"Mommy?" A tiny little girl with sparkling pink hair sits on the luxurious carpet of her living room, playing with a bright collection of building blocks. Her mother sits in the chair, reading a magazine, while keeping an eye on her daughter.
"Yes, darling?" she asks, folding her magazine inside her hands.
"Why is Daddy always in the basement?"
"Daddy is a very busy man."
"What does he do?"
"He works… well… he works with… with computers!" The woman plays with her words for a while, trying to figure out a way she can describe her husband's career in a way that her child can understand.
"What's a computer?"
She sniggers at her curious daughters never ending train of questions.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, Aelita?"
"How come sometimes I see men in black watching me through my window?"
The magazine slips out of her weakened grasp, her healthy complexion washing away with fear.
I briskly spring upwards in my bed as the shrill cry of a familiar voice pierces my ears. Aelita. This is the third time this week I've heard her screaming down the hall, and this time I'm going to figure out what's going on. She's hiding something from me, I know she is.
"Aelita?" I quietly call her name as I sneak her door open, peeping inside. Low and behold, she's sitting in her bed panting heavily. The collar of her nightshirt is drenched in sweat, she looks so scared. It hurts me to see her like this, but I know that deep inside she's hurting more than I am. I just don't know why. I walk over to her and sit down on the edge of her bed. As soon as she sees me, she wraps herself around me. I'm a little taken back at first, but I quickly adjust to her initiative and swing my arms around her, waiting for her to calm down.
"I keep having bad dreams," she finally tells me.
"Do you want to talk about them?" She stares at me for a bit. I can tell that she's afraid I won't take her seriously. She takes a deep breath and regains her composure.
"Well, the dreams aren't always exactly the same… but they always involve the same people. These scary looking government agents. I don't know who they are or why I keep seeing them. I've heard myself refer to them as the men in black inside my dreams."
"What are these men doing?"
"Jeremie… you have to be human to have parents, don't you?"
That's an unusual question. "Well… yes, I guess. Why?"
"The men are after my mother. If I'm not human, I don't have a mother, do I? But I know that's who she's supposed to be. She has pink hair just like I do, and a younger version of myself calls her mommy in my dreams. So she has to be."
"Not necessarily. Dreams are strange things, Aelita. They don't always mean anything."
"I suppose not."
"Jeremie…"
"Yes, Aelita?"
"The dreams aren't always when I'm sleeping."
I gape at her slightly, my eyes widening. "You mean you're seeing these people when you're awake?"
"Well… yes." She directs her gaze elsewhere. I'm a little concerned. Aelita has been acting so weird lately. "Is that bad?" She acts, clenching her blanket and raising it towards her chest. I place my index finger and thumb upon my jawline, looking towards the wall as I ponder the thought of Aelita having hallucinations.
"I think I will go do some more research on the Hermitage. After all, it is strange that there's a passage to the sewers in the basement. Whoever owned that house probably has a connection to the supercomputer!" I quickly leave Aelita's side and run to the door frame, about to close the door behind me until I hear my name.
"Jeremie?"
I instantly turn around. "Yes, Aelita?"
"Can… can I come with you?"
I smile at her. "Sure, Aelita."
As expected, it doesn't take long before Aelita is peacefully snoozing on my sheets. I know that she just didn't want to be alone, and I'm okay with having her with me. I like her company, even if she's asleep. Google has brought me a load of interesting information on the Hermitage. I've managed to find the name of a man named "Franz Hopper." I wonder if perhaps it's the same man Aelita says she has been dreaming about and having visions of. According to this website, Franz Hopper was once a science teacher at Kadic Academy, and he was the owner of this strange house. If he was the owner of the house that has a link to the factory in it's basement… then he must have something to do with the supercomputer! I can't wait to tell Aelita and the others. We might finally learn more about Lyoko and it's origins… and even Aelita's origins.
I hear whimpering coming from the corner of my room. Aelita is squirming under my covers and making frustrating noises… she must be having another nightmare. Poor thing. I want to help her, but I don't know what to do if she won't tell me what's going on… I spin my chair around and watch her as she writhes around in my bed. I wish I knew what to do.
"No! Stop it!" she silently cries. "Stop! Please, let me go! You're hurting me!"
I get out of my chair and gently shake her. Her eyes dart open and she fearfully backs up against my bed, letting out another terrified scream.
"It's okay Aelita, it's me, Jeremie… you were having another bad dream."
"Oh," she pants.
I go to turn on the light of my room before joining her side in my bed. Immediately though, I wish I had left my lights off… because I don't like what I see.
"Aelita…" I gasp under my breath in disbelief. She is almost covered in bruises. Deep purple marks line her neck and collarbone. She has bruises on her wrists, too. Something tells me that what I'm seeing is not all that she's hiding. "Where… where did you get these?" I gently take her wrist into my hand, rubbing my thumb against the purple and yellow splotch on her arm. She winces as I touch it, meaning it's still sore… meaning it was put there recently. She wraps the blanket around her entire body, saving only her head. She looks ashamed, but also frightened.
"I fell. I'm clumsy, that's all."
"That's not all, Aelita. I'm not stupid. I know you're hiding something. Please, tell me Aelita. Please."
She stares at me and opens her mouth as if she's about to speak, but nothing comes out. She wants to tell me, I can tell by the look on her face that she's desperate to confess, but there's some sort of greater power that's keeping her from doing so. I sigh. This is going to be difficult.
"Aelita, you said you promised someone you couldn't tell, right?"
She silently nods her head.
"Is the person you promised the one who did this to you?"
She doesn't say anything, but the tears that ensue already tell me her answer. She throws herself into my arms again, just as she did earlier this night, and I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly as she starts weeping into my shirt. I have no idea what's going on. I don't know what happened, why it happened, or who made it happen… but one thing I do know is that nobody hurts my angel and gets away with it.