"I don't like this place, Jeremie. It scares me." Her tracks stopped right before the concrete stairs that towered in front of her. A gentle breeze threw a crumbling leaf into the air and brushed it against her nose before she watched it disappear into the forest, where she'd much rather be chasing after it than entering the old building in front of her.
"There's no need to be afraid, Aelita. I'm right here with you," the blonde comforted as he gently took her shaking hand into both of his, planting a delicate kiss upon it. The warmth of the sparkling smile against his pale face washed away the fear that had so suddenly overwhelmed her tiny body. Her shy lips subtly twitched into a smile before quickly fading, and he led her into the home.
Jeremie got on his knees and began rummaging through boxes on the floor, eager to find out more about Franz Hopper. The dust sprawled up from the ground and spread into Jeremie's face, causing him to cough and hack as he wiped his glasses on his sweater. Meanwhile, Aelita had travelled up the creaky, splintered staircase and directly into the old bedroom. She could see the particles of dust gracefully floating in the rays of sun that crept through the shattered windows. Her hands playfully batted at them, but she was quickly distracted by a tattered painting halfway nailed to the wall. Something drew her towards it, although she wasn't sure why. The painting was outlined with a golden frame, the detailed trim spiraling around the image of an old, looming tree. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a simple tree, it's forest green branches engulfing any empty space left in the image.
"What a pretty tree," Aelita quietly muttered under her warm breath as the tips of her skinny fingers gently rubbed against the leaves. Her delicate touch caused the fragile drawing to tear from the nails that poorly held it in place, and she jumped back as she watched the painting crash onto the ground. "Ah!" she yelped.
"Aelita?" Jeremie apprehensively called out from downstairs, startled by the sudden noise from above. He scampered up the stairs, his shoes thudding so heavily against the wood that he was sure it would cave in beneath his feet. "Are you okay?" he cried out, stopped at the frame of the door to catch his breath. Aelita stared at the hole in the wall in front of her, once slyly covered by the gorgeous tree. Standing on her tiptoes, she peered inside the dark gap, wondering what secrets it contained. Her eyes met the sight of a worn, dusty doll. An elf doll, patiently sitting in the center of the wall, waiting for the day that someone would find him. She eagerly took the doll into her possession, her thumbs rubbing against it's fabric limbs.
"Mr. Puck…" she cooed.
"Mr. What?" Jeremie questioned, taking the little plush from her hand and staring at it.
Ulrich twirled the limbs of the doll around in his hands, stopping to observe it's worn features. "So, you're telling me that Aelita has never seen this doll before," he started, looking up at Jeremie, "but she's been having dreams about it, and she knows it's name is Mr. Puck?" Odd and Yumi sat on the bed with Ulrich, crowding around the little goblin toy.
"That's right," Jeremie confirmed as he leaned against his wardrobe and pushed his glasses upwards on his nose.
"And, exactly what happens in your dreams again, Aelita?" Yumi asked, leaning forward on the edge of the bed. Aelita sat on the floor, her back against the wooden dresser, hugging her knees against her chest. She stared blankly into space, before being distracted my Yumi's second calling of her name.
"Huh?" she turned her head. "Oh, nothing. I don't know. I just see him sometimes. Sitting in the same tree that I saw in the painting."
"Weird."
"Here you go, Princess," Odd called out as he threw the doll towards her. She caught it in her hands and held it tightly against her chest, continuing to stare at the wall. Odd raised an eyebrow at her, but refrained from speaking about it, and attempted to change the subject. "So XANA… he's been awfully quiet lately, huh?"
"Almost too quiet." Jeremie wrinkled his brow and rubbed his middle and index finger against his lips, pondering the program's suspicious absence.
"Because we're dealing with someone worse than XANA," Aelita quietly exhaled, her eyes still fixed on the white slate of Jeremie's wall. The three warriors sitting on the bed straightened their postures, exchanging inquiring looks.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Yumi asked, with the others only shrugging. Jeremie knew, though. And Yumi could tell that Jeremie knew. The color in his face slightly flushed away, hinting that he was nervous. He knew something that the others didn't.
Aelita stood up and straightened out her dress. "Jeremie, I want to go back to my room."
"Sure thing, Aelita," he smiled at her and led her out of the door. "I'll be right back, guys." The door shut behind him. Again, the three stared at each other with puzzled expressions.
"Is there a reason Jeremie had to go with her just to her bedroom?" Odd asked, scratching his head in thought.
"She has been acting so weird lately," Ulrich replied, gazing at the door and then turning to Odd. "And I've got a feeling Jeremie is in on it."
"Hmmm," Yumi hummed.
"What is it, Yumi?"
"Are you thinking about what's for lunch? Because I'm starving, too!"
"I think I'm going to try talking to Jeremie," Yumi put simply before exiting the room, leaving Odd and Ulrich to continue their daze of confusion.
Aelita stared at the ground as Jeremie guided her down the hallway, her feet dragging along the carpet, Mr. Puck dangling at her side. A child late to class came zooming down the hall, bumping into Aelita and causing her to trip. She plummeted onto the ground, her doll tumbling across the floor.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Jeremie angrily shouted, turning around and watching the student disappear. He quickly turned his attention back to Aelita, who was staring at Mr. Puck. "Are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down by her side.
"Look," Aelita requested, pointing to sparkling silver object tucked by Mr. Puck's foot, appearing to have fallen out. Jeremie picked it up and twirled it between his fingers.
"It's a key. I wonder where it leads to," he pondered. Aelita shrugged. The blonde shoved the key into his pocket at helped Aelita up, continuing the path to her door.
"Jeremie…" Aelita cautiously sat down on the edge of her bed, Jeremie following her as he shut and tightly locked her door as per her request.
"Yes, 'Lita?"
"Are you… angry with me?" She shyly stared at her doll, twiddling her thumbs.
"What? No!"
"I just… I'm being so selfish and needy. I'm acting like a baby, aren't I? I'm sure I'm making a big deal out of no-"
"Stop right there," Jeremie demanded as he pressed his index finger against her lips. "Aelita… you are not being selfish, nor are you being needy." The boy sat next to ashamed woman, gently tilting her head towards him as he smiled upon her. "You're just scared, and that's okay. Something bad happened to you. Everything you're feeling is perfectly normal; and I certainly don't mind being there for you in your time of need. I care about you, 'Lita. I want to make sure you're safe and that bad things don't happen to you anymore."
"Thank you, Jeremie," she timidly spoke as a tint of red blended onto her complexion. He smiled at her before redirecting his attention to the small key, noting the number.
"What do you think it's for?"
"I don't…" Jeremie was too distracted to finish his sentence, almost breaking a sweat from the intense activity in his brain. A faint whistle erupted in the distance, followed by something tapping against his foot. He looked down to see a toy train frustratingly bumping into his toes. Aelita giggled.
"Hey, Jeremie! Look what I got!" Odd ecstatically greeted as he approached Jeremie and Aelita with a remote control in his hand. "Cool, huh? Better than a tamogotchi! Although don't tell Jean Pierre I said that…"
"THAT'S IT!" Jeremie screamed. "A train station! It's the key to a train station locker!"
"Wha?" Odd perked up one of his eyebrows as Jeremie grabbed Aelita's hand and sprinted down the hallway. "He-hey! Where are you going?"
"So, why are we here again?" Odd asked as he followed Jeremie along with the others towards the looming tower of abandoned lockers. The train station had long been out of business, and anything that had been left behind in the lockers stayed firmly in place. Papers and wads of trash littered the dark linoleum of the once lively transportation route. The tapping of the trespassers' footsteps echoed throughout the room, darkness surrounding them save the light from Jeremie's phone. Aelita clutched onto his arm, frantically darting her eyes back and forth and raising her awareness of all surroundings. It was too dark for her liking…far too dark.
"The key that fell out of Mr. Puck leads to one of these lockers. Surely there's got to be something important behind this door." Jeremie walked up to the locker that matched the number of that printed on the silver, and cautiously slid it inside.
"What's it say?" Ulrich asked, pointing toward the engravings on the front.
"FH…" Yumi gasped. "That has to stand for Franz Hopper!"
"Or fried ham! Is it lunch time yet?" A gurgle filled the silence of the room as Odd rubbed his stomach. Jeremie got on his knees and placed the suitcase on the bench.
"I wonder what's inside," Ulrich whispered as he knelt down with Jeremie.
"We're about to find out," the blonde replied as he forced open the tightly shut case. Yumi and Odd bent over, hovering over the suitcase as it's mysterious contents were unveiled.
"Oh wow, music!" Odd cried.
"Certainly not! I bet these CDs contain very important data. They look heavily coded, though." Jeremie picked up one of the cracked CD covers and held it leveled to his eyes, observing intently.
Yumi leaned in closer, tucking her hair behind her ear as it fell into her face. "Do you think you can crack them tonight? Maybe in a day or two?"
"More like a year or two. I'll see what I can do, though."
Aelita stared into the distance of the omniscient locker room; her back leaned against the cold metal of the lockers. She had zoned out from the conversation the others had about the CDs. Her hands started quivering inside the pocket of her jumper, and she clenched her fists to help relieve the tremor.
"Aelita," Yumi said; the first to step away from the little crowd. "Are you okay?"
Aelita did not turn her attention to Yumi, but continued to stare. For a second, she even thought she could hear the faint crackling of someone's radio set. A dark figure wisped across the room, hidden in the never ending blackness. Nobody else would have noticed.
"Fine," she sternly whispered. "I'm fine."