The ride back had been solemn and silent.
Jeremie had his head down in a sad silence.
"11334 Edbrooke. Next stop, 11334 Edbrooke." the Conductor said over the intercom.
"Who's house is that?" Chase asked
"It's mine." Billy told them as he got out of his seat. He stopped by Jeremie and Aelita's seat and held his hand out. "Thanks for stopping the train for me..."
Jeremie shook his hand.
"It's not a problem." Jeremie said.
Aelita hugged him. "Merry Christmas, Billy..." she told him with a smile.
Billy smiled as he hugged Aelita back.
"Merry Christmas, Aelita..." He replied, smiling.
As Billy left, the Lyoko Warriors looked out the window, seeing him rushing up to his house in excitement. As the train began to move, Billy ran out onto his porch holding a large gift, the same gift they found in the bag! Santa got to Billy's house!
"LOOK! SANTA GOT HERE!" he exclaimed joyfully as he held the present up high.
"Santa got to Billy's house already!" Aelita gasped.
"How?!" Dylan asked with shock.
"He must be very fast!" Anne said.
The group smiled at Billy as he showed his gift.
"Isn't that amazing?" Aelita asked. Jeremie nodded. "Yeah... That is amazing..." he said with a smile as he sat back down. "It is amazing."
Aelita looked at Jeremie. She smiled as she locked her hand with his.
"It'll be okay, Jeremie..." Aelita said, trying to comfort him.
Jeremie nodded.
Aelita smiled.
Soon, they had reached their hometown. The Polar Express slowly came to a halt as it stopped in front of Yumi's house.
Yumi kissed Ulrich's cheek as she got up off of her seat. Yumi turned and smiled at the group.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow?" Yumi asked.
Ulrich blushed deeply. "U-Uh... Yeah..."
Anne nodded.
"Later Yumi." Chase said with a smile.
"Merry Christmas, everyone." Yumi told them with a smile before she got off the passenger cart.
The Lyoko Warriors all waved at Yumi as the train started to move again.
The trip back to Kadic Academy had been surprisingly quiet. Anne noticed the all too familiar gates of Kadic up ahead.
"We're back, guys." Anne said to the group.
After the train slowly pulled to a halt, Herve was the first to get off. "Sorry about the bell. You know what they say. It's the thought that counts." he said to Jeremie. The blonde teenager nodded.
"Well... See ya..." Herve said before he got off the train to head to the dorms.
"Well... See ya..." Jeremie repeated.
The group watched Herve walk back towards the dorms.
The Conductor helped them down the steps as they climbed off one at a time.
"Watch your step, now. Watch your step..." the Conductor advised.
"Thank you..." Jeremie said.
"No, thank you." he told him. "One thing about trains; it doesn't matter where they're going. What matters is deciding to get on." he told him with a wink.
Jeremie smiled and nodded.
As the group headed back the the dorms, the Conductor yelled something to them, but it sounded muffled.
"What?" Aelita asked.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" the Conductor called to them, waving goodbye.
The group waved back, but then Anne, Jeremie, and Chase heard a familiar instrument being played. They looked up at the top of the cart, seeing the hobo sitting by a campfire playing an instrument. The hobo smirked and waved goodbye to them.
"That guy freaks me out a little... But he's still kinda cool." Chase said with a smile.
"Who's he?" Odd asked with confusion.
Anne smiled softly. "A friend..."
The hobo then vanished into the wind in a flurry of snowflakes.
"Uh... W- Where did he just go?!" Dylan asked with wide eyes.
Chase, Jeremie, and Anne merely smiled while the rest looked on in shock.
"Woah..." Odd muttered.
The Polar Express then pulled away from Kadic Academy and chugged away. The Lyoko Warriors headed towards the dorms.
"Well... that was a fun time." Ulrich said, smiling.
"We better get to bed, guys..." William said.
Dylan walked Anne back to her dorm.
Anne smiled as she locked hands with Dylan.
Anne opened her door to her room and stepped in, but looked back at Dylan. "Merry Christmas, Dylan..." she said to him.
"Merry Christmas, Anne..."
The teenager girl then gave Dylan a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight..." she told him before she closed the door.
Dylan smiled as he walked upstairs, and back to his room.
As he did this, Anne took the dirty Red Dog out of her pocket and gently set him down on her desk. Anne smiled softly before she got into bed.
MEANWHILE WITH JEREMIE AND AELITA...
Jeremie let Aelita into his dorm first before he closed the door behind them.
Aelita smiled as she hugged Jeremie, rubbing his back.
"It's okay, Jeremie... You have us..."
Jeremie nodded as he gently hugged her back.
"I know, Aelita... I'm just still a little sad about losing the bell..."
"Let's just get some sleep..." Aelita told him.
Jeremie nodded and got onto the mattress while Aelita got into the bed. Jeremie's eyes slowly drifted shut, thinking of the entire trip, a trip he'd never forget.
(REVIEWS ARE LOVE! SO LOVE US!)