In Our Darkest Hour: Part 6: Dawn

Dedicated to my readers

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Changing

"It's been a nerve-racking past several hours. Dr. Shapiro reassured us yesterday that the transplant went smoothly; now we must wait for both to heal.

"I've been holding out okay, but I'm very nervous for Odd. I care about him so much that I'm worried. The poor guy hasn't been the same since his sister went in for the operation. I miss the old Odd…

"Yumi is doing much better, and she told me the other day that she doesn't hate Allie anymore- even after she said those hurtful things at breakfast two weeks ago. She hopes that Allie will pull out okay; in fact, she hopes so much that she's starting to believe it. But Odd is still convinced that it's his sister that is destined to die for our cause.

"Which leads me to wonder: does Allie know about LYOKO? It's like the story of Abraham and Isaac. Isaac didn't know that he was going to be sacrificed by Abraham, his father. All he knew was that he was going to make a sacrifice- which one? He didn't know. Thankfully, Isaac was saved. But if Allie is going to die, I think we should tell her that because while she's saving Jeremie, she's saving LYOKO.

"Anyway, Ulrich feels lonely without Allie, which is irritating Yumi to no end. Yumi wants him all for herself. Sigh… if only there were two Ulrich's. Then everyone would be happy.

"But we won't be happy until we're all back together: laughing, crying, and saving the world together. At least, I won't be. And I fear that it will be a long time before we're back together.

"And if this Armageddon thing is true, like Odd says it is, then I pray for salvation. And if there is a God, let us go in peace. Let us go together in peace. Let us die at the same time so we don't have to suffer. Let us rise together so we can be friends again. Amen."

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Reconciliation

Yumi quietly entered Allie's private hospital room. The room was dark and bare, the window blinds were shut tightly, and even at high noon, the hour seemed to always be midnight.

Allie was sitting up in bed, her eyes closed peacefully. She was as limp as a marionette without a puppeteer, and she had so many monitors attached that her body could be playing a symphony. When Yumi approached the bed, Allie's eyes flashed open.

"Yumi!" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Yumi shuffled her feet. "I came to see how you were. The doctor said everything went smoothly."

"Right, but you know that that news is probably jinxing this whole operation. I haven't been feeling well for the past few days."

"Have you told anyone? I mean, the nurses are here to help you after all."

Allie shook her head. "I don't want help. I'm too strong to get help."

"No, that's called being stubborn," Yumi frowned. "And I want you to get out of here as soon as you can."

Allie arched her eyebrows. "You? You want me back after all that happened?"

Yumi shrugged. "Well, any friend of Odd's is a friend of mine. From here on out, no hard feelings, okay?" She reached out a firm hand.

Allie shook it limply. "Alright, but if I ever make it out of here, I have the right to ask Ulrich if he'll be my one and only."

Yumi didn't respond; she ran her fingers through her black hair instead. The clock ticked ever louder. Allie sighed. "Look, all I'm asking for is a chance, okay? I just… I just want to belong. To tell you the truth, I want to go back to Paik Island. I'm miserable here."

"Oh," Yumi blushed, hoping that Allie wouldn't see in the darkness of the room. "I'm sorry."

"But if I don't ever make it back, could you send my family a letter? I mean, I'm sure they would appreciate it if…"

"Don't worry about it; it won't happen." A moment's pause. "I meant, you dying. It won't happen."

A slow minute ticked by. "Well, I want to go see Jeremie before visiting hours are up," Yumi murmured. "It was nice seeing you, Allie."

"Same. Oh, and if we don't see each other again, for whatever reason, make sure you say hello to Everett for me. He'll probably be in the blue sector."

Yumi pretended not to hear her as she bolted out the door and ran to Jeremie's room two hallways down.

"Jeremie! Jeremie!" she yelled as she skidded on the slippery linoleum. A nurse hushed her, and Yumi whispered her apologies.

Jeremie's room was bright, but Jeremie wasn't awake. He was incredibly pale, save for his blood-red lips and the dark shadows of the IV poles casting over his rigid body. Like before, she thought darkly, when we found him in his room because he committed suicide- or did he?

Slowly his eyelids flickered. "Wha-?" He was clearly disoriented, but she couldn't wait any longer.

"Jeremie, Allie just told me that she knows about LYOKO!" she whispered excitedly. "Can you believe it?"

Jeremie furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the ceiling. He was silent.

"Jeremie?" Yumi was getting worried.

"How many people know?"

"Know what?"

"About LYOKO," he said flatly, the words spitting from his lips. He squinted angrily and turned his head towards Yumi. He was quite handsome without his glasses on, she noticed, ashamed that the thought even crossed her mind.

She gulped. "Do you know how many people know?"

"Too many." He closed his eyes dejectedly and sighed. "Look, it's bad because we don't know who knows. But if we have enough people on our side, XANA can be defeated."

She shook her head. "I've got to go; I'll talk to you later."

"Later," he murmured angrily as he fell asleep.

Chapter Fifty-Nine: Cosmos

"Your time is drawing to a close, XANA," Franz Hopper said slyly as the white cloud descended into sector-5.

"You and your foolish intuition," the red cloud rumbled menacingly. "At least I don't depend on the fate of Earthlings to determine yours."

"Au contraire, mon ami," Franz chuckled. "If they both survive, then I will still have both to fight against you in the final battle."

XANA tried to hide his nervousness. "And if they don't?"

"I count on at least one to survive. Surely society has advanced to a point that they both have a fair chance of living."

"So there are still odds against them?" When Franz replied with the affirmative, XANA let out a victorious holler. "With both of them gone, I can easily defeat you in the coming battle."

Franz sighed, but it was a happy one. "Call me foolish again, but my intuition says that everything will come out favorably."

XANA replied in a mocking tone, "I sure hope so, dear Franz. For the sake of LYOKO, I hope so."

Chapter Sixty: Phone Calls

"Hello?" Odd picked up wearily. The day had been a long one; he had been worrying about his sister for an incredibly long time now.

"Is this the cellular number of Odd Della Robbia?" replied a voice in a thick accent.

Odd gulped. "This is he, me… I'm Odd. Can I help you?" Was this the call I've been dreading for? He thought miserably.

"This is the nurse of Alana Della Robbia. You were her first contact on her list, and I understand you are her brother."

"Oh no…" he could only think of the worst.

"I need you to come to the hospital straight away." Odd hung up the cell phone and paused in his steps.

The world around him slowed down to a crawl. Why must the world be so cruel? Why did fate have to take Allie and leave him instead?

Ulrich was in chemistry class taking notes when his mobile phone vibrated vigorously. The teacher paused a moment, thinking she heard an alarm, but resumed with the lecture.

After receiving permission to use the restroom, Ulrich answered the phone. "Lo?"

"Ulrich! Thank God you've answered!"

"Aelita? What are you doing out of class?"

She paused a moment. "I was going to check on Odd, because he wasn't in my last hour class."

"Yeah, he's not in my class right now either. I just figured he was stressed out."

"Me too! Anyway, I went to check on him in your guys' dorm. He was gone. And he wasn't at the principal's office. Or the infirmary."

Ulrich sighed. "Are you sure he's not at his aunt's house?"

"Um, I haven't checked."

"Or the hospital?"

"Nope."

"Have you called him on his mobile, Aelita?" he asked, his voice verging on the end of impatience. He leaned nonchalantly on a locker as Aelita muttered, embarrassed. "Look, I'll call him and I'll let you know what's up, okay? In the meantime, relax and go occupy yourself with something other than stalking your boyfriend."

Ulrich heard Aelita growl as he ended the conversation with a push of a button.

Chapter Sixty-One: The Plunge

"Oh, hi guys," said a glum Odd as Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Yumi questioned as she bravely stepped into the dimly-lit room.

Ulrich approached Allie first. He gazed over her with his hands stuffed in his pockets. She looked as if she were a wax mold of herself, not alive, but still real nonetheless. He remembered her so full of life and now she was reduced to nothing. She came into his life and was such a big part of it. "She's- dying, isn't she?" Ulrich said quietly as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

He turned to see Odd, paler than usual, look away from his sister. "She slipped into a coma this morning. The doctors figure it's bleeding to the brain, but they know that she won't make it out of here alive."

"Don't say that," Yumi whispered shakily. "Please don't say that."

Aelita wrapped her arms over Odd. His body began to tremble and he sobbed loudly. Ulrich met Yumi's eyes; he knew that they both felt hopeless.

"So now what?" he asked flatly.

Odd shook his head as he whispered. "She's on life support. She wouldn't want it anyway."

Aelita buried her head into Odd's purple shoulder. Yumi focused on Allie instead. "You're going to pull the plug? Why?"

Odd let out an even louder sob. "I can't do it!" he cried. Aelita shook her head, followed by Yumi's bewildered look.

"Do the doctors know that you're going to do this?"

"No, but it's the only way I can make sure she leaves this place happy. She wouldn't want… want… want it anyway."

Ulrich stepped closer to Allie and gently placed his hand on her blonde head. He was watching someone who was close to his heart die; his mother was dying all over again; his heart was shattering all over again. "I'll do it."

Odd's sobs stopped and everyone looked at him puzzled and aghast. "I said I'll do it."

"Why you? Why not Odd?" retorted a bitter Yumi.

"He's not going to do it, and besides, it's personal."

Aelita's jaw dropped. "You're doing this for revenge? She didn't do anything to you! You loved her!"
"Correction," he smiled sadly. "I do love her. And for that I must do this." His smiled faded as he walked to Odd and placed his hand on Odd's other shoulder. "I know you love her too, Odd. But if you let me do this, my soul may rest in peace." He leaned in farther and whispered in Odd's ear, "You have always been my best friend, and if you let me do this, I will never ask anything of you ever again."

Odd nodded and wiped the tears from his face. Ulrich turned slowly and trudged to the electrical outlet.

Two hallways down, a boy woke up for no reason. He didn't know why his heart felt troubled. He blinked and saw Allie's grimace turn into a soft smile. It was the smile he fell in love with.

And Allie's blue-green eyes flashed open, startling him. From behind her head, he could make out the tips of feathered wings. When he made the connections, he screamed as loud as he could, hoping his voice would call her back down to Earth.

Ulrich walked in the middle, putting his arms around a shocked Yumi and a sad Aelita. He was stone-faced, but he felt at peace. He didn't want to be there when she died. He looked up to the ceiling, believing fully that his mother was smiling down at him.

Odd gratefully watched them leave. Allie's breathing became harder and harder. He walked to her side and sat down on the bed. He made himself comfortable and found the best position was to lie on the stiff white bed. He curled up next to her and draped his left arm over her chest.

He fell asleep soon afterwards, knowing that she was to without sadness and without pain. In his dream he saw her on a ship, her white dress standing out in the black of night. The stars behind her looked so magnificent and gorgeous. Allie smiled genuinely for the first time since she came to France.

She waved, and he waved back. He looked down and saw he was in brown cutoffs and a loose white shirt. Standing barefoot on the sand, he watched with tears in his eyes as the ship floated towards the heavens.

He sang a song that he knew once before, realizing the tune came from a lullaby that their mother used to sing to them when they were little children.

We might be worlds away

We might be seas apart

But it comforts me inside

To know we can see the same stars

I wish we could be together

Far apart? No, never

My heart belongs to you somewhere

For now and now forever

We're separated by heaven

You're my angel near and far

But it comforts me inside

To know we can see the same stars

He whispered, "Allie…" and he felt her chest rise and never fall.

Chapter Sixty-Two: Finally

"Dear Mother and Father,

It's been a long time since I last wrote to you, but I heard that Aunt Clara has been keeping you both updated. How are you both? How is Grandfather? How are Aunt Rikka and Aunt Adima? How are Francesca, Serena, and Sunny doing? As for me, I'm doing… alright, but there's something you should know.

As you know a couple of weeks ago, at the beginning of the semester, Allie came to live at Kadic High School. She wasn't well liked, I admit, but my best friends took a liking to her (except for Yumi, but that changed after time). Anyway, it was strange seeing Allie after all these years. She's changed so much.

And now, she has done what both of you hoped to see out of us- she was courageous in the face of danger, she was dedicated to her friend and cause. She sacrificed herself so others less fortunate than here could live. She did the unthinkable, something I could never do.

My friend Jeremie was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease. Allie, of all people, was found compatible. She came thousands of miles to give her kidney to someone who needed it.

We all thought she would make it, but she succumbed to bleeding of the brain. I was there when she took her final breath. I watched over her body as her soul rose to heaven. I did all I could, but I'm a coward, so I couldn't do much except cry.

Aunt Clara decided to send her back home. We are having a memorial at our school next week. I also wrote down the information for her tombstone.

Alana April Della Robbia, born April 25, 19--. Died February 20, 20--. Aged 16 years.

It pains me to write this, and I'm so sorry you have to read this. I pray for everyone back at the island, and I hope things get much better.

Goodbye Allie.

Much Love,

Todd "Odd" Shadow Della Robbia."

Chapter Sixty-Three: To Win the War

"Yes! I win!" XANA cheered as he came into view in sector-5. Franz sighed.

"No, I win. Jeremie lives. And I need Jeremie to win this war."

XANA took on an innocent tone. "Oh? And not Allie?"

"Alana is not dead. On Earth she is gone, but you, again, are stupid, XANA. Alana is mine!"

XANA was at a loss for words. So, Franz continued. "It is clearly known that anyone who dies for LYOKO shall become under my power. And it says in the scroll of Seaton that she is to be the future guardian of LYOKO."

XANA left angrily as Franz chuckled lightly to himself.

A/N: Sorry it's kind of short, loyal readers. One more part to go before book 2 is complete! Thanks for reading!