20: Tempus Reversi
The Six Paths of Pain.
A truly remarkable ability from a truly remarkable manga that allows the user to command some of the most powerful techniques imaginable.
Manipulation of gravity.
Summoning.
Absorption.
Super-strength.
Mechanized armament.
And restoration, the power to heal and to bring those recently deceased back to life.
On LYOKO, Bryan primarily uses these six techniques through controlling six bodies. Therefore, when fighting against XANA, he won't have a blind spot and he can effectively coordinate his attacks with utmost precision and accuracy.
His avatar may be unique compared to the others, but that doesn't mean that he is completely infallible. Although XANA was caught off-guard and defeated during their first encounter, Bryan no longer has the element of surprise on his side. With sufficient knowledge of his abilities, XANA was able to defeat him much more easily in their most recent rematch.
In addition, Bryan can use any technique of the other LYOKO warriors, provided that he has previously accessed them. Of course, with great power comes a great cost. Each ability requires an amount of energy, and the more devastating the technique, the more life points Bryan must give up in order to use it.
Furthermore, there is a relaxation time that prevents him from entering LYOKO until the period has expired. Hence, Bryan may not be able to fight against XANA every time it launches an attack. Nevertheless, he and the other LYOKO warriors have proven to be an ever-growing thorn for the malevolent program.
ULRICH
She was only one step out the door when she took in a deep breath of the crisp outside air. It was only midday and the temperature was already slowly dropping, but she didn't care; she was finally free.
As she looked around, her eyes suddenly darted towards the base of a nearby pine tree. She reached into her right jacket pocket and took out her digital camera.
Snap!
Satisfied with her photo of two squirrels fighting over an acorn, Milly Solovieff lowered her camera, before something else caught her attention.
"Ulrich!"
Milly Solovieff
Age: 14
Rating: 7.5/10
Fun facts:
She once asked Ulrich to a dance. He said yes, much to the chagrin of Sissi.
She is also part of Kadic's News Crew, and is the Executive Photographer.
The boy stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Hey Milly. What are you doing out here?"
Despite the cold, Milly could feel her cheeks heating up. Normally, you'd expect the popular, athletic and handsome to act rude and smug; that they were the cream of the crop above the trash that was everyone else. Examples of Kadic students displaying such behaviour include: cantankerous Sissi Delmas, Lord of Cocky William Dunbar, upper-year jock Erik Stevenson, and Aelita's best friend in the whole wide world, Sissi Delmas.
Yes, Sissi is on the list twice for emphasis.
However, Ulrich was the exact opposite. If there was one word that could describe him, it would be: cool. He was undoubtedly one of the more well-known individuals at Kadic, partly due to his athleticism and the fact that he was just really easy to get along with.
In addition, he was especially well-liked among the younger students because he never made them feel a sense of inferiority. And ever since Milly went to last year's Halloween dance with him – as friends, of course – she never felt any form of awkwardness or shyness while talking to him. The only thing that puzzled her was why he was still single.
"Oh, nothing. Just had math class this morning, and I felt like I just had to come outside for some fresh air. It was sooo long and boring."
Ulrich chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Let me guess, you have LeBreton, right?"
Milly nodded feverishly.
"Yeah, I know the feeling. I don't really – well, I'm thinking the general consensus is that no one likes her. But I heard from the upper year students that she prepares you well for the exams and stuff after that."
"Yumi told you that, I'm assuming?" Milly inquired with a slightly teasing tone.
Ulrich paused. Darn, she's good. "Maybe," he replied with a small wink.
Coincidentally, the girl in question just happened to be walking towards them, with Jeremie, Odd and Bryan by her side.
"Anyways, I should probably get going. Don't want to keep the most impatient man in the world waiting," Ulrich muttered quietly under his breath so that only Milly could hear him.
She grinned in understanding. Holding Odd up for even ten seconds was enough to elicit mass chaos, panic, and hair-pulling stress followed by either a bad joke or ridiculous pick-up line.
"Sure thing. I've got a meeting to go to as well. Apparently, Heidi's got the scoop on the missing donut mystery."
Ulrich had a slight premonition on the culprit, but decided to keep his mouth shut. "Sounds…interesting. Alright, I'll see you around," said Ulrich.
"So what was that all about?" asked Odd when Ulrich rejoined the other LYOKO warriors en route to the factory.
"Uh, Milly was just asking me about the chemical properties of hydrochloric acid."
"Really?"
"No," said Ulrich. He then noticed that Yumi was lagging slightly behind and slowed his pace down as well.
"Something troubling you?"
Yumi turned to look at him, brushing aside a strand of hair. She wasn't sure if she was making it too obvious, or if Ulrich had psychic powers, but he always seemed to be able to tell when something was bothering her. But she couldn't tell him. Not now anyways, with the group back in relatively high spirits.
"Why, as of matter of fact, there is. What actually are the chemical properties of hydrochloric acid, Dr. Stern?" she asked with a playful look in her eyes.
Ulrich's mind came up blank as his cover began to fall apart. "Well…"
JEREMIE
Jeremie was not pleased. The rest of the group noticed it too, and decided not to utter a single word in front of his face.
They were running out of time to rescue Aelita. The plan had been for everyone to meet up at the factory at five o'clock in the morning. As it turned out, no one was able to wake up so early. Perhaps everyone was tired out either from yesterday's battle against XANA, a gruelling tennis practice session, or by the truckload of schoolwork.
Even Jeremie, who had gone to bed earlier than usual, had only managed to get up thirty minutes before his first class. Evidently, his biological clock had not adjusted to such a different sleep regimen.
Although he wanted Team LYOKO to skip their classes, Ulrich warned him that it would arouse too much suspicion should they all ask to be excused. Yumi also had a big biology test that she could not afford to miss.
A 'return to the past' once they had revitalized Aelita was also turned down. Although that would enable them to re-take their morning classes, going back in time had given XANA major power boosts in the past; there was a risk that the program would hasten its return from hibernation.
Thus, Jeremie was stuck in class for three hours, occasionally glancing down at his watch and waiting for the lunch break. The only good news was that the teachers had bought his story that Aelita was feeling a bit under the weather and would be absent for the rest of the day. When the lunch bell finally rang, he was the first to pack up his belongings and demanded the rest of the group to be at the front of the school in five minutes.
The closer they got to the factory, the more anxious Jeremie became. What if Aelita was already fully deleted from the supercomputer? He was especially afraid of turning on the computer screen, only to find no trace of his friend anywhere.
Upon reaching the main control room, Jeremie rushed to his usual seat in front of the monitor and activated it from sleep mode. He held his breath as several seconds passed before a visual of CARTHAGE appeared on the screen.
Nothing had changed.
Aelita's lifeless body was still in plain view. She's there, Jeremie let out a sigh and his heart rate returned to normal.
"You ready?" he asked Bryan.
"Yep. It's decided then? We're going to try and revive Aelita, knowing that this will only prolong the fight against XANA?"
"Yes," said Jeremie and Odd instantaneously. Ulrich and Yumi remained silent, but indicated their agreement with subtle nods.
Yumi wanted to voice her concerns regarding the plan; that LYOKO had already consumed too much of their time and continuing to put Paris – and the rest of the world, for that matter – at risk just for one person may not be ideal in the long run.
However, seeing as the majority had voted in favour of keeping the supercomputer on, she remained silent. Like the rest of the LYOKO warriors, a part of her wasn't ready or willing to part ways with Aelita just yet.
"XANA's likely going to emerge stronger than ever before. But so will we," Odd added reassuringly.
"Aelita was right, you do make good motivational speeches," Bryan remarked. "So, can you guys accompany me to LYOKO? As a precaution."
"That's why we're here," said Ulrich with a small smile.
BRYAN
This time, Jeremie was able to virtualize him, along with the others into LYOKO without difficulty. A new number showed up; Bryan would be unable to access the digital world for the next three days. Apparently, the buffer period after each trip was random.
Odd, Ulrich, Yumi and Bryan made their way back to XANA's not-so-secret headquarters in the centre of CARTHAGE. There were no monsters in sight and the region's Tower was glowing white.
Bryan got off of Odd's OverBoard – he insisted on conserving his life points instead of conjuring his own means of transport – and headed over to Aelita's limp body. He took out a slender black rod from his sleeve and pierced it straight into Aelita's hands.
"Hey!" Jeremie exclaimed. For a moment, he expected blood to start gushing out, until he remembered that she was only data.
"Relax. It's only temporary," Bryan replied as he knelt down beside her. He took another black rod and stuck it into his own arm.
"So, where's your sixth body?" asked Ulrich.
Bryan shook his head. "I'm pretty sure I don't need it. Plus, a man with multiple piercings probably isn't what Aelita wants to see when she wakes up."
Odd shrugged. "Fair enough."
"Ah, I see…" Bryan murmured. The rods had allowed him to form a link with Aelita. Apparently it was possible, to bring her back. In the control room, Jeremie saw two words that were unmistakably in Latin appear on Bryan's active profile.
Tempus reversi. Reversal of time.
It started to make sense. He was going to restore Aelita's memories to the state they were in before XANA had taken them; seemingly creating an individual 'return to the past'. Although that meant Aelita would still be missing the fragment that was still in XANA's possession, she should at least regain consciousness.
Jeremie then saw why creating a program to manually acquire Aelita's memories would've been nearly impossible, especially given the short timeframe. The code of tempus reversi was intricate, not to mention incredibly long. Furthermore, Jeremie couldn't exactly pinpoint the source where the memories were being recalled from; as far as he could tell, it didn't appear to be anywhere within the supercomputer.
Bryan frowned.
"Something the matter?"
"I – I don't have enough life points to completely restore Aelita's memories," he said, before taking out three medium-length black rods from his sleeve and handed one to Ulrich, Yumi and Odd.
"When I start running low on health, I may need you guys to stick these into any part of your body. I'll be able to replenish my health this way. That is, if you don't mind."
"No problem, just do what you have to do."
"Alright." Bryan closed his eyes to concentrate. He put his palms together, and time began to flow backwards.
Seeing is believing. And yet, Jeremie could not believe his eyes.
It was working. Even though the speed was equivalent to downloading a massive torrent file, Aelita's life points were slowly increasing. On the other hand, Bryan's life points were also decreasing at a slightly faster rate.
After ten minutes, Bryan winced. It wasn't possible to feel pain on LYOKO, but he felt as if he was burning, followed by the sensation of being stabbed by a knife.
"Er…I need more energy," he muttered.
Ulrich nodded and proceeded to stab himself with the black stick Bryan had given him.
"Hey, how are you holding up?" asked Odd worriedly, noticing that his hair was beginning to change colour, from light blue to chalk white.
"Hmm? Yeah, this… is taking more than I thought. I'll be fine." he replied, gritting his teeth.
A few more minutes later, Ulrich was devirtualized after Bryan had absorbed all of his life points. Still, it wasn't enough to completely replenish Aelita's health, so Yumi and Odd then gave up their life points as well.
At the same time, Bryan appeared exhausted. Apart from his hair, wrinkles began shadowing his face. Nevertheless, he continued to reassure the others that everything was fine.
Nearly an hour later, Aelita's memories had been all but completely recalled. Bryan had just enough life points to boost hers back to 100, as his hovered around zero for the fourth time. He groaned and struggled to get up.
"It's done," he said wearily as he pulled the energy blade out from Aelita's hands.
However, she did not awaken nor show any signs of movement. Nothing seemed to happen even though her memories and life points were restored to their original and full states. Jeremie was on the edge of his seat, with Odd biting his fingernails beside him. Even the usually rather impassive Ulrich and Yumi bore looks of skepticism.
They had done everything they could.
It was then that Aelita began to stir.
AELITA
Slowly but surely, Aelita began to regain awareness of her surroundings as she opened her eyes groggily.
She could tell that she was still in Sector V. It was as though she had been under anesthesia and had just woken up from a long sleep. But it also felt as if no time had passed. She recalled that she came to get her missing memory fragment back from XANA, but had been ambushed instead. The place had been teeming with monsters, but was now all quiet and empty. In addition, there appeared to be someone sitting in front of her.
She blinked and her vision came into focus as she made to sit up. The whites of their eyes were pale purple instead, and there was that distinct ripple pattern of rings originating from the pupil.
Could it be?
"Bry…an?" she breathed.
"Hey sleepyhead. Enjoy your nap?"
Aelita nodded sleepily, before her mind snapped back into place. The last thing she could remember before blanking out was that the Scyphozoa had been hovering above her, about to take her memories. But… she could still remember everything besides her childhood. That must have meant that XANA's attack had failed, and that…Bryan had saved her. Even after everything that had happened yesterday.
"You came back. Why?"
"Well…why not?" he answered casually.
"Wait you, your hair," was all Aelita could come up with.
Bryan looked heavily emaciated. His hair was now completely bleached white and his face was wrinkled. He looked as if he had aged fifty years. "Yeah, I guess this kind of happens when I…when I exceed my limits."
It suddenly dawned upon Aelita that as she was gaining strength, he was losing his. And yet, he still had a contented look etched on his face.
"Don't worry. Once I'm better, I'll expl–" Bryan never got to finish what he had to say, as he collapsed. Aelita reached out and momentarily had him in her arms, before he was devirtualized.
"No!" Aelita cried.
"It's alright. He's back in the scanner room. I'm bringing you in now as well," said Jeremie, whose voice trembled with joy and amazement. And he wasn't the only one. The other three LYOKO warriors had displayed similar emotions – shock, relief and glee – before rushing down one level to the scanners to await their return.
"Yesss," said Odd victoriously, shaking his balled-up fist in triumph.
Bryan had emerged from the scanner and would've fallen head-first onto the ground if Ulrich hadn't caught him and hoisted him up on his shoulders. He no longer appeared as sickly as he did on LYOKO, his face was wrinkleless and his hair was sky blue once more. However, there was a small streak of white as well.
Another scanner opened to reveal a conscious girl with bright pink hair, who for the past several seconds, had been thinking of an awesome re-introduction. She looked up to see three sets of smiling faces.
"Hi guys. Did you miss me?" So much for that great introduction, but Aelita was too happy to care. Her attention then focused on Bryan, who was hanging limply over Ulrich's shoulder and her smile faltered.
"Is he…?"
Yumi nodded. "He's fine. Jeremie said he just overused his life points and that he'd awaken within the next 24 hours."
Relief rushed through the Princess, before Odd wrapped his arms around her in a great bear hug. She laughed and returned the embrace. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ulrich and Yumi exchanging smiles, and Jeremie coming into the scanner room. She flashed him a thumbs up, and his face lit up as well.
Aelita was back.
The rest of the day went by with a blur.
After sneaking back into Kadic, the group laid Bryan down on his bed. Ulrich took note of the clean abode with a tad of jealousy. Then again, it was an unfair comparison since Bryan didn't share a room with Odd.
Aelita left a note on Bryan's desk asking him to call her as soon as he wakes up. She took his keys and locked to door behind her.
In order to maintain her alibi as a sick student, she missed all of her afternoon classes. Fortunately, her friends had nicked enough food for her from the cafeteria. Odd even offered her a chocolate-frosted sprinkled donut. She then spent the rest of the day catching up on schoolwork in her room.
By nine in the evening, Aelita's right hand was sore and worn out. She had finished copying Jeremie's notes as well as a good chunk of her assignments. With nothing better to do, she decided to check up on Bryan's condition, since she hadn't received a call from him yet.
On the way, she ran into her best friend in the whole wide world.
"Hey you."
"Hi Jeremie."
"Feeling better?" Jeremie asked as Herb – his unofficial academic rival that he really didn't care about – walked past them.
Aelita played along. "Absolutely, thanks for asking. Just needed some fresh air. Don't worry it's nothing contagious. I just had some cramps and a bad stomach ache. As soon as Herb was out of earshot, Jeremie leaned forwards and murmured.
"Where are you going?"
"To see Bryan," Aelita answered, before adding: "is he awake yet?"
Jeremie shook his head, while wondering why Aelita was so determined to see him. "No, he didn't show up for any of his afternoon classes or for dinner. Mind if I come with you?" he added.
Just as Aelita was about to reply, Odd came around the corner munching on a donut.
"If it isn't Jerlit – I mean – Jeremie and Aelita! Just the two people I was hoping to meet!" he exclaimed happily, before grabbing the boy's arm.
"Sorry Princess, you mind if borrow Jeremie for a while? Ulrich's studying alone in the library and I need some help with chemistry."
Aelita chuckled. "No problem. Can you give us a minute?"
"Sure thing. Thanks a bunch Einstein. You know where to find me!" said Odd as he headed back to his room.
"You know, I've almost forgotten how…enthusiastic Odd can be when it comes to learning."
"Um, Aelita you know that you were only gone for a day, right? I thought you knew Odd better than that, tsk, tsk," Jeremie said with a wry smile.
"Oh, hush you," Aelita shoved him playfully. The two locked eyes for a brief moment.
"What?"
Jeremie shook his head and his eyes darted sideways. "Nothing." Other than the fact that I'm talking to the most beautiful person on the planet who I thought was gone forever.
Unfortunately, in this love comedy, Jeremie was currently on the comedy side and did not express his feelings outright; not that it would have been without any misunderstanding. He didn't even notice Aelita approaching him, and stiffened when she placed a hand over his shoulder.
"By the way, it really is great to be back," she said softly.
Jeremie placed his hand over her shoulder. "Yeah. It sure is."
Aelita unlocked the door to find Bryan still in a deep slumber. She sat down beside him.
His breathing was quite shallow, and she had the feeling that it would take some time before he would awaken. However, she didn't want to leave because he might wake up while she was gone, kind of like that piece of bread in the toaster that won't pop out until you look away.
She still had to properly thank him, for saving her. Yumi had told her everything.
Aelita stifled a yawn as she reached out for his hand. It was cold, so she sandwiched it between her two hands and held it on her lap. With every passing minute, Aelita grew more and more exhausted, despite having slept for more than a day. She could barely keep her eyelids open as she waited for a sign that Bryan was okay.
Soon, she had fallen asleep as well. Her body slumped forwards and landed gently on the bed. If only she had stayed awake for just a couple minutes longer, she would've felt Bryan's hand twitch slightly in hers.
BRYAN
Bryan felt something pressed against his torso as he woke up. His forehead was glistened with a bit of sweat, so he made to rub it off, only to find that he was unable to move his right hand.
He turned to his side. His eyes took a while to adjust to the darkness, but he could make out some of the familiar shadows and concluded that he was back in his room. Bryan assumed that the others had helped carry him back after he had blacked out from reviving Aelita.
With the setting solved, Bryan turned his attention to the lump right next to him on the bed. It was almost as long as he was – perhaps Odd had brought him an extra-large submarine sandwich. Just thinking about food made his stomach growl – he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.
He slowly moved to his side and reached out with his free hand, his eyes still only half-open. It felt really warm and soft, and it most certainly didn't smell like a ham sandwich. Finally, it hit him. Even in the darkness, he could make out that it was a person, and given the faint and rhythmic inhaling and exhaling, he or she was sleeping. And the person had bright hair. Possibly pink.
Aelita?
He nearly bolted upwards, but managed to stop himself. Bryan then noticed in horror what he was touching. Something warm, soft and rather jiggly.
Crap crap crap! He cursed and hastily retrieved his hand as if it were burning (with embarrassment!) and hoped that Aelita wouldn't wake up. Instead, she let out a soft satisfied sigh and turned her body so that Bryan was looking directly at her face.
He wasn't sure whether he should wake her up or to remain in this rather…intimate position. He also wasn't sure whether Aelita was one of those people who didn't like to be woken up, so he chose the latter option. Plus, Bryan had to admit that she looked kind of cute.
With his free hand, he moved his sheets so that it covered both of them, before his mind wandered back to the reason why he had awoken so abruptly.
The dream had felt so real – great, now he was the one having nightmares – but he had already forgotten most of the details. However, he was sure of one thing.
He had been talking to Franz Schaeffer. Or at least, that was how he had introduced himself. As for the location, it did not look like anywhere on LYOKO, or on Earth for that matter. It was a dark metropolitan that was only illuminated by a few neon lights.
All he could remember from their brief conversation was the name of a man he had never heard of before.
Alan Meyer.
Fragmented Legacy Fun Fact 020:
Tempus reversi can be interpreted as 'back in time'. And although she's unaware of it, Aelita can also seemingly manipulate time on LYOKO, just like Bryan. However, whereas Bryan can restore life, Aelita on the other hand…
A|N's:
Aelita (and Milly, to a lesser extent) is back! With the "XANA – memory retrieval" arc winding down, I think Team LYOKO can go back to their full-time occupations as hard-working high school students. In the next chapter: it's Odd's time to shine!
Apparently, in the new Code Lyoko Evolution series, there is a Mr. Alan Meyer who is set to play a major(?) role. So, because of his cool name (kidding), he's also set make an appearance in this story as well. How's that for continuity =P
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 2012 has been a breakthrough year for me with respect to this story. There's a lot more to come, so here's to 2013 being equally (or hopefully even more) awesome! Feel free to leave a comment, and as always, thanks for reading Code LYOKO: Fragmented Legacies =)