Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or any related media. I am not seeking any gain, either commercial or financial, from this work.

Please try to take thirty seconds to review this. I need constructive criticism to improve my writing, and I need readers to judge how well the story is going. I would also like to thank every beta reader who helped me while I was writing this.

I was inspired to write this after reading Code Lyoko Chronicles, a series of four non-canon AU novels set after the end of the show. Fan translations are available for free online. I really enjoyed Chronicles, but there were places where they just didn't feel like Code Lyoko to me. There was one thing they got right, though: Aelita reuniting with her mother.

So I decided to write this. No terrorists. No unicorns. No redeeming one of the most ruthless villains in the history of animation. This is what I view as the logical post-canon: Jeremy trying to find Aelita's mom using some good old-fashioned detective work.

"How do you think I did?"

Jeremy rewarded her with a smile as they walked down the corridor. "I think you have a promising career in music, Mrs. Stones."

Aelita gave a short laugh. "Thanks, Jeremy. That means a lot."

Aelita had just wrapped up her latest performance. Jeremy genuinely thought she had done a good job, but it seemed like something about her was... off. Less excited, less energetic.

"You always ask me that after you finish," Jeremy observed as they walked back to her dorm at Kadic.

"I know," Aelita said. "It's just... it's nothing."

The tone in her voice didn't sound like it was nothing. "What's the matter, Aelita?" Jeremy asked, concerned.

"It's nothing, Jeremy," she tried to reassure him. "I've just... been feeling a little tired lately."

"Just try to relax," Jeremy suggested. "Have fun and focus on the things you enjoy."

Aelita couldn't help mildly snorting at that one. "Are you really one to talk about doing things you enjoy, Jeremy?"

Jeremy's look didn't harden, but he did look more serious. "Yes, Aelita. You know how much I've been trying to change since we defeated X.A.N.A."

"Yeah, that's true. I'm sorry," Aelita apologized. "You really packed up a lot of your computer stuff after we got back from summer."

"That's for sure. All I kept was my laptop and some of my personal equipment. I've been thinking about packing even more of it away."

"You can't do that!" Aelita exclaimed. She reached out to grab Jeremy's hand. "Jeremy, you're great at computer science. We all appreciate how hard you've been trying to improve, but you shouldn't try to give up everything related to technology just because Lyoko's gone." They had reached Aelita's room but remained outside.

"I know," Jeremy conceded. "It's just that sometimes I worry if I go back, I won't be able to stop myself. Lyoko's been a part of our lives for a very long time."

Aelita's face took on a look of deep sadness. "Yeah, don't I know it," she said in a voice devoid of any emotion. "Trying to move on hasn't been easy."

Uh-oh. Land mine.

"I'm sorry, Aelita," he said softly. "I didn't—"

"It's okay, Jeremy," she interrupted. "It's not your fault.… and there's nothing you can do. I'm sorry for dragging you into it. See you tomorrow. Good night." Aelita headed in and closed the door. She didn't slam it shut like she would have if she was angry, but it still gave him a sinking feeling.

Jeremy walked back to his own dorm with a heavy heart. He should've known that bringing up Lyoko was a bad idea. Even though X.A.N.A. had been defeated several months ago, the cost of that victory—if it deserved to be called that—was not one which Aelita would be forgetting any time soon.

Thinking about the death of Franz Hopper brought another unwanted thought: the dark changes he had seen in his friend over the past few months.

The girl he had first met so long ago—well, two years, but it felt like a lot more than that—had been happy and innocent. Eager to learn about the world around her. She always had a genuine laugh ready. Aelita wasn't laughing much these days. When she did, it rarely reached her heart like it once did.

Jeremy could understand, logically, that Aelita's reaction to all the blows life had already thrown at her in her short life was entirely natural. Who knows how many times Aelita had hoped to see her father again? Each false hope had to have taken its toll.

The final blow was the death of her father. She'd lost any hope of having her family again. The transformation had been painful to watch. This new, increasingly cynical Aelita was resigned to whatever else fate had in store for her and little trust that it would be good.

Jeremy reached his room and started preparing for the evening. He tried long and hard to think of some way to make things better, some way of restoring Aelita's faith in the world.

Maybe there was something in Franz Hopper's diary? He'd already foolishly dismissed the thought of Aelita's father still being alive once before; he'd have to be an even bigger fool to dismiss it now.

Jeremy still had all of Franz Hopper's notes and diary entries. They were no longer needed against X.A.N.A., but he still wanted to learn everything he could about quantum physics from Kadic's former science teacher. Maybe he could try going through one more time to see if there was something he missed.

He understood it was a long shot. He'd tried bringing it up with Aelita before; that had not ended well. Aelita was adamant that this time her father was dead and shut down the thought of any more talk about it. Jeremy still thought he owed it to his best friend to try, though.

He was already opening the case to install the hard drive that contained some of the data he needed. Jeremy was dearly looking forward to the USB-IF ratifying the new 3.0 specification in a few months. USB-2.0 had been released eight years ago—an eternity in the world of information technology—and now the new specification promised ten times the current transfer rates. But for now, manually replacing internal hard drives would have to do.

While he waited for his computer to finish rebooting, Jeremy saw that he had a text from his mom.

"When were you planning on telling us your girlfriend was a teenage rock star?"

Jeremy groaned. His parents would never let him catch a break. Although he and Aelita hadn't made things official yet, it seemed like everyone treated them as if they were already an established couple.

He was embarrassed by his parent's constant teasing, just as any other teenager would be, but he was grateful for them. He knew all too well that most of his friends came from broken families.

Ulrich had it the worst, with his father being a verbal abuser and his mother being a bystander, at best. Odd was less than happy with his parent's passivity and even less with the hostility of his sisters. Yumi did not describe her relationship with her brother in all that positive terms, and her mom and dad's frayed relationship drained her house of much warmth.

Then, of course, there was Aelita, who had lost both her parents. Her chances of improving her family life were nil. The others could still hope to mend their relationships with their families one day; Aelita had no such option. From that perspective, he had nothing to complain about his mom's—

Wait a minute!

Jeremy's thoughts started racing faster than the magnetic seek times on his hard drive. When his computer was finally finished loading, Jeremy began his review of Franz Hopper's data, but this time with a much different purpose.

A few weeks later

Odd was strolling back from his latest date. In his opinion, this one had gone well. Extraordinarily well, in fact, if he did say so himself. Maybe she could finally be the one…

"Odd!"

Odd turned and saw Jeremy coming towards him. "What's up, Einstein? You got some leftovers for me again?"

"No, Odd. I need…" Jeremie stumbled. "I need some advice… about Aelita."

Odd's grin widened. So Mr. and Mrs. Einstein were about to become a thing, huh? Well, he certainly couldn't fault Jeremy for seeking advice from the best.

"Ah, Jeremy. It's quite simple. When a girl likes you, all you need to do is—"

"Not that Odd," Jeremie interrupted. "Look, can you please stop by my room sometime? Alone? This is serious."

Odd saw the look on his friend's face and knew this was no laughing matter. The only time Odd had seen Jeremy's face this intense was during X.A.N.A.'s attacks. Come to think of it, since when did Jeremy start talking about important stuff to only one of their group? He usually preferred to address them all at once.

"Um, sure. I'll stop by later."

"Great, thanks, Odd." He left without another word.

Odd watched him go, wondering what would await him when he saw Jeremy again.

Odd arrived a little later than he'd planned. The sense of urgency earlier had been partially forgotten between classes. Jeremy didn't seem to mind, though. He sat in his chair while Odd made himself comfy on Jeremy's bed.

"Soooo, what's all this about, anyway?" Odd finally asked.

"Okay," Jeremy took a moment to collect himself. "So this all started a few weeks ago. I was going through Franz Hopper's diary again and…." Jeremy paused when he saw the look on Odd's face.

"Jeremy, isn't the supercomputer supposed to be shut down?" Odd reminded him.

"It is!" Jeremy tried to reassure him. "But I transferred a copy of all his data before we turned it off."

Odd looked skeptical of where this was going. "Does this happen to have anything to do with Lyoko?"

"Well… no, not directly, but—" Jeremy started before Odd cut him off again.

"And does Aelita know you're going through her father's things again?"

"No. That's actually why I wanted to talk to you. I don't—"

"Come on, Jeremy," Odd impatiently told him. He did not look happy at being drawn back into Lyoko-related business.

"You know how this goes. Aelita's going to be really upset with you. What could be important enough that you could keep this a secret from her?"

"Because this is about her mother!" Jeremy exclaimed.

Odd stared for several seconds. His annoyance instantly evaporated as he tried to process what Jeremy had just said. "What?!" he asked in disbelief.

Jeremy nodded. "Aelita's mom isn't dead. She was kidnapped more than twenty years ago! And I think I might've found a way to find her using Franz Hopper's diary. But I'm not sure if I should tell Aelita yet."

Odd looked at him as if Jeremy was planning a bank heist. "And why wouldn't we tell Aelita that we've found her long-lost mother?" Odd asked as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Because I said 'might,'" Jeremy reminded him. "I have no way of knowing for sure yet, and I don't want to tell her if it does turn out to be nothing. Look, how about I start from the beginning?".

Odd nodded.

"Okay," Jeremy began again. "So I was going through Hopper's diary, looking for any clues about what happened to his wife or what happened before he came to Kadic. He never found out what happened to Anthea, but I did find plenty of other stuff.

"We know that sometime around 1986, Professor Hopper fled the Men in Black and settled in the Hermitage with Aelita when she was around three or four years old. They lived there together until June 6th, 1994, when the Men in Black showed up again. This time, he fled to Lyoko with Aelita. He was never heard from again, and Ms. Hertz took over his position as science teacher after he disappeared. You follow me so far?"

"Yeah," Odd shrugged. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

Jeremy grinned. "I'm getting to that. First of all, doesn't it make you wonder why Franz Hopper chose here of all places? He and his wife lived in Switzerland. Why did he pick our little corner of the Parisian suburbs in France to settle down with Aelita?"

Odd frowned. He actually hadn't thought about that before, but it was a good question. He shook his head.

"I did, and I think I have the answer," Jeremy told him. "In his diary, Hopper mentions two people, Major Steinback and Agent Renaud. They already lived in the area, and they agreed to help him keep his cover while he lived here."

"Wow, really?" Odd asked. "How did he know them?"

"He already knew Major Steinback through Project Carthage. She also left the project and was willing to help him. Later, she introduced him to another intelligence agent, Agent Renaud. They both agreed to help him hide from the authorities. He didn't leave any clues about who they were, though."

"But you must have some idea, right?" Odd guessed. "You must have figured it out, or you wouldn't be telling me all this. Besides, you've got that look all over your face."

Jeremy's grin widened. He allowed himself a certain amount of professional pride in his handiwork. "You guessed it. I had to hack into all sorts of government databases and private records to find it, but it sure is amazing.

"They're closer than you think. In fact, we already know them. Major Steinback was Ms. Hertz, and Agent Renaud is Jim!"

Odd's jaw dropped. He looked utterly stupefied. He was certain he must have misheard Jeremy. "You're kidding!"

"I know, right!?" Jeremy agreed. "Our own teachers were actually secret agents! Can you believe it?"

It took Odd another minute or two before he could believe it. Even by their standards, that was a big bombshell.

"So, that means they must've known Aelita, right? And they can help us now?"

"No," Jeremy shook his head. "Franz Hopper never told them about Lyoko or his daughter."

"Oh," Odd deflated. "Then what good does that do us?"

Jeremy continued to smile. "They don't know about Aelita, but they do know about her mom. In fact, they promised Franz Hopper that if they ever had the chance, they'd help him find Anthea."

Enlightenment dawned on Odd. He finally understood where this was all going. "So you want to—"

"Approach Jim and Ms. Hertz, tell them I know about Franz Hopper and that they used to be intelligence agents, and ask them for help in finding Aelita's mom?" Jeremy finished for him. "Yes."

Odd had to admit he was impressed. Maybe someday they would learn to stop underestimating what their group's unofficial leader was capable of.

"Isn't that a little risky, though?" he felt compelled to ask.

"Not really," Jeremy reassured him. "They don't know about Lyoko or X.A.N.A. or Aelita or what really happened to Franz Hopper, and I don't need to tell them. I don't even need to tell them why I'm searching for Anthea. All I need to tell them is that I learned about Franz Hopper through his diary and that I learned they were secret agents from reading it."

They fell silent for several seconds while Odd tried to absorb everything Jeremy had told him thus far. When they moved on, Jeremy took on a far more sober look.

"This brings us back to what I was talking about at first. Odd, I don't know if I should tell Aelita all this yet."

Odd tilted his head. "Why not? Aelita could use some good news right about now."

"Because I don't know if it really is good news," Jeremy replied sadly. "I have no way of knowing if Jim and Ms. Hertz will be able to help us or not. If it turns out they can't, and there's nothing they can do to help us…" he sighed heavily. "I-I just don't know if Aelita could handle that right now. She's still grieving the loss of her father.

"I know that keeping this a secret might be wrong, but I don't want to hurt her. That's why I'm asking you, Odd." Jeremy finished. "You know her better than anyone except me. I don't know what to do. Should I tell Aelita now or wait until I find out more?"

Odd was stunned into silence for several long moments. He'd come here expecting Jeremy to ask for his input or something. Being handed a serious ethical dilemma was the last thing on his mind. The more he tried to wrap his mind around the question, the more the answer was, there was no easy answer.

"I don't know," Odd eventually admitted. To hide something as important as this from Aelita was wrong. Odd knew that, and clearly so did Jeremy. If she found out they were keeping something about her mother from her, she would be very angry with them both.

On the other hand, the risks were very real and could not be ignored. All Jeremy could do for now was ask Jim and Ms. Hertz for help. If it turned out they had no more idea of where Aelita's mom was than she did, then all they managed to accomplish was raise her hopes higher than ever for nothing. Jeremy wasn't wrong to be concerned about what effect that would have on Aelita.

"That's a tough one, Jeremy," Odd admitted. Neither choice felt right to him. "What do you think?"

Jeremy's head dropped. Clearly, he'd hoped Odd would find a way to make it a nice, simple, easy problem with an obvious solution. "I—I don't know. I think, for now, it might be best if I wait until after I talk to Jim and Ms. Hertz.

"There's nothing she can do right now since she can't talk to them herself anyway. We can wait until we find out if we have something solid to share with her and then tell her."

Odd nodded. That was as good as they would get. Aelita would be upset they talked to Jim and Ms. Hertz without telling her, but not that upset.

"Sounds good to me, Einstein."

Jeremy looked grateful. "Thanks, Odd," he said, looking like an immense weight was lifted off his shoulders. "I really appreciate the advice."

"Not really sure you could call it advice," Odd noted. "I didn't do much. Tell you what, if Aelita finds out, we'll say it was my idea."

"Really?" Jeremy asked.

"Sure. As you may have remembered, I'm really good at making up with Aelita."

Jeremy glared. He and Aelita had smoothed things over later that night. She said she was proud of him for handling it so well. That didn't mean he enjoyed being reminded of it, though.

"What?" Odd asked with faux innocence. "It's all part of keeping an open mind."

"I'm pretty sure I have an open mind," Jeremy grumbled, turning back to his computer. "After all, I was the one who put all this together."

"No, that's just having a big mind, Einstein."

"The two usually go together," Jeremy called over his shoulder.

Odd laughed and got up to leave. He wasn't sure if Jeremy could tell it was in good humor or not. If he didn't, then he probably did need to learn about keeping an open mind.

"Oh, and Jeremy…" Odd called from the door. Jeremy turned away from his computer. "Good luck," Odd wished him.

Jeremy smiled. "Thanks, Odd."

A few days later, Jeremy was feeling considerably more apprehensive than during his talk with Odd. That was anxiety. This was fear. Justifiably so in his opinion.

He was going to talk to Jim. And Ms. Hertz. The two strictest teachers at Kadic. At the same time. All by himself. About Franz Hopper. Because they used to be secret agents.

Once or twice the thought came to mind that nobody was forcing him to do this. He could just walk away, and no one would ever know. But that idea left as quickly as it came. If there was even the slightest chance they could help find Aelita's mom, then what choice did he have?

He'd waited several days trying to find an opening to approach them. It looked like today he might be lucky. Jim and Ms. Hertz were talking about something or the other by themselves, just out of earshot of the other students. Jeremy prayed it stayed that way. The longer this went on, the more his nerves risked overheating themselves like a multi-core processor.

He was hanging around, trying to be ready to move in as soon as they were done, without looking like he was stalking or eavesdropping. When Ms. Hertz turned to walk away, Jeremy realized he could wait no longer.

"Jim! Ms. Hertz!" he ran toward them.

"Jeremy," Ms. Hertz said. "What brings you at this hour? Are you having trouble with your essay on atomic physics?"

"Well, no, professor. I've already finished that. This is about something else."

Jim gave him a dark smile. "Finally decided to fess up about what your little gang has been up to, eh?"

"Uh, no, Jim," Jeremy said. "I want to talk to you both about something. It's important."

Ms. Hertz regarded him with her usual professional neutrality, while Jim looked much more interested in dinner than the conversation in front of him. "Jeremy, you know when our visiting hours are. Please stop by then."

"Ugh, actually, professor," he stammered. He knew he was getting close to the big moment. "I wanted to speak to the both of you… alone. It's not about school, but it's important. Could we please meet sometime?"

Jim crossed his arms, irked. "School staff's not supposed to just hang around kids, Belpois."

"Jim is right, Jeremy," Ms. Hertz said, now starting to become impatient as well. "If you need something important, you can always come see us, but I don't see why you would need to talk to both of us at the same time if it's not school-related. Now would you please leave? Jim and I would like to catch some dinner before we finish for the day." Both turned and started walking away, clearly dismissing him.

Jeremy sighed. He'd been afraid it would go like this. He wasn't unprepared, though. "That's a shame," he remarked with feigned disinterest. "I was really hoping to be able to talk to Major Steinback and Agent Renaud," he called out, just loudly enough for them to hear.

He kept his best poker face on; all he could do now was hope.

Both froze instantly. After what seemed like an eternity, they slowly turned around. When they faced him, Jeremy saw something he had never seen before, even during X.A.N.A.'s attacks: fear.

"What did you just say?" Ms. Hertz asked, her voice low and shaking. Her face was white, and her eyes were as wide as saucers. Jim also looked like he had seen a ghost.

Jeremy was thankful he had his teachers' undivided attention, but he knew he had to be careful. He needed them as allies; if they thought he was an enemy, he would get no help from them. He decided it might be a good idea to hint at his motivations.

"Why?" he asked, pretending to have misheard them. "Why do I want to talk to them? Well…" he trailed off. "It's just… they made a promise, a long time ago, to a man named Waldo. I just wanted to talk to them to see if they were still interested in keeping that promise."

Jeremy could see the gears turning inside their minds as it dawned on them just how much he knew. Their eyes darted around as they started connecting the dots.

"What do you want?" Jim growled.

"Nothing." Jeremy tried to explain. "I just want to talk. Can we please meet sometime?"

Ms. Hertz and Jim glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes. "Fine," Ms. Hertz sighed. "Meet us in my office after class tomorrow."

"Okay. Thank you, Ms. Hertz," Jeremy turned and left. When he turned to look over his shoulder, she and Jim had both disappeared.

Jeremy forced himself to relax. He'd gotten what he wanted, but he knew it was too soon to celebrate. This was just the first step of a thousand-kilometer journey. If he wanted to find Aelita's mom, his work was just beginning.

Jim's codename of Agent Renaud comes from William Renaud, one of the Storyboarders who worked on The Pretender, which established Jim as having previously worked on a classified defense project. Major Steinback is Ms. Hertz's codename in Chronicles.

I use the spelling of Jeremy rather than Jeremie because the production team officially used that spelling after season 1 (according to the Code Lyoko wiki).

Jeremy turns to Odd for advice for a reason: everyone seems convinced that they are rivals (or worse). They aren't. They're friends. Just watch Triple Trouble and Double Take. In Aelita and Down to Earth, Odd seemed to be in favor of Jeremy and Aelita's relationship.