Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko. That's why it's a fan fiction. Cover art by Aelita-Ichigo.
Author's Note: This story idea came from gaara king of the sand. As always, any form of reviews are welcome. And for those of you reading my other story, I have not abandoned it. In fact, I am almost halfway through the next chapter and hope to have it done at latest by the end of the year. So without further ado, I hope enjoy the story.
It was a day like any other for Aelita. She'd woken up in the morning, had breakfast with her papa, and been given her homework for the day. By the time she'd finished, her papa had returned from Kadic. She'd begged him in the past to let her attend the school where he taught, but he always insisted otherwise.
"It's not safe, Aelita," he would tell her. "Besides, it's better this way."
She knew he was right. She knew the men in black that had taken her mother were still after them. So she dropped the matter on most days, got to work, and, when her father returned home, went over the day's lesson – unless it was Sunday. And it had been one fateful Sunday when she had come home from riding her bike (she enjoyed riding past Kadic and watching the students there enjoy the weekend – even if she would never be able to experience it with them) and decided to go up to her room. She'd felt lonely that day and wanted time to herself to think. The piano downstairs played softly as her papa resumed his playing, giving Aelita a comforting melody to listen to as she sat alone in her room. It was times like this that Aelita had wished her papa hadn't put Mister Puck away.
"Now, you must remember where Mister Puck is, Aelita," her papa had said.
"Never you mind that, Aelita," he'd told her when she'd asked why. "Not yet, anyways. When – if – the time comes, you'll know."
The screech of brakes and the sound of slamming doors broke Aelita out of her reverie and silenced the beautiful melody. Aelita rushed to the window just in time to see two men in black yelling, it seemed, up at her. She stumbled against the wall in fright.
"Daddy!" She cried as her papa rushed to her door. "The men in black are here!"
"I know," he had said in a voice so calm it stifled her tears. "Do you remember where Mister Puck is?"
"Yes," Aelita said before her papa had led her downstairs.
The men in black were already there, right inside their house. Terror had filled Aelita's mind but her papa remained a calm in the midst of the storm, grabbing her hand and leading her into the basement and out into the garden below. After barricading the door to stop the men in black, her papa led her through the secret door leading to the sewers below. As they ran through the sewers it was then, and only then, that Aelita saw the fear, the uncertainty, in her papa's eyes as he glanced behind him to make sure she was close by.
"No, no…" She heard him mutter. "It's not ready yet!"
"What is it daddy?" Aelita had asked.
"Nothing, my dear," her papa assured her, but his voice shook and his gaze did not rest on Aelita too long. "Nothing-nothing at all."
At last they reached a ladder which led the way to the world above. The bright light nearly blinded Aelita as she climbed up, but her papa didn't slow down. Pulling her up onto the bridge, her father led her into an old factory and down to an old, rickety elevator.
"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks," her papa told her. Without another word, they entered the lift and traveled far down the shaft.
The next sight Aelita would see was a massive room, the ceiling like a the roof of a cavern. Wires and equipment lay strewn everywhere and only a few monitors were lit. The massive dome in the center of the room was dark.
"But where are we?" She'd asked.
"In my laboratory," her papa had replied. His voice was grim...sad even. Aelita couldn't understand why. Her papa had always talked about his lab at school with such enthusiasm and joy.
"Come on," her papa told her, standing up from the console. "We don't have much time."
Once more he led her to the lift.
"Wait, Aelita," he said suddenly, seeming to have second thoughts and turning her around, kneeling down so they could be eye-to-eye.
"Yes, daddy?" Aelita asked. She'd never seen her papa like this before.
"I need to know something, Aelita," her papa said with a deep breath and a sigh. "Do you trust me?"
Aelita shook. From what she wasn't sure.
"O-of course, daddy!" She'd replied.
Her papa let out another sigh, but it was not one of relief.
"Good," he said finally, leading her to the lift once more. "Come on."
They journeyed even deeper into the earth. The air was cold and when the door open, Aelita gasped at the sight of a massive golden tower.
"I-is that a computer, daddy?" Aelita gaped in awe.
"Yes, Aelita, yes it is," her papa said, a hint of pride seeping into his voice. "But it's much more than just a computer. It's the solution to all of our problems. The men in black…Carthage…everything."
"That's great, daddy!" Aelita cried, hugging her father. She looked up at his eyes, hidden as always behind the sheen in his glasses. She thought she saw a tear trickle down his cheek. "But…what's the matter, daddy?"
Slowly, he knelt down and clasped his hands in hers.
"It's not finished, Aelita," he said. "And…and it won't ever be finished unless…"
His voice broke and his head sank. His eyes were squeezed tight as if holding back tears.
"Unless what, daddy?" Aelita asked.
"Unless you help me," her papa said at last, his voice choking. "I need your help, Aelita. Aelita, if I can complete my work here, we'll be free and you'll-you'll be safe…forever."
"W-what do you need me to do, daddy?" Aelita asked. Her papa was making her nervous, but she didn't want to show that. She wanted to be strong for her papa like he'd been for her. She wanted to help him.
The silence stretched into seconds until her papa let out a weary sigh, the sigh of a man with an unimaginable burden.
"Follow me," he whispered, keeping one of her hands in his and leading her behind the massive computer.
The sight that greeted Aelita was that of a chair, just big enough for her, extending out from within the computer. Through the hole it extended, Aelita could see the inner workings. Though she knew a lot about computers, Aelita was still a little disappointed. There wasn't quite as many flashy lights as she'd thought there would be.
"I need you to lie down here, Aelita," her papa instructed her.
"Why, papa?" Aelita asked as she laid down. "Does it need fixing? Are you too big to fit?"
Her papa chuckled, but it was dry and without humor. That, though, went over Aelita's head and she smiled, glad that her papa seemed to be getting back to normal.
"Yes, Aelita, I suppose I am," he sighed. "Now, you must remain absolutely still."
Aelita froze. She didn't want to disappoint her papa. He went over to the other side of the room, retrieving something before coming back to stand next to Aelita.
"Are you sure about this, Aelita?" He asked, squeezing her hand softly. "Do you trust me?"
Aelita was puzzled. Why was her papa asking these questions? Of course she trusted him! If she could make sure they would be safe forever, she'd do it in a heartbeat.
"Of course, daddy," she said, starting to tilt her head in puzzlement before remembering to lie still. "Why? Is there something wrong?"
Her papa sighed.
"Oh, Aelita," he said. "There are so many things that are wrong. But alas, there is little we can do about them now."
Aelita had never seen her papa look so unsure of himself, so she squeezed his hand as tight as he could.
"It's okay, daddy," she assured him. "I'll fix your computer. Then we'll be safe. Forever. Just like you said."
Her papa closed his eyes for a moment and breathed in deep. When at last he spoke, his voice was steady once more.
"Very well, Aelita. Lie still now, my dear," he said, fastening Aelita's arms and legs into the chair.
Aelita's eagerness turned to confusion. How was she supposed to fix the computer if her arms were tied up? She never got a chance to ask.
"It's alright, Aelita," her papa said soothingly, tightening the last strap. "When we're finished, I'll take you to a new place, a new world. A world where we will be safe."
He stopped and a sigh slipped through and, gazing into her eyes, he placed a hand lightly on her cheek.
"I'll see you in a minute, honey," he whispered, love and sorrow coursing through his voice.
"S-see you in a minute, daddy," Aelita replied, uncertainty starting to slip in. A sharp pain suddenly pricked her arm. She tried to move her head but she couldn't. "Daddy?"
The tears were back in her father's eyes again.
"Please forgive me, Aelita," his voice cracked.
"Daddy…," Aelita called weakly as her body grew numb, the sensation of nothingness spreading from her arm. Her vision darkened and her mind went black.
The next thing she knew she was falling to the ground. Catching herself, Aelita landed on the mossy rock beneath her. Where am I? She wondered as she looked around. She was in a forest, but something was off. Everything looked…strange.
"Daddy?" Aelita called out. "Daddy where are you?"
"Here I am Aelita," her father's voice boomed above her. Gone was the uncertainty and sadness she had heard moments before. Or was it moments before? Aelita wasn't sure anymore.
Turning around, Aelita saw that her father's voice was coming from a group of lights.
"Daddy!" She cried in relief as the lights surrounded her. "What's going on, daddy?"
Her father explained to her that they were on a virtual world called Lyoko, that it was still young and growing, and that he couldn't yet take human form. It was then that Aelita heard the clink of metallic feet. She turned see a bunch of strange brown animals that resembled roaches approaching her.
"Daddy? There are some strange looking creatures over there," she said. Their eyes started to glow and Aelita wondered if they were friendly, but her father's next words banished all such notions.
"Run, Aelita! Run!" He shouted just as pulses of light shot out of the creatures and zoomed past Aelita.
With a cry of panic, Aelita ran. She ran and ran until she tumbled head over heels into a massive, white tower. She resisted the urge to cry as she sat down in the center of the tower, the platform beneath her lighting up. It was then that her father spoke to her again.
"Aelita, I must make contact with Xana and persuade…it that we can live in peace."
"Who is Xana?" Aelita had asked.
"A multi-agent computer program I...created. It has achieved autonomy, and it's trying to destroy us now," Her father told her.
"But why, daddy?" Aelita asked.
She received no answer. He left as quickly as he had come, warning her only to stay within the tower no matter what. But eventually, she could wait no longer. She rushed out of the tower, fear and curiosity consuming her, only to behold a terrifying sight. Her beloved father was surrounded by giant wasps. From their stingers they shot pulses just like the roaches did.
"Daddy!" She cried in desperation as her father was struck.
"No, Aelita!" Her father shouted, equally desperate. "Get back to safety in the tower! You possess the Keys to Lyoko, Aelita. Xana must never get its hands on them, do you understand?"
More bolts hit him again and again, but his voice did not waver, and Aelita could only watch on in despair.
"It's over Aelita," her father said. "Xana is too powerful. It's as I feared. It's become a threat to all mankind. I must shut down the supercomputer!"
Aelita stumbled back into the tower in shock. Her father followed, reduced to a single glowing orb. Aelita's thoughts raced about at blinding speed.
"But does that mean we'll die?" Aelita asked in despair. Had her work, whatever it'd been, been for nothing?
"No," her father said, sending relief coursing through Aelita. But that was relief was soon quenched by his next words. "But you mustn't forget me, ever. Never forget, Aelita."
"Daddy!" Aelita cried out as her father faded away.
"I am so sorry," her father said, his voice fading. "I am so sorry, Aelita. So very, very sorry…"
"DADDY!" Aelita cried one last time.
Aelita shot up in her bed, the covers tumbling off her into a pile on the floor as her chest heaved. For a moment, she didn't know where she was. Then she remembered.
It was just a dream, the pinkette told herself, resting her head in her hands. Just a dream. You're fine. You're in your room. Jeremy's on the floor below. You're fine…
With a deep breath, Aelita lifted her head. Whatever her dream had been about was fading from her mind. Only one thing remained. A face. It was one she had seen so many times in her dreams and vision, but as of yesterday it had gained so much more meaning.
"Daddy?" She whispered to herself. "Are you really my daddy?"
A knock at the door startled her, but she soon regained her composure and called out.
"Come in!"
The door opened to reveal Jeremy standing at the door with a shy grin, and Aelita couldn't fight the one that spread across her own lips.
"Hey, Aelita," Jeremy said. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"No, not at all, Jeremy," Aelita smiled, keeping her dream to herself. She didn't need to worry Jeremy about it. He already had so many things to worry about as it was. "Did you need something?"
"Oh, no, not really," Jeremy rubbed his neck. "I just wanted to let you know that I've made some huge progress with Franz Hopper's diaries! I've already called the others and told them to meet us at the factory. What do you say, Aelita? Want to learn about your fa-,er, Franz Hopper?"
Aelita kept her smile, but her joy was tinged with uncertainty.
"That sounds wonderful, Jeremy," the pinkette said. "I'll get ready and meet you at the factory, okay?"
"Sounds like a plan," Jeremy grinned as he began to shut the door but paused for a moment and turned back, "You, uh, you sure you don't want someone to go with you? You know…for company?"
"Don't worry about me, Jeremy," Aelita said softly, assuring the boy as best she could. "I'll be fine. I just need some…time to myself."
Jeremy nodded in understanding.
"Ok, Aelita," he said. "See you there, then."
"See you there," Aelita replied as Jeremy left.
As the door shut, Aelita sighed. She was lucky to have such great friends. She was luckier to have a friend like Jeremy. Did she really need to know more about her past?
No, don't think like that, Aelita shook herself. This isn't just about you. If there's anything in those diaries that can help us defeat Xana then there's no question.
So with that settled, Aelita pushed herself out of bed and headed to the cafeteria for a quick bite to eat. And after that…after that she would head to the factory. She'd finally learn who she was. And at that moment, there was no thought more exhilarating than that. And no thought more terrifying.
Post Story Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed the story. As I said, reviews of any kind are welcome, and I hope you'll stick around for the next chapter.
As a possibly important side note, I have recently become aware of a project called Code Lyoko Rebirth, a project set on creating a new season of Lyoko. I know what you're thinking, but this one may be different. From what I have heard, this project has actually acquired the license to Code Lyoko (which had apparently been let go of by the production company) and are now attempting to produce at least one new season and get Cartoon Network (so I have heard) to re-air Code Lyoko (as they have the license). Now, since this is the Internet, I take everything with a grain of salt. Nonetheless, I think this may be worth checking out, even if just to fact-check. Make of it what you will. However, if this is true, then this project is actively trying to produce a new season of Code Lyoko at production level qualities (I have actually come across some recruitment offers they have given to certain users on DeviantArt who have shown an exceptional ability at reproducing Code Lyoko's original art style). Like I said, make of it what you will. And naturally, if I learn anything new and solid about this project, I will let you all know. At the end of the story of course. No need for a wall of bold text at the beginning.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. A Merry Christmas to you and a Happy New Year!