Author's note:
It's happening. Thank you to those who are reading this after actually managing to stomach the original, and thank you as well to anyone new to my writing. I appreciate each and every one of you. I am working hard to make this story so much better than the original version, and I hope some of my effort shows. Any critiques, reviews, requests, and comments in general are appreciated. My private messages are always open!
I hope you enjoy this introduction! More characters will play a role later!
Also, this is probably obvious, but AU warning!

Upload date:
31 March 2020

Content warnings:
This story will contain various content warnings for each chapter. As a whole, the story contains violence, blood, and the results of such occurrences, as well as mention of food. This chapter is quite heavy on blood, and death is mentioned.

Chapter One
Code: Nightmare

"No…"

Aelita wasn't sure if she heard herself speak, or if she'd just imagined it. It was sudden, her utterance—seemingly as involuntary as a grunt or pained cry. She couldn't move anything, not her arms or her legs or even her eyes. Even her heart felt like it had ceased beating.

It was cold outside. Unbearably so. Thick flakes fell relentlessly from the air that seemed to have been sucked dry of almost all sound. All that was left to hear was haggard breathing—her own, she was sure. Swiftly the powdery snow was sticking to every available surface. None were exempt, not the tree branches, the long grass, not even—

Aelita felt a thick lump forming in her throat. It hurt to breathe, to think, to exist, to see. Oh, and what she had to see, for when she tried to clutch at her eyes, she was transfixed. Repulsed. Paralyzed.

The pool of red was growing larger with every second. The moonlight was reflecting brightly off the fresh snow, but even that seemed like nothing compared to the red.

She felt something fall from her frozen hand to the hard ground, and not a moment later, her legs collapsed and followed. She fell hard enough for a sting of pain to follow, but she hardly noticed, and if she had, she wouldn't have cared. Her gaze and her mind were glued to the source of that pool, a fallen body laying in the center. It laid like a forgotten doll, limbs splayed out in unnatural angles. Skin and clothes soaked in crimson, the boy laid there as if he had never moved a second in his life. His hair was matted black to his head, and his clothes were torn enough to show that he hadn't gone easily. Something in the back of her mind knew he hadn't. She'd watched it happen.

Aelita's internal screaming finally overpowered her paralysis. Her breathing was ragged and feral, as if she'd run a mile in a minute. Her hands clawed at the grass in a desperate attempt to pull herself forward towards the boy. She needed to reach him. She needed to touch him, to make sure he was still breathing. She didn't even notice the partially dried blood that caked her own body.

A gust of wind made her body erupt with shivers, and she realized her body was lacerated and slick with sweat. This moment of clarity reminded her of something important. She felt herself rummage through the grass, her eyes not leaving the boy. A cracked cellphone found its way in her hand.

"Jérémie," she heard someone say. "Return to the past. Please. If we don't…" Her voice cracked, and her phone dropped back to the ground. Something between a growl, a scream, and a retch tried to claw its way out of her throat. Instead, her body convulsed with violent coughs, and fresh blood joined the rest.

The boy had turned his head to look towards her with vacant eyes. Blood trailed down his face, collecting wherever it could.

"No, no, no…" Her protests were whispers. Fresh tears pooled in her eyes.

He spoke so weakly that she could barely hear him.

"You made it. Thank God."

Aelita touched a hand to his frozen cheek. It felt like a block of ice. Her vision blurred.

His eyes met hers, and with labored breaths, he spoke once more. "I always…" He blinked once with a grimace. "You…"

One last pained breath escaped, and he was gone.

Everything collapsed with a scream.

"RETURN TO THE PAST, NOW!"

It was another peaceful night in France. Frost coated the world, and the light breeze smelled faintly of the coming autumn.

In Boulogne-Billancourt was the home of four, a pair of parents and their two children. All were asleep this night, an oddity for the household. Usually, if the son wasn't up doing whatever it was that adolescent boys do, the daughter was studying or meditating. Tonight, though, Yumi Ishiyama, clad in her coziest pair of pajamas, was wrapped around a rolled-up green blanket. Her forehead was pressed against the top of the blanket, and if one looked closely, they could see a small smile.

On the end table beside her bed, her phone buzzed gently once, and then it was still.

Again, there was rest.

Things were much the same in Sceaux. Stars shone as brightly as they could in their endless struggle against the light pollution of Paris. Inside the suburb, the campus of Kadic Academy was silent. This was due in part to strict curfews, but also the just cold enough dormitories that made students want to curl up in a blanket instead of cause mischief.

In one particular room there were three individuals who were definitely feeling the chill. Two beds, one with a mountain of laundry underneath, and the other with military levels of modesty and tidiness.

A tiny dog laid on one of the beds with his legs tucked tightly against his body, snoring softly. Occasionally his paws would paddle, but he was mostly still, curled against his owner for warmth. That owner, Odd Della Robbia, was laid out like a croissant—head tilted downward and legs forward in a shape that suggested that he was dreaming of breakfast or trying to keep Kiwi warm. A large wrinkled blanket covered most of Odd and some of his dog. It did the job, for the most part.

Across the room in the other bed was Odd's stoic roommate. The poor boy currently only had use of his thinnest blanket after an 'incident' with Kiwi, and was rolled up in it like a burrito. It kept the heat in alright, but Ulrich Stern still trembled slightly in his sleep. Tonight, his cheeks were a little pink. Just what was he dreaming about?

The was one room that was actually warm. It belonged to one Jérémie Belpois. Well, it would be more fair to say it was owned half by Jérémie, and half by his desktop setup. Recently he'd brought in a few extra PCs and even more monitors, to the point where it looked more like a security room.

Jérémie rested his chin upon his hand, watching text roll by on one monitor. Occasionally something would fail, and he'd go back to typing at a remarkable speed. His other computers, judging by the monitors' contents, seemed to be running tests and scans. The boy took a moment to glance at the time on his phone and sighed.

Another all-nighter.

He rubbed his eyes, took a swig of his water, and looked next to one of the monitors at a framed photo. It was his favorite picture—one of all of them together, smiling. They'd taken it together months ago on campus. Aelita was in the center with an arm each around him and Odd, a grin splitting her face. Jérémie's face was five different shades of crimson, and Odd was throwing a peace sign. Yumi and Ulrich stood behind them. Their faces were both somewhat pink with shy smiles, and they stood within arms' length of each other. William was standing next to Odd, winking and pointing finger guns towards the camera with a doofy smirk. Even Sissi was in the shot. She had been headed to practice, and could be seen in her cheerleading uniform staring at the camera. Her mouth was slightly agape in surprise, seemingly stunned by the sudden flash.

Jérémie leaned back in his office chair, sighing contentedly at the memory.

"I hope we can all smile together soon."

Those smiles were his motivation to keep working, and keep working he did.

Another student was awake in the dorms—William Dunbar. He was laying in bed, tucked in under a few blankets. Soft music played from his stereo. It was a habitual thing. The music helped ease him to sleep and keep him there through the night. Tonight, though, he was focused not on his music but on the face filling his cellphone screen.

"Have you decided what we're doing tomorrow?" A melodic voice sounded from the phone.

"I have, but we really should get to sleep, yeah?" William said, voice husky. "Half a day of classes is still classes."

"Well, yes, we should, but I miss you." The girl pouted into the camera. "It's been such a long week. I just want to see you."

"I miss you too, mon coeur. I promise, this weekend is going to be special."

"It always is with you, chéri." Her voice was soft now.

"You…" William covered his blush. "God, I love you."

The girl giggled softly. "I love you too. See you at lunch." She blew a kiss into the phone's camera. "You'll keep the call up til I'm asleep, right?"

"Of course."

"You're so good to me."

"Not as good as you deserve." William's eyes caught the clock on his phone—midnight. "Happy one year. I can't wait to spend another with you."

"Oh stop, chéri, you're going to make me blush." The giggle was quiet but genuine. "Good night."

William slept soundly, his heart content.

Across the girls' dorm, in a room not much different than any of the others, was a lonely girl. Stacks of sealed boxes sat by the walls, the few open boxes folded and tucked behind her wardrobe. The girl tucked a lock of her golden hair back behind her ear, her other hand clutching a thermos of tea. She stared blankly at her computer screen.

She had been working for a while on an email. She knew it was late, and that the recipient was most surely asleep, but she was far too anxious to sleep.

The girl reread what she'd written so far.

[ Dear maman,

[ I'm sorry for sending this so late. I hope I don't wake you up! I got so distracted unpacking that I didn't notice the time!

[ I've safely arrived in Sceaux. I lucked out, a dorm room all to myself! I was so surprised there was a vacant room still! I've heard the food is terrible, but I think it'll be an improvement on my own. The room is a little cold. Do you think my PC will keep me warm?

[ Please don't be sorry for sending me here. I know the school year has already started, but I'm really excited. The campus is beautiful, and I think a clean slate will do me some good. Maybe I'll make some friends this time?

[ I miss living with you already. I hope we can both save up money soon. When I send some, will you buy Papa flowers for me?

[ I love you. Write back soon.

[ Always thinking of you,

[ Laura ]

She hit send.

Gasping and convulsing, Aelita awoke. She slid off her bed and scrambled for a trash can, nearly falling face first to the carpet in the process. She dry heaved while tears streamed out of her eyes. They ached like she'd been crying for hours, and her chest hurt just as badly.

When her body was done rejecting the horror of what she'd just seen, she wrapped her arms and legs around the can and leaned her head against it for support. She lost track of how long she was there. Eventually, though, numbness spread from the center of her chest, and the tears refused to keep coming. The only thing she could feel was skinned knees from the abrasive dorm carpeting.

"God, what was that?" Aelita groaned. She wiped her eyes vigorously. That was the worst, most real nightmare she'd ever had. She still smelled the metallic odor, felt the dried blood underneath her nails. It was like experiencing someone's memories first hand.

She took a long hot shower, making sure to keep her eyes open as much as she could, for fear of slipping back into terror. She scrubbed her skin until it was pink and sensitive, but brief flashes of red compelled her to keep going. The only thing that made her finally exit the shower was her ringtone going off.

Forgot to mute it… What's gotten into me? It's the middle of the night!

Aelita shook her head and returned to her room, phone in hand.

For the rest of the day, she had faint pink scratches all over her body. The pain was a reminder.