I wrote this chapter to an homage to the last episode of Code Lyoko, something that fitted with the theme of it. Of course, I wrote it a bit off so I'm not completely copying the lines.
Don't be afraid to let me know how you like the story is going so far! I'm worried that no one is really reading this and I just overwork on this story.
"I'm sorry but... can't."
Yumi was the first one to protest, "What? Are you out of your mind!? What's wrong with you!?"
Jeremie was afraid to turn around, removing his hand off the lever. What if there was more to discover? What if the internet had more to offer? If there was more of these powerful machines then would there be more like Jeremie? Being God? Being known?
"I can't shut it down..."
"You can't, Jeremie, or you won't?" She stepped forward to him, for some reason having an urge to slap him.
His hand rested on his forehead, feeling an empty void in his body, "I don't know." He whispered.
"Look, it's very simple. We've destroyed XANA and now we can shut down this horrible machine." She turned her head, "What are the rest of you waiting for? Tell him!"
The group that somber behind the two lowered their heads. Odd and Ulrich looked to be miserable, and Aelita tried to hide her tears in her eyes. They all gave despondent utters.
"What is wrong with all of you!?" Yumi threw her hands up.
Odd took the courage to speak up, his voice rasped, "Well... It's just we're all feel a little shook up..."
"Yeah, I can see that." Yumi place her hands on her hips, looking around, "Well, any suggestions?"
Jeremie stood silent when an idea struck him, turning around suddenly to face the group, "I got an idea. How 'bout we take a vote and see who does and doesn't want to shut it down!"
Yumi felt confident knowing that everyone else was on her side, "Sure, why not."
"Okay..." Aelita and Odd said together quietly as Ulrich stood there uncomfortably.
"Who votes for?" Jeremie started.
Yumi raised her hand, looking at the rest of the group to agree with her, but no one voted with her. Her eyebrows scrunched furiously.
Odd and Aelita glanced at each other to see if they voted, having inklings of guiltiness as Yumi pushed pass them for the elevator. Ulrich shuffled his feet at the dirt on the ground. Without another word, Yumi slammed the button and the electric doors shut. The room was silent again.
"We should head to Gym class." Ulrich finally murmured, placing a hand on Odd's shoulder. They were extremely tensed, "Let's worry about all this later."
Jeremie watched Aelita wipe her eyes, still haven't looked up yet. He took a breath, feeling an unfamiliar tightness in his chest. Finally, he gulped, "I'll meet you guys in a little bit. Don't wait up for me."
Jeremie saw the familiar Japanese girl sip soda across the courtyard, sitting timidly on the edge of a plant bed near their trademark vending machine. He cautiously stepped to her from behind, "Hey..." he awkwardly introduced himself.
Yumi finished her beverage, "I'm not in the mood to talk." Her voice as ice cold.
"Good, because it's me who want to talk to you." he took another step forward, "I-I want to explain to you why voted against shutting down the Supercomput-"
"Not in the mood to hear that either." She immediately jumps up, marching away.
On the inside, Jeremie panicked as he raised his voice, "Do you remember me when I came here?"
Yumi stopped in her tracks, still refusing to face him.
"The- The big brain of Kadic; The Straight–A computer genius and-" his voice started to crack, "And not... one single friend..."
Yumi sighed.
"I discovered Lyoko and everything changed for me." Jeremie hesitated, "I became a hero that could save the world-"
"Did you expect us to keep playing superheroes 'til we were 80 years old? It had to end sometime." Yumi turned finally to face him, knowing he was making progress with her.
"I-I know but... I don't want to lose what we got together..." He lowered his voice, "Our friendship..."
Yumi hummed in disagreement, closing her eyes as she remembered what Lyoko did do to them. It bonded them in more ways than one. The hardships they struggled together would never match anyone else in the world. The fight for Aelita's freedom was well worth it at the end. That was her family, and Jeremie was her brother.
Jeremie's lip started to quiver, rubbing his arm. It was embarrassing for him to admit how he felt, "Our friendship is directly linked to the Supercomputer. I'm afraid that we shut it, it will also shut our friendship down..."
The school bell rang, sounding for the next period of class. Some scattering students rush to beat the time. Jeremie glance away, feeling shame across his cheeks, "See you later... I got Gym..."
"Hold on." Yumi caught him before he was too far away from her, gripping his upper arm. Jeremie jumped, looking back to see if Yumi was going to yell at him for how stupid he was. She was not to his surprise.
"I understand what you're feeling but... you're wrong." Yumi watched him raise his eyes, lowering her voice with a smirk, "Our friendship is too strong to shut down."
Jeremie stared at her for a long time, finally giving her a bright smile, "I'm glad."
"B-F-F?"
"Yeah, yeah, B-F-F."
Jeremie idly sat in the old leather chair, remembering how comfortable it was back in the day. He opened his eyes to the domed monitor that poorly mirrored his reflection. He took his thumb and leaned forward to wipe off any of the dust, only to leave a weak streak. Sighing, he plopped back, sinking into the chair.
What technology have today could out beat this supercomputer; slimmer screens, LED keyboards, wireless mouse, and suchlike. Though Jeremie wasn't into the fad, making him feel outdated. Just a powerful laptop that can handle buffy applications can satisfy him.
Equipped with a full-fledged mechanical keyboard and a pair of SLI-enabled Nvidia GTX 980M GPUs the MSI GT80 Titan stands as a Goliath raining over the market with incredible power and a vast array of features. The 18.4-inch 4K display, offers outstanding visuals that take advantage of the robust 32GB of VRAM that this machine has to offer. Of course, this machine kind of flirts with the idea of what a laptop is weighing in at full 9.9 pounds, which actually isn't that bad considering the device houses a mechanical keyboard. He got that machine the moment he worked his first month at his job.
And Jeremie loves that laptop.
And that got him thinking. Could he revive the Supercomputer? But how would his friends react to that without their contentions? How would she react?
The beating in his heart pound faster just from the thoughts of her. Though he rather not think about her; he can't help but remember the good things too. There was nothing but good things.
"If we shut down the supercomputer… that means saying goodbye to my past –And my father..."
Jeremie sat next to her, respectfully listening to her. Her hand hasn't stop shaking, her perfect emerald eyes were puffy, feeling rigid on the stairs. Taking a deep breath, her eyes finally met his.
"All of this is terrible... and great at the same time..." Aelita quivered, "But... But-"
He took the courage to grab her hand and held it, appreciating the warmth she has, "But now it's time to move on to something new?"
She quickly nodded, "Yes. Something more carefree..."
Jeremie exhaled, smiling up at her, "I felt the same way too, Aelita."
That was full of shit. He really wanted to say to himself, but kept quiet. Jeremie sat up and jumped off the chair, squeaking from its old age. He understood that it was time to leave and that he had his moment in the Lab. It would only damage him to stay there any longer.
Out of the ominous quietness in the air, a chime came from his pocket. He reached into his overcoat and pulled it out, observing the text.
Chloe: I didn't freak you out too much last night, did I?
He chuckled under his breath, pressing on the notification. It brought up his messaging app; There were very few people he texted.
Jer: No, not at all. I wasn't freaked out at all.
Chloe: Can I see you later then?
He sat his phone on his chest as he leaned right back into the chair, staring up at the ceiling filled with pipes and massive wires. He wondered how high they go to power such a godly mechanism. He picked his head back up.
Jer: I'd love to.
Jeremie said his quiet goodbyes once again to the laboratory. Climbing back onto the ladder, he used his foot to kick the lever back up to shut the door. Although this was the most annoying and difficult part, he managed to close it completely. How many times was he going to keep doing this before he finally moves on?
On his way up from the lower levels, the ladders were much more slippery than the last time. Alas, no matter how careful he climbed, his foot slipped as he quickly latched his arms around the bars to prevent his death. In the midst of it all, his face was slammed against the ladder within the chaos of it, his cheekbone engraving a deep cut from the metal.
His rimless glasses were a victim also, falling off his face and hitting steel scaffolding on the way down. Jeremie cursed loudly, wondering how he was going to explain his insurance that. Moments later, there was a satisfying clack, knowing that was his glasses' life was gone. Though it was not satisfying to him.
He finally reached the entrance of the factory, noticing a slight sprinkle in the night sky. That would explain the moisture in the air and the ladder. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. The cue of thunder in the distance motivated him to start walking, hoping not to get caught in the storm later.
Halfway across the bridge, Jeremie stopped on his heels on top of a puddle. The hairs on his neck raised, recognizing that feeling of being watched. He looked back at the entrance, understanding that no one was there. Every time he visited the factory, there was never a dull moment where he thought someone was spying on him; from the time he first discovered the Supercomputer to right now.
He hates being paranoid.
From the abandon factory to his home in Prince-Marmottan, it would take 30 to 35 minutes to walk home. Jeremie didn't mind walking since that was a goal he was working on, and he didn't feel like overpaying for a cab again. Jeremie decided to snuggle in his coat and trek through the Boulogne-Billancourt streets. At some point, he made sure to avoid the Kadic Academy buildings completely. That was another memory he's willing to forget, too.
But that tension on his neck didn't go away. What made it worse is that he was blinded without his glasses. He agreed to himself it was best to get home as soon as possible. He kept his head low from the rain, being aware of the cars' headlights that filled the streets and his surroundings. When Jeremie gets home, he was going to meet up with Chloe. Something to look forward to.
Jeremie smiled to himself, feeling embarrassed that he was actually excited to see her. That was something he couldn't help since there was some feelings he wanted to address. Today was already a mess, at least he wished to be relaxed at the end of the night.
But all Jeremie thought about was supposed to be Chloe, but pink hair could not leave his mind.
"Wow..." he heard himself whisper in awe, "Is this a video game...?"
"Who... Who are you?" she peered through the screen as to try to look behind Jeremie, "Where am I?"
It was unbelievable. It was nothing like Jeremie had seen before. It was alive, there was no doubting it. His round glasses almost fell off his nose as he sat there in shock, confused how it can understand him. Her appearance was striking; Short pink hair, bright mossy eyes, her elf-like ears. It was something to remember.
"This is amazing!" Jeremie shuffled in his chair to peer closer to the screen, a smile plastered on his face, "You can hear me?"
"Well, yes." She nodded, "I can see you, too."
Jeremie couldn't barely stay in the chair, "Do you have a name?" He watched her shake her head, "Well, I'm Jeremie."
"Hello, Jeremie. It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you, too."
Jeremie slammed into something, well, someone. Without his ability to see, he was unsure what he ran into. It broke off his train of thought as he fell back on his bottom, feeling his work pants soak up from the wet ground.
"Damnit..." he mumbled to himself, feeling his pants in disbelief.
"Ow..."
Jeremie lifted his head to the sound of somebody in front of him, realizing that it was somebody. He hurried and stood on his knees near the sound, meeting a silhouette on the ground, "O-Oh my god. I'm so sorry, are you okay?"
"No, my hands..." It was a woman with a slight English accent. He could make out brown hair and a dark hat. Immediately, he felt bad, trying to help her up.
"I should have looked where I was going," he nervously chuckled, "How your hands?"
"They're bloody..." she whimpered, possibly scraped on the concrete when she got hit.
"Ah shit..." Jeremie patted around his pockets to see if there was a lone napkin to save the day. Instead, he untucked his shirt and used the bottom of it to clean her hands. They were surprisingly small as he held then. He dabbed it courteously, "I can pay for the damages."
"No, please, it isn't necessary." The woman mumbled, watching him care for her, "Your shirt's getting all the blood on it!"
"Ah, yeah..." Jeremie didn't think too hard about that, debating if he should throw away the shirt after all when he got home, "It's totally fine."
She sat there staring at him, making Jeremie uncomfortable. He kept his eyes on her hands, soaking the last of her blood off. Finally, he let go of her hands respectfully.
"Where are your glasses?"
"Oh, they broke." he answered, helping her stand up from the ground. He dusted his hands off, shuffling in his coat from the rain, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, thank you, sir." the brunette nodded, also snuggling into her coat also, "You have a safe night, please."
"Merci, you too, ma'am." Jeremie bowed slightly, wishing he could note her appearance, "Don't let klutzes like me run into you."
All she did was laugh, and it rang through his ears. They departed to their respected direction. Jeremie, for some reason, wanted to say goodnight one more time. He turned to see her already disappeared.
Jeremie huffed, turning back to walk through the neighborhood. He thought, and thought, for a long time...
"How did she know I had glasses?" Jeremie blurted out loud.