Yeah, uh, so they really haven't been able to have a normal life... Sorry about that, but you won't have to worry about that for much longer... They will, well, never mind, you will find out soon enough... (insert cynical laughter.)
Jeremie:
I looked around the field we had been brought to. Even my head was spinning with all this new information. I had just met three new people and a sentient animal. We had also been introduced to a new problem: Odd and Sam had apparently been transported, somehow, to an alternative universe. Now we had to find a way to get them back, and the greatest minds... or whatever... were even having trouble with that.
"What traffic? There isn't any over dimensional traffic..." the woman called Ginda said.
"Give it twenty to thirty years... but you are right there isn't. I actually got caught with a separate chore. Anyway, there is only one way to get the children out of that hole."
"And that is?" I asked.
Everyone stared at me for a second and then the traveler continued. "We need someone whose powers match this universe's more than any of ours. There is only one person who can create a hole between universes, in this one, that I know of. His abilities are weak and he can only travel by dream, but, well..."
"What? Who is it?" I asked aggravated.
"You, Jeremie." He replied.
That nearly knocked me off of my feet. I had had no idea that it would have been me. I couldn't ever remember doing something like that, traveling to a different universe, but perhaps that was intentional. I didn't think that that would really pass in a 'normal' life...
"So what do I have to do?" I asked.
"Well, first I need permission to... use you. Your natural abilities are the only thing that can open a portal to the place that your friends are being held."
"Again, what do you want me to do?" I reiterated.
"Fine, relax." He said, and I did so. "What I am going to do is temporarily enter your mind and your body. This won't hurt but you will be unable to move. There also shouldn't be any side effects. What I will do then is manipulate your energies and open a gateway to the only other alternative universe parallel to this one."
I suddenly heard an electrical crackle and felt a surge of energy as though I were being hit by lightening. My mind went numb and completely relaxed and I began watching what the traveler did. Slowly my mind shifted through memories and reflexes. I saw my most recent dreams flash by, then ones that I couldn't even remember having. Suddenly I found myself seeing the space around me, but it was mostly dark. There were flame like objects around me and I realized that they were the others. As I watched my mind began moving away from this area, and supposedly out of my body. I saw a flat barrier and suddenly went through it. Things began to get very strange after that as I was able to see everything at once. Every aspect of my universe, every atom and every view. I could see every part of the earth and all the other planets, not to mention every galaxy...
Consider yourself lucky, Jeremie, not many humans are gifted with this sight. For that matter, not many life forms are. You are now among the rare few that have, or will ever...
I found myself moving again and suddenly I saw a smaller universe. There were only two things in it. I began moving into it and found myself next to them. I knew that it must be Odd and Sam. Quickly I turned to a wall and placed a 'hand' up to it. The wall began to spiral inward and it became a hole. Turning back to the two I saw them falling through it and I quickly followed. Another surge of energy told me that the traveler had left my mind and I opened my eyes to find Odd and Sam lying on the ground unconscious.
"What happened to them?" Aelita asked.
"They ran out of air." Professor Giis said. "Sissi, if you please."
Sissi bent down to them and placed her hands above both of their chests. Lights began emerging from her hands and they entered their bodies. They slowly began to glow with a soft purple light and slowly opened their eyes. They inhaled and began coughing.
"That... was… fun..." Odd coughed. "Let's not... do it... again."
"So much for our date..." Sam said.
"That isn't a problem." The traveler replied. "I have already begun making this a thing of the past. You will be returned to the time before this happened and-"
"NO!" we all yelled at once.
"What?"
"Don't erase our memories, I for one am tired of being left in the dark." Ulrich nearly yelled.
"I agree," I said. "Besides, it seems that it is far more dangerous for us to not remember anything than it is for us to remember."
"Ok, point taken... that wasn't what I was going to say." The traveler replied. "Simply that you will be returned to the exact moment that we began interfering and everyone else will forget, not you. In fact, Jeremie, I offer you lessons. You need to understand your ability better."
"You would do that?" the three adults gasped.
"Well, we need one human traveler..." he said. "And I am no longer fully... Time's up."
I blinked and found myself in my room again. Aelita was sitting next to me and we were looking at the computer screen. The transition was so abrupt that I jumped when my eyes focused.
"Well, that was..."
"Interesting." Aelita finished my sentence. "Do you even remember what we were doing?"
"Not really..." I said and looked at the computer screen. The screen saver was active and I almost didn't dare to tap the mouse.
"Perhaps we should leave this for another time..." Aelita suggested.
"Good idea," I said moving my hand away from the mouse. "Want to get something to eat?"
"Sure."
We got up and began walking out of the room. Oddly enough we actually were hungry now, and we decided to go to the cafeteria. It was noon after all, and we should be having lunch at noon. We didn't want other students, or the teachers, to begin thinking that there was anything going on, not that they would be wrong...
When we arrived at the cafeteria we found Ulrich and Yumi already there. They were eating a light lunch and waved when they noticed us. We sat down in front of them and began eating our lunches. Together we sat in idle silence for a few moments...
"So, what do you think of our 'normal' life?" Ulrich asked.
"Hmn? Oh, yeah, if you can really call it normal..." I replied.
"I am still trying to get over how many people there were, just to save Odd and Sam..." Aelita said. "Just... when did we have that many friends? It's like we are being watched, by thousands of people, and we don't even know about it."
There was another silence when we all stared at one point. If there had been a camera I am sure we would have been looking right at it, but of course there wasn't. If anything this was probably a story, written story...
"Hey," Sissi said as she walked over to us. "Sorry about all of that. It isn't like they had planned on your friends getting captured. Oh, and we have a request, keep this a secret. It would be uncomfortable for us if this leaked out."
"Who are we going to tell it to?" Ulrich asked sarcastically. "It's not like anyone is going to believe us."
"He's right..." Yumi said. "Even if we wanted to tell anyone they would probably think we were insane."
"Look, they are sorry. Heck, I'm sorry. If you hadn't already been involved in this then we would leave you out of it, but it was you who found Aelita-" she stopped and covered her mouth.
"What?" I asked rising up.
"Nothing..." Sissi replied.
"No, what did you say?" I asked harder.
"Nothing, I d-didn't say anything." She replied.
"You said that we found Aelita. Take that back, she is just as normal as the rest of us..." I trailed off realizing what I was saying. "At least... that's what we remember..."
There was short awkward pause where no one dared look at each other. I sat there as realization flooded over me. It was true, now that I thought about it, it was true. The memories that we had were fabricated. Everything past a month or two ago was at least partially a lie. That was why Aelita didn't have any parents, she wasn't real... we had found her, in X.A.N.A.... X.A.N.A. The factory. That would prove it!
I stood up quickly nearly knocking the tray over. I had to get to the factory; there I could find the answer. I had to find the answer... I had to. I pushed past Sissi and ran out the cafeteria door towards the manhole that led to the factory. As I burst through the door I heard Sissi swear and Aelita call after me. I didn't care though, I had to find out. I had to find out if these memories were true or not.
I reached the man hole and jumped down it. I didn't even bother to climb; I just fell to the ground, luckily landing on my feet. I though I heard something behind me but I was too focused to turn and find out what; I kept running. I ran all the way to the other side, just in front of the factory where... I had met her... I literally flew through the door at the other end and ran across the bridge that was still invisible.
As I passed into the factory I felt the air change. I was suddenly able to see what was really there. Quickly I jumped and caught hold of one of the wires hanging from the ceiling. Once I reached the floor I ran into the elevator and saw who had been following me. Aelita walked into the elevator next to me panting.
"The others weren't able to follow, but I was…" she said. "Let's see what is down there."
I pressed the button and the door closed. The elevator lowered down the shaft and stopped. A keypad revealed itself and without thinking I keyed in a four digit number. The door opened and we saw the room. It was not really a large room; mostly filled with a holographic projector on the ground, and a chair that moved around it. I walked over to the chair and Aelita followed me. We looked at the screen and saw that it was already connecting to Lyoko. When it had finished I moved around through the interface a little and found the cards and the map to the virtual world. Suddenly a screen popped up showing a flashing red tower.
"A tower has been activated? But that's impossible. If X.A.N.A. is out here than how can that tower have been activated?" I said.
"Maybe... Maybe that is why X.A.N.A. is out here." Aelita said. "Maybe that is what all of this is, and illusion brought on by X.A.N.A."
"You mean that none of this is real?" I asked. "That everything we have seen up till now is a figment of a warped world constructed by X.A.N.A. to distract us?"
"He did it once before, why wouldn't he do it again?" she asked.
"But, then it wasn't a tower, then it was a guardian that held the virtual world." I said.
"True, but then you weren't in the virtual world with us; you were in the real world. What if X.A.N.A. needed to use the tower to get you as well."
I got out my cell phone and dialed Ulrich's phone number. He picked up and I said, "Ulrich, a tower has been activated."
"What? But how?" he asked.
"That's what I asked." I said. "Get here as soon as you can, and is Yumi with you?"
"Yes, she and I were trying to follow you when we lost you in the sewer."
"Good, I am going to call Odd."
"He is already on his way." Ulrich said.
"What? How?"
"He called me first and said that he had gotten a vision that a tower had been active. That's when we remembered everything." Ulrich said. "Jeremie, he is bringing Sam."
"Well, she disserves to be here as well..." I said.
"Of course I do." Sam's voice came through the elevator door. "You five are the one who brought me into this mess. I am going to help undo it."
Odd and Sam walked into the room and came over to us. They looked worried, as though they knew something really bad and we didn't. Suddenly Ulrich and Yumi walked in as well. They came down the latter that connected to the room behind the boiler room.
"Alright, we are all here, and we are all ready." Ulrich said. "Let's do this."
They walked into the elevator and headed down to the scanner room. Ulrich, Odd and Yumi got in first while Sam and Aelita waited. I began the scanner sequence. "Transfer Ulrich, transfer Yumi, transfer Odd. Scanner Ulrich, scanner Yumi, scanner Odd. Virtualization."
"Well, I sense that the end is near." Sissi said suddenly appearing in the elevator. "I would like to help, if you don't mind."
"Sissi, when did you get here?" I asked.
"You seem to have your memories back, that isn't a good sign. Well, like I said, if the end is drawing closer I want to take part in it. I owe you guys that much at least." She said.
The elevator door closed and she headed off to the scanner room as well. As soon as she reached it I started the next three. "Transfer Aelita, transfer Sam, transfer Sissi. Scanner Aelita, scanner Sam, scanner Sissi. Virtualization."
Each of them appeared on my screen and two new cards appeared. Ulrich the samurai, Yumi the geisha girl, Odd the cat-boy, Aelita the elf, Sissi the healer, and Sam the mages. They were all ready, and each had their own character, just like the 'good old days', but with two new allies. And it was a good thing too... we were about to need it.
Well, Jeremie and the others are now back at Lyoko getting ready to fight for their lives. They find out something remotely disturbing... and then a really bad thing happens. When your world comes crashing down around you, literally, you tend to panic... and when you find that your real world is in chaos, and death and destruction is everywhere you tend to loose hope... Find out what happens next to the children of Lyoko in the next chapter: The Really Bad Thing, That Happened...