In Our Darkest Hour… Part 4: Midnight Solstice
dedicated to my great reviewers
Chapter Forty-Three: Four Visions in the Fog
EVE had not been a part of LYOKO long, but it had been too long for his friends to come in contact with him. Aelita no longer lived in LYOKO, and EVE realized it was his turn to be the guardian.
"I can't possibly be the guardian!" he said aloud to the emptiness of the desert. He was starting to freak out, but after a few deep breaths his heartbeat slowed down to normal. "Okay, I'm just a temporary guardian; I have only a few responsibilities. It can't be forever, can it? Maybe Jeremie can make a better guardian when he gets back."
Just then a fog began to roll in. He didn't move from his reclining position under a shady boulder. "This is strange. I wonder if this happens all the time," he thought aloud.
From the fog, Aelita emerged; her clothes and face were completely white, as if she was a wax model. Behind her came the girl in the orb, the one that Odd called, "Therese." She too was completely white, her orb was pale and almost transparent. Next an energetic maiden in a white cloak smiled and held her hand in front of her. In her other arm, she carried a majestic long spear. And finally a haggard old creature with a long beard and a cane hobbled with a large book in the crook of his arm.
EVE was too shaken to respond or move. From Aelita came a distant voice, "Do not be afraid."
And then Therese, "We are here to help you."
And then the maiden, "We want to show you."
And finally the man, "And we want you to help us."
EVE mustered his voice. Is this what it was like to be afraid? "Who are you all? Why are you here?"
Aelita did not move or look at him. She spoke freely and confidently, nothing like the Aelita he remembered from their battles against XANA. "I am the Princess of LYOKO. I was and still am doomed to be connected to XANA. But when I die, so shall all evil and fear. In another dimension, a world shall experience a millennium of peace when I die. I am ready to sacrifice myself."
"No! Do not die!" gasped EVE. Now he was feeling guilt and helplessness.
"I will not die until my father wills it. He lives forever, and so will LYOKO."
Then Therese spoke. "I am an angel," she began, "and though I do not fight, I help any who reach out and ask for it. They shall live as long as I am around."
"I am a future guardian of LYOKO," replied the maiden with the spear, "and you must watch out for LYOKO until I am there- forever. You are very important to us."
"And to me. I was once the guardian of LYOKO, but I gave up that position when XANA threatened me with death. My people live in fear, but hope because there were guardians and there will always be a guardian."
"But why do you need me?" asked EVE cautiously. "What am I to do?"
Therese responded first. "Be the fearless guardian of LYOKO. And if you or any of your friends needs my guidance, throw some of this dust upon them." She disappeared as strangely as she had come.
Aelita was next. "Protect me. I want to live for awhile longer and I know the prophecy. Here is the prophecy," she trailed off into the fog.
"Save my people. When XANA is gone, we shall flourish! But you have hardly any powers, so I shall bestow mine upon you." He too disappeared.
"And believe in yourself," replied the maiden. "You will be wonderful guardian if you use the powers correctly." And in a more stern voice, "If you use your power for anything but good, XANA will win."
The fog disappeared. But instead, a small pouch of purple sand, a small scroll of paper, and a large book appeared in its place. EVE began to read the book and learned the powers of which the old man had spoken of.
Chapter Forty-Four: Back to Normal
"Jeremie! You're back!" squealed Yumi as she emerged from her art class in a winter coat. She ran up to him and nearly tackled him as he just stood and accepted her hug.
"Yeah, but I have to keep going back to the hospital for tests," he tried to muster a smile. "You know…"
She gave him a confused glance and grabbed his wrist. "Come on! It's lunchtime and the gang will be thrilled to see you!"
He had no choice but to hang on for dear life as Yumi dashed past the other students on the icy paths. "Even Aelita?"
"Totally! Did you know that she was in a coma after the chess game? And then Ulrich talked to her," she swung open the cafeteria doors and they slammed shut behind Jeremie.
"Look, I'm not very hungry; I'll just go sit down," he wrestled his wrist from her grasp as she watched him go sit down with the rest of his friends.
"Jeremie!" Odd nearly gagged on his chocolate milk as his friend sat down across from him.
Ulrich patted him on the back. "It's good to have you back. Now everything can be back to normal, eh, buddy?"
Aelita sat down next to Odd, across from Ulrich. "Hi, Jeremie! How are you feeling? Were the doctors nice to you?"
He suddenly remembered Dr. Hopper, and how Dr. Hopper acted when Jeremie mentioned LYOKO. "Most of them," he said distractedly. "What's been going on with you guys?"
"Well, Christmas break is coming up, so I'm staying in Paris with my Aunt Clara. I heard there's gonna be this kick-ass FERA concert on New Year's. But if you mean at school, nothing really," rambled Odd.
"Sissy actually got a boyfriend, though," mentioned Ulrich through a mouthful of peas. He swallowed them and continued, "Roscoe San Martins."
Jeremie feigned interest with a "Wow, I can't believe it. Roscoe's such an airhead."
"But he's so going to win the MVP this year," replied Ulrich. "He led our team to first place in the city tournament. Neat, huh?"
"As for me, I'm actually passing physics. I don't know how I achieved that one," laughed Yumi.
"Well, I was in a coma," Aelita seemed proud of her unusual circumstance. "And I had these strange dreams, like I was a part of it."
Jeremie got up and was about to leave without his coat. "Where are you going?" asked Odd. "Class doesn't start for another twenty minutes!"
"I may not have twenty minutes to live," he muttered as he snatched his coat and left for his favorite place in the whole world.
Chapter Forty-Five: Christmas Break
Aelita and Odd rode the bus back to Aunt Clara's neighborhood after classes were dismissed for the two weeks. There was hardly a spark now, not like the one that happened to be during the dance. Odd glanced over at his bus seat mate. She was staring at out the window, her hands clutching a purse.
He was about to say something, about to ask what she felt about him now. He wanted to say what he felt about her, to say anything at all. But his heart just couldn't find the courage to speak.
Yumi invited Jeremie to stay at her house for the two weeks. Her house was close to the hospital, and her parents were more than accommodating for the young guest. However, Jeremie was getting sicker as the days wore on.
Yumi felt terrible about Jeremie's condition. She went into downtown Sceaux with him to try and cheer him up. Still, there was nothing she could do but sit with him silently- alone- in the Ishiyama family room every evening.
Christmas morning was always fun for Ulrich. Ever since he could remember, he would wake up to the smell of sugar cookies baking in a hot oven. He would run to the small Christmas tree in the family room, where presents would be stacked in colorful wrapping paper with looped paper bows. But his dad would secretly have the window open, and when Ulrich went to shut it, he would be nailed with a snowball.
This year, Ulrich could smell the sugar cookies and whipped the covers off of him. As a teenager, he was a bit slower to get out of bed than a child.
Yet, it hit him. His mother couldn't possibly be making sugar cookies- she was dead for four months now. Now curiosity enticed him to the kitchen.
There his father sat at the kitchen counter, reading the business section of the newspaper, his eyes averting to see his son. "Merry Christmas," his father smiled for the first time in ages.
"Merry Christmas, Dad," smiled back Ulrich. He pulled up a seat next to his father, but his father got up from his stool. "Wait- where are you going?"
"I was making you Christmas cookies, but I forgot the sprinkles; they're in the car," he grinned as he raced outside. Through the screen door, Ulrich heard him clearly, "I knew how much you loved your mom's cookies so I used her recipe."
Ulrich was speechless; his father cared that much about him? The door opened and shut and his father came in the kitchen slowly with something behind his back. "What are you hiding?" Ulrich smiled, thinking it was a present (maybe a new soccer ball).
His father whipped a snowball at him, and Ulrich began to laugh. He ran outside in his socks and started a snowball fight with his dad. It was just like old times…
New Year's was a time of celebration, of recreation, and of FERA concerts. Aunt Clara managed to obtain two tickets to the Japanese heavy metal techno band for their Paris New Year's concert. Okay, so it was technically a New Year's Eve concert, and Odd and Aelita were going to be picked up at 1:00 in the morning. Christmas break would be over soon, and this was the perfect way to end it.
Aelita was brimming with excitement in the backseat of Aunt Clara's car. "Oh, this is so exciting! I've never been to a rock concert before!"
Odd dressed in something a little more grunge than usual: a torn-up purple shirt over a white long-sleeved one; spiked bracelets on each arm; and black baggy cargo pants hiding flat-top black sneakers. "Me neither. This is great! Thanks, Aunt Clara!"
"Don't mention it, guys," she laughed as she parked the car by the main entrance. "I'll pick you up at 1:00, so don't be late!"
Aelita was so absorbed in the concert atmosphere, she didn't even notice her host's empty threat. She was jamming her torn blue jeans and pink tank top all the way into the concert where the band was just warming up.
Maybe it was the trance of the music or the waves of glow sticks, but Aelita felt alive. She forgot about her coma, her dreams, her Jeremie, her worries… she was living, dancing to the beat of her own soul. She didn't care about LYOKO; she belonged here, with the music, with her friends.
She belonged with Odd.
The band yelled, "Happy New Year!" and Aelita stood tiptoe to lock lips with a very surprised Odd.
Chapter Forty-Six: The New Semester
Ulrich was so eager to see his friends, he had already had his winter and spring wardrobe packed the previous night. The alarm clock buzzed for hardly a moment when he slammed his hand on the "off" button.
After a quick shower and changing into whatever clothes weren't in the suitcase, he raced through the hallway and slid into the kitchen in his white socks. Searching through the pantry furiously, he found a granola bar. He ate it while putting on his tennis shoes, and then he ran into the family room and hugged his dad farewell.
He put the suitcase into his little red car and finally zoomed off in the direction of Kadic, in hopes of a new beginning.
Yumi was rolling Jeremie's suitcase to his dorm room while he carried his laptop and a small duffel bag. The entire break wasn't fun, per say, but Jeremie hadn't died yet. That was always a good sign, he thought sullenly.
He cleared his throat in the crisp January air and looked at Yumi. Yumi looked back at him and smiled. "It's a long walk when you have luggage to take," she humored.
"I wouldn't know," he answered just as playfully. "If I walked from school to home and back again every day, well, I'd never make it back here!" She laughed, and looked forward, seeing Aelita and Odd bounding off of a crowded city bus. The bus had stopped, and the driver had opened the under compartments so the students could grab their luggage and be out of his way.
Jeremie was happy to see them (for some reason, though Jeremie couldn't figure out what), and raced to where Odd was trying to pick out his suitcase from all the others. Yumi was in close pursuit, but the rolling suitcase on ice was not her most brilliant idea.
Aelita turned around with her duffel in one hand and suitcase in the other. "Hey!" she was surprised. "When did you get back?"
"Right… now…" Jeremie stopped to think about her question. Odd glanced at him, puzzled.
"Now? But we got here now. How can you get here now when we got here now… oh, whatever. I'm giving myself a headache," he went back to looking for his suitcase.
"Well, I'm going to put my stuff back in my room. It will be nice to have a school bed over a hospital bed for once," Jeremie responded after a few moments. Yumi followed obediently, happy that Jeremie was happy- for once.
Chapter Forty-Seven: Breaking the Ice
Jeremie plugged in his laptop and began to unpack what little clothes he had. The socks were neatly folded, the boxers were rolled up according to color spectrum, and the laptop was alarming that there was an attack on LYOKO.
Jeremie stumbled to the desk, confirming his worst fears. How could possibly go to the factory in his condition? Who was protecting LYOKO anyway? With a swift motion, he quickly dialed Ulrich via cell phone.
"Hey, Jeremie… are you back at school?"
"Yeah, but we've got a situation on our hands."
"What's that?"
"You're not at school yet, and we've got a problem in LYOKO."
Ulrich was silent. "Well, I can pick you guys up at the front gate. I'll drive us over to the factory in about seven minutes."
Jeremie hung up the phone and began to call the others.
EVE-10 was skating on an iceberg under the midnight skies of the ice sector. He was twirling around, enjoying his freedom of not fighting monsters with magic. He was taking a well-deserved break from reading the book that the vision gave him.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath: he wanted to leap so high into the sky that he would feel like a bird! This goal was achieved, and EVE dared to open his eyes. Wanting to see how high he was, he looked down, but the iceberg had disappeared.
He had no choice but to splash in the warm, clear waters of the vast sea in the ice sector. Wait- what? EVE tried to comprehend all of this as he swam steadily to a rapidly-shrinking flat ice plain.
Chapter Forty-Eight: How to Battle Global Warming
All four teens were successfully scanned into the ice sector. "Wow, Jeremie, this sure feels different," Odd commented as he looked around. "There's not a single iceberg left!"
Ulrich patted him on the back, saying, "Thank you, Odd."
Jeremie hummed in the atmosphere. "Well, your vehicles should be coming soon… transfer complete!" He cheered above them, clearly enthusiastic about the fact that the LYOKO gang was back in business.
"Jeremie, where's EVE-10 at?" Yumi looked around. "Isn't he supposed to prevent this type of thing from occurring?"
"I'm right here," called a voice from under the ice plain's shelf. "I can't get up here!"
Odd and Ulrich quickly pulled up EVE-10. "How's the water down there?" Odd asked as EVE shook off the surprisingly warm water.
"Not bad, actually," he smiled and nodded at the two young ladies who stood off in the distance. "But as you can see, that's a problem in the ice sector."
"You know what else is a problem?" Ulrich responded. "My over-bike can't exactly swim or fly, Jeremie," Ulrich sounded annoyed.
EVE held out his hand to silence Ulrich. "Well, I have been working on my powers. If you trust me, you can hold my hand as I fly…" he mumbled.
Ulrich scratched his head and tried to ponder what EVE said. Just then, the end of the iceberg where he stood melted off. Ulrich fell in with a quick splash.
"Ulrich!" screamed Yumi, and EVE (who then quietly whispered in a foreign language) went in to the sea after him. Hardly a moment passed when the two emerged, EVE holding Ulrich's wet hand as Ulrich coughed loudly. They were flying above Yumi, Odd, and Aelita.
"I bet it's a nice view up there," laughed Odd as Aelita got onto the over-board holding her boyfriend's waist.
"We can't waste anymore time, guys," Yumi reminded them. Without another word, she raced up to the heavens with her companions following her close by.
There was a brightly shining sphere in the sky, which was unusual for the midnight skies of the ice sector. Aelita assumed that this white "sun" was what was melting the ice sector.
"I'm sure you're right, Aelita," Yumi murmured. "But I wonder how we can get rid of it…"
"EVE-10, can't you do anything? Use your magic or something?" rambled Odd excitedly. The elf-like creature shook his sea-green hair.
"Sorry, I don't know anything like that," he muttered. "But if it was created, it certainly can be destroyed," his voice grew stronger. "And if it was created on LYOKO, it can be destroyed by LYOKO. And if it was created by XANA, then it can be destroyed with XANA."
"Okay, even I don't get that," Ulrich's eyebrows furrowed. "Can you explain your plan a little bit… better?"
EVE thought for a moment. "On Earth, how do you put out fire?"
"With water!" shouted Odd as he raised a knowing finger in the air.
"So now all we need to do is taunt the sun… tell it to come down to burn us," he lowered his voice. "We need to get the sun's attention so that it sinks itself in the water."
"But the ice sector would be destroyed in the process!" protested Aelita.
"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take," EVE said flatly. "Ladies and gentlemen, let us taunt!"
Odd went first, firing his laser arrows as fast as he could. The sun became bigger as each arrow hit its center. "Guys, this isn't working!" Odd yelled nervously.
"Yeah it is! It's coming closer! Fire away, Odd!" Ulrich cheered him on. EVE, though he was still holding Ulrich's hand, mustered a comet ball.
"Hi… yah!" he yelled as he hurled the comet at the sun. The sun became bigger still and was growing more intense.
Yumi ventured towards the sun. She was very close to it, and her geisha makeup began to sweat off her face. The sun stopped growing and began to growl at her.
"I'm not afraid of a puny little fireball like you!" she jeered. "You're probably the slowest sun ever!"
"Yeah!" shouted Odd, and Aelita slapped him upside the head. "You idiot!" she hissed. "I don't feel like getting chased today!"
Yumi turned her over-craft around and sped up to the fullest speed she could muster. With a gulp she turned the craft so the nose pointed straight down. "Hey, stupid sun!" she shouted. "I bet you can't melt that iceberg way over there before I do!"
"What iceberg?" whispered Ulrich to EVE. EVE held up a finger to his lips to quiet him.
The sun looked like a humongous comet as it hurled itself past Odd, Aelita, Ulrich, and EVE. Yumi looked behind her shoulder and saw the sun completely covering the dark background of the sky.
She turned her head forward and before she could turn her craft upwards, she went into the now-warm waters of the ice sector. The sun's flames were put out as it rapidly sunk itself in the ocean.
"Way to go, Yumi!" shouted Aelita. Odd hooted and hollered at the victory.
Yumi appeared moments later, without her over-craft, in the middle of the ocean. EVE, with Ulrich still in his grasp, rescued her from the now freezing waters of the ice sector.
"Jeremie! Hurry up with the devirtualization already!" Ulrich shouted to the skies. And within moments, Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita were back in the factory with Jeremie.
EVE flew off to the activated tower.
Chapter Forty-Eight: Wrong Woman
Ulrich raced from the dormitory in a black sweatshirt and new khaki pants, trying not to splash in the puddles the melted snow had left. "Hey, guys," grinned Ulrich as he joined his friends in the vending machine pavilion. Jeremie, in a long black coat, was sipping a water bottle, his yellowing face looking ill yet happy. Odd was chugging a large chocolate milk, trying not to spill it on his brown leather coat, as Aelita, huddled in her pink sweater, looked on in mocking disgust. Yumi, in a red windbreaker, was holding a piece of mint-green paper in front of her, clearly interested in the words on the page. Yumi looked up and beckoned him over to her.
"Our school is hosting a foreign exchange student program," she began excitedly. "They're coming in today. The paper just says to be nice to the Pacific Islanders." Jeremie and Aelita laughed with her at the reminder.
"Do you think we'll know who they are? What if they look just like us?" Odd inquired as he tossed his milk carton away.
Jeremie rolled his eyes. "They will look like you. They're human, like you. And just because they're from the Pacific Islands doesn't mean that they look extremely different."
"Totally, Odd. In fact, I met someone on the way over here that looks like you- blonde hair, blue-green eyes… everything," he chuckled as Yumi tried to stifle her laughter.
"Oh, ha, ha. Very funny, guys," he groaned. But he was soon captivated by the thin, lanky straight-blonde-haired babe in a pristine white winter coat that walked farther off in the distance. She was reading a white piece of paper and looking up occasionally. "Whoa! Who's that babe?" Aelita punched him in the back angrily. "I mean, who's she?" Odd rubbed his back in pain.
"Isn't she hot?" Ulrich put his arm around Odd and pointed in the distance. He turned his head around and winked at Aelita and Yumi.
"Totally," Odd whispered so Aelita wouldn't hear him.
Ulrich removed his arm from Odd's shoulder and clapped and yelled loudly. "That's who I talked to… That's your SISTER!"
Odd yelped and blushed. He slowly turned around, his eyes wide and guilty-looking. "You guys won't say anything, will you?" he meekly replied as Aelita crossed her arms and stomped her foot impatiently. "Sorry, Aelita," he hung his head shamefully.
"Oh, Odd," she groaned as she chuckled. "I will never forget this as long as I live!"
And everyone had a laugh at Odd's expense as the warning bell rang for their first class period of the day.
Chapter Forty-Nine: Enter Warrior
It was lunchtime later that day. Jeremie met up with his friends at the lunch table with a purple tray in his hands. He sat down, not at all eager to eat the meatloaf that Rosa had served him.
"Jeremie, I have a question," asked Odd through bites of wilted broccoli. "Will the ice sector ever be back to normal?"
Jeremie shrugged. "Depends on how long it takes for an iceberg to form in Lyoko."
"Oh," mused Odd, as if it all came together for him right then. Odd went back to chewing his broccoli.
Ulrich came to the table after this, with a girl in a white shirt and long tan skirt following him. But Jeremie remembered this was the girl he saw far off in the distance. She was not exactly the spitting image of her brother, per say, but she did resemble him. Her blue-green eyes were large and innocent; her skin was creamy but tan at the same time; her lips were in an easy smile; her freckles dotted her button nose.
"Thanks, Ulrich," she said as she sat down. "You've been so nice and helpful to me all day. I really appreciate it."
"Don't mention it, Alana," he smiled at her. Then, to the table, "As you may or may not know, this is Alana." The new girl waved and added, "But you can call me Allie."
Odd coughed in embarrassment. Yumi spoke to Allie, "I'm Yumi, the other girl is Aelita, this fellow is Jeremie, and that's your brother." Odd smiled and blushed.
Allie looked confused. "Are you sure that's him?" she whispered to Ulrich. Ulrich nodded and stifled his laughter. "Oh, Allie," he said after awhile. "You're so funny."
"Okay…" she looked at him sideways. "I guess." She shook her head softly as she began to cut the slab of grey meatloaf.
Ulrich hadn't stopped looking and smiling at her. Yumi cleared her throat and Ulrich looked away from her in embarrassment.
"Todd," Allie began as she directed her focus from the meatloaf to her brother.
"You're name's 'Todd'?" Ulrich asked incredulously. "And all this time, I thought…"
Odd punched him in the side without turning his attention from Allie. "Please, sister, call me Odd," and then in a whisper, "I beg you!"
She raised a blonde eyebrow and continued, "Well, I… uh," she stopped and stared at Jeremie. Jeremie stared right back at her, his face rigid and passive.
"Oh, Allie," encouraged Aelita, her pink hair bouncing as she nodded. "You can tell us anything."
Allie stared and Jeremie mustered a smile. Allie looked away and got up quickly. She brushed her skirt more out of habit and adjusted the waistline. Ulrich stood up also, but for what reason Yumi couldn't comprehend.
"Oh, no, Ulrich," Allie muttered, looking in the distance. "I need to tell Odd something. It will sound stupid if I say it aloud. That's all." She smiled distractedly and said, "Thank you very much for letting me sit with you."
"No problem, Allie," grumbled Yumi. And to Ulrich she said, "You can sit down now, buddy."
Ulrich quickly obeyed and Odd followed his sister as she left the cafeteria.
Allie stood outside in the snow without her jacket, her arms crossed tightly to her bosom. She stared upwards at the full moon and cloudless sky.
Odd noticed that it had been so long since he last saw her. She wore a light, white dress, her arms crossed over her tiny chest. Her straight blonde hair stuck out over her summer-tanned skin. Her face was stoic then, and blurry. Maybe she smiled on the island, maybe…
And as the plane pulled away, Odd could see his sister standing there. She was alone, doomed to stay on that wretched island forever. She had no playmate, no classmate, no brother. All she had was the silver heart locket he gave her before he left for the "big school in Paris." That heart locket still shone even as the plane was many, many miles away.
Under the full moon, Allie still looked distant, and the heart locket still shone brightly. "Allie?" Odd called softly.
Like a startled bunny, she stared wide-eyed at him. "What's wrong? Are you homesick?"
She shook her head and he came to stand next to her. "No, but…" She startled him by laughing. "When I stood on the beach near our house, I thought that you could see the same stars as me. But you don't have stars here."
He looked up and sure enough, not a single star appeared from the dark sky. "Well, we do… sometimes. I mean, when there isn't a moon…"
She looked at him, her wet eyes glistening in the reflection of the moon. "I know about LYOKO," she whispered, her voice quivering.
"But- how? Have you ever been there?"
She didn't respond and turned her head away. "Something terrible is to happen," she said, her voice a little louder. "Armageddon is near." And she ran off towards the dormitories, in the opposite direction of her friends, the cafeteria, and her brother.
Chapter Fifty: Meeting Dr. Hopper
The next day, after class, Jeremie and Aelita caught the first bus to the downtown area. It was another test for Jeremie- which he dreaded- and Aelita had volunteered to be by his side.
Jeremie thought nothing of it. Aelita and Odd clearly had something between them, something that she and Jeremie once had… maybe. But Aelita wasn't hostile towards Jeremie at all. In fact, it seemed as though she wanted to be his best friend.
But Jeremie couldn't help but wonder why the sudden change. Was it because he was dying? Was it because she felt guilty? Jeremie's head began to throb with all the questions.
"Jeremie? Are you alright?" asked Aelita softly as she placed her hand carefully on his leg. He looked up and murmured, "I just have a headache, that's all."
The bus soon stopped in front of the hospital, where Jeremie and Aelita got off. Everything seemed the same for Jeremie- the lobby, the nurse, the elevator, the familiar hospital stench… but it had been forever since he last saw Dr. Hopper.
Jeremie remembered that Dr. Hopper's office was on the third floor, in the south wing of the hospital. Sure enough, as the pair came off the elevator, the door seemed to magically appear in front of them.
Dr. Hopper swung his door open and met them face to face. "Hello!" he cheerfully greeted. "How are you?" he bellowed more than asked. He seemed awfully giddy today.
"I'm alright," Aelita chuckled at the old man's vibrancy. "And yourself?"
He ushered them in and shut the door. "I had a wonderful feeling when I woke up that something great was going to happen today. Something better than great… something-"
Jeremie cleared his throat. "Um, Dr. Hopper?"
The tall old man with the flashing green eyes flopped down in his chair and became as serious as Jeremie. "Yes, Jeremie?"
"This is my friend, Aelita," Jeremie introduced. "And Aelita, of course, this is Dr. Hopper."
Dr. Hopper shook Aelita's hand firmly and smiled politely. "Well, Jeremie, you can go up to the fifth floor, in the east wing, where they're going to do a quick test on you. Just tell them your name and who sent you."
Jeremie was taken aback by this remark. "Okay, then…" he trailed off as he left the office.
Aelita was left alone with the doctor. She was told the condition of Jeremie's disease, as of the last test, and much more information that she couldn't quite comprehend. But alas, she knew that Jeremie was seriously ill and perhaps wouldn't live to the summer if he didn't find a donor.
Determined to not feel such a burden, Aelita tried to change the subject. "I have a question. What do you believe about dreams?"
"Well, I believe that all dreams are a part of the subconscious mind, as if our mind is trying to tell us something that our conscious mind could never figure out. Why do you ask?"
She paused and began, "A couple months ago, I was in a coma. And I had several dreams, and I'm determined to find out what they mean. The first one was about a red-haired lady… I was the lady…"
And so Aelita told the story of the lady meeting the poor doctor at the train station, the story of the doctor who left his friend dead at the war, that same doctor whose wife died of spiders, and the infant son he left behind.
The doctor listened to all of these stories and grew silent as the minute dragged on after she finished. He whispered, "That's my story… you dreamed of my life, yet we never had even met."
"And what do you make of it?"
"I- I- I don't know," he answered. "But your subconscious mind must've made you dream it… and your mind must've brought you here to tell me. What was your name again, girl?"
"Aelita… Aelita Hopper." The doctor's eyes flashed brilliantly.
"Tell me, Aelita, who was your father?" He perched on the edge of his seat, desperate for the answer.
"His name was Franz Josef Hopper, and he told me he was an orphan from Paris. I do not know who my grandfather was."
He coughed twice. His voice became weak, tears formed in his emerald eyes. "My name is Josef Hopper, and I gave my son his mother's name, which was Francine. I named him Franz Josef Hopper, and when he was a month old, I gave him to the orphanage."
He walked over to Aelita and hugged her tightly. "You are my granddaughter, Aelita." And more joyously, he added, "This is the great thing that was to happen to me today- you are the greatest thing to happen to me!"