Chapter VI----From past, to present, and till the end
The printer's monotonous sounds invaded the room; its ink cartridge sliding from left to right as it printed out the last page of the essay.
What had happened minutes before was not unexpected, yet as much as he had prepared to answer the always untimely question of "Why did you do this?", and as much as he had answered it to some other visitors; he felt in his essence the need to tell the truth about his records. But the truth was something he thought no one could understand, no one but himself.
The folder now in the ground, the girl's gaze broke past Hiroshi with no effort
-Tell me why you have this- she stated again
He didn't reply however, he had nothing to say, nothing but the truth he deemed demented.
-Hiroshi, answer me!- she finally shouted, in her mind the shadow of a most dangerous doubt had begun to spread like wildfire; for who'd need such a complex and intricate map of another person's behavior, who apart from an agent, an agent under the ranks of the being she, and her closest friends, had been fighting for so long.
-I knew it- she spoke soundly –I just couldn't determine it, but I knew it from the night at the concert- her instincts had left all subtleness, and dad begun to taint her reason.
-No you don't….no one knows…no one can know- he finally replied, his gaze having lost all warring quality, and now giving an air of weakness impossible for a mechanic mind to elaborate –I have my motives, but you won't understand- he continued, recovering the folder from her feet –No one ever understands- at this point, the weakness seen only in his eyes manifested in his voice as well, showing a barely recognizable lament.
-Hiroshi- she gently replied, her nerves not yet recovering from the now buried doubt
–I'm not like everyone else…maybe I can understand- these words, though unusual for her to utter, reflected her emotions perfectly; since she had noticed his eyes and gentle lament, which gave her the answer to her questions.
The boy's eyes had the previously seen strength not because he wished to fight, but because he was afraid, afraid of being hurt. As a Rattle snake rhythmically rattles its tail to inform possible threats of her position, he did the same by acquiring this facade of war. And just like the poison of the rattlesnake, she was sure he had a similar strength under this admonition.
RING RING
The bothersome cell phone again…
The rest of the day went by; till night struck the town, each of the protagonists of tomorrows encounter meditating on the events that were to unfold.
Staring at his bathroom mirror, Hiroshi examined the burn on his arm, his fingers traveling across the circles, almost as if searching for something, lost between the rings that now meant so much to him, and his existence.
In the college, an exhausted yet euphoric Jeremie tested the last algorithms of the Hierophant, Hiroshi's character, though it wouldn't be his for long.
In Lyoko, an anguished Aelita kept searching the many links this virtual haven had with the real world, looking for a certain download Jeremie had spoken of. A file, or files, possibly text files, that held XANA's plot. Though she personally disagreed with Jeremie, she couldn't say no, not without trying at least.
Sadly though, if he had allowed her to search for a trail of the evil computer mind inside Lyoko's archives, though she wouldn't had found anything, she would've instead discovered something much more sinister, something that would destroy the very essences of the children...yet she didn't, all because of an unnecessary precaution.
Back in school however, another important decision was being made, the snores of the extravagant blonde not even crossing into his calm mind.
-Tomorrow…after he's dead- he spoke surely and coldly –I'm gonna tell her…I'm gonna tell Yumi I love her-
And last, but certainly not least, a calm Japanese girl stared at the moon from her comfortable bed, it's brilliance reminding her of something he had said that night at the concert…
"Under this light…you have Luna's eyes"
Her mind and being tired, she laid back. Tomorrow there would be a new member in the team, someone she had grown to love like a brother, someone she was not afraid to confide with.
Her eyes fell shut yet her smile remained
-Tomorrow is going to be a great day-
The day came and went as if the tail of a comet across the unending abyss of space.
Before he had noticed, the bell rang, and everyone left the tiring classrooms, relived to have the rest of the day for them.
He had no such commodity though, for he had been cited that afternoon by his best friend's mysterious companions. Today was the day he would finally discover the secret behind his nightmares, those scenes of death that had plagued him for little over a month.
Finally his conscious would be able to rest, no more visions, no more rude awakenings…nothing…finally peace.
They all met at the school's courtyard, exchanged greeting and salutations before heading off to a place called "the factory". He reacted quite strangely to this word…as if heard somewhere before…
The three males noticed this, intensifying their distrust.
The trek was a most interesting one, he had never spent time in the sewage system, and found it most intriguing. His eyes traveled the large, ill scented space with curiosity. Though still quiet, he began to move his lips to the lyrics of a song he had grown to love, causing the plotters another misinterpretation.
Finally they arrived at the condemned building; and again his gaze traveled it almost fanatically. The decadence of it all lit his mind up with thoughts of ageless wars and great conquests, a light glow appearing in his once cold eyes…a glow that meant a final checkmark in their minds…
The mysterious elevator, riddled with technology he had only seen in the few cyberpunk novels ha had read, rode down into the bowels of the "factory". How a decaying automotive building would answer his queries was still beyond him.
Suddenly, the metallic chamber stopped, as the blonde he knew as "Jeremie" played around with the controls, what he did exactly he couldn't say; it seemed as if the kid was trying to block his view. The doors opened to reveal something he had only imagined.
A great, dome like room, its higher wall crawling with a plethora of wires and cables; at the middle stood a large chair, a mechanism under it allowing it to move around a small circular elevation that seemed to serve a purpose unbeknownst to him.
-Yumi- spoke hurriedly Jeremie, stepping out of the elevator –I need you to stay go with Aelita; she might need an escort when she tries to access the files.
-Right Jeremie-
-Ulrich, Odd…let Hiroshi take the first scanner-
-Ok Einstein-
-Hiroshi- he finally spoke, turning to his eyes…their glares meeting, indicating a most uncertain faith –Try not to be afraid- the newest member felt what appeared to be a conniver's flash in the blonde's eyes.
He simply nodded as the elevator's doors closed shut once again. He hadn't noticed, the constant change of ambience distraction his mind, but as the elevator once again descended, deeper into the earth, he begun to notice a strange feeling growing inside of him, an ecstasy like none other.
"Afraid of what?" was his first though, quickly it combined with what little knowledge he had…why had the kid asked for the character anyway, why would he want a fighting character, specially once as mighty as the envoy of death and punishment.
In his own manner, everything was being pieced together, great holes still telling of everything's impossibility, yet as time moved on, the holes became covered by a mist of desire and excitement.
The time drew closer, the ecstasy slowly turning into some sort of knowledge...
Peace of mind? That was no longer an objective
Nightmares of death? Unimportant
His hands began to shiver; his mind began to slowly implode into itself, regenerating almost instantly. The thirst for knowledge had dispersed; giving dawn to the thirst for battle, for fear…his instincts re-arose.
His logic died; his muscles, long forgotten, his fists, long inexistent…his eyes long without a flame…Everything began to burn again. His soul, a raging inferno.
He could feel a dreaded might grow within his essence as the golden cylinders gates closed ominously in front of him, heralding the arrival of a most underrated foe…yet someone even XANA would fear.
The harbinger of Death and Darkness, omen of brutality and eternal torture; The Hierophant, greatest nightmare.