Chapter 10: Encountering Franz Hopper

Alice stood in shock at seeing him. She wanted to hug him, but also wanted to punch him. "P…P..Professor?! I…" Alice studded out at last. She felt tears try to form themselves in her eyes. She gave up on her feelings and ran to him. She reached out and hugged his deeply.

"I missed you so much… We had a fight just before you escaped onto the computer… I'm sorry! I..I…" Alice sobbed out to him. There fight was over something stupid about her not moving on from Doodle's death. She never forgave herself for the last words she told him before XANA forced her into a deep sleep.

"You just want me to find someone else to turn into a warrior to keep protecting you real daughter! All because you refused to believe us when we told you everything been XANA's fault! I refuse to drag another innocent person into this! Admit it, you never truly loved me, I was just a meat shield for her! I hate you and hope you get trapped on Lyoko when you do run away from everything!" She said then slammed the door onto his face.

"Please tell me what's going on around here? I want to hear your side of the story…. Please Daddy Professor…." Alice asked him.

"Alice, My Alice," Franz said with tears in his eyes as he held her closely to him. Sissi, who was watching the touching moment, began to bounce up and down happily while barely constraining herself to be silent and not mess up whatever was going on here. "Let me look at you," Franz said lovingly as he pulled her gently away from him and looked her up and down. "You know, you really don't seem like you've aged at all since we parted company so many years ago, not physically at least." He brushed her face softly, running it gently over the many miniscule bumps, bruises, and scars that were there.

"I was hoping this day would never come," he said quietly, more to himself than to her. "You aren't supposed to be here, Alice. You were never supposed to come back." He shook his head quietly as he said it. "You should have stayed away. This meeting, me looking at you, was not supposed to happen. I did not want you in this new world." He shook his head quietly as he released Alice and stared into the distance. Then, quietly, he said, "XANA wasn't keeping you away from here. I was."

Alice gasped at him. She held her hand to her mouth and shook her head. "No….no…but why would you keep me away?" Alice asked, her once happiness of seeing him now gone. Her mind tried to think of a reason, but all she could think of how if she brought the old world back, he would die from giving his energy to the Anti-XANA virus. "Please, why would you keep me from my new Ohana, the people I consider my family! You always said to put them above your on life and happiness… especially Aelita." Alice yelled at him, a few tears traveled down her face.

Franz Hopper actually blinked in surprise. "My Darling Girl, do you really have to ask why? Tell me, Alice, have you been happy at all since you got here. I mean, surely you know everything I know by now, wandering around and searching as I assume you've done. Surely you've come to understand the impossible dilemma that XANA has put you through. There are three possible outcomes to this predicament, and looking at your bedraggled face I have to assume that none of them are to your liking.

"Tell me Alice. Which is better, to find the place that you have always dreamed of has been destroyed in every way and have your dreams crushed, or spend your life searching for it with dreams of a happily ever after dancing through your mind? My thought was, as long as I could keep you away, you would always… always… be able to dream. Now, you can't even do that."

Alice wiped the tears away form her face. "Yes, None of them are… I do wish I never came, since I'd imagine a safe world from XANA and seeing Aelita's smile once more without a care, like before she ever knew about XANA and Lyoko." Alice admitted to him. She looked upset as everything wanted to come crashing down on top of her.

"But I'm glad to at least the end is in sight. Sure, I had the dream of adopting Aelita to give her back a family and a future with the others. To smile carefree with them all at one of Odd's silly jokes. To know that I no longer have to live in fear that XANA will drag me away from friends, new and old, at any second to try to kill me on a new world." Alice offered a small smile at him.

"It's hard to dream when XANA has you in a constant state of fear. Yes, I will miss the dream of going to what I wanted home to be. But I can now, at least dream of a life without XANA. And a chance to- re-kindle the friendship I have with the other Warriors. And to, hopefully, find love in this crazy world." Alice smiled at him. She was not sure if he knew about Doodle, so she kept that information to herself.

Franz nodded his head quietly and said, "I really don't mean you any harm, Alice. No matter what other people might have said to you, you are my daughter and I would die for you. The Kadets thought I believed you dead, and that I wanted it that way. It was the only excuse I could give for setting things up on Lyoko the way that I did. The fact that it has collapsed leaves me very worried. Also," he raised his eyebrows with a smile as he added, "Can you imagined what it is like for me? I mean, to have absolutely no power over Lyoko?"

"As for Aelita and the others, now that I know you are here I can begin to create some kind of past for you. Knowing this world…" he chuckled slightly as he said it, "they would come to believe it and welcome you as a long lost friend." Then he trailed off for a second and looked at Alice quietly. "Of course, that would be the memory altering itself rather than making true memories. It would mean your friendship was based upon a lie. So I don't really know if that is what you want the most."

He glanced around quietly before adding, "I have to know something Darling Girl. Have you been in contact with Dark Moon, besides just William and his secret friend?"

Alice chuckled at him as she rolled up her sleeve to show him the faded tattoo. "How do you think I feel? I'm so use to showing the warriors of other worlds how their Lyoko sees me as one of it's creators; even when I never been to their world before."

Could Alice truly enjoy their friendship knowing it is based off of a lie? If it means she can have them close to her again, then there is no other way. Her old life with them is gone now and they will never remember all the fun times they shared before. From late night pranks on Jim, to staying up late to help code different things, to practicing swordsmanship in the middle of the park, to even having a girls night out at the spa.

"My old live with them is gone now. All I want is for them to stay in my life and not leave me again. I may not love it, but I at least can live with it." Alice looked at her feet when she told him.

Alice snapped her head up and scratched her chin when he asked about who she has meet. "Not that I know off… the only people I have meet since I came here is Xanatos, Aelita, Emily, Milly Tamiya, William and his friend, and Sissi here. Besides bumping into Yumi at a party in the dorms and Emily's dad, I don't think so…why? If I may ask, Daddy Professor." Alice asked him.

Sissi looked at Alice questioningly and said, "but you could always start over from scratch, is I think what Professor Hopper is trying to say. He could create a fake friendship where you would always have to wonder if they would have been your friends without it, or you could attempt to start befriending them again from scratch."

Franz Hopper nodded his head and addressed the second thing that Alice had said. "The only person in the Dark Moon I've encountered so far that isn't an assassin is William's secret friend. It leaves me quite unsettled, especially since Dark Moon seems to have made me a target. After I brought down XANA a few years ago there hasn't been a moment when they haven't been going after me or the Kadets. In all truthfulness, I have no idea why. I have absolutely nothing wrong with Dark Moon's world-turning goal, and I've never spoken out against it. So, I have no idea why I am one of their prime targets.

"It leaves me slightly uncomfortable because I have a hard time trusting an organization that seems to have a majority of its people being assassins. The last time I worked for a place like that, it was Carthage, which didn't end well as you may remember. I'm just incredibly wary, and would like to meet a non-Lyoko Warrior. Otherwise, I have no how much we can trust them."

Alice sighed and wondered how to perceive about the others. "I think for now, with all that is happening, that the issue of the others needs to be put on the back burner Let's try not to let Dark Moon kill us all first beforehand. And if it is a big deal now, I think I might try to start from scratch When I talked to them before, they at least seemed interested to know more about me. But let;s try not to all die first alright?" Alice explained her thoughts to both of them.

Alice sighed towards Franz. "I'm just about in the same boat as you. I only just gotten here and, from what I can tell, I'm their main target. I came here confused and already they have gone after Odd. I can't help but wonder if it was a warning to me." She said as she looked towards Franz.

"Yeah, it is very strange. It is why I'm staying away from Kadic. I don't want my presence to cause an increase in their attempts to harm the others. At least, until I get a better grasp on this world and how to set things right." Alice admitted to him.

"I like not dying. Dying isn't fun. I knew a person once who died, and they just laid there being all boring. And I thought it must be very boring to be dead. And if one is dead then they can't do fun things, and what point is life if you can't do fun things? But people who are dead don't have life and that's why they can't do fun things. But what's the point of being dead if you can't do fun things?" Sissi babbled in agreement with Alice.

Franz was silent, looking the two over with interest. "The two of you certainly make a very interesting pair, I'll say that much. As for me, I'm staying at Kadic because that is where everything seems to be centering." Then he leaned forward and whispered, "If I were you, Alice, I would take a trip to this address. It is possible that there might be something there that will help you in this mess that you seem to have found yourself in."

He nodded towards Sissi and then said, "Also, Alice. I want you to promise me that you will take good care of this one here. Her heart is in the right place, but when things get complicated… I find she doesn't often know the best way to respond. And embrace her oddness, because… well… it's the best type of depression med you can find."

Alice chuckled a Sissi before she turned her attention to Franz. "I will. She is the main thing that's been keeping me sane through all of this. I'm not about to let her go without a fight."

Alice pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down her cell phone number. "Here, my cell phone number. I thought I lost you once, I"m not about to lose you again. Can you keep me informed to what's happening at Kadic? I hate to be the last one out of stuff. Like when you and Doodle tried to keep Lyoko from me before I followed you guys to the lab. And I will check it out, and thing that can help me is welcomed." Alice smiled at him.

Alice looked at her feet before she asked him, "Is there anyway I could get some of your old rare Physics books from the Hermitage There could be something buried inside that can help us all. As I remember that the public Library don't have some of the good ones."

"There is no hermitage," Franz said quietly. "In this world, I apparently never built it. I live in the same building as Jim Morales and Principal Delmas do. However, as I said, I want you to head to this address. From what vague memory I know of this world, and I know practically none since I chose not to forget the other world, this address is where I fought to bring down XANA and Lyoko. It just might be possible for you to find something of use there."

He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote on it. "1402 Star Top Rd Ottawa Canada." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a wallet, and withdrew five €500 bills (the equivalent of about $3300) and placed them into Alice's hands. "Take these and order three round-trip tickets. Find somebody older who would be willing to accompany you, since you too young to be allowed to fly alone. Convert the last of those into dollars so you can have about 300 to use after you reach Canada." Gripping the shoulders of both Alice and Sissi, he said, "The fate of the world rests on you two. Don't let us down." With those words, he turned and disappeared into the woods.

Alice watched him leave. She sighed as she wondered if she would ever have a family again after all of this. She carefully put the money away and looked over the piece of paper. "Looks like I need to call those two again. William said to stay local, but Franz wants us to go to Canada to this address. Looks like we got conflicting interests…" Alice sighed as she talked to Sissi. She pulled out her phone and called Doodle's number, the untapped one.

Alice heard him say hi before she started to talk. "Your not going to believe who I just ran into… yeah, we need to talk again. I"m going to need some help on this one…" Alice said and began to explain what just happen with Franz. In the back of her mind, she began to pile up a list of adults she trust for a trip like this. But there was really one name, besides Franz, she knew she could trust. And she was not sure if Xanatos can just drop everything and come with them.

Sissi continued to stare at the money with a puzzled expression on her face. "I didn't know teachers were rich enough to just hand out this kind of money without it causing them a lot of money problems," she said more to herself than to Alice. Then she jumped back as the ground under her proceeded to open up, and Doodle and William walked out.

"You know," William said with a slight chuckle and a raised eyebrow. "We are secret agents, me and Doodle. When I gave you the phone number it was supposed to be for emergencies. Not so you could call us whenever you wanted to speak to your beloved Doodle." There was a twinkle in his eyes as he said this and a slight smirk on his face.

"More seriously," Doodle said with a nod of his head, "due to being directly underneath of you we heard absolutely everything. I think that it is actually a pretty good idea. I would have suggested it had I known the place existed. You see, I've already tried to go to the hermitage and found it wasn't there. I assume that is because no secret Lyoko-building place was necessary since we aren't… the creators anymore."

Alice crossed her arms across her chest and stared at William. "Ack, Go jump in the Digital Sea William..." She mumbled to him, her way of using a choice word to him. Alice sighed and showed him her arm. "Yeah, I"m still getting use to seeing this." She said, showing him her faded Tattoo. "The real question is, we need an adult to take us. I would of changed myself back to my 24 year old self, but I doubt we can walk into the lab and use the scanner and computer… you guys know anyone? I have someone in mind, but I would love to hear your input." Alice asked them.

William raised his eyebrows and said, "You think that two secret agents who do their best not to let anybody in the world know we are here, have a list of contacts that we can call up to go on a plane ride with you? Unless you want to go riding across the world with a member of Dark Moon, I suggest you get that guy you were originally traveling with to help you."

Doodle shook his head and said, "He's just upset that he cannot have any friends and has to live a life of secrecy with me. The world is a place that we won't he won't be able to enjoy until the Dark Moon's mission is complete. I agree with him though. Take that friend of yours."

"I guess I better call him and ask since I should avoid Kadic. I just hope he can get away since he is working at the school." Alice said as she dialed up the school.

"Hello? Kadic Academy, how may I help you?" A soft voice answered.

"Hi, yes, can I speak to a Mr. Xanatos please? Tell him it's Alice, he will know who it is…" Alice answered back.

"Hello," Xanatos said with a clearly bewildered voice. "You do realize that I am not officially working here, and was simply one of the people going through interviews, right?" He chuckled. "You shoulda seen the look on Delmas's face when he gave me the phone. He looked completely stunned. "It was priceless.

"Anyways, how may I help you Alice? Wasn't expecting to hear back from you for a while. And… I was under the impression you were going to call my cellphone, not the Kadic Academy phone."

"Well, excuse me for having the attention span of a Kankrelat!" Alice joked at him. "Look, I just want to meet and talk to you about something. I just don't know how reliable this line is. Can you come meet me where you found me crying n the park?" Alice asked him, hopeful he knows where she was talking about. "And tell Delmas I'm sorry. I'll send him some apologetic flowers." Alice added on.

"She apologizes for calling during my interview," Xanatos said on the other side of the phone, making it clear that he was still in the room with Delmas. "Give me a few hours, and I'll meet you there." Then he hung up the phone. True to his word, a few hours later Xanatos strode confidentaly into the park and nodded with a smile at Alice.

Then, after glancing around to make sure nobody else was there. his face became more serious. "What's happened? Last I heard you were leaving Kadic and were going to wander aimlessly through deserts or something. Now, a few short hours later, you are back at this secret Dark Moon base."

Alice sighed ans sat down on a nearby rock. "Yeah… A lot has gone down since we were last together… Let me explain." Alice told him and went into all that has happen. Well, Almost everything. She kept Doodle's identity a secret since she can tell he wants to be left alone. And since Xanatos is a good XANA, he might feel bad for what had become of her love.