Okay, I didn't get five reviews, but I did get another one. Go romeo66, you rule! Anyway, just a heads up on why the chapter is named what it is. Aelita makes a discovery of a new scan, and Glen makes his 'discovery' of the Lyoko gang's 'secret illegal plot'. Cody is the creation of my other brother. The same steal-and-die concept applies as before with Glen. Now the plot starts to thicken.

WARNING : slight swearing in this chapter...nothing too terrible.

Discoveries

"Man, how long do you think it's been since we've had to use the infirmary excuse Jeremy?" Ulrich asked, genuinely grinning for the first time in weeks. "Jeez, it's been so long, I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off."

Jeremy chuckled slightly, but he seemed to have his thoughts on a separate subject.

"What is it?" Ulrich inquired. "I'd know that distant look anywhere. You've got something on your mind, haven't you."

The elevator screeched to a sudden halt, and the ancient metal doors slid slowly to the side. Jeremy and Ulrich stood inside the elevator silently, one pondering, and the other waiting for the answer to his question.

"It's just that...when you talked about not leaving class to get to Lyoko for a while. It made me wonder why XANA hadn't launched any recent attacks on neither the real or virtual world." Jeremy finally said. "Now that we're two members short, XANA could activate a bunch of towers, we wouldn't be able to handle the pressure, and eventually, he'd win. This should be a cinch for him, but he's not doing anything. It makes me wonder, you know?"

The conversation was interrupted by an excited Aelita, calling the two boys' names. "Jeremy! Ulrich! You can talk later."

The pink-haired preteen was on the other side of the room, sitting in Jeremy's computer seat. With a wave of her hand, she beckoned the two over to where she was. Her eyes were sharp and focused on the computer screen, that now was spitting out data at them, faster than anybody could read. An open notebook lay across her lap, it's notes scribbled and organized so messily, it was as incomprehensible as the computer.

As the monitor was just finishing processing info, Ulrich could have sworn he heard a muffled thud come from the elevator shaft. Probably nothing, Ulrich shook his head, trying to reassure himself. The factory was old, it was probably just the building settling or something. Did metal settle though? He wasn't sure, and made a note to ask once Aelita was finished telling them whatever she needed to say.

"Okay, I won't go into details as to how I got it, but this is Franz Hopper's very first logbook of Lyoko." Aelita exclaimed excitedly. "Well, I wasn't sure if any of the information in here would be useful...in fact, most of it isn't. But I came across this entry."

Aelita turned the composition notebook a few pages back, and gently handed it over to Jeremy. After briefly looking through the notes (having some trouble reading the side notes) a smile broke across his usually solemn face. "Aelita, you're a genius! I don't know where you could have gotten this! This is just amazing!"

Ulrich cleared his throat loudly, and piped up. "Well, you two may spend all day with computers, but frankly, I have no idea what any of this means."

"Basically, it's a simple search that scans all of Lyoko for life forms. It was supposed to be used to find missing units. But now that we have the information, we can finally find out if Yumi and Odd are still alive. Oh, by the way, the program only detects real human beings. XANA's creeps won't affect the search at all." Jeremy explained matter-of-factly. He turned to face Aelita. "The only thing is, that Franz Hopper had a complicated way of setting this thing up. It could take days to reprogram Lyoko to be able to perform such a low-tech task."

"Done." Aelita cut in. "I've been spending the last two weeks making sense of the notes, and then the last day programming. It wasn't easy, I'm not as good a typist as you."

Jeremy blushed slightly, and protested. "Aelita, you should have really let me have done it. Typing continuously for a period of days can cause carpal tunnel. As a real, physical being, you should be more concerned about your well-being."

Aelita smiled at his parent-like concern. "Well, than it wouldn't be a surprise. Everything's done, you only have to type one code in the command center to work it. I believe it was 'pursuit'."

A sudden blip surprised the three friends, and Ulrich checked his digital watch. "Oh man. Second period is in two minutes. If I'm late for Health again, Yolanda will have my head. Not to mention my free time, when she gives me detention."

Jeremy nodded in agreement, and announced. "I'd better get to class too. I say we commence Code Pursuit at lunch. I'll give you time to have something to eat, and I'll call both of you when I'm ready."

Without a second to spare, the three almost-late students made a dash for the elevator, in a race to beat the school bell.

---

CRASH! Two trays, both previously holding lunches, clattered noisily to the floor, sending a mess of cheesecake, lettuce, and skittering plastic sporks across the cafeteria food. A few nearby heads turned curiously to find out what the noise had come from, but soon became disinterested, seeing as it was only a small collision between two students. The two girls were stunned at the suddenness of the crash, but soon were hunched over the disarray.

Fae was first to apologize. "Sorry! I didn't see you there. I was only looking for someplace to sit, and I guess I should've paid more attention to where I was going. Sorry."

She looked up from the floor apologetically, to find a girl who was...well, very pink. Pink hair, pink attire, pink boots. She was already busy scrubbing out the sticky dessert with a paper napkin, but her face showed no agitation whatsoever. "No problem. Could you get some more paper towels?"

Fae obediently fetched them, and began to get to work herself. "Sorry about your lunch. I'm pretty sure that they give seconds here, but I could be wrong."

Pink girl smiled. "Yes, I knew that. I don't remember seeing you around the school before. Are you new?"

Fae nodded, as she gathered bits of soiled lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers to throw away. The girl continued."I was the new student before you. Aelita Stones, by the way."

"Aelita Stones?" Fae asked quizzically.

"My name."

Fae mentally kicked herself for being so stupid, and replied. "I'm Fae Whiting. There are two other new students too. Cody, my brother, and Glen, my first friend here in France."

Aelita stood up, and dusted herself off. "So you don't live in France?"

Fae got to her feet as well. "My family comes here to vacation in the summer, but usually, we live in England. This is my first time at Kadic, even though my family's summer house is in the same city."

"Well then, I welcome you to Kadic Academy. Come on, let's go sit down." and with that, the two got second lunches, and found an empty table to sit at.

---

"Cody!" Glen waved his arms around wildly, trying to grab his friend's attention. "Cody, over here!"

From the bleachers, a sweating, raven-haired boy glanced upward, spotting the waving maniac, and nodded his head in greeting. "How's it going Rizzo?" he called back.

Glen jogged over to Cody, appearing as his usual good-natured self, but seeming a little distracted by something. "Uhm, Cody. You wouldn't by chance happen to remember any history lessons or newspaper articles you've ever read about anybody named France Hopper, or Zana, do you?"

Cody raised an eyebrow inquiringly, and took a moment to think. His mind was half on answering Glen's question, and half wondering 'Since when is Glen concerned about people he's never heard of?'

"Can't say I have. Are you sure you have the name right?"

Glen wasn't sure. The elevator shaft was echoey, and the voices a bit distorted. Maybe it was possible he didn't hear it right. Glen doubted he heard it incorrectly though. He was listening too carefully to have misheard any of what was said in there. "No, I'm sure that's the name. Anyway, if you can't remember that, do you know what a lyoko is? Is it like, a medicine, or a karate or something?"

"Glen, what are you getting at?"

Glen was annoyed now. "Just tell me what you know about lyokos."

"That's just it." Cody argued. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, and I don't have a clue what you want to know for."

Glen sighed. "I can't tell you yet. We have to get Fae here first. It's lunch now, right?"

"Yeah, she'll probably be at the cafeteria." Cody said. "This had better be good Glen, you're starting to freak me out."

Glen simply turned and jogged back to the school building, racking his brain to remember which way the cafeteria was. Cody, confused and wanting answers, ensued behind.

---

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A smirking girl asked from behind Fae. To her left and right, were two boys who looked as if they'd been snatched off the very bottom of the popularity totem pole. In her mind, Fae secretly dubbed them Dim-wit and Zit-face.

"Well what do you know, an unpleasant visit from Elizabeth Delmas. What rotten luck." Aelita shot off bitterly, her soft eyes turning into a sharp glare.

"Hey, her name is Sissi." Zit-face defended the girl.

"So, I suppose it's too late for you to join my cool crowd, now that you've associated yourself with the school losers." Sissi/Elizabeth pointed out matter-of-factly, flipping her hair over her left shoulder. "Such a shame. I guess I'll have to find somebody else."

Fae stood up, to face Sissi head to head. The girl was only an inch or so taller, but it was obvious that her ego stood well over the clouds. "What makes you think I'd want to be part of your group? Because I don't."

"Please." Sissi scoffed. "There isn't a single student in the school who doesn't want to hang out with me."

"I guess I'm an exception then." Fae challenged.

Aelita piped up. "Me too. And not to mention Ulrich and Jeremy."

"Oh, my Ulrich darling loves me dearly. The only thing that keeps him from being my boyfriend, is that dumb Yumi. Even after she's been kidnapped! I'm sure he'll come to me in his own good time." Sissi explained.

"What did you say?" Fae was bewildered at this. A kidnapping?

"I said, I'm sure he'll come to me in his own good time."

This girl was unbelievable. Unbelievably obnoxious anyway. "No, I meant the kidnapping."

"Oh, that? Two of the students here were kidnapped. Odd Della Robia and Yumi Whats-her-name." Sissi said. "And I say good riddance! Those two have been nuisances since the day I met them. You know, I'd love to stay and chat, but I wouldn't want to ruin my image."

And with that, Sissi, Zit-face, and Dim-wit were off, probably to torment some other unsuspecting new student. Fae sat back down, and began to poke at a little red tomatoe with her spork. Aelita was silent for a moment, debating over whether she wanted the rest of her cheesecake or not.

"Did you know those two?" Fae asked, not having to explain who 'those two' were.

"Yes." Aelita replied solemnly. "They were two of my best friends in fact. Yumi, she seemed hostile and tough toward the other students, but inside, she was a great friend. Ulrich really likes her too, but you'll have to ask him if you want to know more about that. Odd was quite the opposite. Funny, fun-loving, always hungry, and sometimes even witty."

"Sort of like Glen...except the witty part." Fae remarked, as Aelita chuckled softly. "Please go on."

Aelita appeared thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "It was the third to last day of the school year when they went missing. We've had several detectives throughout the summer vacation, but now that classes have resumes, there's only one around. The principal didn't want there to be too many distractions for the students from their work. So far, no evidence has turned up."

"Incredible." said Fae, marvelling at the curiousness of it all. "You mean to say that nobody has ever found a clue as to where Yumi and--Odd was it?--could be?"

"Well, Jeremy thinks maybe--" Aelita seemed to catch herself slipping something and turned her head aside. "Ehm...sorry, it's nothing. Never mind."

Fae was sure she wasn't getting a full story. She was tempted to ask more, but as far as her limits went, it wasn't really any of her business. "If you like, we don't have to continue. I imagine it's complicated subject to talk to about to a total stranger."

Aelita nodded sadly, and added. "It's okay. I suppose I needed to really let all these emotions out anyway. Beside's Yumi, you're the only female aquaintence I've really had. And in my opinion, it's hard to talk about these kinds of things with boys."

As Fae had opened her mouth to agree, a quick paced chirping sound cut through the steady drone of cafeteria normality. Aelita reached into her pocket, and pulled out a (wouldn't you know it?) pink cell phone.

"Hello? Jeremy?" she answered, contained excitement in her voice. "Are we all set?"

A pause, in which Fae took the time to notice that Aelita was probably speaking to the same person who had an idea about something relating to the kidnapping.

"Is Ulrich already there? He wasn't here for lunch."

Another pause.

"Great! I'll meet the two of you there. Oh, I can't wait!" Aelita exclaimed, ending the call.

"Sorry to leave you like this, but I promised to meet my friend during lunch." Aelita apologized. "Maybe we can meet again later."

And without a moment's delay, Fae's pink-haired friend hurried out of the cafeteria joyously. At nearly the exact same second, Glen and Cody burst through the entrance, nearly displaying a second collision course for the day. Grabbing a pint-sized carton of chocolate milk, and shoving one at a surprised Cody, Glen's eyes panned the cafeteria in search of...

"Fae!" he yelled out upon spotting her.

Nearly everyone in the room turned their heads to stare at the bellowing new student, and a few even snickered teasingly. Fae felt her face blush lightly with embarrassment.

Glen had a rather strange habit of calling his greetings from across the room, rather than go up to whoever he's talking to like a normal person would. Then again, Glen didn't quite seem to qualify as a normal person. Fae could have strangle the boy right about now, but decided to spare herself further humiliation and do it later when nobody else was around.

"Fae before you say anything, I need to ask you if you've ever heard of somebody named Franz Hopper or Zana. Or maybe you know what a lyoko is?" Glen blurted out as soon as he seated himself at her table.

"Uh, no, no, and no. Where'd you hear it? Maybe I could tell you if I heard it in a sentence." Fae said confusedly.

"If I told you where I heard it, you wouldn't believe me." Glen began, doubt edging his voice.

"Probably not," Cody agreed. "Now let me go, so I can get a proper lunch for myself."

"Okay then, Mr. Too Good for Glen. I'll tell you anyway. And you're going to sit through and listen to the whole thing." Glen declared.

Nick groaned in protest, but didn't move from his spot.. Glen filled the two in on the details of his mini adventure, watching their expressions grow more and more skeptical.

"You were right." Fae said, once he had finished.

"About what?" Glen asked.

She cast a joking glance to Nick. "When you said we wouldn't believe you." she replied.

"Guys, this is serious. I swear, that sewer leads to an old abandoned place, and there were kids inside." Glen defended.

"You said you only heard them talking. You sure they were kids?" Cody inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Like I said, I saw two of them before they went down, and they were talking to another girl. I think they called her Aelina, or Aelita or something." Glen explained. "Like I said, I jumped down in mid-conversation, so I don't know who the other two are."

Aelita! That's impossible! Fae's mind screamed in protest. She hardly seemed the type to be hanging around any place remotely related to a an abandoned building. Glen must have earwax buildup or something. But then, there was a mysterious heir to the shy pink-haired eighth grader...

"Well, you said one of them was complaining to the other about getting carpal tunnel syndrome for typing out a program for a long period of time...sounds to me like they were just computer geeks working on some kind of complicated program. Hardly worth DISTURBING MY LUNCH FOR!"

"But why go talk about it in an isolated basement? Why not a computer lab, or the cafeteria, or even one of their dorms? I tell you guys, there's something fishy going on around here. A million bucks it's something illegal." Glen said his mind set. When Glen's mind was set, there wasn't even a one in a million chance of 'unsetting' it.

"So what are you saying exactly?" Cody challenged. "There are kids around here somewhere, that whisk away to a probably nonexistent old factory, in order to hold computer club meetings? And while they're at it, they commit unspeakable technology-related crimes?"

"And, you--with all the graceful stealth of an elephant wearing roller skates--managed to spy on them without getting caught, and discover their evil plot? I know, why don't you just go ahead and apply for a medal of bravery while you're at it?" Fae continued sarcastically, sending Cody and herself into a fit of laughter.

"Ha ha." Glen rolled his eyes. "You want proof? Meet me in front of Kadic at four or so. I'll be sure to bring forks, so you can eat your words." he stated smugly.

"Okay, I'm in." Fae agreed. "Just to prove you wrong though."

"Whatever. Just let me get some food now." Cody gasped, mocking starvation, as he staggered over to the lunch counter.

Okay, so there you go. This isn't your typical 'Lyoko crew befriends somebody then tells them their big secret' kind of fic. Glen, Fae, and Cody are going to find out about Lyoko the more realistic way...just plain investigating! Please please please please review. I promise the plot will get more exciting as it goes along. Thanks!

-liloleme