder, "No, Jeremy."

"But, sir, she—"

"I know you mean well, but this is a time where sympathetic words will likely only make things worse. Ms. Stones need to process this as best she can. I will call Mr. Della Robbia, and he will go with her." He texted Yolanda to wait while he called Odd to his office.

Jeremy silently cursed himself, for he desperately wanted to be there with Aelita at this crucial time, but this was one thing like so many others that he couldn't accurately predict.

Odd came immediately after Jean-Pierre called him and, once informed of the situation, speedily caught up to Yolanda and Aelita.

As Jeremy watched their car leave the main entrance, he took a sigh and headed back into his room but only for a moment. He got up from his chair and was about to head out into the hall, but he hesitated. He remembered Anthea's message to Aelita how she knew what was going on, how she had given that message, and that was the last that was heard of her until just now. Coincidence? Heh, not this time. It couldn't be simply because there wasn't that much coincidence in the world. Jeremy slammed his fist on his desk and then grabbing his running shoes, got into them, and darted out the door, down the hall and through the doors out towards the park.

Jeremy lifted the sewer lid with trembling hands, his body still screaming for the intense workout for earlier, but he shoved this out of his mind as best as he could. He stormed down the sewer as fast as he could towards the boiler room.

"Any other woman," Jeremy thought, gritting his teeth as the pain coursed through his body, "Any other woman you could have touched but you had to go after her, you had to go after my Aelita's mother you had to do that?! Well, no more, no fucking more!"

Jeremy made it to the boiler room, and so great was his rage, he tore off the door. Making his way as fast as he could to the supercomputer room, his heart was pounding, his mind racing, the blood in his body like molten rock. Coming to the supercomputer room, Jeremy opened the door and saw a figure sitting in the chair. Jeremy knew this was a very likely a safe-guard set in place by North-Gate, far more likely than not. He grabbed an iron rod and was about to swing at the figure in the chair when the chair whirled around, and a boot slammed him squarely in the gut sending him backward and knocking the air clean out of him.

Jeremy gasped desperately, trying to fill his lungs with air, but he felt as if he were being strangled by an intangible and invisible hand. He looked up, his eyes watering profusely as he tried to gain his breath and saw in shock and fear a person standing before him. The being was of pale, almost whitish-grey skin. Black boots adorned it as did a vest of what looked like tactical armor. A computerized lens scanned him with red light from the right eye as the being held a shotgun. The figure pumped it and aimed it squarely at him. Jeremy was filled with terror as his breath slowly began to come back. He saw blue cords or some form of piping adorning the being's bald head leading to its back somewhere.

Standing up and with feeble breath, he cried out, "What the hell are you?!"

The being stood there, mute motionless and frozen, his eyes trained on Jeremy ready to shoot.

"Jeremy," the familiar voice of North-Gate came through the supercomputer's speakers, "why are you doing this?"

"You! You attacked Aelita's mother, you nearly fucking killed her! I can't allow you to exist, and I won't allow you to exist if this is what you think you are going to do. Just killing people because they may somehow compromise the real shit show you're doing instead of ingesting your better world bullshit?! You're not fucking better, no more advanced than that monster of a brother we fought for years."

"Jeremy, do you think I need your approval for anything that I do? Do you honestly think your opinion is valued that much? I have extended my hand of friendship because I thought you and your team capable of comprehending the actual price of progress, but as you are proving, you clearly lack what I thought you possessed."

"Oh, so what are you going to do, kill me? Is that what's next?" Jeremy asked, "Stand and face me without your creatures without your underhanded tricks, a battle of minds! If you truly are so brilliant, so great, so much nobler than your brother who went off the reservation, then perhaps you can explain clearly what your goals are. We don't know what you plan to do, but if we truly were to work together, we should be privy to at least a glimpse of the future."

"I can tell you the result and what I can give you and what I have given others. But I will not tell you how because you are not at the maturity to suitably handle such information if provided to you. You value your mind; you value you what you think. I see your language telling me all I need to know of you. You love what you think; you like what you think a lot.

But you would not approve of what I am to do to bring forth what I promise because you like so many others you hate binary choices. You love your greys, your shades in-between. Your ceaseless and disgusting justifications. There are no shades of such allowances here. You are either good or evil. You are either for me, or you are my enemy. I forgive you, your hot-headedness. But if you think I will let one woman stand in the way of genuine accomplishment and good for all, undoing my hard work because she's the being who birthed your lover? You are sorely mistaken."

Jeremy clenched his teeth and in a rage flew forward at the being before him, side-stepped and kicked the creature in the stomach which knocked it back, Jeremy seized the shotgun, wrenching it with all his might from the being's hands and fired the shot at the head splattering the blood all over the chair. Jeremy couldn't hear; however, his ears were ringing, and he aimed at the supercomputer console. But at that moment, a warm, bright light came over him, and as his finger pulled the trigger, he heard the words, "Return to the Past, now."

The warm light enveloped him and the city entirely, and when Jeremy opened his eyes, he was back in his room and sitting at his desk. He felt immensely fatigued, and with all that, he knew Aelita was going to the hospital to see her mother as he saw Yolanda's car leave the main exit. He was afraid for her, afraid of what she would see, but he would be there for her as he knew no person, especially her, should be alone like this.

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