"This is it Antavok! This will bring about your destruction." The traveler said. "You have ticked off many people and here is their revenge!"
The traveler floated back a few inches and raised both his hands high into the air. A symbol that looked like an 'S' with an 'N' through the center line and a small 'T' on the right end appeared. There were other symbols as well but most of them were too small. I knew the symbol was supposed to represent the five letters 'G', 'A', 'S', 'A', 'N', and yet I didn't know what that meant.
"I call upon all those who owe me, favors, debts, or by any other means. Give me all you have now, when I need it most, any you will have repaid your debt." He tensed slightly and the symbols grew brighter as a ball of energy was formed in the center. "ABSOLUTION!" he yelled and the ball exploded, expanding billions of times its previous size. When it was done the ball was about ten times the near by sun and glowing so bright that the space around us seemed to glow white and yet black at the same time.
"Antavok, this is your end!" the traveler yelled and thrust the ball at the monstrous creature.
The ball shifted and the very space, and probably time as well, around it became distorted. Rips and tears appeared in the fabric of the universe and from them more energy seemed to be spawned, and all of it was directed at Antavok. When it hit there was a massive backlash wave that swept throughout the entire universe and back. I could see the energy beginning to rip and tear at Antavok's flesh. He was being ripped apart by the force of the energy directed at him, and at the same time he was being incinerated alive by the energy itself. I couldn't imagine how he could survive something that could destroy physics itself.
I was soon answered by the most horrifying thing that I had ever, or would ever see. The beam of energy began to stop and reverse direction. All of the energy that had been directed at Antavok suddenly was directed at the traveler. I could see that the traveler was already struggling to maintain the beam itself, he was putting all he had into it. Now that the beam was reversed there was nothing that he could do, and the last thing that I saw was a look of sorrow on his face. Sorrow, not for himself, but for everything else in existence... he had failed us all.
"Odd, wake up!"
I jumped and realized that we were back at the school. I looked around and realized further that we were in Jeremie's room. Everyone was looking at me like I had said something incredibly stupid... I wasn't entirely sure that I hadn't, but I couldn't remember it if I had.
"Odd, have you ever heard the term 'be careful what you wish for'?" Gwydevis asked me.
"Yes, why?" I asked.
"Because you just asked for something very dangerous. In asking for a view of some more powerful magic you somehow looked into my past. I suggest you be a little more careful next time, unless you want to end up dead." He told me.
"Um, what he means to say is you were out of it the entire time walking here." Sam told me. "You nearly got killed about five times."
"Oh..." I said, somehow not surprised.
"No, I meant it exactly as it came out." Gwydevis objected, a sneer on his face. "If you look into my past again, I will kill you."
I jumped back shocked and swallowed hard. Would he really kill me? Besides that, how did he know what I had just seen? Could he, like Yumi, read minds? Of course that seemed more than a little obvious... but then why would he want to kill me just for seeing something of his past? I mean he won in the end didn't he? Or was there something else to it?
"In any case, now that we are all back in our normal universe safely, what are the two of you going to do?" Yumi asked.
"Well, we could simply erase your memories that this ever happened and expect you all to life a normal comfortable life." Ginda said in a calm chatty voice. "But that would be dull and boring. Word has it that the traveler might be able to enter this universe soon... in any case I thought I would join the school as a student. What about you Gwydevis?"
"Huh, me? Well I hadn't really thought about it. I usually don't do much unless Gwydion tells me to do something... so, uh, I wasn't really prepared to do anything else."
"Right, so it's settled then, we erase your memories and I join the school then." Ginda said smiling.
"Wait! I thought you said you weren't going to erase our memories." Ulrich objected.
"Oh, did I? Seems that slipped my mind. Oh, well, rules are rules." She said waiving her hand around in the air as though we were supposed to know what she was talking about. "Well, we are off then. You kids have fun and don't do anything too naughty..." she said laughing as she walked out of the door.
"Women..." Gwydevis said. "See ya." And he disappeared.
The next mourning when I woke up I felt fully refreshed and ready for another day of school. Which, for some reason, when we met in the courtyard and I told them, made the others thought I must be sick. I insisted that I wasn't, and that I was being serious but they all dismissed it as a joke. I laughed their dismissal off and followed them to breakfast.
"Did you hear," Yumi started, "Five kids were seen leaving the hospital yesterday following a shady looking man who was wearing what appeared to be some kind of medieval Japanese costume. It was all over the news. No one knew who the kids were though."
"You are kidding right?" Jeremie asked her, a look of utter disbelief on his face.
"No, and they said that one of them looked like he was drunk..." she added.
Jeremie looked bewildered for a moment and then looked as though he were about to say something, but changed his mind at the last moment and just muttered, "Rules are rules, I guess..."
Breakfast ended without much excitement other than the usual, Sissi walked by and we shared our snide remarks. We had gotten pretty good these past few months at keeping up the act that she wasn't part of our group. Our comments were similar to the ones we had thrown back and fourth when she really wasn't but now they were more creative and less hurtful. When she was with us we joked about how no one else in the school realized what was going on.
Anyway, after lunch we headed for our classes. We waved goodbye to Yumi as she headed off to her class and the rest of us went to Mrs. Hertz's class. There Jeremie and Ulrich took their seats together and I took my seat with Sam. We had changed it when she had moved to our school. I waited expectantly for class to start and when Mrs. Hertz walked to the front of the room I realized that something was different.
"Class, we have a new student joining us today." She said. "Her name is Ginois Giis."
"That's a mouthful," I muttered to Sam.
A very short timid looking girl walked to the front of the room. She had very long hair that nearly reached the floor, and a pair of thin rimmed glasses that were almost like Jeremie's but more box like. She looked over the desktops at the rest of us, and I realized just how short she was, she was just barely as tall as Milly or Tamiya. I began to wonder why she was in this class, but I decided to let it pass, just this once.
Ginois looked almost frightened to death at the sight of us, probably because we were bigger than she was. Yet, there was something that I couldn't quite place. It was almost as though this were simply an act. But then, I was known to think crazier things. In any case when she spoke I felt true pity for her, it was made immediately clear that old mother nature had dealt her a cruel hand. Her voice was both squeaky and quivering, not to mention she stuttered quite a bit.
"I... it is nice t... to meet all of you." she said. "I h-hope that w... we can become goo...d friends."
"Give me a break." I just barely heard Jeremie mutter. "Who does she think she is trying to fool/"
"Mr. Belpois, is there something you would like to share with the class?" Mrs. Hertz asked.
"No, mam." Jeremie said.
"Good," she replied. "Now, I do hope that none of you will dare make fun of anyone because of their size or appearance. Why the nerve..."
For a moment I began to wonder why she was getting so upset but then I realized something. Ginois looked an awful lot like Mrs. Hertz. But, then, it could just be my imagination. In any case she could have just been reprimanding Jeremie for being rude. It was only surprising because it was Jeremie and not me...
"Take your seat, Ginois." Mrs. Hertz said kindly, and Ginois walked to the back of the room...
---
I was floating... there seemed to be nothing around me. This was not Lyoko, nor was this earth. I could feel, yet I couldn't. I could sense things as I had within Lyoko, and yet I couldn't. It was as if I were in a place that was similar to both Lyoko and earth but different as well. Different... I couldn't feel anything around me, I couldn't see anything around me. There was complete and utter darkness, a void, if you will. It was cold, dark, and very lonely...
I remembered, it seemed like only a few moments ago, when I had been brought back to the real world, or so I had thought. When I found myself looking out from where the factory had once been I felt pain. Unbearable pain, complete and utter, horrible beyond anything I had ever experienced, imagined, or probably would again. I had known Jeremie was there, and had called to him. He had come, and he had tried to help me, but before he could reach me I faded back to this... place.
It was like life, time, and everything had no meaning here. I was neither real nor virtual, neither alive nor dead. I could not move at all. All I could do was think, so that was what I did. I though about Jeremie, about earth, about Lyoko. My mind wondered over hundreds of different things, real things, fake things; memories, and desires. It seemed that my mind left no thought untouched. And as time moved on I began to realize that I could think, I could comprehend, far more here than I had ever been able to do before. My person, my awareness, was expanding, and slowly I realized I could move...
The first time it happened I was so surprised that I stopped immediately. I wasn't sure what had happened, but for a moment I had felt part of me outside of what I had known to be my body. After considering what had happened for a moment I tried it again and sure enough I was able to bend my will, my consciousness, outside of what was my body. As I pulled myself out of the shell I suddenly realized that this place wasn't so dark after all; it was, in fact, quite bright.
All around me I saw green, green grass, and a very blue sky with only the most pleasant of clouds in it. There were a few trees nearby and some flowers; but everywhere there was a most delicious smell. It was a smell that I couldn't describe and I never have been able to, but what I knew was that it was all the most pleasant feelings in the sent itself.
I glided across the grass towards a patch of flowers, the pleasant smell growing stronger all the while. As I reached the flowers I saw how beautiful and gloriously beautiful they were. They took my breath away, to simply see them... the colors were so bright, so real. I couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than they were.
I sat down on the grass next to them and noticed that I was wearing the most beautiful of white dresses. It was a simple gown, just two layers of cloth, but the effect was angelic. I bent back on the grass and noticed a pond just beyond the flowers. I quickly, and yet luxuriously, got up and made my way to the pond. Looking into the crisp, clean water I saw my reflection and gasped. I still was myself but somehow... there was something different. A pair of wings and a halo of light couldn't have made it more clear, and yet... I didn't care. I was perfectly content here. There was nothing wrong with me, I had simply shed my bonds to the living.
Slightly beyond the edge of the pond, on the other side, I heard a twinkling giggle. I looked up and saw two beautiful little girls, who were probably half my age. They were watching me with their hands held up to their mouths, smiling. I could tell that they were twins, but that was probably the most obvious thing about them. One of them had long white hair that was slightly held up by two braids, the effect was two long pigtails, and the other had much shorter hair that was still in pigtails. They looked happy, and if nothing else, full of energy.
"Hello!" they said together.
"Hello," I replied.
"Join us," the said together.
"Ok," I replied.
I began walking around the pond but as I did so they yelled, "No, walk through the water."
So I did. The water wasn't that deep, or at least I was able to find something solid to walk across. The water was cool, and gentle. It seemed like there was a current running through it. This was something that I had never been able to experience in Lyoko, but I had once while on earth. It brought back fond memories of that day.
"What's your name?" they asked me.
"I am Aelita, what are yours?"
"We are Maru and Moro." They said together. "It is nice to meet you."
Suddenly the sky became much darker and the air became far colder. I looked around and noticed a light source coming from the ground. There, on the ground, not more than ten feet away from me, was the same symbol that I had noticed in Lyoko before I had... died. A sudden chill rushed down my spine. Was this X.A.N.A. coming to reclaim me? Could he even really do that?
"He's here, he's here?" the twins said together.
"Who's here?" I asked.
"It's the traveler." They replied.
Then behind me again I noticed another similar thing happening, but this time there was no symbol. This time the person just appeared out of thin air. I recognized them almost instantly and jumped to my feet.
---
So, once again my friend's memories had been erased, and yet mine remained intact. Again I had realized this, and again I had decided not to say anything. It was probably for the best, not only would they not believe me but even if they did their memories would just be erased again. This was starting to get annoying, but what was I to do about it. I mean, really, it wasn't like I could simply walk up to the young Ginda and demand that she restore my friends' memories, could I? Could I? Perhaps... perhaps I could.
I made up my mind, when classes finished I would hunt down Ginda and make her restore their memories. I didn't know how I was going to do that now, but I was sure that I would figure it out. Besides, I was bigger than her now, and too completely change your form had to take a long time... it simply couldn't be done instantly, she would have done it before she left...
It was the last class of the day, already, and I glared back at the young, childish, Ginda, pretending to be shy. It was disgusting, I knew she wasn't really like that... it was as if she were mocking me. How could she keep that act up, and keep a straight face? Worst of all, how could everyone fall for it?
The bell rang and everyone got up. I waited just a few more seconds than the rest; I knew that if Ginda was really going to hold up the innocent girl act she would be the last to leave. That would give me the perfect opportunity to confront her without anyone interrupting. I would have her all to myself, and I would be sure to get all the answers that I wanted...
"Hey, Jeremie, are you coming?" Ulrich called back to me.
"I need to check up on something," I told him. "I'll see you in a bit."
"Alright." And he left the room.
Sure enough Ginda was the last person in the room. She was making a show of putting her stuff away, and even though I was the only one in the room, she seemed determined to keep her act up.
"Ginda." I said.
She continued to fiddle with her stuff, completely ignoring me. If I didn't know better I would have thought that I might be wrong, or she might have misheard me.
"Ginda." I said a little more firmly.
Still she persisted in ignoring me, and keeping up her act. So, to make sure she knew that I was talking to her I walked over to the same desk. I made sure to be quick about it because she was almost done putting her stuff away.
"Ginda." I said again putting my hand down in front of her.
"Ah!" she jumped, acting startled, and began taking back her breath. "Um... my name isn't Ginda, it is Ginois."
"I know it's an act. I know that you are Ginda, the woman that has been harassing my friends and me for the past few months."
She looked up into my face, and quickly looked back at her desk, an almost horrified look on her face. For a second I though I had gotten to her, but then I realized that she was still keeping with her act. I knew now that this was going to be harder than I had thought.
"I don't know what you are talking about," she replied. "Please, I have to go now."
"Go, where?" I said. "What could you possibly have to do?"
"Um, homework." She said. "And my parents will worry about me if I don't get home."
"Parents? Parents, right, so now you have some people acting as your parents." I said. "What, are you paying them, or is Gwydevis acting as well?"
"No, I have parents." She said tears actually coming to her eyes.
Now I wasn't so sure about what I was doing... was it possible that I was wrong? Could I have made a mistake? Well, I would just have to test it then...
"I'm sorry," I said in my most sympathetic voice. "I must have mistaken you for someone else."
She picked up her stuff and ran out of the room. I couldn't tell if she were crying or not but that didn't concern me right now. I had an intention on following her. If she really was Ginda then I was going to get the answers that I deserved. The reason why she kept harassing me and my friends, but most of all me...
I gathered my stuff and left the room. Making sure to keep at a safe distance I followed her out of the school and into the courtyard. From the door I saw my friends waiting for me, and she was heading off in their direction. Now I had to make sure that my friends didn't realize what I was doing, or they would ask me too many questions. I crept behind the bushes near by, and began moving as quietly as I could. When I got near them I could just barely make out what they were saying.
"Wonder what's up with that girl," Yumi said. "So, anyway, like I was saying, there is a new girl in my class; she just arrived today. She seems nice to me, but also a little strange. Her name is Glenna, and she acted as though I should know her."
"That's really weird." I heard Ulrich say. "I wonder where Jeremie is, he said that he would be out in a moment..."
I moved beyond the range of their voices and couldn't hear them any more. A short way in front of me I could see Ginda. She was walking towards the edge of the school grounds. This could be trouble, if I got caught leaving the school grounds I could get detention. The kids who lived on school grounds weren't allowed to leave unless it was for a good reason; that was one of the reasons that we used the sewer to get to the factory. Though, it would be easy enough to get around this. There were a number of locations around the school that had trees near the fence, and I just happened to be near one. I hurried to a place where a tree was hanging over the fence and climbed the tree. Once I was on the other side of the fence I jumped down and quickly made my way back to where Ginda was. I found her quickly enough and resumed following her...
---
"Yumi, hey, Yumi." I heard someone calling from behind me.
"Yumi, someone is trying to get your attention." Ulrich told me.
"I know, she is the girl that I was telling you about. She is kind of-whoa!" I cut off just as a fist flew next to my head. "What is your problem?"
Glenna was a girl about my age, but just a little shorter than I was. She had long golden brown hair and wore glasses. Her close were nondescript, similar to mine, and she carried a very large backpack, the contents of which I could only guess at.
"I hear that you and Ulrich are really good at the marital arts." She said. "And it's obviously true or you would have had no idea that I was doing that."
"What's your point." I asked, obviously annoyed.
"This..." she said throwing another punch, which I avoided easily.
"Hey, what the heck do you think you are doing?" Ulrich yelled.
"I know that you won't normally spar with anyone other than your boyfriend, so I am forcing your hand." Glenna told me.
"Stop." I said blocking another hit. "I said STOP!" and I grabbed her fist and threw her.
"Yumi!" Ulrich yelled.
I was shocked; I hadn't meant to do that. I had only meant to stop the fight. Quickly I turned to see if the girl was alright, but when I turned I saw that she was not only fine but was turning midair and landing on her feet. Apparently she was pretty good.
"Good." She said more to her self than to me. "Now, let's spar!"
She rushed me and I wasn't sure if it was just the adrenaline or if it was actually happening but for a moment I swear that the world around us began to become colorless. Everything was becoming black and white, not to mention that it was slowing down, but I didn't have enough time to process this because Glenna was flying at me full force. I had to block it so I put up my right arm and held out my left. As she threw her punch I blocked it by pushing it away with the left, throwing her into a kick which I blocked with my right arm. Now it was my turn and I jumped at her throwing a blow with my right arm and preparing to block one with my left arm. Sure enough she bounced off the ground and, while her legs were in the air, threw a kick from my left. I grabbed her leg and pushed it back throwing her upright again and threw my punch. But she was also prepared and she caught my arm and pulled me toward her. I expected her to follow up with a punch or, at least, some kind of attack, but she just kept pulling until I was on the other side of her. Stunned I didn't fight back until it was too late and I realized what she was doing. She advanced and. after laying her hand flat just above my stomach, pushed me into the air. I flew a couple of feet until I landed on something soft. I turned to look at what I hit and noticed that it was Ulrich.
"You did that on purpose," I said feeling the blood rushing to my face.
"Of course." She replied. "I know you two are together, so why not help you along..."
"Uh." I said but a brief surge of rage had me flying back into the fight.
I prepared a punch with my left fist and left my right one for balance. Just as I was about to hit her I saw her reaching for my arm to grab it. I was ready for this and just as she grabbed it I took her arm in both of my hands and jumped as hard as I could. The momentum of running and jumping sent me over her and in the process I was able to lift her and... throw. She went flying across the court yard and was in the air just long enough for me to notice that the sun was beginning to go down. Just before she hit the ground she flipped her body and landed on her feet.
"You are good." She said.
"So are you." I agreed. "But not good enough."
We rushed each other and just as I was about to kick she gripped my right arm and pulled me along with her. She spun in a circle and let go sending me spinning back into... Ulrich. This time when he caught me I was facing him, and we fell over... I blushed, he blushed and we got up.
"Stop doing that." I said.
"Why? You two are so cute together."
"Uh..." I stammered, blushing yet again.
"Besides, if my mentioning your relationship can paralyze you... then you two have to be in love..." she said. "It's a shame you haven't kissed yet. I know you nearly did, but then you were stopped just at the last second... such a shame, such a shame."
How did she know about that? It had happened in Lyoko, and we were stopped by going back in time. How could she know... unless...
"Do you know about the factory on the river?" I asked.
"Hm... last I checked that was a construction sight, though I had heard stories about a group of students from this school who had been going there." She said. "But the stories that I heard... well," she coughed and looked away. "I can't imagine that it was you and Ulrich."
I blushed again, my face burning. I had heard those stories as well... but how dare she mention... I couldn't let that pass!
I ran towards her again, but still she was ready for me and just as I jumped her she grabbed both of my arms and literally threw me up into the air. I watched the ground fall away beneath me as I flew an impossible distance in the air, and suddenly I felt vertigo grip me. This was it, the end of my life. There was no way that I could survive a fall from this height...
"You are right... I suggest that you learn to fly." A voice said from beside me.
I turned to look were the voice had come from, and, there sitting beside me was Glenna. She looked perfectly calm as we both flew higher and higher into the air. Suddenly a thought accrued to me. I focused my mind on my body, on the ground below, and on the air around me. Focusing hard on my current position I felt myself stop. I was now levitating myself in the air...
"Who are you?" I asked.
"A friend." She replied. "Someone who was sent here to help you."
"But..."
"Now you might want to tell your mind to keep you floating," she said. "We have started to drop."
For a second I panicked but then I calmed myself down and told my mind to keep me steady. It was surprisingly easy, since the last time I had tried to levitate a person it had taken everything out of me. Yet now I was able to keep myself in the air without any difficulty at all.
"It is due to all the training that you received from Lyoko." Glenna told me calmly. "It has enhanced your natural abilities."
"So you do know about Lyoko." I said. "That explains a lot... So, did you work on it or something?"
"No." she replied. "I am not from this universe. I come from somewhere else, but all will be made clear very soon... it's almost time. But now it is time for you to be back on the ground."
She grabbed my hand and threw me back towards the ground. I tried to stop myself but I couldn't think quickly enough to grab hold of anything. All I could do was watch the ground rush up at me and... I landed softly on the ground, stunned and breathless.
---
After following Ginda for half an hour she finally stopped in front of a house. She walked up to the door and pulled out a key, and after unlocking the door she looked around. For a second I thought that she had seen me but she then turned back to the door and smiled. It was the first time I had seen her smile, in this body at least. She turned the door handle and said, "It's time..." and pushed open the door.
As the door opened I saw a serene light coming from it. The light literally lit up the entire front lawn of the house. Curiosity got the best of me and I moved to a position where I could see what was creating the light. As the inside of the house became visible I saw a hilly field of grass, a large pond, and three girls. As my eyes adjusted to the light I realized that one of them was...
"Aelita!" I said startled.
"Jeremie." Ginda said. "It's time for you to make your first real trip into another universe."
"What?" I asked surprised. "You knew that I was here?"
"Of course." She replied. "But the girl that you were following wasn't me. She was my creation, and you weren't very nice to her."
"Uh, oh... um, sorry." I said, not knowing what else to say.
"That's ok. Now, go to her, Jeremie."
"What?" I asked surprised.
Ginda, now in her real body pointed into the door. Aelita was looking the opposite direction at something that was happening a short distance from her. I walked up to the door and put my hand up to the threshold, careful not to pass it. She was so close, if only I could get to her... and then my fingers passed through the threshold and I felt my body being pulled... suddenly the light was all around me and there, not five feet away, was Aelita. Finally, we were together again...