In Mrs. Hertz’s class, all the students are closely watching the clock on the wall totally ignoring her lecture.

Mrs. Hertz says, “Now for your final assignment, I would like you to write an essay on what you did over summer vacation and have it ready when you come back.”

The bell rings loudly signaling the end of class and the school day. At this point all the students start storming out of the classroom.

Outside the school our heroes are walking together.

Jeremie soon notices that Aelita has her head slumped over and asks, “Is everything okay Aelita?”
Aelita becomes startled at the sudden question and glances around almost nervously, “Oh. I’m fine. Just a little scared. What if XANA decides to attack while were gone?”
Jeremie reaches over and holds her hand in a comforting notion, “It’s ok. I left the super computer on so if XANA decides to try anything while we are gone, I will be the first to know. Besides, you are going to have fun over summer vacation. You are going to completely forget about XANA.”
Odd interrupts, “Besides, I have a feeling that XANA’s not going to want to mess with me again.”
Ulrich chimes in as he glares over at Odd, “Haha. Very funny.”
Aelita continues, “I guess your right. I shouldn’t be worrying myself over XANA. I guess I’m just a little anxious.”

The current view is somewhere over the school’s courtyard slowly zooming in. Everything is in an eerie sepia tone. We finally get to ground level and there are 4 figures. Jeremie and his father and Aelita and her father (of course, Franz Hopper). Jeremie and Aelita are holding hands as their parents try to separate them. Eventually they succeed and the 2 groups leave either end of the scene not to be seen from again.

The scene changes to Yumi’s bedroom where Yumi can be seen sleeping on her own bed and Aelita on a futon laid out on the floor.

Aelita begins screaming and sits up abruptly.
Yumi wakes up suddenly by Aelita’s outburst and sits up, “Aelita! What’s wrong?”
Aelita starts to calm down and after a few moments she responds slowly, “I…I had another nightmare.”
Yumi asks curiously, “I thought you were going to stop having those when you got your memories back?”
Aelita shakes her head in response, “This one was different though. It was as if it hadn’t happened yet.”
Yumi quirks a brow, “How so?”
Aelita gathers her thoughts and continues, “Well, It was right outside the school and my father was there. But Jeremie and his father were there as well.”
Yumi says, “Well that doesn’t sound so bad.”
Aelita shakes her head violently as if to be disturbed by the next part, “But they dragged us apart as if we weren’t supposed to be together. That’s when I woke up.”
Yumi becomes somewhat startled by the comment, not knowing whether to believe it or not. But she tries to comfort the pink-haired girl anyways, “I wouldn’t worry about it. It was probably just a dream.”
Aelita lets out a slight sigh and lays back down, “I suppose.”
Yumi lies back down as well and starts to fall asleep.
After a few minutes, Aelita speaks up again…
Aelita says hesitantly, “Yumi?”
Yumi says tiredly, almost half asleep, “Hmm?”
Aelita responds, “Thanks again for letting me stay here with you.”

Somewhere across town we check up on Jeremie who is currently sleeping in his own room which closely resembles that of his dorm room. Out of nowhere his laptop, which is sitting on the desk, starts beeping. Jeremie quickly wakes up, puts on his glasses, and runs over to the desk to see what’s up. When he loads the Super Scanner application, it indicates a tower being activated, but quickly stops beeping and everything returns to normal.

Jeremie scratches his head confusingly as he glances over the program, “…Now that’s weird…”

Next day, early afternoon: The group meets out in the park near the manhole which is usually taken to get to the factory.

Ulrich leans against the trunk of a tree, “Anything from XANA yet, Jeremie?”
Jeremie shakes his head, “No. nothing yet. But the Super Scanner did give me a weird false alarm last night. I haven’t had a chance to check the logs and see if it was XANA or just a system bug that caused it.”
Aelita glances up at the boy’s comment and opens her mouth as if to say something, but remains quiet.
Jeremie pauses for a few seconds and then starts down the ladder into the sewers without any consent from the others.

The rest of the group follows him down the ladder except for Aelita who stays behind in the park; Yumi is the last one to go down the ladder.

Yumi stops about halfway down and looks up at Aelita, “You coming Princess?”
Aelita snaps herself out of her daze and nods as she approaches the manhole.

Next scene we see the gang emerging from the elevator into the computer lab. Jeremie quickly sits down at the terminal and starts typing away at the console as the others find themselves at random places around the room.

Odd sits down against the base of the holosphere and starts playing his gameboy noisily.
Yumi and Ulrich start practicing their sparring techniques around the back of the room.
Aelita stands just a few feet outside of the elevator and enters another daze.

The scene fades out into a view of the courtyard with a sepia tone going on. Like before, Jeremie and Aelita are seen holding hands until their parents quickly arrive and succeed in separating the two. The difference this time is that as the two become further and further distanced, Aelita’s name can be heard echoing from a familiar voice. It keeps repeating over and over.

Suddenly the scene changes back to the computer lab. Jeremie can be seen standing in front of Aelita holding her shoulders tightly.

Jeremie looks at the girl and repeats her name like before, “Aelita? Are you ok?”
Aelita snaps out of her daze and jumps back a foot or two as she becomes startled by Jeremie standing in front of her. Without saying a word she quickly turns around and rushes into the elevator. She quickly mashes the close button before any of the others have a chance to approach her.
Jeremie quickly tosses a look of confusion on his face as he stares off towards the closing elevator. He then glances back at Yumi and Ulrich whom are standing behind him, “What was that all about?”
Yumi shakes her head, “I have no idea. I hope she’s alright.”

The next scene is back in the park over the manhole cover to the sewers. It is pouring rain out and the group quickly fumbles their way out. Odd is the first one out, almost climbing over everyone. He starts to make a beeline for school, not really bothering to stick around for the others. As the others make it out, they all start for school but not nearly as fast a pace as Odd.

Next scene is in the stairwell of the dorm building. Everyone but Jeremie and Yumi start heading up the stairs while drying themselves off. Jeremie and can be seen standing still at the bottom of the stairs. Yumi is standing by the door as if to be waiting for the rain to slow down.

Ulrich turns around and looks at Jeremie curiously, “You coming up?
Jeremie shakes his head and approaches the door where Yumi is standing, “No. I thought I’d walk Yumi home first.”
Yumi looks at the boy strangely but doesn’t pry. She continues to look outside at the rain as it continues to pour.
Ulrich shrugs and continues up the stairs following Odd, “If you say so. See you later.”

Both Odd and Ulrich then disappear to the second floor of the dorm building.

Jeremie then starts out without saying a word.
Yumi follows cautiously.

The next scene is just outside the school amidst the pouring rain. Both Yumi and Jeremie can be seen hiding under the protection of the arches as they casually walk in the direction of the school’s main gate.

The situation is silenced except for the rain hitting the ground. After a few moments Yumi speaks up while staring off towards the gate, “Any reason why you wanted to walk me home Jeremie?”
Jeremie then snaps himself out of his apparent daze and is startled slightly, “Huh?”
Yumi responds, “You usually always stay inside and work on your computer…Is it about you know who?”
Jeremie nods hesitantly, “Yeah…I’ve got an odd feeling I know where she is.”
Yumi nods. She then stops and grabs onto Jeremie’s shoulder to stop him as well.
Jeremie stops and turns around.
Yumi says a bit hesitantly, “I know it is probably nothing, but…The other night when Aelita stayed at my house she had this nightmare…Said it had something to do with you and her breaking up.” She then shrugs her shoulders, “I told her it was probably nothing.”
Jeremie has a bit of a surprised look on his face but then shakes his head and nods in agreement, “Your right. It was probably just nothing.”

The two then continue towards the main gate of the school. Outside the gate they stop despite now being attacked by the pouring rain.

Yumi starts off down the sidewalk towards her house but turns around to look at Jeremie whom is halfway across the street to the park. She speaks up loudly as to be heard over the rain, “You going to be ok Jeremie?”
Jeremie doesn’t seem to notice and continues on his way into the park.
Yumi looks at the boy worriedly but turns around when the rain starts to pick up in intensity and runs for her house.

The next scene is just outside the Hermitage with Jeremie seen running towards the front door. The place has a real eerie look amidst the darkness of the atmosphere and the rain.

Next view is just inside the Hermitage as Jeremie rushes through the front door all soaking wet. The sound of a piano playing can be heard faintly in the background.

Jeremie tries to dry himself off as best he can. He then looks around the dark and ransacked house. He yells loud enough to be heard throughout the premises, “Aelita?! Are you in here?!”
At no answer, Jeremie continues into the house. As he starts past the doorway into the living area he stops in his tracks as he spots the pink haired girl sitting at the dust-covered piano in the corner. He then jogs over to her and stands quietly behind her, “Aelita? Are you ok?”
Aelita doesn’t respond, but instead continues to play the same short tune on the piano resembling that of the one played by Franz Hopper in her previous visions.
Jeremie waits a few moments before sitting down on the bench next to her and taps her gently on the shoulder, “Ae-“
Aelita jumps suddenly, startled by Jeremie’s action. The second she spots the boy, she leaps at him with a large hug. A soft sobbing noise can be heard coming from her direction.
Jeremie looks down at the girl and stutters a bit, “Is..Everything ok?”
Aelita shakes her head and pulls back. She wipes her eyes and sniffs as she responds with a raspy voice, “Jeremie…Do you…really like me?”
Jeremie blinks a few times and responds, “Sure I do. I would do anything for you.”
Aelita hesitantly responds with a small smile, “…Thanks.” She then rests her head back on Jeremie’s shoulder and slowly starts to doze off.

We return to the living area at the Hermitage where we see Aelita and Jeemie still sitting at the piano bench, looking to both be sleeping. The rain outside is still pouring even in the morning hours. After a few moments a sound can be heard off into the distance as if someone was coming through the front door.

Aelita is startled awake by the noise. She stands slowly, making sure not to wake Jeremie. She approaches the hallway cautiously, unsure of whom is there.
As Aelita approaches the hallway, Yumi turns the corner as she wrings out her hair.
Aelita jumps back a bit, somewhat startled by Yumi’s sudden appearance. She starts to catch her breath, “Yumi…It’s only you.”
Yumi raises her brow at the girl, “Who’d you think it was?”
Aelita lets out a small sigh, “No one…really.”
Yumi looks around the girl at Jeremie sleeping at the piano in the living area, “I see Jeremie found you ok.”
Aelita nods and looks back to the sleeping boy and frowns a bit before looks back to Yumi again, “Could we talk somewhere in private?”
Yumi responds hesitantly, “Uhm…Sure. Where?”
Aelita heads for the stairs, “How about my room.”
Yumi follows the girl up the stairs…

The next scene is in Aelita’s bedroom at the Hermitage, still in as bad a shape as before. Aelita is sitting on the bed with her knees pulled up to her chin. Yumi is standing against the now closed door.

Aelita speaks up after a few moments of silence, “Yumi…Do you think Jeremie…” her voice trails off.
Yumi looks at the girl curiously, “Do I think Jeremie what?”
Aelita hesitantly responds, “Do you think he really likes me?”
Yumi continues confidently, “Sure he does. Why do you ask?”
Aelita sighs and buries her chin further into her knees, “This nightmare has me really confused I guess.”
Yumi walks over to the girl and lifts her chin up, “Princess…Do you realize why you are here on Earth right now?”
Aelita nods hesitantly at the girl.
Yumi continues, “Do you think Jeremie would have spent so much time on your materialization program if he didn’t care about you?”
Aelita turns to look at the blank wall and responds in a dull tone, “I guess not.”
Yumi turns around and glances at the door. She turns back to look at the girl, “We should probably head back soon. The others are probably worrying about us.”
Aelita hesitates to respond as she stands, “Go on without me. I’m…gonna go to the factory. I think I left something there last night.”
Yumi turns back around as she is about halfway to the door. She raises a brow, “You sure? We could come with you to look.”
Aelita stammers slightly in protest, “I can take care of myself…I’m fine.”
Yumi nods and continues out the door.

As Yumi leaves, Aelita walks over to the open window and stares outside at the pouring rain. After a few minutes she lets out a small sigh and turns towards the door.

Aelita nearly leaps out of the chair in surprise as this happens. After a few moments she carefully slips on the headset and starts typing at the keyboard. After a few moments she speaks up with a stutter in her voice, “F-father?” She waits nearly a full minute as the super computer sits idle.

Suddenly a video screen pops up on the monitor beginning with nothing but static. Soon the static starts to fade out slowly revealing the face of Franz Hopper over the common matrix style green background.

Franz speaks up in a somewhat weak tone, “Ae…Aelita? Is that…really you?”
Aelita starts to tear and nods a bit as she emits a quiet ‘mmhmm’.
Franz continues with a weak smile on his face, “It’s so good…to see your face again.”
Aelita wipes her eyes and inquires in a similar tone as a small child, “Daddy…Where are you?”
Franz answers, “I don’t know…Somewhere in Carthage…Things got so misplaced when XANA left.”
Aelita continues, starting to sound worried, “But…we couldn’t find you before. Where have you been?”
Franz shakes his head, “He had me completely imprisoned before.” He lets out a sigh, “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have created him. Such a terrible project and it failed miserably.”
Aelita hesitates before continuing, now changing the subject, “Dad…I…I want you to come back…Is there anything I can do to help?”
Franz shakes his head, “I’ve been working on it for the past couple of days. I’m nearly there…Get some rest. It looks like you need it.”
Aelita begins to pout, “But…but…”
Franz intervenes, “No buts young lady. Get your rest.”

At that point the super computer goes dark again, returning the room to it’s nearly pitch black state.

Aelita sighs again and starts off slowly for the elevator. As she steps inside, she stops and stares at the computer for a moment before finally pressing the destination button on the elevator.

The next view is just outside of the Ishiyama household amidst the pouring rain with the pink haired girl standing at the door looking to be soaking wet.

Aelita rings the doorbell again.
Yumi answers the door and looks shocked as she spots Aelita’s condition, “Aelita?! What happened to you?”
Aelita slowly enters the house, shivering violently, “I…g-guess I l-lost track of time.”
Yumi stops her, “Wait here. Let me go get you a towel.” She then quickly trots out of the room and returns after a minute with a large pink towel. She wraps it around Aelita and helps her dry off.
Aelita lets out a quiet sneeze and sniffs a bit, “Thank you.”
Yumi inquires, “Did you find what you were looking for at the factory?”
Aelita hesitates a bit before she nods, “Yeah…I did.”

Yumi then leads Aelita up into her room. In the next scene in her room, Aelita is already wearing a dry pair of pj’s and is sitting in the middle of the floor in what seems like a daze.

Yumi begins to rummage through some things in her closet. After a few moments she comes out in her undergarments. She starts to walk over towards her bed before she spots Aelita and stops in her tracks. She taps Aelita gently on the shoulder and says softly, “You ok?”
Aelita lets out a slight yelp and jumps at Yumi’s actions. She pauses for a few moments and merely nods.
Yumi walks over and sits on the side of her bed, “You’ve been so tense. You sure?”
Aelita turns to look at the girl weakly, “I’m fine…Really.”
Yumi slides back further on the bed and slouches a bit. She opens her mouth to say something, but closes it again and nods. She then proceeds to climb under the covers and shuts off the light, merely leaving a small nightlight visible in a corner of the room.
Aelita sits there in the same position in the middle of the floor.