Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners, particularly the characters taken from the animated series, Code Lyoko. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Jeremie, Odd and Ulrich were back at the console where they were at the beginning of the afternoon. Jeremie quickly dialed Aelita.
"Aelita, is everything okay on your end?" he said when she answered.
"Yes, Yumi and I are both here," Aelita replied, "we're in the alley about a block from the studio."
"How's Yumi," Ulrich asked.
"Not good," was the pink haired girl's reply, "she still remembers what happened the last time around."
"Look, we're just going to have to abort the operation," Jeremie said, "call Sophie up and make sure she's okay, then make up an excuse and reschedule."
"Okay," Aelita replied, clearly disappointed.
Sophie was sitting in her office, and clearly confused. I must have been daydreaming, she thought to herself, well, it was more like a nightmare, really. I mean, Mr. Stones, a psycho killer? C'mon!
Just then, there was a knock at the outside door. Someone came in and a man's voice called out, "hello? Is anyone here? I have an appointment with someone named Sophie."
"I'm back here," Sophie called out.
She heard the approach of footsteps and a seemingly familiar looking man appeared at her door.
"Hello; my name is Franz Stones. I'm Aelita's father," said the man.
It took all of Sophie's self-control not to run screaming from the room.
The elevator door opened, revealing Aelita and Yumi. Although they looked fine physically, Yumi was slumped over Aelita's shoulder like she could barely walk. It also sounded like she was sobbing.
Ulrich immediately ran over and took Yumi from Aelita. When he did, she threw her arms around him and started bawling. Aelita ran over and threw her arms around Jeremie.
"Thank God you got control back when you did," Aelita said, "Yumi almost died! XANA was torturing her and..."
"I know, I saw almost everything," Jeremie said, "but it wasn't me who saved the day. I was over there hanging up like an old coat while all this was going on."
"Well, you can thank your father for the save," Odd said, causing Jeremie, Aelita and Yumi to stare at the boy.
"Yeah, it was Franz Hopper," Odd continued, "he somehow got in, infiltrated the matrix, then shot William to bits."
"Well, that's not quite what happened," Ulrich said, "but it was Franz Hopper."
"My father, was here?" Aelita asked.
"Yes," Ulrich replied, "he followed XANA in this time, saw what was going on and stepped in. If he hadn't, we'd be done for."
Yumi, in the mean time, had stopped crying. She looked up, then flushed red when she saw who she was holding. She didn't let go, however.
"Yumi, are you going to be alright?" Ulrich asked.
"Eventually, she finally said, "but I'm going to have nightmares for at least a month, and I'll never ever watch another Japanese horror movie."
"Gee, I never knew you liked horror movies," Odd piped in.
"Well, I don't like the ones you like," Yumi replied, a small grin on her face, "Japanese horror movies are more frightening."
"Oh, my gosh!" Aelita suddenly said, "I forgot to call Sophie!"
She quickly pulled out her cell phone and dialed.
"Sophie, it's Aelita," she began, "I'm sorry but I couldn't..."
She stood there in stunned silence as she listened to Sophie speak. She finally said, "okay, I'll be there," and hung up.
"It turns out I wasn't late for our meeting after all," Aelita said, "Sophie said she just got done talking to my father, and they worked everything out. She wants me to drop by whenever to discuss the details, and she has something for me."
The Lyoko Warriors stood outside the studio that had been the focus of so much trouble. Yumi, in particular, looked like she wanted to bolt from the scene, but Ulrich put an arm around her to comfort her and give her strength.
They all walked inside, and Aelita called out, "Sophie, I'm here!"
Sophie came walking out, beaming.
"Well, I'm glad you could make it so quickly," she said, "your father said something came up and you couldn't make it, but we were able to take care of all the boring details."
The woman then handed Aelita a large envelope.
"This is a copy of the contract we just signed. Just so you know, I'll be charging you a ten percent management fee, and I'll be overseeing your finances, just like I do the SubDigitals. Another thing, any money you receive will go into a trust fund. That way, there should be no opportunity for monkey business on anybody's part."
"Okay," Aelita said.
"Now, about London. Your father agreed to let you perform, but he said no more travel during the school year. He's more concerned about your education than your career, and I don't really blame him. Hiring tutors for while you're on the road will be expensive, and I've got an idea that will build the buzz about you without having you flit all over the world."
"Oh, and one more thing," Sophie continued, "your father put something in that envelope for you. He wanted you to read it when you got a spare moment. Now, how about you and your friends joining me in a celebration, my treat!"
All of the teens' eyes lit up at that.
"Let's go, I'm starved," Odd exclaimed.
That evening, Aelita sat in her dorm room at Kadic Academy and looked at the envelope Sophie had given her. She almost dreaded opening it, afraid of what it contained.
The celebration was enjoyable. Chris and the rest of the SubDigitals caught up with them and congratulated Aelita on her new career. Ulrich had to take Odd off to the side at one point and threaten him with bodily harm if he didn't curb his appetite. It was funny to watch Odd sulk the rest of the evening.
They got back to school well before curfew, Chris saying he remembered how strict Kadic was about violating curfew from his days at the school. After they said their goodbyes, Ulrich walked Yumi home. For once, neither was embarrassed to be close to the other.
Now, Aelita sat and stared at the envelope. Finally, she took it and opened it up. Inside was a copy of the contract her father had signed, as well as some information about a trust fund that had been set up for her, some twenty years ago. There was also a small envelope included, marked "Aelita."
She opened the envelope up and withdrew the letter within. She opened it up and read:
My Darling Aelita,
I love you with all my heart, and I'm sorry I dragged you into my troubles. I should have never taken you into Lyoko that day; I should have stood my ground and confronted those men. Even if they took me away, you would have had some chance of a normal life.
The only thing I can do now is try and make amends. When you were a baby, your mother and I set up a trust fund for you. We would put money in that account every now and then so you would have a college fund when you came of age. Over the years, I've managed it the best I could, at least until Lyoko. The trust is located in a Swiss bank, in a numbered account. Those who were looking for me have never found this account, and since I've been on the 'net, I've been keeping an eye on it for you. Right now, there is enough for you to live comfortably for a very long time. If Sophie is as sharp a manager as I think she is, it could well double by the time you come of age. I have arranged for your tuition at Kadic to be paid out of this account, including the amount Jeremie embezzled to enroll you. On a side note, you really should have a talk with that boy about his criminal tendencies.
I know I can't talk you, or them out of it, but your best course of action is to shut down the supercomputer and forget about recovering me. Live your lives out as normal children should. The fight you are fighting is not yours, and it may take years to finally win, if victory is even possible. I will tell you that XANA has co-opted several supercomputers around the world, establishing Lyoko copies on each. What his purpose is, I have no idea, but the original supercomputer is part of whatever he is planning. Sooner or later, XANA will return to wrest control of it from you, so your best course of action is to shut it down and destroy it. Place an anonymous call to the government about the location and forget about it.
Of course, if you were going to do that, you would have done it already. I had hoped that you would after XANA originally escaped and you got your memories back. Or again, when Lyoko was destroyed. But I see that you are as stubborn as I am, and as much a fighter as your mother was. Since you aren't going to do the smart thing, I'll be visiting Lyoko more often to help you do the dumb thing. I've already left some programs for Jeremie to look at and improve. These should help make it harder for XANA to infiltrate Lyoko again, and give your ship a little more power. I've also included a little bit of XANA's programming, the part that allows him to project himself into the real world. You might find it useful when you visit XANA's Replikas.
As for materializing me, don't worry about it. It would be too difficult to explain my reappearance after so many years gone, and the last thing you need is a doddering old fool in your way. Live your life, Aelita; don't worry about mine. You have fine friends, and, if I'm not mistaken, someone who cares for you as deeply as I do. Don't be too harsh on him when he tries to swaddle you in cotton to keep you from breaking. Right now, that is the only way he can say, I Love You.
Tell Jeremie he won't have to worry about monitoring the voice mailbox he made for me; I'll do that from here on out. When you need to go to a rehearsal, or when you finally go to London, leave me a message there and I'll be sure to be in Lyoko in case XANA tries something. Also, tell him I've set up a profile for him in the computer. One of the things it provides is the capability to deactivate towers, like you have. Tell him that he needs to pick up the slack while you're unavailable. Be sure to add a smile and kiss when you do, to lessen the sting.
Take care of yourself, my precious daughter. If we do not meet again in this world, maybe we will in the next.
All my love, forever,
Franz Hopper
