After XANA's words, neither of them said anything for a long moment. They just stared at each other. It was as if they both feared breaking grips would break the fragile pact as well. They actually held hands for so long it became kind of bizarre.
Finally, he spoke, sounding a bit hoarse. "While I work out the details of how, exactly, I surrender...I think there's a reunion you've been awaiting all your life."
Aelita's breath was stolen by enthusiasm, nervousness, and apprehension. The reunion! Her stomach churned. XANA had told her Mommy had been mind-wiped. There was no chance she was going to recognize Aelita. What if she didn't believe her? What if she didn't want her?
But those questions, while frightening, weren't enough to give her pause or steal her happiness. Her hand trembled when she extracted it from XANA's. "I-yes! Yes, please, take me to Mommy!"
He gave her a small, bent smile. "Once I'm done securing the factory and explain things to those there, I'll send Eva over to take care of the Green Phoenix members stationed here. Then we can be on our way."
And then I'll be able to see Mommy!
But...wait. The people outside...they had to have family too, right? They must have people who loved them and wanted to see them, the same way she wanted to see her mother. To just bowl them over, in a rush to get to her, seemed...wrong. She wrung her hands. "Do you have to kill them? I mean, I know you had to when we escaped earlier, but the situation's changed now. Can't you let them go?"
He blinked. "Why are you concerned for them? They mean nothing to you."
How to explain? "I may not know them personally, but they mean something to someone else. Other people would be hurt by their deaths, and they're dead no matter what. I mean, even if you and I just wait here, they'll die in a few days. It's just right to give them some time to get their affairs in order, speak with their families."
The blank incomprehension did not leave his face.
She tried, "They're someone else's Aelita."
His lips pursed. His eyes closed. Aelita waited as he thought that over. Her request was partially for the reasons she'd given, and partially an attempt to enlighten XANA. She couldn't be his conscience forever; if he could learn even a bit of basic human empathy, that would go a long way towards reassuring her.
"Alright," he said after a bit, opening his eyes. There was no visible sign as to whether he understood or if he was just agreeing because she'd asked. Disappointment settled around her shoulders. "They still can't access the scanners, but I've lifted the static enough to send them a message, telling them their situation and to leave. But I can't control whether they'll believe it or what they'll do. If they try to hurt us when we leave, I will stop them with Eva."
"I suppose that's fair," she conceded. "You should let Eva go, you know."
"I will, once my...surrender is negotiated and over with. I still need her to act as my hands for the time being."
"Okay, but remember, she's a person, not a tool."
"I'm...aware." That was...reassuring?
XANA began to pace, eyes going distant. "Now...what else...your friends. Belpois is in the infirmary. Yumi and Ulrich are still in the First City; they can stay there for the time being. Contacting the men in black at Kadic is of higher priority.
"Since, as I mentioned earlier, I only have Eva to interact with the real world, the scene at the factory hasn't been cleaned up yet. It likely won't be by the time we arrive. With that in mind, do you want me to put you under?"
Aelita instinctively flinched. "I'm not-comfortable with that. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. How about this: I'll close our eyes and have Eva guide us by the hand?"
The claws of tension loosened their hold. She exhaled. "That's much better. Yes."
He nodded. "Okay. You should probably sit down for this."
Aelita nodded and sat on the bench. It's not REALLY kissing. Still, her stomach fluttered. Sorry, Jeremie.
"Aelita?"
"Yes?"
XANA kneeled in front of her and hesitantly brought his hand to her cheek. "I'm sorry. For everything."
Her heart ached. She swallowed. "Thank you." That was all she could give right now.
"And I promise, I'll walk you right to the scanner, hop out when we're in Lyoko, and rematerialize you. That way, you can have your privacy with your mother."
The knot in her chest loosened, and a small smile tilted at the corner of her lips. "Thank you."
His hand moved to the back of her head. Even knowing what to expect, she still braced herself as he leaned in. His lips pressed to hers; she obligingly opened her mouth. She tasted smoke and…
Everything was going dark...
Jeremie jerked awake with a wild thought of, I need to run!
Then, I'm not dead?
He rubbed his throat, baffled. He knew XANA had caught him; he could vividly recall the victory in Eva's blue eyes, the pressure of fingers around his neck, the pit in his stomach.
So how was he alive? Had someone stopped XANA?
He had to get his bearings first. Jeremie looked around; he was in a large tent filled with medical equipment, the smell of antiseptic, doctors, and cots. Many of the cots were occupied by sleeping, injured men and women. The three to his right were as still as corpses and showed no external injuries, but their eyes were stretched wide in some perpetual look of terror. He shuddered and averted his gaze.
This was obviously a hospital tent. Logically, someone must have brought him here after he'd been attacked, so he was theoretically among allies. But how? He couldn't imagine XANA would let that happen, but the thought of any of the Green Phoenix driving him off was equally preposterous. He'd seen how well they'd fared against Eva.
He spotted Anthea's full head of gray almost at the same time she spotted him. She had been changing the bandages of the patient diagonally across Jeremie's cot. When she looked up and saw him watching her, she gave him a smile, held up a finger, finished her task, and then hurried over. "Jeremie, you're awake!"
"What ha-" His voice-raspy and weak-broke. The sound was startling. Panic surged through him. He bolted up, struggled to disentangle his legs from the sheets. Jeremie didn't know what he intended to do; he just knew that the thought of staying in bed, while things were obviously wrong, was-
"You shouldn't try to speak," Anthea chided, gently pushing him back into bed. It was a gesture so maternal, so comforting after everything that had happened these past few days, that Jeremie didn't resist. Suddenly, fiercely, he missed his mom. "Dr. Patel said that you only had a hand around your throat for a few seconds, but even that could inflict damage."
She produced a notebook and pencil from her lab coat and handed them to him. "Here. I'm sure you have questions."
Jeremie stared at the writing implements for a few moments. He did have plenty of questions, but his mind was still stuck on "even that could inflict damage". Injuries had always been superficial in his experience. It didn't matter if you got electrocuted, or broke a bone, or bruised to your marrow. A Return to the Past would always fix it. But that wasn't an option now.
His handwriting was unusually shaky. What happened? Are you alright?
"I'm fine," she said. "XANA told me that we're in no danger, but we can't leave."
Jeremie frowned. Why would XANA keep me alive? Anthea, I get, but me? All he wrote, though, was So we're prisoners.
Anthea bit her lip. "I think so. He said something about negotiations, and some...things are standing guard outside the tent."
What 'things'?
"I'm not sure how to describe them...can I have those back for a moment?"
He relinquished the notebook and pencil. Anthea flipped to a blank page, scribbled something down, and returned the items. Jeremie looked down into a surprisingly detailed sketch of a Kankrelat. They're some of XANA's monsters, he told Anthea. He must have materialized them. Somehow. What happened to Eva?
"Is that the name of the blonde girl? She left after bringing you here."
How long have I been out?
"I can't say for sure. XANA brought you here a few minutes ago, but I don't know how long that was after you were knocked out."
"It was immediately."
They both jumped. Eva had appeared as if out of nowhere, stepping up to Jeremie's bedside, far too close for comfort. Jeremie grabbed the only available weapon-the pencil-and pointed it at XANA.
XANA gave the pencil a disdainful look, then turned to Anthea. "Fetch a doctor to examine him. Then get something to eat."
Anthea seemed to shrink down. "Yes, sir," she said quietly.
"You don't need to cower. I'm not Mago. I'm not going to beat you." I really do need to be examined, Jeremie thought. XANA's voice had almost sounded gentle.
Anthea only bowed and scurried out like a mouse. Foolishly, Jeremie wished she'd stayed. He knew she wouldn't have done any good against XANA, but it would have been reassuring to have someone with him.
The arch-enemies stared at each other for a minute.
"Well, I have to thank you for that program you used on me," XANA finally said with a mocking bow. "It's currently incomplete, thanks to the Return to the Past, but I was still able to use it to materialize a few Kankrelats even without a tower."
What are you doing? Jeremie wrote, ignoring XANA's attempt to aggravate him.
"Aelita won't be happy if your weak human body has any permanent damage."
So, what, he wanted his prisoners in good condition before he made a trade? But what was he trying to trade for? And why hadn't he killed Jeremie when he had the chance?
A whip-thin woman with a hooked nose and a black medical bag approached the bedside-Dr. Patel, according to her name tag. She barely blinked at the sight of the young girl who had slaughtered her organization not an hour ago. She merely crooked a thin eyebrow and said, boldly, "I will need some space to examine the patient now."
"Of course. Do whatever it takes to get him back in good health," XANA told her, waving a hand. "I have things to attend to, but Belpois?"
Bracing himself, Jeremie glanced over. Eva's blue stare was too eerie, the curve of her mouth too cruel. He couldn't believe he hadn't recognized XANA in her face before.
"Stay put and my Kankrelats won't bother you. But if you touch the supercomputer, a laptop, or even a phone...well, just because I intend to keep you intact doesn't mean I won't take steps to protect myself."
Walter was dead.
It should have felt liberating. It should have felt good. No more cutting words, no more uncaring tutors, no more pressure to be the perfect, emotionless, straight-A student. He could finally, truly be free.
And yet, when the numb shock wore off, that wasn't how Ulrich felt at all.
The Return to the Past had thrown him and Yumi back into the First City-into the warehouse with the Ants, to be specific. It was a massive area.
And yet, it seemed to be shrinking in around him.
His lip quivered. Tears fought to escape his eyes. Yumi was saying something-maybe his name, maybe trying to plan what to do next-and all he could hear was the blood pumping in his ears.
Shame burned through him. Boys weren't supposed to cry. Especially not over the worst father in the world.
And yet, here he was.
Too upset to use Super Sprint, he leaped to his feet and fled from the warehouse. Ulrich had no idea where he was going. He just knew he had to get away. He didn't want Yumi to see such a disgusting, shameful display of emotion. He didn't want anyone to see him. Bother him by asking him why he was crying, why was he being so unmanly, why won't you talk to us Ulrich? Gee, maybe it's because he wasn't ready yet! Maybe it was because he needed time to process! Maybe it was because he didn't even know the answers!
He hated Walter. He did!
But when he'd seen his body twist in the air like that-felt Walter's blood splatter on his face and in his mouth-something in him that had long been crying for a father's love let out a despairing wail.
Because now there really was no chance Walter would ever acknowledge him. He would never hear those words 'I'm proud of you'. Never hear 'I'm sorry'. Never hear 'I was wrong about you and your friends'. Never get to be vindicated. Never get the choice to let Walter make up for being absolutely terrible, never get the chance to have a real dad.
All his life, he'd been robbed of a father, and Walter's death had slammed the door on the possibility forever.
He couldn't see through the tears, so when he ran into the lamppost, he didn't quite register what had happened at first. The pain just burst out from the center of his forehead and reverberated down his spine. He staggered backwards, head ringing.
"Ulrich!"
He flinched at the sound of Yumi's voice. Shook his head. His vision, which had gone double when he'd run into the lamppost, slowly settled back into normal. Looking behind him, he could see multiple large warehouses, dusty roads, flat terrain, and Yumi rapidly closing the distance between them. But before he could Super Sprint away, she lunged and grabbed his arm. "Ulrich, wait!"
"G-Go away!"
"Wait, please, just-hear me out! If you still want me to go away after, I will!"
Ulrich gritted his teeth and sucked in several deep breaths, trying to smother the sobs. He yanked his arm free-or tried to. She held on, fingers digging into his elbow, and he didn't have the heart to drive his fist into them.
Yumi tried to shuffle around him. He turned away, refusing to let her see his face. She stopped.
"Okay," she said quietly. "Okay, if you don't want me to look, I won't."
"Spit it out and go," he snapped. Wretchedness twisted inside him immediately after. Yumi loved him, and he loved her, and that was far more than could be said about him and Walter. So how could he be so gruff to her, yet cry over Walter?
"I'm sorry. That was wrong of me. But, Y-Yumi," oh dammit, the tears were coming back, "I ca-an't…"
Her arms wrapped around him from behind, loving and gentle. "You don't have to talk if you don't want to. I won't ask you to explain, or judge you for crying over him. I just want you to know I'm here."
His throat clenched.
She squeezed him once, then let go. Instantly, he missed her warmth. "And...I want to help you, but I'm not sure how I can." Her voice cracked. "I hate seeing you sad. I hate it so much. So please, if there's anything I can do for you...even if that's leave, tell me."
Silence fell. He trembled, struggling for air, for words, for-for something. Courage, maybe. Courage to let her in during this most vulnerable, shameful moment.
He finally managed to speak, but his voice was thick and choked. "D-Don't ask me to...to e-explain. Don't-look. Don't-"
"I won't."
"Don't leave," he whispered.
"I won't."
Hiccupping, Ulrich sank to the ground, curled up into a ball, and let Yumi hold him while he wept. Not for the father he'd lost, but for the father he would never have.
"...and Sissi was shaking pretty badly about the whole brush with death thing, so William said he'd stay with her until she calmed down, and I came here to tell you all," Della Robbia finished, hands-which had been gesturing dramatically during his retelling-dropping to his side.
Fox, sitting cross-legged on the floor, frowned and propped his chin in the palm of one hand.
The blizzard's sudden disappearance had surprised Fox as much as it made him suspicious, and he'd called a meeting in the boiler room. Right as he was instructing Lynx to fetch the kids, Della Robbia had burst into the room, babbling about shoot-outs and death and a Return to the Past.
When they'd gotten him to slow down and sit down, he'd relayed a rather incredulous story-about how, both earlier today and two days from now, they had launched an assault on the Hermitage, allied with XANA of all beings, but been attacked by the Green Phoenix. Apparently, they had been lined up in the snow and moments from death when they had been whisked back into the past-"Einstein saving the day at the last minute, it must be!" were Della Robbia's words.
Even though the kids had explained about what a Return to the Past did, the whole thing sounded fanciful. But Della Robbia had described the tactics used to take the Hermitage with such certainty and detail that Fox had to admit there was a ring of truth to the whole thing. If he were to stage an assault on the Hermitage-an idea he had been considering as their next move-Della Robbia's depiction was what he would have done.
On the laptop screen, Dido-who Fox had called the instance the blizzard vanished, taking the interference with it-rolled her cigarette idly between her fingers. She did not speak right away, merely rested her lidded gaze on the young teen. "Della Robbia, you will identify the soon-to-be-deceased in greater detail once this meeting is adjourned. Fox, once he brings you the list, you will help those on it contact lawyers, religious leaders, family members, etc., so they can put their affairs in order."
That sealed it, in his opinion. If Dido believed Della Robbia was telling the truth, he almost certainly was. Secretly, he felt a bit relieved to have her cool confidence back. He didn't feel ready for leadership yet. "Understood, ma'am."
"No, this is not understood!" Agent W yelled. His face was utterly ashen, and he was twisting his tie so harshly it was a wonder it hadn't strangled him. "I'm going to die?! And there's nothing we can do to stop it?! This is ridiculous! Surely-"
"Agent W, please restrain yourself from displaying outbursts of emotion while this meeting is still in progress," Dido said, as coldly and sharply as a blade of ice.
His laptop beeped, alerting him of an incoming, top-priority email. Fox opened it. Read it. Actually rubbed his eyes. Read it again.
"Excuse me, ma'am," he said. Dido turned a frosty glare on him, and aghast, he realized he'd interrupted her. But this was too important. He wet his lips and forged on, "I've just received an email from XANA of all people. I don't know how it broke through our security-"
"It's XANA," Della Robbia said, as if that were explanation enough. "I'm more surprised he's doing something as banal as sending emails. What, is it full of threats and gloating?"
Fox shook his head and read it out loud. "'The Green Phoenix forces in Paris have been defeated. Jeremie Belpois, Yumi Ishiyama, Ulrich Stern, Aelita Schaeffer, and Anthea Schaeffer are alive and safe. I am interested in negotiations. Arrange a conference with Dido and the Lyoko Warriors'."
Della Robbia slapped his thigh. "Negotiations? Ha, that's rich! More like he's holding them hostage and wants…"
He suddenly trailed off with a frown, seeming to recognize the hole in that logic.
"Wants what?" Major Steinback finished for him. "He has everything he wants-Waldo dead, full control over Carthage, you and your friends split up, Aelita… No. Whatever he's gunning for, it's not a hostage trade."
Dido rubbed her chin. "He was able to hack into our email system?"
"Pfft, you should have seen the time he hacked a government satellite."
"And he wants to negotiate…" She lit her cigarette. Her eyes gleamed. "Interesting."
Fox recognized that tone. She was envisioning the future, all the ways this could pan out and how they could best use these developments. Given proper time, Dido could plan the exact steps for something months or years away, and have it go off without a hitch-Hopper had been the one exception.
But Hopper had been exceptional in many ways. One black mark on Dido's record didn't shake Fox's faith in her. "Orders, ma'am?"
Dido blew out a ring of smoke. "Send two teams out, one to the Hermitage, one to the factory. Scout out the situation and report back to me. And tell XANA we're open to negotiations, but try to set the call for tomorrow. I need some time to think."
When Aelita-freshly de-possessed-stepped out of one of the factory scanners, the first thing she saw was Eva, who was standing right in front of the doors.
The second thing she saw, when XANA smiled through Eva and stepped aside, was a lovely older woman with long gray hair and blue eyes. She was wringing her hands and wearing a white lab coat. The shape of her eyes, her mouth...they were older, but they were Aelita's. And while the hair was different, her face was undoubtedly that of the woman in Daddy's pictures.
Aelita couldn't breath.
All her life, Aelita had longed for her mother-she knew that even without all her memories. And now that the moment was finally here...she couldn't breath. Or move. Her limbs, face, her whole body was just paralyzed. There was a cold, hard knot in her stomach and an equally cold, hard voice in her ear whispering Don't believe. Don't hope. You're just setting yourself up for disappointment.
For so long, reuniting with Mommy had been just a dream to be chased. So now that the moment was here...it felt surreal, fragile, as substantial as a dream. Plus, she'd never really had a reunion with her father. Just small, brief moments on Lyoko before XANA had murdered him, blowing apart those hopes of having a whole family again right before her eyes. Who was to say this wouldn't turn out the same way?
In the background, XANA quietly slipped away. The movement jolted Aelita out of her horrible memories.
Right. XANA had apologized. He wasn't going to fight anymore. She didn't have to be afraid of him. Mago was dead. She didn't have to be afraid of him either. The men in black were...well, she was still a bit afraid.
And yet, none of them had the capacity to hurt her as much as the woman before her did.
Finally, she found her voice. It rang high with emotion. "Do you know who I am?"
Mommy wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her body. "You're Aelita Schaeffer, daughter of Waldo Schaeffer...the man who created the supercomputer Mago was obsessed with."
Aelita felt her heart crack in two and fall to the floor. That was so factual, so dry. It was as if Mommy didn't recognize her at all. Her tentative, newborn smile faltered. I told you so, the voice hissed.
"That boy, Jeremie…and XANA, just now, when bringing me here...they both said you were my daughter. And...your face does look familiar."
She grabbed at that like a drowning child would grab at a lifeline, ignoring the voice's renewed warnings. "Yes! That's right! I'm your daughter!"
Trembling with hope, nerves and desperation, she pulled the sailor's knot pendant out from under her coat. Mommy's eyes locked onto it. "See? You should have one like this, right? Daddy had a matching set made. One for him, one for you. He kept it, all these years, because he never gave up on finding you! Neither of us did!"
Mommy's brow furrowed. "I don't have a necklace like that, but...it does seem... May I see it?"
Aelita nodded frantically, as if that itself would make everything alright. She slipped the pendant over her head and handed it over.
Mommy's eyes grew distant. Her fingers traced over the W&A, slowly, as if in a dream. Then they trailed to the bottom of the pendant, but with more purpose now. Seeming to find whatever she was looking for, Mommy pressed a thumb onto a particular part of the lower half and twisted. Aelita gasped as, with a soft click, the W&A began glowing. Mommy pressed down on the W; the sailor's knot blinked thrice; and the glow stopped.
"Every day, I would do this to tell Waldo I was alive and thinking of you both," she murmured. "And he would do the same on his end...and I would be strong enough to endure another day of captivity."
Aelita didn't dare speak in case it broke Mommy's concentration as she half-dug up erased memories.
"But...Mago found out. He was furious...he took the pendant, and then…" Mommy snapped back into awareness. She began to shake. "Lord have mercy...I d-don't remember! Did he break it? I…"
Aelita raised a hand-and hesitated. What if Mommy didn't like being touched? There's so much I don't know about her, she realized. What she's like, what she's gone through, how to comfort her...
But that doesn't matter. She's still my mother. It won't be instant...but we will have time to build up that bond.
She stepped forward, but Mommy backed away, wrapping her arms around herself and hunching down. "Don't. I'm not...good. I'm not…"
Aelita slowly withdrew her hand, trying and failing not to feel hurt. "Of course you're good," she whispered. "You're my mother."
Saying those words out loud, Aelita felt her eyes mist. My mother...she's right here. She really, truly, finally is. But what if...
Tears began building in Mommy's eyes as well. "Your mother…" Mommy repeated, as if sounding them out. Then, more firmly: "Yes, I...I am your mother."
Aelita's breath hitched. Mommy's body uncurled; her arms dropped; her expression morphed. A hesitant smile dawned, chasing away that awful, cowering fear. "And you're my daughter."
And she opened her arms.
With an unabashed cry, Aelita ran into them. Mommy's arms closed around her, holding her close. They were safe, comforting, and warm. So warm. She sobbed harder. Mommy, sniffling, rocked her and patted her back.
"My daughter," Mommy whispered. "My Aelita."