19: Thinking of you, wherever you are

A question of loyalty had divided the LYOKO warriors as the unthinkable happened.

XANA killed Aelita.

Of course, one is not truly 'killed' in the digital world as they would on Earth since they exist as bytes of data; which would make a LYOKO custodian quite content of not having to mop up blood and properly dispose of any bodies following a siege between good and evil.

Technically-speaking, Aelita Schaeffer was still alive, barely. Having surrendered possession of her memories to XANA, her data form will eventually be eradicated. The girl with awesome natural pink hair will have ceased to exist, forgotten by everyone besides her LYOKO companions.

Yet, there was still a way to bring her back. But like all miraculous feats, Aelita's resurrection – if successful – came with a heavy price.

XANA would remain as a very real and dangerous threat.

"Scanner, Bryan. Transfer, Bryan. Virtual–"

"Wait. Something's wrong," said Yumi.

The devirtualization program suddenly closed and an error message appeared on the computer screen. Jeremie frowned. He had never seen such a pop-up before. He tried to upload Bryan's profile once more, but was unable to send him into LYOKO.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath. Clearly, nothing would go smoothly today.

"Odd, go down to the Scanner room and tell Bryan to come back up. The virtualization program isn't working."

The boy nodded and left the room.

"The scanners worked perfectly for all of us though. Besides, Bryan hasn't been to LYOKO today."

"Maybe that scanner's malfunctioning. Did you try using another one?" suggested Ulrich.

Jeremie was about to test a different scanner when a small detail resurfaced in his mind. He opened Bryan's LYOKO profile and looked at the bottom-right corner.

A small number '1' was highlighted.

"You see that number?" Jeremie said, pointing to the small number.

Yumi and Ulrich nodded.

"I could've sworn…it was at five this past Monday."

"Is everything alright?" Bryan asked, having rejoined the group with Odd beside him.

Jeremie showed him his profile. "For some reason, I wasn't able to transfer you into the digital world. I think this number at the bottom has something to do with it. And it's not on anyone else's user lookup."

"Hold on. Jeremie, you said that on Monday it was at five?"

"I'm pretty sure that's what I saw."

"Well…" Ulrich paused to count the number of days on his fingers to verify his assumption. "What if it's some sort of counter? If it was at five on Monday, then it's four on Tuesday, and you get the picture – it fits right? That's why it's at one today."

Yumi smiled at Ulrich, impressed by his critical thinking and logic.

"It's like a buffer then. A certain period in which Bryan can't get into the digital world?" Jeremie reiterated.

So even if he came along today, he still wouldn't have been able to help us…

Bryan nodded. "That makes sense."

"But none of us have to wait more than a day to get back into LYOKO though."

"I guess it's another drawback – no offense Bryan – or compensation for having such a mega powerful LYOKO form. After all, with great power comes–"

"We get it, Odd. So what do we do for the time being?"

"We wait. If what you guys say is true – and it seems like a reasonable theory – the counter will be back at zero tomorrow, and I could go then to try and restore Aelita's memories."

"Agreed. We should meet up as soon as the buffer's expired then. How is everyone for midnight?" said Jeremie.

Odd's eyes lit up. An excursion during the middle of the night sounded exciting.

His more rational friend shook his head. "We can't risk getting caught out of bed again. You're aware that Jim's getting tougher and tougher on curfew these past few days after Halloween. And besides, we're not entirely sure of how long this whole thing's going to take. We should come back when we're fully rested." Ulrich reasoned.

"But the longer we wait to act, the greater the risk that we lose Aelita for good," Jeremie pointed out, before Yumi spoke up.

"How about we compromise? Tomorrow morning at around five or six o'clock? I'm pretty sure that either Jim will be asleep, or you can make up some excuse for getting up so early…like wanting to go on a morning jog."

The boy paused for a moment. "Alright. Can we all meet up here in eleven hours, then?"

While the others murmured their assent and went to retrieve their belongings, Jeremie turned around to set the computer settings to a low-power state. He took one last look at Aelita's avatar, before images on the screen faded into darkness.

Each LYOKO warrior had primarily the same two thoughts circulating through their heads as they made their way back to Kadic for the evening. The first notion was to find a way of waking up in the early hours without disturbing other students and faculty.

The second thought being contemplated was more controversial and had varying opinions. Back when Bryan revealed a possible way of saving Aelita, everyone was on board for leaving the supercomputer active. It was a unanimous decision; they weren't going to leave Aelita behind.

However, as Team LYOKO walked further away from the abandoned factory, several of them began to harbour doubts in their minds, feeling slightly uncertain with their decision and rationale.

Was it really worth it? To risk the future of the world – just to save their friend?

ODD

In Odd's mind there was nothing else to be said. His stance remained unchanged after he parted ways with the other LYOKO warriors.

Tomorrow, they were going to save Aelita. It was a no-brainer. Odd, Aelita was without a doubt, more than just a friend or a best friend. Or even a best friend forever. She had become one of the most integral components of his life.

Sure, there were times in which the two squabbled, had a slight disagreement, or had different tastes in humour. Then again, so do all relationships; nothing can ever be perfect all the time. Moreover, those brief moments were overshadowed by all of the good times they shared.

When she first came out of the scanners, Odd had developed some feelings of attraction towards her initially. She looked even better in the real world; she was cute, her features were more visible than on LYOKO, and of course, pink hair was a plus in the 'wow' department.

As he got to know her though, Aelita was more like the sister he never had. Their minds didn't always necessarily connect onto the same page. She wasn't as serious and stern as Yumi, nor was she as laid back as he was. In many ways, Aelita had helped to keep him in check. She was also one of the few people who found his jokes amusing.

However, there were consequences to saving Aelita, and leaving such an extraordinary yet dangerous piece of technology active. XANA would still remain a threat, and it seemed more powerful and dangerous than ever. However, Team LYOKO had always been able to rise to the challenge; as Ulrich pointed out, they previously had a perfect record against the malignant program. A streak that had come to a halt.

Nevertheless, it was just a setback. The next time XANA shows up, the LYOKO warriors would be better prepared and I full force. They just had to learn from their mistakes, like the Allies in World War II or Ulrich, when he added too little sugar into the lemonade. That was by far the worst and sourest glass of lemonade Odd had ever tasted.

Besides, there was no way on earth Odd wanted the supercomputer turned off for good. It was much too soon. True, the first couple of times he set foot on LYOKO, he was more interested of being in what seemed to be a live simulation game – than about the strange pink-haired girl trapped within the virtual world. Of course, that all changed once he got to know her a little bit better.

Above all though, this is what friends do. When one falls down, the other helps them up. O'hana means family. And from the underlying message Odd got out of watching Lilo and Stitch, that means no one's every left out, or forgotten. That and the fact that he needed to visit Hawaii sometime after he graduated from Kadic.

LYOKO had given Odd something amazing – something distinct and unique. It had given him a sense of adventure, and something to take his mind off of from school. It was like playing the best, coolest video game ever.

He had enjoyed the missions to LYOKO. It made him feel alive. And to have it all end on such a sour note…

ULRICH

With a sigh, Ulrich finally put his pencil down and closed his math textbook. He was by no means done – he still had two incredibly long application questions to solve – but he wasn't in the mood for it.

He leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes. Beside him, Odd was already asleep, snoring softly.

During dinner, the two had talked about the future of their LYOKO endeavours. Odd had seemed resolute in keeping the supercomputer on, for Aelita's sake.

But Ulrich wasn't so sure.

Like the others, he was aware that eventually – whether Aelita had been able to fully exist in the real world or not – that the group would have to make this decision. The supercomputer couldn't stay on forever, and there had already been several close-calls in which their secret had almost been discovered by others.

However, he didn't expect it to happen so soon, and definitely not under the current circumstances. Ulrich imagined an epic final victory over XANA, with Aelita becoming a full-time citizen of planet Earth, thus ending his LYOKO adventures on a high note.

Ulrich had to admit, LYOKO represented a great deal of pride to him. He had been involved in most of the missions, stopping XANA and saving the day. He had earned respect and praise from his friends, whom he grew closer to with every passing day. He had been a hero, minus the cape, clever disguise and recognition from the general public.

If they turned off the supercomputer, he would miss all of this. It would feel as though he and the other LYOKO warriors had given up on Aelita and their fight against XANA; they would be taking the easy route and leaving behind an unfinished story. And giving up and losing had long been erased from Ulrich's vocabulary.

Bryan said that he could revive Aelita. However, this was at the cost of allowing XANA to continue whatever crazy insidious plan it had in store for the world. The dilemma is quite similar to a runaway train with four people tied down to one section of the track and you were standing beside the switch. You could pull it to save those four people, but the train would then switch onto another track, in which one person was tied to. Either way, someone was about to get run over.

The only difference was that Ulrich knew the lone person tied down to the tracks. So should he choose the greater good, or be driven by his relationships. To be honest, he didn't know; he wished that he wasn't the one standing beside the switch.

Perhaps everything would make more sense tomorrow, he thought to himself as he turned off his desk light and went to bed.

YUMI

Yumi clicked the 'submit' button and felt immensely relieved when the words 'successfully submitted' showed up on her computer screen several moments later.

She had just finished her web applications for several universities and colleges a little over an hour before the deadline. And now the waiting game would begin, though Yumi felt proud of her choices, if not slightly confident that if she should encounter no troubles if she maintained her current grades.

In the meantime, there was a more urgent decision to make. Her mind kept replaying the events of the day. It always ended with an image of her returning to find Aelita's unconscious body on the hard surface of Sector V. She wasn't fast enough.

Yumi had lost someone close, someone who might have been the only female Kadic student whom she conversed and got along with. Apart from her family, she fully trusted Aelita to be her confidante whenever she needed assistance. Just as Aelita had provided plenty of advice to her during the past year, Yumi had helped her adjust to living in the real world and familiarizing her to the customs and social norms of the twenty-first century; although explaining the menstrual cycle to someone who had skipped her pre-teen and half of her teenage life proved to be a struggle.

Of course, this made the choice all the more difficult. Back at the factory, Yumi felt as if she was the only one with any aforethought. Everyone else seemed intent on keeping LYOKO active. But they were also seemingly ignoring the big picture.

She was by no means against saving Aelita. However, the benefits of shutting down the supercomputer evidently outweigh the costs. XANA would cease to be a threat and the group would no longer have to endure the associated life-threatening situations. Sure, they were all currently alive and well, but luck may have played a factor and there had been some close calls. In addition, Aelita had spoken of men in black suits who were after her father and the supercomputer. Should that be true, Yumi doubted that a group of high school students would fare well against trained government agents.

On the other hand, reviving Aelita was a happy ending for everyone. But this would mean having to deal with continued attacks and the risk of being discovered. There was also uncertainty – would they even be able to come up with a way of capturing the memory fragment possessed by XANA, and find a way to free her from LYOKO for good?

Turning off the supercomputer meant that everything would return to normal. Team LYOKO would be regular students focusing on good grades and getting into university, regular teenagers coping with the ups and downs of high-school and extra-curricular life. Her adventures on LYOKO were nothing short of exciting and special. But with one more year to go, Yumi could not afford to slip up her academic performance, and protecting the world from XANA took up a lot of her time.

Yumi didn't want to lose Aelita. At the same time, she could almost hear one of her previous teachers speaking through her ear: "when making a decision, it is imperative that you leave out any emotional biases." If the rest of Team LYOKO decided to leave the supercomputer on, she would go along with their decision.

But is it what Aelita would have wanted?

BRYAN

"So, is she really…?"

"Yes," Bryan said over his mobile phone, which was now to remain on 24 hours a day.

"And the others?"

"I'm not sure. They were depressed, I guess."

"Obviously," scoffed Valerie over the other end.

"Aelita – LYOKO kind of evolved to being a key part of their lives. I didn't anticipate XANA acting so quickly though."

Still, everything is going as planned. Probably.

"Yeah. We always knew that there'd be a limited window to get the information we needed, which we–"

"Don't have yet. I know."

"To be honest, I'm surprised they've managed to stop XANA for this long. Your mind's set, then?"

"Yep. I didn't come all the way here for nothing. I'm sure I can dig up something, with or without XANA's help."

"And Aelita?"

"That's up to the others and whether what happens in a Japanese manga will transcend inside of a virtual world."

"That's really cheesy, Pain."

"Sorry."

"I don't see why it wouldn't work though. You've been able to use all of his other abilities in LYOKO."

"Maybe, but the whole 'bringing people back from the dead' concept never really works in real life though."

"Mhmm. Because what we're doing is absolutely plausible in real life. Anyways, what do you think their reactions will be?"

"You mean putting the future of the world in jeopardy just to save their friend?"

"Again, getting super-corny Bri. And she's still your friend too you know."

The boy frowned. Still a friend…? "I'm sure after a night of thinking about it…they'll come up with the right call. But I think they may be starting to lose their trust on me."

"I would. Who only turns their phone on when they need to make a call themselves?"

"Oh, come on. You too?"

Valerie laughed. "Just kidding. But if they do doubt you, you'll have a much harder time getting into LYOKO."

"Yeah. By the way, any new news on your lead?"

"I was about to get to that. It vanished while I was at school and I have no idea what happened. You know I can't really do much from here. Perhaps I should come over…"

"With your grades in everything unrelated to tech, programming or science, that might be an issue."

"Bryan?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Sorry, sorry."

"That's better. But yeah, you're right. Can I ask you one more thing?"

"If I say no, you're still going to ask, right?"

"Yeah. This whole…situation, it's all in the past. Surely we can just move on, is there really any need to do any of this?"

Bryan sighed. "Val, I wish I could leave the past behind. Problem is, I'm sure sooner or later it's going to catch up to me. I also shouldn't have involved you in any of this, you're a target now as well, and I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm aware of the risks. But I'll still always be by your side. You're still taking me to the ROM when this is all over, right?"

Bryan smirked. "Only on Tuesdays. Students get a discount."

"Gee, thanks Mr. Thrifty. I better get going. Coach Eakins said that if I miss another practice, I'll get–"

"A frown of disapproval. Come on, she's not kicking one of the best swimmers off the team."

"Duh, of course not. I'm too awesome."

Bryan coughed into the phone.

"Shush. I'll have to mop the pool floor though."

"…Disgusting"

"Yep. Just remember to keep me in the loop with any new developments. Promise?"

"…I promise."

"And Bryan?"

"Mhmm?"

"Make sure you do it right this time. And that it's completely legal."

"Don't worry. It'll all work out."

"That's the spirit. Talk to you soon then."

JEREMIE

"Jeremie, don't move."

The boy stopped and looked over his shoulder. "What is it Aelita?" he asked casually while slowly lifting a hand up to his head, thinking there was something in his hair.

Aelita didn't answer; not with words anyways, as she continued her way towards him.

She placed her hands on either side of Jeremie's cheeks and kissed him in the mouth.

It lasted for two seconds at most, but in Jeremie's mind, time had simply stopped moving.

His whole body had froze in place over what had just transpired, and he was completely oblivious to the snickers of his friends. Aelita… had she just…?

"Just wanted to make sure that this was real," was all she murmured, a small smile on her face.

Jeremie took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It was past eleven, and all he had done for the past several hours was to take a long walk down memory lane. His computer, which was normally displaying a webpage, a word or spreadsheet file for an assignment, or data streaming directly from LYOKO, was instead running through a slideshow of photographs.

He looked once more at the last photo in the album. It was the one Odd had taken. The one with Aelita's lips pressed against his. The one which Jeremie had gotten Odd to swear that he would never reveal or send to anyone else.

Instinctively, Jeremie's hand hovered over his mouth. Even though the photo had been taken many months ago, the sensation was still fresh on his mind. The sudden surge of excitement, the softness of Aelita's lips on his, the sweet fresh scent of her skin.

He liked her. Now if only communicating this three-word statement was that simple.

How he missed her. She had an…aura, Jeremie couldn't explain it, but it made him happy to be with her. For the most part, she always took an interest in everything he had to say. Her cheerfulness and the way she laughed, it was enough to warm up and light up any atmosphere.

And so, he wasn't about to say goodbye to her, just yet. Regardless of the hardships and obstacles that lay ahead, regardless of the uncertain future, if Aelita could be saved, Jeremie was all up for it. Everything had to go right tomorrow, to make up for the disastrous events of today.

He got up from his seat and for possibly the first time, he was taking up on Aelita's request to turn in early and get a good night's rest.

While Jeremie lied in bed looking up at the ceiling, his mind returned to one person once more. And as he began to doze off, he was feeling mixed emotions.

He was quite fond of the time he had spent with Aelita. However, he also felt a tinge of grief; those times he was alone with her, times in which he was given an opportunity to become more than just good friends, he could never bring himself to say anything.

He had let them slip away. It had felt pretty insignificant at the time – Jeremie was quite content with just being with such good company. The way his body would tense whenever Aelita put a comforting arm over him, whenever she touched him, hugged him…kissed him.

Now, he might never get another chance.

What a fool you are Belpois, Jeremie mumbled as he fell asleep.

Fragmented Legacy Fun Fact 019:

Odd's favourite sweet treat is a chocolate-frosted sprinkled donut.

A|N's:

Five more chapters to go! Can't wait for the holidays. Chapter 20 is in the pipeline, and I hope to have it out by the end of the year. What could be more festive than the return of a main character? (hint: it's not Sissi)

Feel free to leave a comment, and as always, thanks for reading Code LYOKO: Fragmented Legacies =)