AN: This finale came by the grace of God, and I am immensely pleased with the results. Here you are, my dear readers, the season finale to season four. I hope you all enjoy the chapter. I will be gone for at least three weeks as my batteries recharge to keep these chapters alive and fresh for you all. I am grateful for all of you who have continued to read and all of you who have reviewed. You all mean so much to me, and I hope to continue to provide as gripping a narrative as I can muster.

I'll see you all next season.

Pagliacci-11

Chapter 88

"So, it's agreed then?" Aelita asked.

Jeremy nodded, as did Ulrich, albeit reluctantly. He knew what was to come. The actual trial by fire, something Ulrich personally dreaded beyond anything and everything. But he'd vetted Yumi himself, and so he was confident of what the results would be. But to get Yumi to agree to what was to come? That'd be a pain in itself.

"Alright, so if we're all of one accord, we'll meet here during lunch hour," Jeremy said.

Aelita nodded, "I'll message her, and we'll set up the meet. If Sylvia's going to try and divide and conquer us, she'll have to do a hell of a lot better than this."

Jeremy nodded, "Agreed. So during lunch-hour then. Alright, we have our window. We just have to make sure the coast is clear like always."

As the group approached Kadic's dormitory, a call was heard, "Ulrich, Ulrich!"

Ulrich turned, and he saw Milly approaching him without Tamia, which was a first.

"Uh, Ulrich," she said, "I need to talk to you."

Ulrich was surprised and replied, "Alright, if you need to. I'll catch up, guys. Go on."

Jeremy and Aelita affirmed his decision and went on ahead. He looked at Milly, "How can I help you?"

"Actually—I think I can help you, and you can help Hiroki," Milly replied.

"Hiroki? About what exactly?"

"Well, you see, he—" she looked around a bit more skittish than was her usual and resumed, "he thinks his sister isn't his sister at all."

Ulrich could barely restrain himself, but he did his best, "J-just what do you mean?"

"Come with me. I want to give you something to listen to."

Ulrich followed Milly back to her dorm, and after she'd disappeared behind the door for a moment, she handed him a compact tape-recorder.

"Listen to this and get it back to me as soon as you can. I recorded this a while back before Hiroki and his family came back from Japan. You know, after all, that happened with his dad. But Ulrich, for the first time, Hiroki was both confused and afraid. I've never seen him like that before. So, just—listen to it when you can."

"Well, slow down, Milly. What was he talking about?"

She looked at him, unsure at first of how to respond, and then she said, "Look, I don't know if Yumi has a twin sister I don't know about, but there's this one person Hiroki mentioned—Sylvia. He said she gave him the absolute creeps."

Now it was out, and Ulrich nodded, "Thank you, Milly. But let me ask you, why isn't this splashed across the school paper as is you usual?"

Milly looked slightly ashamed, and she replied, "I was going to, I was. But, hearing his fear once more in that recording? I didn't do it. There's something he's afraid of or someone. Do you know how to deal with this?"

Ulrich nodded, "I do. Look, Milly, you're a good friend. Stay away from Yumi for a while, stay away from Hiroki until I tell you it's safe, okay?"

Milly was surprised, and she replied, "Ulrich, y-you're scaring me. Is he—"

"Don't worry about Hiroki. I know who Sylvia is. We'll take care of her but do as I ask you—please."

She nodded, and he said, "I'll listen to this and have it back before lunch. If you don't get it, ask Jeremy to remind me. I've got a lot going on today; that's why I tell you this."

Milly nodded, "Thank you, Ulrich."

Ulrich knelt to her level and said, "It's going to be alright, Milly. Just let me take care of it."

She gave him a hug, and he returned it, as chaste as he could, and he said, "I'll see you soon."

Back at the rec-room, Ulrich pressed play, and he listened to Milly and Hiroki's call through his earphone. As he heard, he could feel the fear, feel the genuine uncertainty. Sylvia was around but was, according to Hiroki, living as Yumi. However, as he listened more and more, his anger grew. Ulrich more than knew what a lot of this entailed; he'd had relations with an actual monster. Sylvia had violated Yumi's sanctity; she'd violated him.

Ulrich's anger grew until eventually, he slammed repeatedly on the couch, "You, fucking filthy psychopathic bitch!" he seethed inwardly. He exhaled sharply, and he took out his phone and texted Aelita, "Get you and Einstein to Rec at the couch, NOW."

Soon, Jeremy and Aelita were before Ulrich, and he rewound the tape. Handing it to Aelita, he said, "You two go back to your room and listen to it. That—" he lowered his voice, "That fucking bitch, she's a monster! She's going down, you two; I don't care what she says anymore. I don't give a fucking fuck!"

He left immediately, storming off. Aelita looked at the black recorder, and she thought, "Sylvia, what have you done?"

The time remaining before the day started, Aelita and Jeremy listened to the recording, and as they heard, they looked at each other. The horrors they could have only dreamed of were before them. Sylvia had walked around as Yumi, and in her way, she had terrified Hiroki. The child knew his sister and the pretender who'd walked in her flesh. As Hiroki had said, that there was this coldness, this otherness, that wasn't Yumi, that wasn't his Yumi. Aelita, as she listened to the account twice, she listened to Hiroki's voice. The haunting affirmed understanding that none would dare believe him if he were to voice his view, and that's a weapon Sylvia used against him. Once they had finished, Aelita looked at Jeremy.

Jeremy sighed, and he stood, "She's such a cunning wolf. She hid as Jacqueline, but she more convincingly disguised herself as Yumi. But—but her parents knew what Sylvia was. They knew Sylvia was amongst them, sat with her, they ate with her. They knew it, but Takeo hated it; hated her. For that, he died." He took off his glasses and rubbed his temples.

"What do we do?" He asked.

Aelita shrugged, "Sylvia's achieved her purpose for whatever she used Yumi for. But—the simple fact she fucked Ulrich—why?"

Jeremy shrugged, "I can't tell you." Jeremy replied with a hint of defeat, "I can't, nor do I want to go into the mind of a psychopath."

"Sociopath. A psychopath has no conscience. A Sociopath does, but it's muted by comparison." Aelita replied.

"Gee, thanks Professor," Jeremy replied with a touch of snideness.

"No need for that, Jeremy. But, sadly, Ulrich knows what we already suspected, and now, I frankly don't know what he's going to do."

Jeremy nodded, "Neither one of us can take him if he tried. And now, he's going to be more desperate for answers than ever."

Ulrich was just outside the new Ishiyama household, and as he watched from a distance, he saw Yumi in the back tending some new plants. Since when did Yumi garden? Never as far as he knew. But still, he couldn't tell what to believe. He knew Jeremy's test would very quickly ferret out the imposter, but knowing he had literally slept with the enemy before Takeo's death didn't comfort him in the slightest. As he watched her, Ulrich noted Yumi's tentativeness with the plants, her gentle care. It was something that he was surprised to see. But he had to remind himself what he was genuinely looking at.

But in all reality, what was he looking at? Ulrich jogged his memory, and he couldn't figure anything out except—the hands. Yumi, before all this had transpired with her father, her hands were cold, cold as ice but strong. That was her giveaway. Hell, now that he thought about it, Aelita said that Jacqueline had cold hands. But why was that? Ulrich remembered the morning he'd spent with Yumi. It was wonderful. The lovemaking they had shared was second to none; she was so passionate, she was so warm, so sure. There was no way that it wasn't Yumi, that it wasn't a flesh and blood being.

Agonizingly enough, Ulrich still couldn't be sure. He was afraid but also angry. He didn't know at the time what to feel. This very act, this profane outright evil act, why did she have to do it? Why did Sylvia need to attack him in this way? He pondered, and he checked his watch; there was still time before class to begin, about twenty minutes. He'd best start back to Kadic, he thought, and so, he turned back towards the school. Walking along in the silence, he just wanted to be sure. He loved Yumi. He'd worked so long, fought so many battles, endeavored to do his best to keep and stay with her. But now, in the face of Sylvia, this thing that would use human life like currency, this thing which he knew despite her protestations, was a lover of slaughter.

Ulrich walked along, and suddenly a gust of wind against him filled his nostrils with the approaching storm that the northern winds were bringing. He smelled the air, the somberness of the air but its richness with water. It wasn't long before the storm would break, and Ulrich knew he'd get wet before he got back to Kadic, and frankly, he didn't care. He felt the approaching storm on his skin and in his hair and thought how fitting it was the northern winds that brought this particular storm. Ulrich sighed and headed on his way when suddenly, a mighty crack of thunder sounded overhead directly overhead. Ulrich cringed as he ran underneath a nearby awning. The rain came far sooner than he'd have ever expected as it poured down in a solid sheet.

Suddenly a car passed by him, and two short honks of the horn alerted him. He looked at the titanium white car approaching, "Herr Stern," a voice called out, "Do you need a ride?!" the voice was nearly drowned by the downpour, but Ulrich could barely see the visage of Beck, the school's night nurse.

Ulrich got in, and he said, "On duty so quickly? Where's Nurse Yolanda?"

"Nah, I just decided to get there before the worst of this shitshow hit, you know?" He rolled up the window, and he said, "Want some coffee? I'm bringing Amelia some from Beto's, a favorite of hers from back home."

"Do you have enough?"

"Have one of Milly's. She keeps two, one for her studies the others for her night studies. She can sleep tonight. It's not good to have her wound like the energizer bunny, you know?"

Ulrich nodded, and he had one of the three cups, and he tasted it. It was one of the finest, richest, and boldest coffees he'd ever had. "Oh, wow! What is this, Mr. Beck? This is fantastic."

"It's Jamaican Blue Mountain with mint cream. It's my daughter's go-to."

Ulrich said, "This is amazing, thank you."

"Hey, there's a place to get them in the city, and I'll show you where they are when Amelia's free to go there. You were doing out awfully far, considering how soon classes start. Is everything alright?"

Ulrich shrugged, "It's just a girl I've been seeing."

"Oh, Ishiyama's sister?" He asked.

"How did you know about it?"

"Oh, Ulrich, everyone from here to Timbuktu knows about you and your smoldering romance. That is if the local school rag is anything to go by. It reminds me of the GLOBE; complete trash. But I just can't look away like a car wreck. I think it's because my family, much like our American cousins, are bizarrely fascinated with illicit romance and pending death." He pulled into Kadic's front entrance and waved his pass to a guard. Pulling into the front door, he let Ulrich out.

"Have a good day, Ulrich, and don't let romance drive you to the ends of the earth. Noble as it may sound in romance sagas, it's hardly worth it, my friend."

Ulrich closed the door, and Beck went to park beside Yolanda's car nearby, and Ulrich headed inside thinking, "If only you knew the full extent, sir. If only you knew."

Meanwhile, Odd lay in a rolling green meadow, his head resting on Brynja's lap, and as he rested, he felt at peace. The gentle bird-call sounded overhead, and the shade cast by the tree on the small hill which they were on helped him have peace. As Brynja's hand moved through his hair, his hair that was now cut shorter but still styled into a point, he couldn't help but feel at ease. He was happy. For the first time in a long time, he was happy.

As he rested, Brynja was thinking on how best to broach the subject of what was to come for his friends, what was to come for all who were back home. As she thought about it, she smiled. She knew what was to come; it was merely giving the news to Odd that was her task, and now that she had him in her hands, she knew it'd be more manageable. She didn't know why, but she knew it would be easier.

"Odd," she asked, her voice breaking the peace and calm just slightly, "why did you come to us?"

Odd sighed and replied, "I don't entirely want to think about it, to be honest. I came here because—" he exhaled again, "I wanted to be free; my choices respected. I didn't like being confined and almost hypocritically so."

He fell silent for a while as Brynja thought on his words, her eyes towards the rising sun in the east as its bright rays began to bathe the far-off fields of maize. She knew he didn't want to talk about it, but she needed the hard facts sooner than later. She had time, but not nearly as much as she wanted. But some time was better than no time, and so it was best if she took her time without dragging her feet. Resting her head against the tree, she thought long and hard about how far her own life had come.

"Who is Sylvia to you?" Odd asked suddenly. Brynja was surprised at this sudden question, and as she looked down at him, his eyes drifted open, "Hmm? What is she to you?"

Brynja smiled slightly, and after some thought in silence, she replied, "She's my council and my dearest friend. Not many can call her that, but I do. She's got a good heart in her, but she can go to some very dark places. Is she the worst there's been? Heavens no. But, she's not without her fault and her detractors—that's for sure.

But her heart is usually in the right place. But her realities of peace, this peace even, it came at the cost of the lives of the dissenters; those never satisfied."

"I've heard things while I was in the city," Odd replied, "is she a moral dictator? Does she truly police the morality of people to the nth degree?"

Brynja sighed, "It's one of the charges against her. But people will talk, as people do. I wouldn't put too much stock in every Tom, Dick, and Harry. That said, it's not as simple as all that. She and I—we are families united for the control of the people but not control on that level. Long ago, we realized that people would be people. We can't help them any more than that simple understanding. They are never satisfied anyway; even the most meager suffers from the desire for more and more. To quote Schopenhauer, mankind will never be satisfied."

Odd sat up and asked, "How do you satisfy yourselves then? If humanity can never be satisfied, how do you satisfy your people and yourselves equally?"

"We accept humanity is what it Is in its ceaseless wants. We simply provide a vehicle for the people to be empowered beyond what they believe themselves to be. We provide independent markets from the Government to empower them in their belief of choice. The people naturally don't trust the government; this should come as no surprise. However, even North-Gate is not immune from corruption, dearest Odd. So long as all income is reported, honesty with the counters is all that's required to pass in North-Gate. However, much like the shooters of schools, it simply takes an understanding of the systems in place to exploit them.

North-Gate is far from a perfect solution, but the people help us spot weaknesses as much as our own powerbrokers, for good or ill."

Odd thought a moment, "Powerbrokers, huh? Sylvia said she hates powerbrokers, but she has them in her own government. Why?" He then asked the question, "Why powerbrokers? Sylvia hates them in our world; why does she have them here?"

"She hates the corruption of the powerbrokers of your homeland; it's not that she doesn't see them as necessary. See, your land doesn't change out the guard. The guard becomes complacent and their view of their word being law and in time their standards being enshrined as gospel truth, that's the ultimate danger which leads to the stagnation of society. Now, it's not that your homeland doesn't innovate on occasion—but you have to claw like hell to get that innovation to come to the surface. Provided you're not shouted down by the mob of spectators and self-professed critics alike, you might be a trendsetter.

That is what Sylvia despises. That those of old age, be you a critic of the fine arts, or the lawmaker, or the judge; you get complacent in your power and in becoming more cemented over time; your renown matters more to you than your job. The most natural struggle of mankind between one's vanity and genuine working skills."

Odd nodded, "I think I get it. So, for Sylvia, she desires effectiveness as opposed to just having a standard be immovable? Is that right?"

Brynja gestured as if weighing a scale, "Eh—kinda. See, she won't budge on what she calls 'The Core Tenets of Society.' What are these tenets? Honor your Father and Mother, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not commit infanticide—almost sad she had to instate that one, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony."

Odd interjected, "Covetousness? Missing one if you wish to go old school."

"Didn't need to. In Sylvia's mindset, covetousness leads into all of the major laws being broken, and it goes kinda' without saying anyway if you want to think about it in common sense terms."

"Okay, so, what will she budge on?"

"Considering they don't fly in the face of the tenets as mentioned earlier as in literally mocking them, pretty much everything if Sylvia can see a viable reason to include it. Much like your homeland, we even have the great hall, which is a record of only the most prestigious rewards dedicated to embodiments of a true art form.

Bear in mind Sylvia doesn't call all the shots on this kind of thing. That would be too much of an authoritarian take on the aspect of critique. Additionally, that's too much for even North-Gate to abide by. Many established critics have been in power for twenty years and will stay for at least another decade. That way, we have a standard by which we measure our art forms across the spectrum, and from this, our artists on all levels of production never stagnate or do they become complacent."

Odd was slightly concerned, "Well, let me ask you this, Brynja, what about someone like my father? He's a great singer and an actor; how would he be factored into this process?"

"Honestly, he would become the renaissance man of acting if he chose to apply himself. It is one of the highest honors our country gives. It's not that you are a master of all the acting types and styles, but you know all of them equally but shine in exemplary fashion in two or three. So, your father would become an elite actor. He would be given all forms of benefits befitting his skill. So long as he continues to diversify his roles and take on different approaches and directions from aspiring directors and writers, he'd not lose the benefits."

"And this is across the board?" Odd clarified, "Every talent possible?"

"Every single one. We have use this standard for all artists of all kinds, of all disposition. Even the idiot savant is treasured. No one is without use, and none are without merit. Provided, of course, they endeavor to pursue it. With our more complex cases as in retardation, we, as the State, regiment them, and we dedicate them to whatever predispositions they may have. That said, those who are the—forgive my vulgarity, the shit-flingers, well, with them, we give them full on nursing and care because they frankly don't know any better at a certain point.

They aren't useless, though. Much as an old friend told Sylvia, 'They are the reminder of we must take care of those who cannot by all reason fend for themselves.' It's the same with the madmen and women. They may be mad but let us try and figure out how they can help society. For example, for those with Schizophrenia, we medicate slightly to calm down the attacks, but we integrate them into radio variety hours as different characters across different programs. We use them as ventriloquists for kids and older adults. It's a far sight better than destroying them as some other barbaric monsters would prefer to do."

Odd thought on all this, and he looked around him. The land was green and gold, rich with crops to be harvested and those just getting ready. The countryside was glorious, and it was so tranquil, so removed from the hustle and bustle of the capital where he'd been the day before. He felt that there was no way that all of this could be real; he couldn't believe it. But here it was before him in almost unparalleled elements.

However, one last question came to mind, "What of Louis? The one who took my place. Why did he choose to go? To leave this place?"

Brynja replied, "Because he wanted to see your world. To see what it was like to be you. You've seen his life; you've seen his riches. But equally, he hasn't quite experienced the hardships you have. Your sisters, monstrous as they are, are foreign to him. His sisters love him and his parents as well. He wanted to see how your friends treated you and, in many ways, your anger at them, he tells me, is justified. But what of you, Odd? Why did you come here?"

Odd smiled to himself and turned around to face Brynja, who was now standing, "Honestly? To see you. To see you as yourself and see how you fare compared to the one I know."

She smiled slightly, "I'm flattered. And?"

Odd looked at her, and his smile faded, "I can't go back. I know that's my home but—I can't go back. It's much better here. People aren't perfect; you've shown that. But here, here, they have a chance. A genuine chance that literally is equal all across the board. There is no glass ceiling, no red tape, none of that. I was so suspicious of this whole place, but when you showed me case by case, people by people, it can be done. But—my biggest fear—"

He paused, afraid to say what he wanted to say. Brynja came up to him and said, "What is it, Odd? What is your fear?"

He looked at her with tears in his eyes, "Who did you have to destroy, and what did you have to destroy in order to achieve this? I see so much, so much good. What did you do to make this possible? If you tell me that people eventually agreed, you might as well send me home right now. What did you do to them? The people out there to make all of this work?"

Brynja was silent for a moment as she gave a small sigh and walked past him. Looking out over the serene elements before her, she turned to him and said, "We came to this world, to this state, because of the oceans of blood it took to get here. We took all the time we could in trying, endeavoring to understand humanity. We want to help them. But to help them—" She fell silent a moment, and she asked, "Odd, what is the name of your school?"

"Kadic Junior-High, why?"

She nodded, "The Academy." She said aloud to herself, and then she looked at Odd, and in her green eyes, he could see both pain but a steadfast resolution that shook him slightly. "To help humanity, the reality was a lot of their old systems of greed, usury, nepotism, deceit, all these things and more, all of them and their commanders and components had to be eradicated before this, this beautiful land could take place. Are we devoid of evil? No. But we control it. There is a difference. Meritocracy has helped our people, for they hold their wealth from the fruits of their labors out of their skills in their hands. They feel them in the soft bedding of their homes, taste them in their food, and have purpose and have meaning. Odd, for all you've seen, for how your father taught you and how the world of your home taught you and how you hate it; garish as it is to birth something like this—can you stand by us? Or can you not?"

Back at Kadic, Lunch-Time had commenced, and Ulrich knew it was the window that the group had planned. He'd made sure the coast was clear, and he moved as quickly as he could for the hermitage. Soon, he'd arrived, and taking a few breaths to compose himself, he straightened up, and with a few deep breaths and exhales, he proceeded inside. Once inside, he saw Jeremy and Aelita gathered with Yumi.

Aelita said, "Good, now that we're all here, Yumi, your integration into Lyoko can begin."

Yumi was surprised, "I thought I was already integrated."

"All of us were before Sylvia initiated a system reboot. So, in the time that we could arrange, we've been scanning each other in two by two to avoid suspicion but also to conserve the power we have."

Yumi nodded, "So, who will I be going with?"

Aelita raised her hand, "You'll be going with me. Unfortunately, the process will require you to strip down to put on the scanner into full effect. Don't worry, though; we have a suit fitted just for you. Come with me."

Aelita and Yumi went off to get ready for the scanner while Ulrich said, "So, once she's scanned in, we'll see just who or what we're dealing with, right?"

Jeremy nodded, "Correct. Even if Sylvia's been thorough and scanned her in before, we'll be able to see a duplication of the code. If it's Yumi, her DNA will be logged and compared alongside a biometric sequence that I was able to salvage from before North-Gate went live. So if this is Yumi, only she can access the supercomputer. Her clone, if it's still out there, won't be able to."

Ulrich sat on the nearby sofa and waited. Soon Aelita and Yumi came out in the specialized suits. Yumi sighed, and she replied, "I have to admit, I'm sure this is necessary and all, but there is a certain lack of—dignity in what you're having me do."

Aelita replied, "Don't worry, Yumi, this is only temporary. I've programmed in a devirtualization synapsis that I'll explain once we get to Lyoko."

Yumi sighed, "Well, alright. Let's get this show started. She went behind one of the photobooth partitions, and Jeremy fired up the scanners.

As the scans hummed and the process was being undertaken. Jeremy and Ulrich watched intently both the virtualization digital check-mark system as well as the DNA sequencing. Line by line, the DNA was revealing itself albeit slowly due to the power necessary to run the two applications, and after five minutes, the scan was completed. Ulrich breathed a sigh of relief. The DNA was a perfect match. Jeremy pressed the key and announced, "Virtualization."

Yumi and Aelita virtualized, and Yumi found herself in possession of a unique harness strapped to her back. No weapon was visible, however.

Yumi saw Aelita's weapon, and, noting how she didn't have one, she asked, "Uh, Jeremy, I don't have any weapon here. Is that normal?"

Jeremy was silent, however, and Aelita turned to face Yumi. Yumi was surprised to see Aelita look at her with a very stern look on her face as she snapped her fingers and a specialized blue sword emerged out of thin air. Aelita took the sword, and she held it out towards Yumi.

Yumi was surprised, "Uh, Aelita, are you—"

Aelita surged forward, and she swung a series of strikes, missing the first, nicking on the second, but cutting on the third. "Aelita! What the hell are you doing?!"

Ulrich seeing Yumi's monitor, said, "Jeremy, are you fucking insane! Yumi's—" Jeremy held up his hand, motioning for Ulrich to be quiet.

"Who are you?" Aelita asked as she calmly and patiently made thrusts and swipes at Yumi with the sword.

Yumi did her best to maneuver away from Aelita. But there were only so many places she could go. The area was a designated square platform, with no bridge anywhere. Yumi looked at Aelita, "Aelita, what are you talking about?! It's me, Yumi!"

Aelita still didn't listen, and she jumped and made a slash upon descent which Yumi barely missed as she flipped backward.

"I'm sorry, I can't take your word as the truth. Who are you?" Aelita asked.

"My God, Aelita, have you gone crazy?!" She screamed, and Aelita continued in her attack first with a slash towards her waist, a backslash towards her legs, keeping Yumi very much on her feet.

Aelita continued in this for a small portion of time, and she replied, "You and I are not going anywhere. So, you will answer my questions. Or if you fail to do so, I swear to God I will kill you." She made another effortless swing, and Yumi dodged, she was getting fatigued, and Jeremy could see her energy on the screen.

"What happened immediately in the wake of your father's death?" Aelita asked.

Yumi stammered for answers, "We=we went to Japan and buried him there. What of it?"

"What led up to it? Where were you all headed on the night he died?" Aelita asked, and she continued her attack, Yumi becoming genuinely more scared and without concentration the longer the attack went on.

"Aelita, please! Can't we just talk like normal pe—aah!" she barely dodged the blade at her neck, the blade rattling on the ground.

"Answer the question!" Aelita roared, and she gave Yumi a moment to compose herself.

Yumi stammered, "W-we w-w-were headed somewhere east! That's all I know! All I knew was that I woke up and daddy was already dead! Mom was trying to get a-ahold of someone. That's-that's all I know!"

"You didn't know where you were going? Not at all?" Aelita asked, gently drawing nearer.

"No, no! I didn't know anything! All I knew w-was that I had a fever, a horrible fever, and I was in bed a lot of the time. The next thing I knew, mom was in tears, Hiroki was hysterical. I don't know what else happened."

Aelita stopped, and she asked. "I gave you papers before the Mercier attack. What were they about?"

"Y-you mean the papers in my dresser? I didn't put them there. The whole society thing, blood tithe, all that shit? Is that what you're asking? I didn't know about those until I opened a box with my belongings."

Aelita thought a moment and asked, "What do you know about the Mercier attack?"

"Nothing! I didn't even know there was an attack until I got to Japan. I pieced together what I could from those who were there. Mostly my brother and a few others."

Aelita approached two paces forward, "Where did you wake up?"

"U-uh, the house where Daddy died. I don't fucking know, Aelita! It was dark; it was cold. I thought the place was a cheap motel at first. I don't know where the fuck we were, just that daddy was dead, and he died in his sleep. After that, we headed to Japan as quickly as we could."

Aelita approached, and Yumi felt her heels touch the edge. Aelita raised the sword point to her throat, "What was your last memory before all this started?"

"U-uh, can you be speci—

"The last memory you have before you woke up where your father died, out with it!"

"I told you I had a f-f-fucking fever! I don't remember too much before that at all. I was sick; that's all I remember!"

Yumi was in genuine tears by this point, and Aelita had what she needed and, with a devastating slash, devirtualized Yumi. Aelita went back through her own devirutalization device and soon was back in the world.

Yumi came back, and as her chamber opened, she collapsed, crying. Ulrich went to comfort her, and she clung to him, "Oh, Ulrich, oh please!"

Ulrich looked at Aelita, who stood before them. Her eyes, cold, and her face almost that of stone. She went upstairs to dress, and Ulrich helped Yumi to the couch.

Jeremy, for his part, was silent. He hated this; he hated this more than anything he had ever done before. But the team had to be sure. Was it worth it, though? Was it worth nearly emotionally decimating one of their strongest allies? Even Jeremy found it hard to tell. Upstairs, Aelita heard the sobbing downstairs, and in her heart, a dreadful scream strived to break through to the surface. She hated the sound of her best friend, the only one she could truly call sister weeping because of an action she'd done; that she'd been sadly forced to do.

Aelita sat on a chair and wept silently, "Damn you, Sylvia." She cried gently, "Damn you to fucking hell!"

Ulrich stayed with Yumi until it was time to go back. He'd helped her get dressed, and the two had left in silence. Jeremy deactivated the scanners, and he went upstairs to where Aelita was standing, now fully dressed, watching the two leave from one of the cracked windows.

Jeremy looked at her, and he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Of course, I'm not alright!" Aelita replied, "How can I possibly be alright when it comes to this?!" she turned, and he could see the agonized eyes before him, bloodshot and Aelita in genuine agony.

"We couldn't take the risk, Jeremy. My mother said Sylvia could duplicate DNA. That's what John Barrow is. That's who he is. He's not an amalgamation, but to Mother, the real John Barrow is dead and has been. I had to be sure despite what the DNA said."

Jeremy didn't say anything. He'd learned well enough to let this lay with was. He dare not speak, for he knew that the best thing to do was remain silent in times like this.

Aelita sighed, and she sat down on the nearby ottoman. "It's of little use now to apologize. But i—I just hate it that I had to be reduced to this."

Jeremy again said nothing. He knew better, and he simply sat across from Aelita on an old stool.

Aelita wiped her eyes with her sleeve and said, "Come on. We have to get back before third period."

Third period began, and despite a sumptuous meal for lunch being had by the group, neither of them was exactly in a talkative mood. Ms. Hertz was reviewing the classes' physical science lesson from two days prior. As she handed out the graded papers on both the labs and the student evaluation on the labs, she gave her traditional flourishes to the bright and upcoming students. However, she was her standard self when it came to the likes of Ulrich and others who hadn't quite the vested interest in the subject, and it showed in their grades.

"Stern, if I were to make the most of a bad situation, I'd advise you study more than you act on your devil-may-care attitude. It was one thing when you were at Kadic, but you should at least strive to do better at Mercier. The last thing you'd want to do is be transferred to remedial, something I wonder foolishly the staff's wisdom granting you a pass the first-place."

Ulrich could barely stand the smug attitude, that condescending tone all the time in condemnation, never in praise.

"You know, if rumor recalls correctly, you old bag, you're the one who allowed remedial to pass over Ulrich Stern. So, who's the greater fool. The fool or the fool who exempts him from his remedial?"

Hertz was stunned, as was the class when they turned to look at Amelia, who'd said it, "What? Do you wish me to feign ignorance to your own arrogance? You are the one this time to blame for your oversight. Not Stern. So, kindly, apologize."

Ms. Hertz pointed at Amelia, "After class, my office! No questions."

"I hear your request, and due to your fickle nature, I'm not exactly incentivized to obey."

For the first time, Suzanne was frozen in place.

"What bothers you more, you washed up old relic? That, frankly, your peak passed ten years ago when you could have been taken seriously, but instead, you chose mediocrity? Not anyone's fault but yours, you know? But you'll never accept that little factoid, will you? If you have, it's to your everlasting shame."

Suzanne screamed, "Amelia Beck!" She stormed to her desk, whipping out her left drawer where she kept the headmaster referral slips.

Suddenly a tone sounded, and all the students grasped their ears in agony, so shrill was the tone.

Amelia screamed, "Sweet Mike! This is worse than your screeching!"

Just as soon as it had started, the tone subsided into nothingness. The students, having somewhat recovered, looked up, but to their amazement, Suzanne was frozen, her eyes wide as dinner plates. Blood began to trickle from her mouth, and suddenly a dreadful scream was heard from the mouth of the science teacher. She continued to scream, clutching her forehead with both hands. She then suddenly ran against the window, viciously slamming against it. The students were stunned as she backed up, and with a final shriek, Hertz launched herself out the window and towards the ground four three floors below.

The students were in stunned silence, barely registering what had transpired before their very eyes. One of the students dared to peek through the shattered window, and looking below, he quickly went to the wastebin and began to vomit.

Stunned most of all were the Lyoko warriors who now stood in near petrified silence, staring at the massive shard-edged hole of a window.