In Our Darkest Hour: Part 7: A New Day
Chapter Sixty-Four: Aelita
It was a month after Allie had died.
For Aelita there was hardly a gap in her life. After all, so many people had gone in her life in such a short time. Death was nothing new to her, she thought darkly. No need to fear death.
Still, Aelita felt badly; she didn't try to befriend Allie. Would it have made a difference? Aelita pondered in her dormitory. Befriending Therese hadn't, she noted as she looked over at the sill-empty bed in her room.
Aelita closed her eyes in hopes of falling asleep. Nobody could fall asleep these days, Aelita thought. We all feel bad about her death.
But there was something else on Aelita's mind. Wasn't it Allie that predicted Armageddon? Didn't she tell us to prepare for the worst?
Aelita shook the thoughts from her mind and thought about her grandfather. And the key he gave her. And the gateway. And Jeremie. And Odd.
And then she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Sixty-Five: Odd
Odd hadn't slept in over a month. Ever since Allie came and went, his life had been one big puzzle.
Their father was a firm believer in God's plan, he remembered. "God's intent is never known," his father always reminded his parish, "but rest assured that God always does things for the plan."
So Odd stared at the ceiling and thought of the plan. God took away Allie, and He left us with XANA to fight. The only thing that assured Odd was that Allie went to heaven, a paradise without sadness or pain.
Odd sighed and a single tear rolled down his cheek. He didn't wipe it away. He didn't care if Ulrich heard him crying. He didn't care if XANA won. He didn't care anymore. Everything he ever cared about was taken away.
She was taken away for God's plan.
He hoped that the plan was a good one.
Chapter Sixty-Six: Ulrich
Ulrich heard Odd crying.
He woke from his dream, and saw that Odd's eyes were open as well. Quickly, Ulrich flipped over under his covers and faced the wall.
There were few things that pained his heart. Ulrich didn't realize that Odd's sobs would be one of them until he heard Odd cry. He knew it was hard to lose your family; he too felt alone and guilty and angry. But, with time, Ulrich knew that Odd's grief would pass.
Ulrich wanted to console him, but he figured it would be too weird. Instead, he lay in bed and thought about Allie. But with flashbacks of her beautiful face and body, he was ready to cry himself.
He wished that he had someone to hold, mostly because Allie wasn't there to be held.
Maybe Yumi would have to do after all…
Chapter Sixty-Seven: Yumi
Yumi wasn't sad- she was afraid. She made mistakes, yes, but the mistakes were corrected. People that she hardly knew were dying, and maybe she was next. All of this was true, but nothing scared her more than the future. Would it really end up in a worldly disaster?
And would she be responsible for it all?
The thought was too agonizing, so she tried to sleep. But every time she closed her eyes, she would remember what she was running from- and that would wake her up once again.
After about fifty cycles of this kind of sleepless slumber, Yumi decided the best way to not feel afraid was to face her fears. Within moments, she was dressed and sneaking out her front door into the dead of night.
Chapter Sixty-Eight: Jeremie
Meanwhile, Jeremy sat wide-awake at his computer. It was a lonely dark green screen where occasionally a forlorn tower vision whisked by. The scanner seemed awfully slow at two o'clock in the morning.
He had to be thankful instead of angry. He could only sit in boredom because Allie willed it. Allie, who gave up everything so he could be alive for a few more years, was his martyred hero, and he wanted to say, "Thanks." That was it, "Thanks."
Jeremie scanned the screen for any sign of EVE-10, informally known as Everett. To his surprise, Everett found him instead.
"Jeremie, it is me, Everett," the voice said musically.
"Hello, Everett," replied the eager Jeremie. Even if he was a robot, Everett was a good companion.
"You'll never guess what I found," teased Everett in the same manner as Odd.
Jeremie laughed quietly. "I probably won't be able to. Spill the beans. Is it the key to unlocking the invisible portal?"
"No, but I found someone else here. When I was studying my books, I looked up, and I saw the future guardian! Isn't that exciting?" Everett's golden eyes flashed.
"Impossible, Everett. You are the guardian forever and ever because Aelita is a human now."
Everett's face fell into a calm smile. "Well, other than that, someone else came across on my screens. Did you see her?"
Jeremie became skeptical. "No, but I would've seen her… well, maybe I missed her while I was in the restroom."
"The girl is the one who comes and goes, the human one, with the fans and little shoes…" listed Everett.
Jeremie gasped, "That's Yumi! But what's Yumi doing in LYOKO?"
Everett shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was XANA's polymorphic clone."
The boy at the computer rubbed his temples. "I can't call Yumi now, but I'll wait until the morning. In the meantime keep a sharp eye out for anything strange."
Everett frowned. "I don't have sharp eyes, Jeremie."
"It's a figure of speech, Everett." At that exact moment, Jeremie's notebook dropped to the ground. It fell next to a small calendar that also happened to be on Jeremie's desk at one point during the day. The date read March 21, the date of the spring equinox. Jeremie exclaimed in surprise, "Everett!"
"Yes, Jeremie!"
"Happy birthday!"
Everett was confused. "What is a birthday?"
"The day on which you were brought into the world… yours was two years ago today."
"I missed it!" Everett responded dejectedly. Jeremie explained that a person's birthday was celebrated once a year to make the celebrator feel special and look forward to the coming year.
"What's your birthday wish? You get to make a wish every year," Jeremie responded gleefully.
"Me? Well my wish is to be human, just like you, Jeremie."
Jeremie's delayed response was due to shock.
Chapter Sixty-Nine: Sector-5
Yumi lay wide awake in the middle of sector-5. The room shifted every three minutes like it was supposed to, but the fast-moving walls never touched a single inch of her sprawled body. She was waiting for the apocalypse, the one that Allie had predicted months before.
Come on, you stupid apocalypse, she taunted mentally. She was in her fighting mode, ready to slash the throat of any monster and whip her metal fans around in deathly defense. Nothing could escape alive when she was in her game.
Maybe, she thought, if she was responsible for everything else then she was going to be responsible for the end of the world and the end of LYOKO. Maybe she was being foolish and there was no end of the world. Maybe she was in the wrong sector. Maybe she was going to be in over her head after all was said and done.
But there was no turning back. She was going to die trying to save her friends- what was left of them. And what was the point of living when everything was dying? There was nothing left for her to appreciate in life.
There was not a single ounce of hope left.
Chapter Seventy: In LYOKO
On the back of a tamed manta ray, an unfamiliar creature waved her long spear at the sky. She was free from the torment that pulled her back and forth from Earth and here. She was free from pain and loneliness; now she had freedom to roam with the wild beasts.
She landed her manta ray in a quiet, secluded area of the forest. She left him there to sleep and regain energy for the next flight. She adjusted her brown cape so it covered her brown skirt and white blouse most of the way. After readjusting her spear, she uncovered her hood to reveal a blonde head of hair and blue-green eyes that shimmered in the sunlight.
She smiled at the trail that disappeared into a darker area of the forest. She smiled at the sun and she smiled at her manta ray. She smiled because she hadn't been happy in a very long time.
Her name was Alana, the once and future guardian of LYOKO, and she was finally free.
-This marks the end of Book 2 of
Legacy of Lyoko.-
Please stay tuned for Book 3 of Legacy of Lyoko, the final book in the trilogy,
Chariots of Fire.
Thanks for reading!
S.JoAnn.C.