15: The Key of Destiny
It was a long night.
It wasn't dark and stormy by any means; however, for some it felt as if there was a lengthy lull between dusk and dawn.
For the majority of students who had stayed up and participated in the Halloween festivities, it felt as if there was no time elapsed since the time they collapsed onto their beds to hearing the blaring rings of their alarm clocks. In fact, Kadic's cafeteria was still partly occupied by zombified students, hung-over from the midweek partying and the late-night sugar rushes.
Then there were exceptions such as Odd Della Robbia, who despite having gone to bed with a bag and belly full of chocolate at one in the morning, was positively energized and alert. Apart from wolfing down his breakfast with his traditional gusto, he was also back to his cheerful and talkative self.
"You know, I've almost forgotten what we do in this fanfic," he remarked casually before taking a long chug of orange juice.
"What on earth are you muttering about Odd?" said Yumi, who was completely oblivious that her friend had just broken the fourth wall for his first – and last time.
"By the way guys, how did it go yesterday evening?"
"Absolutely astonishing. You missed a really great show Jeremie."
While being the master manager of music for five hours proved to be slightly tiring, the full-time LYOKO warrior and former Keyblade Master thoroughly enjoyed the experience. In her opinion, it didn't even feel like five hours had passed from when she first stood on top of the stage, to when she played the last song.
"Oh come on. Ulrich's just exaggerating. I wasn't that great," said Aelita with modesty.
"Hey Aelita! You were amazing last night!" one passer-by exclaimed, as if on cue.
"I guess that takes care of that then," Odd concluded.
"I also overheard this morning that several intoxicated individuals were also causing a bit of mayhem at the dance."
Ulrich and Yumi looked at each other briefly, before the boy hastily began making an act of spreading marmalade over his toast, hoping the conversation would veer towards another subject.
"You heard right. Still, it was pretty awesome seeing Jim single-handedly manhandling drunk people. And then of course, the cops arrived. Turned out they didn't even go to this school."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Sam told me they were just some party crashers. Anyways, sorry for ruining your moment last night," Odd nodded in the direction of Ulrich and Yumi.
"What happened?" asked Aelita interestingly, a grin slowly unraveling across her face.
Again, Ulrich and Yumi quickly exchanged glances, with the latter attempting to telepathically say something along the lines of 'not a word', while Ulrich tried to whisper 'make something up'.
"Nothing."
"He accid – nothing," Yumi responded simultaneously.
"Anyways, Jeremie you said you had something to share with us?" said Ulrich hastily.
"Oh, it's nothing much," began Jeremie before dropping the bombshell: "except that I may have found a way to sink two birds with one stone."
The other LYOKO warriors looked confused.
Never go for the analogy before the explanation, Jeremie made a silent note to himself before explaining what he meant.
"I think I've found a way to take out XANA and free Aelita from the supercomputer for good."
All of a sudden, the table grew quiet and the surrounding noise seemed to diminish. Jeremie continued.
"I finished reading Franz Hopper's logbook last night. While it didn't include any documentation or procedures pertaining to Project CARTHAGE, there were a lot of his personal notes. Like a journal of some sort."
"So what does it say?"
"The main point is that there's actually no connection at all between you and XANA. I ran a quick scan on your avatar this morning to confirm this, and I couldn't find a trace of foreign codes linking you to the virus."
"Hold on. Aelita still experienced negative side effects when we turned off the supercomputer though."
"Yeah. That's because while there is no connection, XANA has something that belongs to Aelita. A part of her memory."
As Team LYOKO slowly digested this revelation, it made more and more sense. And if Jeremie's speculation was true, they knew exactly which memory XANA was in possession of.
Aelita's childhood.
The answer to how she ended up on LYOKO. Perhaps a clearer image of what had transpired during the last days of Project CARTHAGE – the last days Aelita had spent with her family.
But why – and more importantly – how did XANA end up with a strand of Aelita's memory? What had really happened all these years ago?
"Memories fade over time. Since you're lacking the complete set, per say, I assume that it impacts you more detrimentally Aelita. That's probably why you fell unconscious when we first shut down the supercomputer. You needed to regularly return to LYOKO in order to refresh your existing recollections. As of now, they are more or less your life essence."
"So that's what XANA's after every time it sends the Scyphozoa to attack me? It's after more of my memories?"
"Not just any memories."
"What do you mean?" questioned Ulrich, frowning.
"Up until now, its attacks have always been on the basis that it infiltrates Towers on LYOKO. Without them, XANA poses no threat in the real world. And we've all agreed that it has the typical antagonist goal."
"Of trying to take over the world," said Yumi. She never quite understood why every evil entity was infatuated with this assignment; surely there must've been other more feasible malevolent deeds to commit.
"Exactly. However, XANA's attacks have always been limited to a small scale in the real world because it is constrained by the LYOKO intranet network. I mean, the most damage it could have ever done was when it hacked into the local nuclear power plant. And that would've only impacted a small portion of France. Not really of the global domination scale in my opinion."
"It hasn't even been that difficult for us to stop XANA either," Ulrich pointed out.
"Yep. Just an average fifteen-twenty minute routine. Create diversion, fight XANA's monsters and deactivate Tower. Mission Accomplished," added Odd.
"That's why I'm under the impression that XANA is trying to find a way to escape from LYOKO and onto a larger, global network."
"And to do that, it requires my memories?"
"Yes."
"And why is that?"
Jeremie took a deep breath.
"Your father made you the Key of LYOKO. The one who keeps the digital world in balance. You're the only one who can deactivate Towers and stop XANA on LYOKO. That's what XANA is after. The Key is not a physical object, but it's embedded within your memories. If it obtains the Key, it can break free of the digital world."
"But if we can retrieve your memory, we can put a stop to this. Furthermore, you'll finally be completely free from the supercomputer and then it can be shut down before XANA causes any more trouble. It will be our last mission."
AELITA
You're the Key.
Aelita's world turned upside down the moment Jeremie uttered the three words. However, the mood around her was the exact opposite. All of the other LYOKO warriors were positively ecstatic as they thought about what could possibly be their final trip to the digital world. Well before having to deal with the stress of final exams.
"Looks like we've got an ultimate boss fight ahead then," remarked Yumi rather confidently, showing no signs of fear or worry.
She was the Key; completely intertwined with one of her father's insane megaprojects.
"It'll be a piece of cake. Go in there, retrieve the memory, kick some monster butt and leave. Textbook stealth-search mission. And we all know who's the best in stealth-based video games in this school!" added Odd, who was already uploading reconnaissance tactics in his mind.
She was nothing but a tool – just like another computer program, designed to sustain LYOKO's existence.
"I hate to break it to you Odd, but I've seen you play SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs…and I'm afraid that title belongs to someone else," Ulrich smirked.
She was the one XANA was after all this time because XANA needed her – no – because it needed the Keys. She, on the other hand, was completely disposable.
"We should probably celebrate once all of this is over," added Jeremie thoughtfully. The others were surprised by his recommendation. Jeremie Belpois: partygoer? Inconceivable.
So it had all been for nothing. They were merely prolonging the inevitable.
"Sounds great Jeremie. By the way, you're paying for the food right?"
And why had Bryan never bothered telling her any of this? Surely he must have known.
"Aelita?"
She heard Jeremie call her name and looked up from her train of thought to see a warm smile on his face.
"You feeling alright? You've barely said a word or touched your breakfast. Can't fight XANA on an empty stomach."
"I–"
"So…this is really it then. Our final mission," Ulrich restated. A little over a year later, Team LYOKO's battle against XANA was at last coming to a close.
"The Quest for the Missing Memory. Or in perhaps a less medieval context: Mission LII: Recovering Aelita's Recollection," Odd declared happily.
Aelita couldn't take it anymore. "Out of the question!" she snapped angrily. She quickly got up and stomped out of the cafeteria, leaving her friends completely shocked and speechless. Jeremie made to get up, but she had already vanished from his sight.
This was most definitely not how he expected his friend to react. They were so close to the end, only a fragmented memory separated them from mission accomplished. What was quite possibly the final trip to LYOKO was supposed to be something worth celebrating. Everyone was upbeat and cheerful.
Everyone, except for Aelita.
What went wrong?
BRYAN
Without going into too much detail about the sixteen year-old's sleeping patterns, Bryan Green was never able to wake up as early as his other Kadic colleagues. It wasn't that he went to bed late into the night, nor was it from suffering from sleeping disorders such as insomnia.
Nevertheless, it seemed as though his biological clock would always wake him up a little after eight. In addition, when he woke up, his sharp blue hair was all over the place, stuck up in a variety of angles which made morning showers mandatory.
Today, he still felt quite worn out from last night's trick-or-treating adventure. Not wanting to discover that Odd had eaten all of the breakfast for the day, Bryan reluctantly got up and headed for the washrooms. Five minutes later, he returned to his room to change and took out the sugary sweets from his schoolbag, replacing them with his chemistry assignment, notebooks and pencil case. Bryan was about to reach for the door, when he heard someone knocking from the other side.
It was Aelita.
"You're here quite early. What's–"
"Can we talk?" Aelita asked quietly.
"Uh…Sure." Bryan led her into his room.
Aelita took a quick look around. Since he had arrived late, he had gotten a single bedroom similar to Jeremie's. The only difference was with the use of space. While Jeremie's room was filled to the brim with various contents, Bryan had clearly packed less luggage, which made his room appear generally clean and in order. And hanging over his bed was a large red and white flag with a maple leaf that proudly displayed Canadian awesomeness.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" said Bryan cheerfully. He was still completely unaware of Aelita's sombre tone as he ushered her towards a guest chair. However, she remained standing and got right to the point.
"You knew all along, didn't you?"
JEREMIE
Fifteen minutes after the morning bell, Bryan entered the classroom. Fortunately, Mr. Helmholtz was too busy writing on the board to notice his late arrival. Unfortunately, just as he took his seat:
"Mr. Helmholtz, Bryan just came in," Sissi called out without raising her hand, an oft-ignored procedure that nevertheless should be followed should students wish to speak in class.
"Shut up, Sissi," the boy muttered so that only those around him could hear, including Sissi who looked highly affronted. Jeremie, Ulrich and Odd were also taken aback by Bryan's menacing tone. He didn't appear to be his typical neutral self. He looked cranky and exhausted, even though it was only ten in the morning. In addition, he had a worried expression on his face.
Mr. Helmholtz turned around. "Hmm? Oh. Glad of you to join us Mr. Green. Try not to be late that often in the future, will you," he said casually, before going back to his lecture notes. In terms of attendance leniency, Mr. Helmholtz reigned supreme in this category. He generally didn't mind students coming in late, as long as it was not on a routine basis and they were performing well in the course.
A few minutes later, Jeremie turned to face Bryan and whispered: "She went to see you, right? What happened?"
At first, it appeared as though Bryan was intentionally ignoring his question, his eyes were fixated solely on the blackboard crammed full of Mr. Helmholtz's writing. Upon catching up with the material, he put his pencil down and was about to say something when Aelita waked in.
Upon closer inspection, Aelita also appeared crestfallen and her eyes were slightly red. She passed by Bryan and Jeremie without a word, and instead of taking her usual seat between the two of them, she headed for an isolated table at the back.
Immediately, the classroom was abuzz over what had transpired. Aelita and Bryan had both arrived late, one after the other. And both of them looked tired. This could only mean one thing.
"You think those two…did it?" was the general rumour being circulated.
They did do something indeed.
Aelita had just been through her first fight with Bryan.
AELITA
At lunch, Aelita was walking outside by herself. It usually helped her collect her thoughts. But today, she just couldn't shake the recent revelations out of her head.
She had completely blanked out during the English quiz, not that a stupid evaluation worth three percent of her grade mattered much anymore. She was too frustrated with herself, her friends, and especially with how Bryan he had kept things from her.
How could the others be so excited at the prospect of battling XANA? How could they be so excited at once again putting their lives at risk, just so she could reclaim what was sure to be a tragic recollection of the past? It was all unnecessary. After all, XANA was only interested in her.
Then there was Bryan.
"You knew all along, didn't you?"
Aelita had merely asked that simple question. And Bryan had lied, pretending to be perplexed before giving in upon realizing that she had already figured it out. Sure, he was keeping some secrets from her, but didn't she have the right to know this at least? Shouldn't she have the right to know that all she ever was – was a tool for her father's projects?
She remembered raising her voice. Her entire life – her entire existence was simply devoted to being no more than another computer program with an enormous burden. Just like the Greek Titan Atlas, she was responsible for holding the existence of a world on her back.
And that's when everything fell apart. In many ways, Aelita and Bryan possessed similar personalities. Both highly disliked being criticized and were very defensive of their point of view.
Weary of listening to Aelita snapping at him, Bryan retorted with a menacing coldness that stunned the pink-haired girl. No one had ever talked back to her with such hostility. That proved to be the tipping point; all she wanted to do was let out her frustration at something – at someone; to inflict pain. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this angry.
"If I told you that you this when we first met, there'd be no difference; you would have just spazzed out at me like you are doing right know at this very instant."
"So…you weren't going to tell me at all?"
"Sometimes it's better to be oblivious to the obvious."
Aelita wanted to seek reassurance from Bryan, to get away from it all. What she found was completely different. She liked to have thought that she won hostile argument, seeing as how Bryan had barely been able to say anything back. And yet, she didn't feel any better afterwards.
For the second time during her second stint on Earth, she was completely lost, without direction. She felt as if she didn't really belong in either world – real or virtual.
It was then that Aelita made her decision, as she turned around and headed towards the place where it all started.
The only way to end this whole ordeal, was a world without her in the equation.
She placed one hand on the plug, took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
It's for the best.
And that's when she heard what was unmistakably rapidly moving footsteps. Aelita froze.
Jeremie had arrived in the nick of time to see his friend standing right next to the electrical outlet, holding onto the main cable that connected to the supercomputer.
"Aelita, don't!" he pleaded, huffing and puffing.
"How…did you find me here?"
"We – Odd, Yumi, Ulrich and I – looked all over the school for you. We were worried. I…kind of had a feeling you'd be here," Jeremie explained as he continued to pant, clutching his side. He could not recall the last time he ran so fast, or for such a long distance.
Aelita nodded silently. "I see."
"Why are you doing this?"
"To…to keep the rest of you safe."
"How so?" asked Jeremie, trying to buy more time as he attempted to get his friend to reconsider her actions.
"You know exactly why," she said sharply. "You've all have been risking your lives the past year. There have been so many unnecessary near-death cases. And for what? XANA's only after me. With me out of the equation, there will be no more XANA. No more danger."
"Aelita…you're being selfish."
Her eyes flashed with anger from Jeremie's comment. "Excuse me?"
"All you've been talking about is yourself. Have you ever considered how we would feel with you out of the equation?"
How I would feel with you out of the equation, Jeremie muttered under his breath.
"B-but I'm nothing. I'm no one," she said, her voice dropping to a barely audible volume. "I don't have anything left. My family…and my–" At this point, she was unable to go any further. The tears she had been fighting to hold back gushed forth.
Jeremie moved in closer. He noticed that Aelita had relinquished her grip on the cable, which lay tangled up on the floor.
"That's not true you know," he said slowly, measuring the value of each of his words. "You still have us. And likewise, you're an incredibly important part of our lives."
"So what if you can't remember any of your childhood experiences? What about all of the fun times you've had since you returned to the real world?"
Aelita continued sobbing, but images of various moments and events throughout the course of the previous year began to pop into her head. The friends she had made. The things she had done. The places she had been to.
The time Odd dressed up as Santa Claus during Christmas. To be honest, she actually thought he was the real thing until Odd's dog, Kiwi tore off his beard. Then there was spending Valentine's Day with Jeremie. And the school trip to the film festival at Cannes earlier in May. And more recently, she was selected out of numerous applicants to be a part of the SubDigitals, doing what she enjoyed doing.
Her mind then mind drifted back to one person in particular.
Bryan.
In the one month they had known each other – she didn't know how to describe it – but she was always…enthralled to be with him. Despite being quite secretive and enigmatic with respect to his past, Bryan had been a good friend who had helped her out greatly, whether it was getting to her first rehearsal in downtown Paris, or promising to teach her how to skate and better control her LYOKO powers.
However, today had changed everything. Jeremie had helped her realize one thing; that he was right, and she was wrong. Aelita wished she could have taken back every hurtful thing she had said to him in the heat of the moment. She distinctly remembered seeing the look in his eyes; it was as if the fire behind them had burned out. She really had gone too far.
Aelita then realized how incredibly foolish she had been. Jeremie was also correct in reminding her that she had been only thinking of herself – forgetting about the big picture. Aelita regretted ever thinking that sacrificing herself was the best possible ramification. Plus, in doing so, she would also be breaking the promises she made to herself at the beginning of the school year. There was still a lot to do, and a lot to experience in what was truly an amazing world. And she wasn't ready to leave it yet.
Finally, there was Team LYOKO, her closely-knit group of friends who had supported her through it all, who had always stood by her side. In fact, they were very much her family. Her past life was still inscrutable – and yet that didn't seem to matter as much anymore – she still had the present, and the future to carve her own path.
"Aelita?" Jeremie asked nervously.
"Oh…sorry Jeremie. I was just thinking…I – I guess I am quite fortunate."
"But I still can't forgive my father. Why did he make me the key bearer of LYOKO? It's just so…so overwhelming."
Jeremie placed a hand on Aelita's shoulder and knelt down so that the two were level with one another.
"Well, I'm positive your father had his reasons. I mean, yes he gave you a tremendous burden. But he also loves you. And that doesn't need proof or evidence. I'm sure that he gave you the Keys to LYOKO because…he had faith in you. He believed that you would be able to stop XANA. To keep the world safe."
Aelita had never thought of it that way. Jeremie's words provided a sense of comfort and inspiration. She wiped the last of her salty tears from her face, and placed a warm hand over his.
"Thank you," she mumbled softly.
For a moment, Jeremie was half-expecting some form of physical gratitude; perhaps a warm embrace.
It didn't happen.
Nevertheless, he was content with being able to cheer Aelita up and earning a personal gold star for conflict resolution in the process. And that was enough for now. So long as she was happy, he would be as well.
"Anytime. Now…are you ready to get your memory back?"
Aelita smiled. Alone, she could have done so little. But together with Jeremie and the others, she was on top of the world. Even though she had her doubts – this would probably be the toughest battle yet – she knew one thing was certain.
In the end, everything will be alright. And after the battle, she would go sort things out with Bryan and hopefully, things will work out on that end as well. Thus, with a newfound sense of strength and determination, she got up off the floor, unaware that she was still holding Jeremie's hand.
"Let's end this once and for all."
Fragmented Legacy Fun Fact 015:
Does this chapter feel like déjà vu? Indeed, some things that happened in the TV show have been worked into this story (e.g. Aelita finding out she's the Key of LYOKO). However, the outcome may be different this time around…
A|N's:
I apologize for the late release. I've been pretty busy in June and haven't gotten around to updating as often. In fact, the beginning of this chapter pretty much references this month-long lapse, along with some breaking of the fourth wall antics by Odd.
And as always, thanks for reading Code LYOKO: Fragmented Legacies!