The main characters of this story are based on characters from the cartoon 'Code Lyoko.' I do not own, nor do I claim, any copyright to these characters.
Jeremie sat at the console, typing away. He tried everything he could, but Franz had severed all external access to Lyoko. The genius paused for a moment, silently praying that what he was about to try would work. He typed a little more, then checked the output on his display. He leaned back in his chair and smiled in relief.
"Good, he couldn't kill that," Jeremie said to no one in particular.
"Didn't kill what?" asked Ulrich.
"After the last time we were on Lyoko with Franz, Zoe and I discussed possible attacks Franz could make. We didn't see this one coming, but we did come up with a plan in case Franz grabbed control of the computer. I wrote a program that's like a communication and command gateway, and started running it as the administrator, a back door. I did that weeks ago. To make sure that it wouldn't get killed, I'm running it from my protected memory space. Additionally, I used an old cracker's trick and modified the process lister to ignore my program. So, Franz doesn't know I still have an administrator level access to Lyoko."
"But I thought he said he was going to disable all access to Lyoko," Odd said.
"He did, except for one. The program I'm running is accessing and controlling a tower in the Forest Region. As long as the program is running, Franz can't disable its access to the outside. The only way he could that would be to reboot the system, and then I have him."
Jeremie paused for a moment, then called Desmond Hopper. He needed the man here now, and he had a right to know what kind of danger his niece was in.
Aelita and Adam walked to the place where Zoe's children had established themselves. The other creatures dispersed, returning to whatever they had been previously doing. As they approached, Aelita saw things she had never seen in the Forest before. Huts. Zoe and her children had created a village.
"MotherZoe helped us create those," Adam said, "of course we really don't need them as shelter, but we do need them for privacy and for a sense of private ownership."
"I don't understand," Aelita said, "private ownership?"
"We all need something, someplace that we belong to and belongs to us alone," Adam replied, "each of us has a hut, and that spot is ours alone. We control who enters it. It is a powerful possession."
"Why do you need privacy?"
"So we can rest and meditate. So we can be alone with our thoughts if we choose to. Also, males and females can be intimate with each other without distracting the others."
"Intimate?" Aelita asked.
"Yes," Adam replied, "I believe you call it sex. In the beginning, we were just intimate whenever we felt the urge, but something wasn't quite right. It became much more enjoyable once the huts were created, and couples could share privacy. It is a great complement to be invited into another's hut for any reason, even more so if it is for intimacy."
Aelita blushed at Adam's explanation. He walked beside her, talking about his sexuality like it was the weather.
"What about children? How many children do you all have?"
"We are all children here, except for you, FranzHopper and MotherZoe. Oh, I understand your question, you mean children from us! There are none, for we cannot have children ourselves."
"Not yet, anyway," came Zoe's voice. She had caught up to the couple after emerging from the way tower. "I see you are safe, Aelita."
"Yes, thank you Zoe," she replied to the woman.
"To answer your question to Adam, they have not yet produced any offspring, so they believe that they cannot. Right now, sex is purely for love and pleasure to them."
The trio finally arrived at the huts. People saw them arrive and came out of their huts to join them. All of Zoe's children reached out to their mother to touch her, and Zoe reached out and touched them all in return.
"Hello, my children," Zoe said to them all, "this is Aelita, a human from the other world. She is a friend and mate to Jeremie Belpois, so you will treat her with deference."
All of the others bowed their heads to Aelita, and she bowed in return.
"Aelita, we must speak privately," Zoe told the girl, "come with me please."
Zoe murmured goodbyes to her children, and the two women left the village. They walked for a while until they came to a tower. Aelita's eyes lit up when she saw that the tower's mist was shaded green.
"Yes, Aelita, Jeremie isn't completely cut off from us," Zoe said, "let's go inside. I'm sure he is anxious to hear from you."
Desmond Hopper had just arrived at the factory, concerned about Aelita, when the console chirped and two windows opened. Images resolved themselves into Aelita and Zoe.
"Thank God, you got away!" Jeremie said to his love, "I wasn't sure you could. Hi, Zoe!"
Desmond walked up and said, "are you alright, dear one?"
"Yes, uncle, I'm fine," Aelita replied, "and I had to take a flying leap to get away from my father, Jeremie."
Jeremie smiled at her, "you can tell me later. Right now, I'm setting things up so I can devirtualize you from the tower."
"No Jeremie, not yet," Aelita said, "we have to reestablish contact with the real world and help my father first."
"Aelita, I think I've got a foolproof access to Lyoko, but I can't guarantee it. You need to come back to me..."
"Jeremie, I want nothing more than to be back with you, but you know I'm right. If we don't do something now, Franz Hopper will wind up little more than an ugly little troll, living in his ugly little cave. He needs something, someone, to finally break him free of the nightmare he's been living in."
"You're right," Jeremie replied, "but it doesn't have to be you."
"I have to help," the pink haired elf replied, "I spewed my anger and hatred at him today, and rejected him in the most permanent way I could. Now, I have to change that, or I truly won't be able to live with myself."
They talked the rest of the afternoon, coming up with possible ways back in, possible strategies to take Franz Hopper by surprise. In the end, they couldn't come up with anything. Franz not only had the high ground, so to speak, he also had the equivalent of nuclear weapons as opposed to their sharp sticks and rocks.
"It's hopeless," Ulrich said after yet another round of brainstorming, "the only thing we've got is the off switch, and that will kill Aelita, Zoe and all the others as well as Franz. And we're supposed to be helping him!"
"Actually, I think I know how to get Aelita out," Jeremie said, "Desmond, would you turn off the console camera please? Aelita, Zoe, we'll be back in a minute."
Desmond reached over to the console and deactivated the camera and microphone. Jeremie then told them his plan.
The next half hour was a blur. Everybody there tried to talk Jeremie out of what he had proposed. It was madness, they told him, insanity. He wouldn't last a second in the confrontation. They needed him too much to allow him to try what he was going to do.
"Let me ask you something, guys," Jeremie said, "you are couples; what would you do to save the other one?"
"Jeremie, it's different with us," Sissi said, "I've only fought a few times in Lyoko, and then only training, but I have a better chance of surviving than you do!"
"You didn't answer my question, Sissi," Jeremie replied, "if it were Odd in there, what would you do to save him?"
"Anything," was her response. She lowered her head, knowing she made his point, and just helped him to commit suicide.
"In the past, I've had to sit here and watch you risk yourselves," Jeremie then said, "I've watched you do what I can't. In this case, I'm the only one that can do this. Franz sees me as XANA incarnate, and has focused all of his anger, hatred and insanity at me. I have to be the one to go; no one else has a prayer of pulling this off."
"But Jeremie," Ulrich said, "you've fought in Lyoko once, and that didn't turn out too well. What makes you think you'll fare better this time. I mean, I know you've been working out with those Marines and all, but this is totally different from that."
"I know," the genius replied, "the last time I fought in Lyoko, I used a rather hastily cobbled together persona. After the last debacle in Lyoko, I sat down and created another, more improved, persona, one that plays to my strengths. But even so, those capabilities, won't carry the day for me. I'll be using another weapon, the most powerful one I can think of."
"And what weapon is that?" Desmond asked.
"One Aelita gave me," replied Jeremie.
"Faith."