Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Code Lyoko…
Ok, this is just one of those filler chapters; hence the title. Not much goes on, mainly just a bunch of ramblings between various characters. It does give you a glimpse, or rather a partial flashback to something that has happened to our heroes during the First Seal thing. YES, I KNOW THAT IT HASN'T BEEN WRITTEN YET! I plan on writing that after finishing up this one.
Oh, I hope I don't make anyone upset with my opinion of pickle-loaf.
Ramble, Ramble…
Code: Lyoko
Mirror, Mirror
Part VII: The Interim
Odd yawns and stretches his arms as he sits up in his bed. Kiwi perks up once he sees his master is awake and crawls into his lap. Odd smiles at him sleepily and begins to rub his head. Odd glances over to see Ulrich still asleep.
"Whoa, it must be really early if I'm up before him…." Odd whispers to himself. He glances at Ulrich's alarm clock and sees that it is six-thirty in the morning.
"Nope. Not early. He must have forgotten to set his alarm," Odd says gently sitting Kiwi on the floor before standing. He walks over to Ulrich's bed and gently shakes his friend.
"Hey, Ichabod Crane! Wake up!"
Ulrich stirs and mumbles something incoherent.
"Hmm, how does he usually wake me up?" Odd thinks for a moment before finally deciding to wake Ulrich up like his father used to wake him up.
"Private Ulrich Stern! Front and center, Maggot!" Odd bellows in Ulrich's face. Ulrich instantly jolts awake and flails wildly, sending his sheet flying. He sits up, panting hard, with a scared look on his face. Finally, Ulrich's wildly roaming eyes land on Odd's laughing face.
"Dude! What the heck! That's not cool!" Ulrich says exasperated through his panting.
"Well, it woke you up, didn't it?" Odd replies chuckling.
"Wha--?" Ulrich starts and turns to his clock. "What time is—oh, man…" Ulrich buries his face in his hands and groans.
"I tried to wake you nicely, but you just mumbled at me, and yelling was my last resort. Sorry!" Odd says.
"I think I'd rather have Kiwi lick my face…" Ulrich remarks and swings his feet off the edge of his bed.
"I can arrange that!" Odd quips instantly, grinning big.
"Don't you even think about it, Odd," Ulrich replies gruffly. He glances at his clock again. "Dude, why did you get me up this early? It's only six-thirty, and we don't really have to be up until seven." He pauses and gives Odd a curious look. "Come to think of it, why are you up at six-thirty? Usually, you're still asleep at seven and I'm the one waking you up."
Odd shrugs and replies, "Not sure. I guess today is going to be one of those weird days that nothing's gonna be normal."
Ulrich gives him a slight frown and replies, "Odd, I haven't had a normal day since I first set foot inside that factory. Every day's been weird since then!"
Odd chuckles and turns to dig a change of clothes out of his messy dresser. "So, what time did you finally leave Yumi's last night?" he asks holding up a shirt.
Ulrich yawns and stands. "I think it was right around midnight. And I'm not too happy about being abandoned!"
Odd turns and gives him a quizzical look. "Abandoned? What do you mean by that?"
"Well, after you and Sam left, Jeremie took off a little while later, saying something about having to study for a quiz in physics class. Which, by the way, couldn't be true," Ulrich replies walking over to his dresser.
"Yeah, he's supposed to be the brainiac, right?" Odd states.
Ulrich chuckles and replies, "Yeah, that's why I'm kinda curious about why he really left." He pulls out a fresh change of clothes and sets them down on his chair. "After Jeremie left, I was the only guy in the house! You and Jeremie stranded me in a house with three girls! Granted, one of them was Yumi, but still, you two left me there to fend for myself!"
Odd gives him a guilty smile and laughs quietly to himself. "It couldn't have been that bad!" he replies finally. Ulrich gives him a slightly exasperated look and Odd raises an eyebrow. "Or…maybe it could have…" Odd states.
"It was pretty normal for a few minutes, then the three of them suddenly got….um, hyper. Sort of. With Yumi, I know it wasn't hyper-ness, but something else entirely. With Aelita, it was hyper-ness. Actually, it was a sugar rush. She kept eating those lemon candies Yumi had and the sugar went straight to her brain. Now, with Atilea, I couldn't tell if it was the sugar or something else, but she also started getting a little… crazy," Ulrich says sitting down on the foot of his bed.
Odd perks up and turns to him. "Oh, really? Crazy, huh? How so?" Ulrich gives him a curious look, then continues.
"Well, first off, she and Aelita started chatting to each other. Not like you and I are right now. I mean, really fast and almost constant. I didn't realize Aelita could talk that fast and make coherent sentences! But there they were, both of them, jabbering away, ninety to nothing. But at the same time, making sense! Then, Yumi decided to take Atilea upstairs to her room and let her try on some of her old clothes," Ulrich says.
Odd shrugs and states, "That doesn't sound too bad. What's wrong with that?"
Ulrich gives him a strained smile. "Well, nothing, in itself, but under the influence of sugar and… other things, it got… interesting, to say the least. After Yumi helped Atilea pick out an outfit, she'd make her come down and 'model' in front of Aelita and me. Then, soon thereafter, Yumi and Aelita got involved in the fashion show, and started modeling, using me as the 'judge' of sorts. Don't get me wrong, it was nice to see Yumi in other clothes than her usual attire, but seeing Aelita in some of the things she put on, well, made me a bit uncomfortable. I mean, she's Jeremie's girlfriend and he should have been there to see her! Then there was Atilea… I'm not even gonna go there!"
Odd gives him a sly look and replies, "A little embarrassed, were we?" Ulrich shakes his head. "You have no idea. They did that for nearly an hour and a half! I was ready to leave at, like, ten-thirty, but somehow Yumi talks me into staying longer. Things finally calmed down a bit around eleven forty-five and the girls started doing the whole finger and toe-nail polishing thing. I finally left after fifteen minutes of Yumi begging me, shamelessly I might add, to stay longer."
Ulrich begins to stare blankly off into space and Odd grins and chuckles. "Looks like I missed all the fun!" he quips. Ulrich snaps out of his blank stare and retorts, "Heh, I don't know about that. I figure you had your own kind of 'fun' after you and Sam left!" Odd blushes and presses his lips together. "Possibly, but not in the way you imply!"
Ulrich glances at his clock and yawns. "Well, since we're up, we might as well go shower and head to the cafeteria for breakfast."
Odd perks up at the mention of breakfast and dashes for the door while tucking his school clothes under his arm. "Race ya! Last one to the cafeteria gives me their breakfast!"
"Wait a sec. That doesn't make sense. If I lose, you get two meals, mine and yours. If I win, you still get two meals because you'll owe yourself a meal? That's just crazy…" Ulrich replies confusedly. Odd gives him a goofy smile and exits the room laughing. Ulrich realizes that Odd just used his confusion against him and gotten a head start.
Jeremie walks into the cafeteria and glances around the room looking for any of his friends, but mainly for Aelita. He spots Odd and Ulrich sitting at a table across the room and begins to make his way towards them. He takes a seat across from Odd and says, "Good morning, guys. Sleep well?"
Ulrich glances at him and replies, "Not really. Odd, on the other hand, did." Odd gives Jeremie a smile while shoveling another bite into his mouth. Jeremie shudders slightly at Odd's table manners and turns to Ulrich. "Why didn't you get a good night's sleep?" he asks.
Ulrich gives him a strained smile and replies, "Because my girlfriend, your girlfriend, and your girlfriend's twin-sister thing kept me up till midnight! All thanks to you and Odd leaving me there alone with those three!" Jeremie gives him a slightly apologetic look and says, "Sorry, but I had some studying to do!" Ulrich gives him a disbelieving stare. "In physics? You're joking, right?"
Jeremie's face turns a slight shade of pink. "Yes! Believe it or not, there are some concepts that is above my head!" he replies defensively. "Like proper sentence structure of the Italian language?" Odd jibes smiling. Jeremie's face reddens and frowns. "Um, yeah. Precisely." Jeremie pauses and stares blankly at his orange juice box. "Well, was it that bad after we left?" he asks finally.
Ulrich inhales and exhales deeply as Odd shoves a massive bite in his mouth. "Yeah, if you consider three hyper girls and lots of changes of clothes bad," Ulrich replies. Jeremie's brow crinkles in wonder and asks, "Um, what…happened?" Ulrich smiles slightly and shakes his head, then replies vapidly, "Two words: fashion show." Jeremie grows wide-eyed. "Let's just say that there were a couple of times your girlfriend made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Don't worry, nothing bad happened, it was just weird seeing her model clothes without you there to watch with me," Ulrich continues.
"See all the fun we missed, Einstein? Maybe I shoulda stayed," Odd says, patting his stomach, having finally eaten his fill. "I don't know about that, Odd. If you did, neither one of us would've woken up on time this morning," Ulrich notes. Odd shrugs and nods in agreement then spots Sam across the room. He stands and waves to her. She sees him and smiles slightly. She finishes getting her breakfast tray and heads toward their table.
"Morning, Sam!" Odd says happily. Sam smiles at him and slides down next to him. Ulrich and Jeremie smile at her. "Morning. Hope you don't mind me sitting here," she says. "No, go ahead," Ulrich replies. Sam nods and then sees Odd with two empty trays in front of him. "Odd…" she starts in a scolding manner. He gives her an innocent look and replies, "Hey! I just won a race! Ulrich had to give up his breakfast." Sam looks at him skeptically and Ulrich pipes up, "It's true, I did." Sam nods finally and begins to eat her breakfast. "Besides, it's not like I'm really missing a lot," Ulrich continues, frowning at the plateful of food.
"So, where's Yumi, Aelita, and um, Aelita's twin sister, did you say? What was her name again?" Sam asks after swallowing a bite. Jeremie and Ulrich glance at each other quickly. "Um, I'm not sure. We haven't see them yet this morning, but if they went to bed anytime after I left last night, then I wouldn't be surprised if they were still in bed!" Ulrich replies. "And Aelita's sister's name is Atilea."
Sam raises an eyebrow. "And what time did you leave?" she asks Ulrich, giving him a sly look. "Around midnight. And I blame those stupid lemon candies Yumi had," Ulrich replies. Sam smiles slyly at Odd and replies, "Those were good! I wish I had taken some with me when we left. I coulda had a bit more fun!" Odd blushes and replies, "You mean you didn't have fun after we left?" Sam chuckles deviously at him. "Yes, I did have fun and lots of it, but I'm saying that the fun level could have been higher if I had some of those candies!" Odd grows wide-eyed and his face reddens further with embarrassment. Ulrich and Jeremie chuckle at him as he lowers his head slightly and averts his eyes from Sam's teasing gaze.
Sam shakes her head and gently nudges Odd in the ribs playfully then resumes eating. "I still can't get over how alike Aelita and her sister are," she states between bites. "Well, they are identical twins. There really isn't that much difference between them, at least physically anyways. However, there are a few personality differences," Jeremie states. Sam nods and takes a quick drink of her orange juice. "How long is she here for?" she asks Jeremie. Jeremie swallows, trying not to look nervous. He hadn't really thought about this too much.
"Oh, a couple of days. Then she'll head back to Canada," he replies as convincingly as possible. Sam nods, apparently buying his act. "I think it's cool that Aelita's sister came to visit her on her spring break. Shows how close they are," she replies and pauses for a moment in thought, causing Ulrich and Jeremie to wonder what was going through her mind. She shakes her head and resumes eating. After a few more bites, Sam shoves the tray away from her, leaving part of her breakfast on it. "Geez, I'm full. Odd, you can have the rest, if you want," Sam offers but Odd shakes his head while rubbing is stomach, indicating to her that he is full already. She gives him a slight look of surprise and then shrugs.
Then Ulrich feels a pair of arms slide around his neck from behind and a set of lips kiss his cheek. He smiles as Yumi's face comes into his line of sight. "Morning!" she says, trying to sound perky but Ulrich can tell she's pretty tired still. He turns his head to see a sleepy Aelita yawn in Jeremie's face. Jeremie gives her a slightly shocked look and she giggles at him. "Morning, Yumi," Ulrich says as she sits down next to him. "You two are cutting it kinda close this morning," he continues, glancing up at the clock.
Yumi smiles at him and leans her head against his. "We took Atilea to…" Yumi pauses when she realizes Samantha is sitting with them. "…to her hotel room. She was so dead tired that we didn't think she'd make it on her own safely." "Well, that was nice of you," Jeremie says, trying to act natural. "So, how long did you three stay up after I left?" Ulrich asks. Aelita slides in between Jeremie and Ulrich and replies, "I think it was around one-thirty. At least, that was the last time I looked at the clock."
Sam raises an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Wow. And I thought Odd and I went to bed late!" Sam states. Odd blushes and looks up at his friends, seeing them eye him slyly. "Nothing happened! Stop looking at me like that!" he exclaims as a couple of giggles escape Aelita's lips. Sam turns to look at Odd and smiles. "You're so fun to pick on!" she says giggling. Then Sam turns to Aelita. "I was telling the guys earlier that I thought it was really cool that your sister came all the way from Canada to visit you on her spring break, Aelita," she says.
Aelita lifts her head off of Jeremie's shoulder and blinks. "Oh, yeah, we're close like that," she replies and smiles. "I can tell. So, did you two ever give in to the temptation to ever mess with your parents?" Sam asks. Aelita crinkles her brow in mild confusion. "You know, swap clothes with each other several times a day, just to confuse the heck out of your Mom and Dad?" she continues. Aelita slowly realizes what Sam is suggesting and replies, "No, but I wish we had." Aelita turns to gives Jeremie a devious smile. "But I think we could pull it off now, if we tried, right Jeremie?" Jeremie quickly turns his head and stares at her in shock. "No! Bad idea! No offense, but I don't want to kiss your sister, even if was an accident!" he exclaims. The table erupts into a small laughter as Jeremie turns red. Then, the first period bell rings and the group stands. Odd takes his and Sam's trays to the tray drop-off window, then rejoins the group as they walk out of the cafeteria.
"Hey, I'll see you at lunch, Sweetie!" Yumi says, giving Ulrich a kiss. "See ya! Usual spot, right?" he asks as she starts to walk backwards away from him. Yumi nods and the two wave to each other. Sam hangs back from the rest of the group, dragging Odd back with her. "Hey, um, wanna get together for lunch?" she asks him quietly. Odd smiles and nods. Then, he sees her get a serious look on her face. "Same deal as yesterday applies, though." His smile shrinks as he remembers the conditions she laid down. "Sure, no problem," Odd replies. Sam smiles and slips him a quick hug, then takes off to her class. He waves at her before returning to the rest of the group.
Aelita yawns again and rests her head on Jeremie's shoulder. "Remind me not to stay up that late again," she says. Jeremie chuckles as they reach their first period class. "Will you listen to me when I do?" he jokes. She pauses before replying, "Probably not."
Meanwhile, at the Hermitage, Atilea stirs underneath the sheets of her makeshift bed. She pokes her head out from under the sheets and blinks in slight confusion, not really remembering where she is. Then, the memories of Yumi and Aelita walking her to the Hermitage return and she yawns. This manner of getting rest was completely different that the way she rested on Lyoko in her pod. She squirms and pulls the sheets up to her nose, but accidentally bunches too much up and exposes her bare feet to the cool air of the room. She shivers and pulls her feet back under the warm covers. This was also different than what she was used to. Lyoko didn't really have weather or temperature.
Her sleepy eyes open to see the ceiling and she groans. Man, what were we thinking last night? she thinks to herself. Atilea rolls over onto her side, trying to find a comfortable position to get back to sleep. Atilea drifts to sleep again and begins to dream. In her dream, she sees her new friends sitting at a table in the forest somewhere, laughing and joking with each other. She feels as if she wasn't really there and was just watching a movie. Then, one by one, the members of the group begins to fade away, starting with Odd's friend Samantha. Then, Odd fades away, followed by Jeremie. A sudden wave of fear and confusion grips her as Yumi fades away, leaving only Aelita and Ulrich.
No! Please! Don't make them fade away! Please! Anyone but them! I…love them! she finds herself saying over and over in her mind. Then, Aelita starts to slowly fade away and turns to look in her direction. She reaches a hand out for help and Atilea strains against some invisible force holding her back, trying to reach for her sister. Just as Atilea is about to grab Aelita's hand, she disappears. Atilea instinctively turns to Ulrich and sees that his feet have begun to fade.
No! Ulrich! Don't leave me! she screams in her dream and dives toward him. She falls at his feet and tries to wrap her arms around his legs but her arms just pass through them. She looks up at his face with tears in her eyes and sees him mouth "help me" to her. She tries to grab his hand but her hand just passes through it. Atilea watches helplessly as his body fades, leaving only his face. Ulrich, please! Don't fade away! I'm sorry! I can't help you! I—I can't touch you for some reason! Don't leave me alone! Atilea shouts at him in her dream. Then, she hears his voice, finally.
Why, Atilea? Why did you let me fade away?
She begins to bawl and reaches up to his face. I—I don't know! I tried to save you and Aelita, but I couldn't touch you! My hand just passed through you! she replies.
You let me die! Why? I thought you loved me! comes his voice.
Atilea buries her face in her hands and hangs her head to the ground. I tried! I really did! I do love you, but I couldn't hold onto you! I tried to help, really! I'm so sorry, Ulrich! Please, don't leave me!
Then, silence takes over.
Please! Come back! I don't wanna be alone!
Atilea sobs loudly and adopts the fetal position while on her knees. Don't leave me! Please, don't!
Then, a voice echoes down from above her.
You deserve to be alone. You abandoned your true family. Then, you failed to save your so-called new family! What kind of friend are you?
Atilea lifts her head in shock to see Dod, Imuy, and H'cirlu fade into view. She gasps and scoots across the grass away from them.
You have no real home. Don't try to pretend you belong in the real world. You are nothing but a pale imitation of the real thing! You have no place in any world so it's better if you just ended it here and now!
Atilea grits her teeth, feeling anger rise up in her. No! That's not true! I have a place to call home! I may be a copy, but I am my own person now, thanks to Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita!
Really? How can you be? All the feelings, all the emotions you have came from somebody else. You have nothing of your own!
Atilea stands, facing the specters in her dream and wipes the tears from her eyes. No. I don't listen to you. I listen to my heart! You can't control me anymore! Now go away and leave me alone!
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" shouts Atilea, jolting herself awake. She gasps deeply and stares at the opposite wall. She pants heavily and begins to tremble. Atilea blinks several times, trying to clear her vision and sits up, letting the sheets fall from her neck to her lap. Atilea then becomes aware that tears are running down her cheeks and wipes them away with the back of her hand.
She tosses the sheets off her legs and swings them off the edge of the bed to stand. She walks over to the dusty, full length mirror, taking a cloth to wipe it off. Atilea drops the dirty cloth after she finishes and stares at her reflection in the mirror. She surveys herself, stopping at each point on her body and reasons that if she wasn't real, the white tank top and long legged, green and white striped pajama bottoms wouldn't have stayed on her physical body. They would have just passed through her. She glances down at her toes and at the red nail polish that Yumi and Aelita put on them. She wiggles her toes slightly and surmises that if they didn't really believe that she belonged to a family, Yumi and Aelita wouldn't have let her stay up last night with them, giggling almost non-stop.
Atilea closes her eyes and remembers the feeling of freedom she felt when she declared to Yumi and Ulrich at the ledge that she was going to fight against the one who wished to destroy everything she had come to love. If it were impossible to have feelings of her own, then Yumi and Ulrich wouldn't have let her join the fight.
She opens her eyes and looks herself over in the mirror, feeling more confident in her heart. Atilea runs a hand through her pink, mussed hair and giggles at herself. It still felt strange to see herself in something other than her uniform from Lyoko. "I look so silly!" she whispers. "I guess this is what they call bed-head!" she continues as she glances at her hair. She smiles at herself and turns to slide on the pair of flip-flops Yumi gave her. Atilea walks over to the window and gazes up at the blue sky that is dotted with white fluffy clouds. A small flock of birds flies overhead and her gaze follows them in mild fascination until they fly out of sight.
Then, her stomach rumbles and she looks down at her tummy. "Quiet down! You'll get fed soon enough!" she says jokingly. She slides her hand under her shirt and rests it on her tummy, then rests her forehead gently on the cool glass of the window as she watches a pair of Monarch butterflies flit around a group of flowers that have bloomed on the ivy that is snaked up the side of the Hermitage.
Atilea sighs and turns from the window, looking for the box of clothes Yumi gave to her last night. After finding it at the foot of her bed, Atilea rummages through it, picking out a green v-neck shirt and a pair of dirt-blue colored jeans. She tosses them over her shoulder and digs some more, finding other articles of clothing that Yumi and Aelita only briefly explained to her. She frowns and wonders why she had to wear them, but then chalks it up as one of those strange quirks of living in the real world. She stands and heads to the now-working and fully functional bathroom.
Later, at lunchtime, Jeremie waits patiently for Aelita at their favorite outside table. A smile forms on his lips as he sees her finally exit the building and head toward him. He stands politely as she reaches the table.
"Hey, if you don't mind, I'd like to go the Hermitage for lunch and to see if Atilea is ok," she says. Jeremie pauses a second before answering, feeling a little disappointed. "Um, sure. Mind if I tag along?" he replies. Aelita smiles and hooks her arm around him. "Of course not, silly! Besides, I have your free lunch today," she says holding up a small basket covered with a cloth. "Ooh, free lunch! What is it?" he asks perking up. Aelita giggles deviously. "Pickle-loaf and horse radish sandwiches," she replies and Jeremie gets a disgusted look on his face. "Oh, gross!" he exclaims and backs out of her arm. Aelita explodes with laughter and tosses the cloth partially back, revealing that is actually turkey and ham. He gets a pout-y look on his face and sticks out his bottom lip slightly. "You're a very mean girl, did you know that?" he asks. Aelita steps up to him and wraps her free arm around his waist again. "Yeah, but you love me anyways!" she says. Then, the pair starts walking toward the forest path.
At the Hermitage, Atilea stands on top of a make-shift ladder, straining upwards to wipe away a cobweb that has eluded her attempts to get rid of it. "Oh, you stupid….! Aak! Why couldn't I be a little taller?" She frowns in frustration and tries to jump up to reach it, but instead her make-shift ladder shifts and begins to collapse. "Oh, no…!" she says just before it gives way. "Eek!" she squeaks as her rear end lands hard on the floor. She rolls over and rubs her behind, staring up at the cobweb angrily. "See what you did? Just wait until someone taller gets here!" she threatens.
"Aelita, I think she's snapped. She's talking to the ceiling!" Jeremie says and startles Atilea. She turns around and sees Aelita and Jeremie standing in the doorway, trying not to laugh. "How long have you been there?" Atilea asks. "Long enough to see your little accident!" Jeremie replies smiling. Atilea gives him a playful hurt look and picks herself up off the floor. "It's not funny, Jeremie!" she says, dusting herself off. "What were you trying to do anyways?" he asks looking up at the ceiling. "I was trying to get that big cobweb down but I'm not…quite…tall…enough…" she says, pouting and points up to the offending cobweb. Jeremie then looks at her collapsed make-shift ladder and raises an eyebrow. "There's a small step ladder in the shed behind the house, you know," he says. Atilea gives him a look of sudden realization. "Well, how was I supposed to know that? You didn't tell me it was there!" she replies. "Um, you could've just went and looked," Jeremie replies simply. Atilea blushes in embarrassment. That thought hadn't occurred to her before. "Aelita, tell your boyfriend to stop picking on me!" Atilea says playfully and sees Jeremie give her a stunned look. Aelita giggles and playfully smacks him in the shoulder. "Why am I the one who always gets beat up?" he asks. Aelita giggles and replies, "Because you are the guy and it's not nice to hit girls," Aelita returns deviously and slugs him again. "Yeah, well, it's not nice to take advantage of that little fact, either!" he retorts and tickles Aelita's ribs. She squeaks and tries to protect her ribs with her elbow.
Jeremie looks at a laughing Aelita victoriously and then turns to Atilea, who is laughing at her sister. "We brought lunch. Hungry?" he asks her. Atilea nods and replies, "Sure! I cleaned off the table outside and made a nice walkway to it so we can eat outside." Jeremie gives her a curious look. "Table? What table?" he asks glancing between the two sisters. "There was a cement picnic table my dad put up on the south side of the house. I'm surprised it's still there," Aelita replies. "And it's still in one piece too!" Atilea chimes in, smiling. Then the trio walks outside and around the side of the building, and Jeremie and Aelita see the path Atilea made, leading to the picnic table.
"I never knew that was there," Jeremie says as they walk towards the table. "Well, it was really grown up around it. Took me most of the morning to get it looking like this. Actually, I found it by accident. I came around here because I saw that small fenced in area," Atilea replies pointing to a small, white fence and gate. "It looked really new and wondered what was in it, then I tripped over the edge of the base to the picnic table."
Aelita gets a look of sadness and nervousness that causes Atilea to give her a questionable look. "You…didn't go in there did you?" Aelita asks her solemnly. Atilea shakes her head and replies, "No, I didn't make it that far. I got too distracted by this table and trying to clean it up." Aelita gets a look of relief and sets the basket down on the table. Jeremie gently bites the inside of his cheek, and hangs his head sorrowfully. Atilea suddenly feels scared and asks, "Why? What's in there?" Aelita looks up at her and shakes her head, trying to speak, but can't. Atilea begins to get exasperated and looks at her sister with expectant eyes.
"Please, don't…" Aelita starts. Atilea feels her heart sink rapidly and begins to wonder why her sister is acting this way. "Did I do something wrong?" Atilea asks as her heartbeat and breathing begins to quicken. "Sis? What did I do wrong? Please, tell me!" Aelita turns away from her and Jeremie as tears begin to run down her cheek.
There is a long, awkward pause before Jeremie gently places his hands on Aelita's shoulders. Aelita wipes her cheeks dry and turns her head to look at him. She gives him a smile and gently pats his hand. Aelita then turns to a distraught Atilea and gives her a gentle smile.
"I'm sorry I upset you, Sis! I didn't mean to!" Atilea starts but Aelita waves her apology off. "It's ok, Atilea. I probably shouldn't have reacted like that. Do you really not know what is in there?" Aelita replies. Atilea shakes her head and fidgets with her shirt tale. "No, I don't. Honest." Jeremie gets a ponderous look on his face and runs a hand across his chin thoughtfully. "Strange. I thought you would have had that particular memory implanted in you, but I guess not," he says. "I guess there are memories that X.A.N.A. can't copy, no matter how hard he tries," Aelita surmises and sits down on the concrete seat of the picnic table.
Atilea slides down on the other end of the same seat Aelita is sitting on and watches Aelita stare at a nearby dandelion, obviously running some personal memories through her head. "I'm almost afraid to ask…" Atilea starts but Aelita interrupts her. "Then don't. I don't want to tell you what is in there. At least, not now. Just promise me you won't try to go in there, ok?" Atilea looks at her and sees a sadness in her eyes that almost causes her to cry herself, despite not knowing the reason. Then, she nods slowly in agreement and Aelita smiles in relief at her. Aelita then slides over to her and gives her a comforting hug.
"Please, don't misunderstand me or my actions. It's nothing personal towards you. I don't let anyone go in there unless I specifically let them and even then, I go with them. I don't even let the man I love go in there alone!" Aelita explains and glances up at Jeremie. Jeremie presses his lips together and nods. "And to add to that, I don't really want to go in there by myself," he adds. Aelita gently leans her head against Atilea's head and continues. "Maybe one day, you and I will take a special trip in there, ok?" Atilea smiles slightly and feels Aelita gently rub her shoulder. "Ok," she replies simply. "But I still feel like I made you mad."
Aelita chuckles lightly and says, "No. No, you didn't. You just stirred up some memories that I hadn't thought on in a while." Atilea chuckles and replies, "Seems like I've been doing that a lot lately." "Maybe that's a good thing. There are a couple of things that I've been through that I've kinda been avoiding. You're actually helping me, in a sense," Aelita says and turns to look at her. Atilea turns and meets Aelita's gaze. "Well, isn't that what sisters are supposed to do?" she asks smiling. Aelita returns the smile warmly and draws her into a bigger hug. "Of course. And I don't think I could have asked for a better sister than you!"
Atilea feels tears of joy well up in her eyes and hugs her sister tightly. Jeremie lets out a sigh of relief and averts his gaze towards the white gate. His mind fills with images of the man that saved the world that meant the most to him. I still remember my promise to you, Doctor. And I won't even think about giving up, Jeremie thinks to himself. He glances at the two and sees them separate from their hug.
"So, what did you bring for lunch?" asks Atilea swinging around to try and look in the basket. Jeremie slides down next to Aelita as she starts to uncover the basket. "It's pickle-loaf and horse radish sandwiches!" he says quickly. Aelita shoots him a scolding glance as Atilea gets a confused look on her face. "What's pickle-loaf?" she asks as Jeremie sees that his second-hand joke fails in it's intent. "Only one of the most disgusting lunch meats ever created," Aelita says after telling Jeremie to behave silently. Atilea gets a worried look on her face. "Don't worry. It's actually turkey and ham," Aelita finishes and pulls off the cloth.
That night, Ulrich sits at his desk, trying to make sense of the physics lesson. He reads a passage on acceleration while going in a curve, then shakes his head and rereads it to try to get his mind to wrap around the concepts. Then he hears the door open and Odd's voice penetrate the silence of the room.
"Hey, Ulrich! Can I ask you something?"
Ulrich sighs and replies without looking up, "I guess."
"Can, uh, Sam and I hang out in here for a while?" Odd asks innocently. Ulrich lifts his head, unsure if he heard Odd correctly. "What?" Ulrich asks. He hears to pairs of feet shuffle into the room and the door close gently. Ulrich then hears Kiwi begin to jump around excitedly. Ulrich sighs in annoyance and holds his head in his hands. "Odd..." he starts.
"Come on, buddy! You know I'd let you and Yumi hang here if you asked me!" Odd interjects.
"I have a ton of physics homework to do. Why don't you go and ask Jeremie?" Ulrich asks, staring at Odd and Sam's reflection in the window.
"Um, we…tried already. He kicked us out almost instantly, saying something about studying that foreign language he's always had trouble with. Come on, please! We don't have any place else to go! And we'll be quiet, I promise! Won't we, Sam?" Odd pleads.
"Um, sure. Promise," Sam replies uncertainly.
Ulrich sighs in exhaustion and turns to look at the pair. Sam stands in the middle of the room, looking nervous and Odd is gazing at him expectantly with a huge, goofy smile plastered to his face. Kiwi tries to get his master's attention by jumping up towards Odd's fingers to try to lick them.
"I'm gonna regret this…" Ulrich whispers to himself before making his decision. "Fine, you can stay, but please keep it down, ok?"
Odd gets an excited look on his face. "Thanks, Ulrich! Hey, I'm gonna go and get us some drinks. You want something, ol' buddy, ol' pal?" he asks. Ulrich shakes his head and glances at an embarrassed Samantha.
"Oh. Well, your loss! Be right back!" Odd replies and exits the room, leaving a now very embarrassed Sam behind.
"You can have a seat on my bed, if you want. It's probably the safest to sit on out of the two," Ulrich offers her, motioning towards his neatly made up bed.
Sam glances at his bed then over to Odd's and sees that it is in massive disarray. She nods and gently slides down onto Ulrich's bed.
"I, uh, want you to know that this wasn't my idea," Sam says.
Ulrich nods and replies, "I know. Odd kinda flies by the seat of his pants most of the time and does things kinda haphazardly sometimes." She chuckles and nods in agreement.
"Can I ask you a question, Ulrich? Then, I'll let you get back to your physics," she asks nervously.
"Sure, go ahead," he replies and rests his arms on his knees.
"Um, what happened to Odd the other day? I could tell that whatever happened, affected him dramatically. It changed him and he was so, well, different. Of course he seems to be back to his old self again, but there for a little while, it was like he was a different person. He was very much like the person he became when I was almost… you know," Sam says.
Ulrich glances down at the floor and presses his lips together in thought. "It's kinda hard to explain, Sam. And honestly, I don't feel comfortable telling you what happened to him behind his back and without his permission. I feel like I'd betray him if I did. You're right, he has changed. And for a moment there, I was really unsure if the change he went through was a good one or not, but now, I see that he has changed for the good."
Sam nods and rubs the hem of her skirt between her thumb and forefinger. "Thank you for your honesty, Ulrich. I hope that this change sticks to him!" she says. He nods and replies, "So do I."
Then the door opens and Odds slips in carrying an armload of canned drinks. Sam looks up at him and gives the numerous drinks a questionable look. "Why so many?" she asks Odd as he sets them down on his bed. He turns and smiles at her. "Well, you never know. Ulrich may get one of those unquenchable thirsts!"
Ulrich raises an eyebrow and retorts, "If anyone gets an unquenchable thirst, it'll be you, Mr. Bottomless Pit!" He turns around back to his desk and states, "I've got to get back to work, ok?" Odd nods and hands Sam her favorite drink. She blushes slightly and takes the drink from him.
At the Hermitage, Atilea and Aelita sit outside on the porch steps and stare up at the starry sky together. "There's so many!" Atilea says in awe, referring to the number of stars in the sky. Aelita chuckles and replies, "That's what I said the first time I ever looked up at the stars on a clear night like this. And to this day, seeing the night sky filled with stars like this, still leaves me staring in awe at them."
The two sisters wrap an arm around each other's shoulders and lean their heads together. "I'm glad I have a sister to share this with," Aelita continues. Atilea smiles happily and continues to take in the awesome splendor of the star-filled night sky. "So am I, Sis," replies Atilea finally. "But I don't want to take away anything you and Jeremie share."
Aelita chuckles and replies, "No, you don't have to worry about that. Granted, sharing a night like this with Jeremie is wonderful, but there's just something about sharing it with someone who is family." Atilea hugs her sister tightly at this and closes her eyes. "I'm family…" she whispers and smiles contentedly.
"I hate to cut this short, but I have to get back to my room, Sis," Aelita says. Atilea gives her a disappointed look and the two stand. "You gonna be ok getting back by yourself?" Atilea asks, concerned. "Yeah, I've done it a few times. Granted, it's usually the other way around, me going from my dorm room to the factory, but I'll manage just fine," Aelita replies giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Ok, but be careful anyways, ok? Jeremie would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you!" Atilea responds. Aelita giggles and the two sisters give each other a final hug before Aelita takes off down the path back to Kadic. Atilea sighs and looks up one last time at the star-filled sky before heading back into the Hermitage.
Dod's eyes flick open partially and he stirs slightly. He groans and closes his eyes.
Wake up, my son. You have been reborn anew!
Dod opens his eye slowly and sees that he is inside his pod. "How did…?" he starts.
I will answer your questions in due time, Son. Now, come out of your pod. I have instructions to give you….
Imuy stirs and begins to run her hand over her body, feeling slightly disoriented. "Wha--?" she says before realizing she is in her pod.
My lovely daughter, you are finally awake! Welcome, my child, back to your home!
"Master, what happened?" she asks.
In due time, my Princess, in due time. But first, I have to give you some instructions…H'cirlu stumbles blindly out of his pod and falls to the ground hard.
Careful, my Son. Let your body get adjusted before doing anything too strenuous.
"Master! Where am I?" he sputters finally.
You are home, my Son. Do not worry. You will be alright.
H'cirlu stands shakily and sees that he is on Lyoko. "M-Master--?"
I will explain later, Son, but first, I have some instructions for you…