"They were what?!" Ulrich exclaims, a wave of panic sweeping his face.
"Some people busted their door in and dragged them out screaming during the night. Only them though, according to Anthea." Yumi replies, as her mind goes from what? to, who the hell would do this?!
"Is that all Anthea knows?" He asks, hoping he can get more knowledge than just the fact his best friends were dragged away from their young daughter in the middle of the night.
"She said something about black cars and big scary men taking them…that's about it."
"Black cars and big scary men? Well that definitely narrows things down." He replies with a hint of sarcasm that isn't appropriate for this situation, which Yumi reminds him of with a glare.
"Come on, this is serious! Our friends were literally kidnapped in the middle of the night and we don't know who did it!"
"Why would they target Jeremy and Aelita though? Sure they are well off and relatively famous for what they've done, but I don't think there's two rich and famous people who flaunt that they are rich and famous LESS than those two!" She asks, not fully sure if she's asking Ulrich specifically or just thinking out loud, and he really doesn't have much of an answer, she's right.
Despite both of them being Nobel Prize laureates due to their work in biotechnology, they never really bragged much about it. The chances they were targeted because they became rich and famous are low, according to Yumi's logic.
"Well, what about someone who was jealous? I mean, most normal people don't really remember who Nobel Prize winners are, but they've got to have someone who is jealous of their accomplishments, even if they don't flaunt them. Maybe like a coworker or former boss." He suggests, and Yumi considers it for a moment before replying.
"I mean, maybe, but there's some stuff that doesn't make sense if that's the case. Why just kidnap them and leave witnesses? Why not just…" She trails off, not wanting any more of that thought in her head.
Ulrich doesn't really know how to respond, he's out of ideas. He doesn't know who would be so specific to only target them, and leave everything else, even a witness in the five year old girl. It just doesn't make sense…
After a while of panicked thoughts, Yumi flips open her wallet, preparing to buy them a couple of plane tickets. She only stops when her eyes meet an old picture that she has kept in her wallet for thirteen years. She looks closely at it, it was them back at Kadic, only a couple weeks after they had defeated XANA and became as normal of teens as they could be after all that.
It almost makes her tear up, Odd in the very back making some stupid bunny ears, then her and Ulrich, back when things were finally straightening out with the relationship…and then Jeremy and Aelita, wrapped around each other, almost a perfect couple. After a little bit of looking at it though, a realization hits her.
Wait a minute…what if their disappearance has NOTHING to do with the present day at all? What if it has more to do with what they've…what WE'VE done in the past? Am I really thinking this could be some conspiracy? It makes so much sense though…
"Ulrich, what if this doesn't have to do with them as scientists or Nobel Prize winners at all? What if this has to do with our past, with Lyoko and XANA and all that?"
Ulrich seems to sort of catch on to what she's saying.
"Lyoko? Why would Lyoko have anything to do wi-", but his own thoughts cut him off.
"Are you saying this is a conspiracy? Secret agents dragging our friends away for knowing deep secrets that we shouldn't?" He asks, trying to find the thought process that Yumi apparently has locked down.
"Yeah, exactly. They were the ones with the most knowledge about Lyoko, XANA and how it all worked. Jeremy and Aelita seem like the perfect ones to silence or to take and keep hostage for information. It's also easier to take them and leave Anthea if the kidnappers are secret agents, because they have no desire to take the child or anything but our friends. It does make sense since Aelita's mother was ALSO taken by secret agents. I think there's some sinister shit going on."
Ulrich just sighs, she's right, if anyone was going to be a victim of some government conspiracy, it'd be the two geniuses.
"Well, what can we do then, Yumi? If it's the government and secret agents, we can't really try and contact the police or anything." Ulrich tries to ask, but Yumi just looks at him like he just asked the stupidest question ever.
"What we always do, do it ourselves. You can't get something done right if it isn't done by yourself, especially when it comes to this. We may not be on Lyoko anymore, that all may be in the past, but I'd be damned if we aren't still the Lyoko Warriors, fighting for each other until the very end. We've taken on monsters that are alien to the human race, devirtualized a best friend, saved William from possession, and did ALL of that, keeping it secret from 99.9% of the human race, whilst attending one of the most prestigious private academies on Earth, on TOP of dealing with all of our many, many emotional issues. Who says adding "breaking into a secret government facility to save our best friends'' will be too much?"
"Alright, so, what's the plan?"
"Call Odd and prepare your luggage, tell him to meet us in Paris."
—
Jeremy is in what seems like an interrogation room, handcuffed to the table, his legs strapped against the metal chair. It has been hours since he's last seen anyone, since the men dragged him away from Aelita and into this room and then they left, leaving him isolated and going insane. He's just been staring down at these handcuffs, trying to find the weakest chain to allow him to break out of there. He only perks up when he hears an argument beginning outside.
"Listen, we NEED to tap into this world, tap into its limitless potential! Revive that old virus, we need to! You need to just get the information and take your pretty paycheck! Nothing else!"
"Revive that thing?! Are you fucking insane!? No! I'm not going to help you turn that supercomputer into a weapon of mass destruction and exploit two of the most brilliant minds ever! Interrogate them yourself, I can't stop you, but I'm not going to!"
Jeremy is almost dumbstruck by what he heard, as several thoughts race through his head.
Exploit the virtual world? Revive XANA? Try and get information out of us? Does he think I'll let ANY of that happen? I'd expect they've been watching us for years, but still, they seem so…stupid. They've watched us for ages likely, but they didn't learn anything about us.
He doesn't snap out of his thoughts, until he hears the door open. Looking up, he finally lays eyes upon who is presumed to be the mastermind behind the abduction of him and his wife. It's a man in a grey suit and sunglasses, holding a laptop.
"Hello, Mr. Belpois…" the man begins, but Jeremy can't help but get unnerved by the man's tone of voice.
"What do you want from us?" Jeremy asks, playing dumb, worried about what this man would do if he realized Jeremy heard their argument.
"Tell me about yourself…what's your proudest accomplishment? You're a really accomplished young man, what, with a Nobel Prize at only 30. You and your wife have done extraordinary things."
Jeremy just glares at the man, not entertained by this man's attempts to butter him up. He knows he's accomplished a lot, he also knows this agent doesn't really care about his accomplishments.
Jeremy almost doesn't listen as the man talks, but he perks up when the man mentions Aelita.
"How is your relationship with Aelita?" He asks, but Jeremy just looks at him, his expression blank.
"Oh, I guess that was a stupid question, you two are madly in love with each other, as lovestruck now as you were the first day you held each other in your arms. It was obvious, with how you two just held onto each other when taken away from your little daughter…"
"Don't bring up my family you evil bastard, just tell me what you want!" Jeremy raises his voice, not caring about what the man thinks.
The man just chuckles to himself, though.
"Always one to get things done quick and straight to the point, aren't you Belpois?"
Jeremy just taps his hand, before the man begins to talk again.
"What I want from you is all the knowledge you have about Lyoko and XANA."
Jeremy can almost laugh at this man's request, but keeps a straight face.
"I'll keep this brief. No."
The man smirks, before opening up the laptop and going to some video he had stored.
"Jeremy, you love Aelita more than anything else. It would be a shame if someone ruined all of that, right?"
Jeremy just looks at him, unsure what he's getting at.
"Give me the information and you get to keep your happy marriage, or withhold it, and I'll make it all crumble, your choice Jeremy."
He just scoffs at the man's threat, though.
"There isn't a single thing that could be on that laptop that would be able to ruin my marriage to Aelita. I guarantee it. My answer is still no."
The man's smile just grows as Jeremy continues to refuse to speak.
"Okay then Jeremy, don't say I didn't give you a chance to make it easy." He responds, before turning the laptop around and pressing play.
Jeremy just watches the screen, his expression blank as it shows Aelita getting out of her car at what seems like a nightclub or similar building. The camera then shows footage from throughout that night, Aelita DJing on a stage and then drinking at a bar, and one as she's apparently in some sort of changing room.
Jeremy just looks up at the man in confusion. Why is he showing him these videos? Why would they make him hate Aelita or ruin their marriage? These kinds of questions float through Jeremy's head before he finally speaks.
"That's it? That's the huge blackmail that would "ruin my marriage"? Really?"
The man is a bit taken aback by Jeremy's reaction, expecting more of anger or shock or at least mild surprise from him. This was the same kid who didn't do much of ANY of that back when they still had tabs on him before he left France, after all.
Jeremy notices the man's reaction and assumes that, yes, that's all the man has, which almost makes him want to laugh a little.
Is this man that bad at his job? How much are they paying him to spy on the innocent, because they aren't getting their money's worth. Does he seriously think I wouldn't at the very least KNOW about my wife "sneaking out" to DJ and drink at a nightclub. Does he not know I'm a regular there too, or at the very least that I've been? Come on! They could have at least asked for the VIP list if they wanted to learn that. Does he really think I'm as much of a party hating loser as I was when I was fourteen? For a secret government organization that tries to deal with a supercomputer and virtual world that nobody knows exists, they're a bunch of morons. The WORST thing I saw there was the gross fact they spied on my wife whilst she changed, fucking creeps.
"How long have you been spying on us?" Jeremy asks, trying to get over that mind-boggling idiocy the man tried to use to break his marriage.
"Why does that matter, why should I tell you?" The man replies, suspicious of what Jeremy is trying to get to.
"That was a pathetic attempt to blackmail me. You can spy on us, but you're shit at it. I genuinely don't get how you could believe that I didn't know about that, or better yet, not know that I've been there too, with her. By the way, after that, my answer is still no, I'm not going to give you any information."
The man's face creases into anger hearing Jeremy so bluntly throw away the one piece of information that he thought he had. After a couple minutes of silence, the man grumbles to himself, before taking his laptop and leaving the room. When he gets outside, a thought crosses his mind.
Am I really against doing so unethical, so illegal, so…brilliant, to get that information?
An evil smile crosses his face, as he walks off down the long hall.