Disclaimer: Code Lyoko is copyrighted by Moonscoop.
This chapter was written by me. It was edited by AwesomeFanFictionAuthor.
I only own Lila and Mia. Mary is owned by AeroJester203. Kayori Avalon is owned by decode9.
The Key Part 1: Season 2 Finale
Inside the lab
POV Lila's
"It's a long story, but it's all thanks to my father, William," Mia replies.
"So William really is alive in the future then," Mary says. Mia looks down at her feet.
"No… no, he's not. I mean yeah, he was for some number of years. But I um… lost him shortly before my time jump," she explains.
"I'm sorry for your loss," I say. "My earliest memory of William is when he called my father. I was ten at the time and my birthday was coming up. I had to do my language homework for Sissi who was the principal at Kadic. Despite what happened to the world leaders, she still kept the school opened."
Mia looks back up at us.
"Yeah, I remember that phone call, I was on the other side of it. I was 12 at the time. Countries were being blown up every other month. My father… he was a bit paranoid about Xana. He kept thinking France would be the next target… so he had the two of us go into hiding shortly after that. Under a pseudonym," she explains.
"Bedar," I say, making the connection.
"That's right," Mia nods. "Before we left, Jeremy told us about you and how you were doing in school. He tried to assure my father that Xana hadn't made any attempts on your life. William just didn't believe him…" she trails off.
"Okay, let's say we believe you. How did you come to be on Lyoko?" Mary asks. "And why was your name changed?"
"It wasn't Lyoko," Mia answers. "It was a sector I created. Similar to the limbo sector that's between Lyoko and Sector Five. The one I made however, is smaller. You and Odd have actually been there before. As long as your digital avatars had their original data in tact, they would be saved. Say, if they didn't say have materialization codes." Mia smiles mischievously at me.
"Wait... Odd and I have been to your sector? When was that?" I ask.
"A while back. It must have happened on your first exploration trip to Sector Five," Mia replies. "You wouldn't have remembered going to my sector because that's how I made it. If anyone was there besides me, they would forget they were ever there in the first place. I had some awareness at times, when I was asleep. It just happens, I was aware that day and you were both there at that time. You must have been devirtualized without your materialization codes," Mia explains.
"Oh... interesting," I say.
"Yeah. I made it as a fail safe for you guys. And to answer your other question miss-" Mia starts to say but Mary interrupts her.
"Mary."
"Mary. To answer your question, my father had a friend that was going to help him disappear and leave no digital traces of William Dunbar. We did this to get away from Xana. That's actually how we were able to travel under a pseudonym," she explains.
"And who was your friend?" I ask. Mia smiles at me.
"You'll never believe it… but it was Herb Pichon." Mary and I look at each other in disbelief, then back at her.
"Herb?!" we exclaim.
"Yeah. We went to Herb after we left our home. From there, my father got the idea to sneak into the factory, and had Herb download anything that might be of use to us. He downloaded a lot of programs he thought might be useful, copied them all onto the laptop you have now. We never actually had a chance to go through all of them but we did discover Franz Hopper's unencrypted diary that must have been stored into the supercomputer by Jeremy at some point. It was on a restricted part of the supercomputer mind you, but Herb figured it out. Fortunately when Herb was downloading Hopper's diary, he happened to also come across Jeremy's time machine calculations that were still running. He downloaded those onto the laptop too and after that we left the factory. He was still good friends with Nicholas who owned a boat company of all things, and was still hiding out in the city. We met up with Nicholas, Herb erased all digital traces of William Dunbar then myself. He created the pseudonym for us and then we took off on a boat to a nearby country that hadn't been blown up. From there we just slowly gathered the parts for our time machine," she explains.
"Okay, and the power source for the time machine? How did you come about that?" I ask. Mia looks down at the floor again, saddened.
"That… that was our mistake. We had to go back to France, thirteen years later in fact. To Jeremy's company buildings, to be precise. They still had power, and Herb figured whatever was generating their power was perfect for at least two trips in the time machine. We met up with a bunch of refugees who were in hiding. They were able to help us bring the time machine onto Nicholas's boat. Nicholas had a pretty good supply of diesel fuel for his boat, and it was big enough to transport the time machine and the rest of us. We kept the time machine below deck. When we finally arrived back in France, we had to carry the time machine inside the main company building where the main power supply was. Thankfully it wasn't that bad. With the power running we brought the time machine onto the elevator. It took us to the top floor. Once there, Herb went to the power generator room to get the power supply. My father, he talked with me, told me more stories about his adventures with the Lyoko Warriors. Then, Herb came back, and he installed the power supply into the time machine with tools he brought to do the job. That's… when we made our mistake. The time machine booted up and Xana-" Mia starts to say but I interrupt her.
"That's when Xana attacked all of you in the building? Wasn't it?" I ask. Mia looks surprised that I know this.
"Yeah. He brought in these Bot-like creatures, they started zapping us one by one. My father gave me a suitcase with my initials MB, which contained the laptop and some other important items. He said Herb installed a preset date – June 6th, 1994. He urged me to go, and I did. I time jumped to that day, knowing I might be stuck in a return to the past loop."
"You… were willing to risk that?" Mary asks.
"Yeah, and that's when things turned interesting. I was 25 at the time but because of time travel I became a teenager again. In both body and consciousness. Everything I'm wearing now - has basically shrunk from its original size. I used to be taller too. I arrived on the river bank just outside the factory, of all places. My time machine was sinking in the river, and I used my suitcase to help keep me afloat. I swam to the back of the factory. My suitcase was pretty wet, but it was dry for the most part by the time I got to the front of the factory. It seemed Franz Hopper wasn't there yet, so I got to the lab. Lyoko, Xana, and Sector Five were already made. I had to make sure I could make my own sector," she replies.
"Okay, so you made your own sector, and what else?" I ask.
"A connection. Something that would prove useful to the Lyoko Warriors in the future. It connects Lyoko and Sector Five," Mia replies.
"You did all of this without Franz and Aelita catching you?" I ask.
"Franz almost caught me," Mia reveals.
"Almost?" Mary asks. Mia nods.
"Yeah, when I was done with my work, I still had to figure out a way to set an alarm on my laptop with Lyoko. Hacking the network Lyoko was on took some time. By the time it was synced I only had enough time to make an eight-digit code for the laptop that could set the scanners off. I didn't have time to make it a personal security question or anything. So I chose your father's birthday, remembering that my father suggested it might be useful as a code at some point. Then once everything was set up… the elevator went upstairs, meaning Franz had arrived. I brought myself and the suitcase downstairs into the scanner room. Thankfully, it appeared I arrived on the right version of that day because that was when Franz recorded his last video diary entry," she explains.
"And from there, you followed him to the train station?" I ask, catching on.
"Yeah, I did, after he put everything on those encrypted CDs. He got distracted at the train station. He thought someone was following him, which I was, but I think he was looking for someone else. I put the suitcase in his locker and thankfully he didn't spot me or look at his locker when he closed and locked it. From there he got Aelita, brought her to the lab, and virtualized onto Lyoko. I used the same virtualization process they did, except I virtualized myself directly into the sector I made. The supercomputer was turned off by someone, I assume Franz did it somehow while on Lyoko. I've been in my sector ever since," Mia concludes.
"That's an incredible story. Can you provide any other proof you are, who you say you are?" Mary asks. Mia nods.
"Yeah, you still have my suitcase?" she asks. I nod.
"Yeah, but I'll need to get it from my room."
"I'll wait here, with Mia," Mary says.
"Okay, I'll be back shortly," I say.
Afterwards
Inside Lila and Aelita's room
I quietly open the door to our shared closet. Below the closet is this little space where I had put the suitcase away for safekeeping. As well as my old one when I arrived here. I take Mia's suitcase out of that space. Aelita's still asleep with Mister Puck. Being careful not to disturb her, I go to the door and open it, closing it quietly, and leave to go back to the lab.
Back inside the lab
Mary uses Mia's laptop, and nods after some time.
"I can confirm part of her story. Your father's time machine calculations and Franz Hopper's unencrypted diary entries are stored in here. There are programs stored on here as well. It would take time to look through all of them but I believe she is telling the truth."
"That's good," I say, walking up to them.
"And this should confirm the rest," I say, handing the suitcase to Mia. Mia takes it and opens it. The suitcase appears to be empty, but this doesn't surprise Mia. She rips the top part off, and reveals documents, along with a charger that's probably not usable, although it's a miracle the laptop didn't get damaged in the end, and a wallet with money and probably ID cards. It's a miracle nothing got damaged by water from what I can tell. Then again it probably just dried up over time like Mia had mentioned earlier.
"Woah, your father made sure you were prepared," I say, surprised.
"He did, yeah. I have several different documents that can prove my identity as Mia Bedard in this timeline. Herb forged them, and Nicholas supplied the money. They were both big time travel movie buffs. Herb suspected my body would decrease in age and consciousness by 10 years. He made sure to use my old 15 year old photos, on the ID cards when he made them. They both helped my father and me a lot honestly. If it weren't for Herb and Nicholas, we probably would have never survived as long as we did," Mia explains.
"You do realize they're kind of, well, mean now, right?" I ask.
"I know, and so is Sissi," Mia replies. "But I'm prepared to handle them."
"Actually, Sissi is a Lyoko Warrior now," I tell her. "And she's nicer too. She has enough space for a roommate if you want to." Mia sighs.
"I'll give her a chance I suppose."
"If I might ask," Mary says, closing the laptop and handing it to Mia, who takes it.
"What happened to your mother?"
Mia looks at us. "I…. I never knew her," she answers sadly.
"I'm sorry… I really never got a chance to know my mother, either. She died the day I was born," I explain.
"I'm so sorry. Um, if you need a roommate?" Mia asks. I shake my head.
"I'm okay, thanks. I'm actually rooming with my mother now amazingly," I explain. "Her name is Aelita."
"Ah, Aelita, of course Jeremy ended up with her. So, you're their biological daughter then?" Mary and I look at each other, and I look at Mia.
"Yes, I am," I lie, not wanting to tell her the full truth. I am biologically their daughter though so it's not a total lie.
If she knew the truth, about Mary and Future Xana I'm not sure how'd she react, I think.
"That's great. So, where can I stay for the night?" Mia asks.
"I'll stay with you in the lab, and tomorrow we'll get you enrolled into Kadic. The expenses will be taken care of. Lila, you still have that debit card of yours with the lottery money?" Mary asks.
"Of course, yeah," I reply.
"Great. I'll stay up with Mary tonight. I've been asleep for years now, so I'm going to give my laptop a much-needed security update," Mia says.
"Sounds good. I'll get going then and tomorrow we'll have you enrolled as Mia Bedard," I smile.
"I'd like that very much. Thank you," Mia says, smiling back.
The Next Day
Principal Delmas's Office
Mary, Mia, and I are in Mr. Delmas's office. I brought Mia a change of clothes along with a new pair of shoes. The clothes fit her but they are a bit snug. She's wearing a black t shirt, with blue jeans, socks, and a plain black pair of tennis shoes I haven't bothered to wear yet. She'll need her own clothes of course, so we'll probably go on a shopping trip.
"And so you see, Mr. Delmas," Mary says, finishing the story. "She really needs to go to school here. I adopted her during my travels, and I think she would do well in the same classes Lila and Aelita have." Mr. Delmas nods.
"I see, I see. And your travels were for the company you work for, is that correct, Mrs. Smith?" Mr. Delmas asks.
"Yes… it was. One of the reasons why Lila didn't hear from me when I was overseas was because I had grown ill. I'm doing better now with the medication that's helping me with my recovery," Mary explains.
"I'm glad to hear that," Mr. Delmas says. "Unfortunately, Mrs. Smith, I am only able to approve your daughter's room and board. She can earn some credits during the upcoming summer break. From there she can be placed in the classes your daughters are. It seems that would be better for her education rather than going immediately into a higher class level."
"Thank you, Principal Delmas. I think that would be just fine," Mary says.
"There is the matter of the bill. I'll have to find your daughter a roommate, but I'm not sure who has an available room," Mr. Delmas says.
"Um, if I may sir," I say. "Your daughter Sissi does have space for a new roommate. I think she'd be okay accommodating Mia." Mr. Delmas nods.
"Yes, you may be right. Very well then, Mia Bedard, welcome to Kadic Academy," he says.
"Thank you, sir," Mia smiles.
Afterwards
Outside Sissi's room
Jim brings us to Sissi's room and knocks on the door. She opens it and is surprised to see all four of us.
"Hi Lila, Mary, Jim. Who's this?" Sissi asks.
"Sissi, this is your new roommate. Mia Bedard," Jim introduces.
"She's an adopted sister to Lila, like Aelita is," Mary explains. Sissi seems stunned by Mia's name.
"Mia… Bedard huh? Well, come on in. Jim, you'll be bringing her a bed, right?" Sissi asks.
"I will. Your father wants you to show her around. Classes won't be starting for a little while, right?" Jim asks.
"Yeah," Sissi replies.
"And after our day's done, I'll take you out shopping. How does that sound?" I ask.
"Sure! Can Mary come too?" Mia asks.
"Oh, I'm not really feeling up to it," Mary replies. "Jim, please tell Principal Delmas that if he needs any more information, he can contact me on the new number I left him."
"Of course Mrs. Smith," Jim says. Mary nods and then leaves us.
"So Mia - this is your new room, and although you'll be rooming with Sissi there are a set of rules you must follow," Jim says. He's about to go through the list but Mia says:
"Actually Jim, Lila already explained them on my way here to school this morning," she lies.
"Alright then. I'm sure having a roommate will be fun. I used to have one back in my school days," Jim mentions.
"You did?" we ask in unison.
"Yes… but I'd rather not talk about it," Jim replies. Mia can't help but smile at that, seems William must have mentioned Jim's famous catch phrase to her.
Afterwards
Inside the cafeteria
"And this is the cafeteria, where Rosa makes the best food ever," Sissi adds, finishing the tour. Mia looks over the cafeteria and the students in it. She spots William, Herb, and Nicholas at one of the tables.
"Why don't you get some food, Mia, and I'll inform the others about you?" I ask.
"Sure," Mia replies as she goes into the line. I look at Sissi.
"Do you mind going with her?" I ask.
"Not at all. Is… she really the MB?" Sissi asks. I nod.
"It's a long story; but yeah she is."
Sissi smiles and goes over to Mia. I go to our table. Yumi has a seat open for me and Aelita is sitting next to Jeremy. Odd is sitting on the other side of Jeremy.
"Hey Lila, everything okay?" Jeremy asks.
"Well…" I trail off, looking at Aelita who is still upset with me for not telling her about who she really is.
"You're never going to believe it but – MB is here," I reveal.
"Huh?!" the others exclaim. This seems to get Aelita's attention too, and I sit down and begin retelling the story Mia told me.
Afterwards
Odd finishes his scrambled eggs as Mia finishes her second round of scrambled eggs. I finish telling Mia's story. At least the others now know about our bodies and consciousness as it turns out decrease in age, they don't seem too bothered thankfully.
I never really thought about it but when I had entered the timeline; I always acted like my true age. Physically I was 13 but Mary and I should have realized that my consciousness reverted back to 13 too, I think. Although if I think about it I would have actually turned 14 within a week or so living in the timeline. Then when we celebrated Aelita's "birthday," with her surprise cake I was turning 15. Now months later, it's only April I'm still 15 and knowing my birthday is coming up in September... well it just makes thing easier. It's too bad I can't tell the others I'm actually going to be 16 though. Hard to believe months ago Aelita was still living on Lyoko. So much has changed since 2006... I just honestly hope 2007 is going to be a better year for us. I feel like we deserve it. With Mia hopefully coming on board... I think she'd make a nice addition as a Lyoko Warrior, I think.
Mia moves onto her mash potatoes with the spoon she has.
"That's… incredible," Aelita says.
"Yeah, that's what Mary said too," I say.
"You must have had a hard life like Lila," Jeremy says. Mia stops eating her mash potatoes.
"I think Lila had a much harsher life, but both were difficult. I know I'm new and everything, but I have to ask – can I be a Lyoko Warrior?" Mia asks, putting her spoon down.
"Of course! The more the merrier, right Einstein?" Odd asks.
"Yeah, we can definitely use you. Especially if you're a programmer like me. What do you say, Aelita?" Jeremy asks.
"That's fine," Aelita replies. "Classes are starting soon. We should get going. Mia, after classes are done today, we'll get you scanned so you can become immune to the return to the past. You'll be okay in Sissi's room, right?" she asks.
"Yeah. I'm still updating my laptop's security, so that'll take up most of my day," Mia replies.
"At least you'll be busy. As for me, I have an Italian test so I should get going," Yumi says, picking up her empty tray.
"Bye, Yumi," we say. Yumi smiles and walks away.
"Mia, I know you may want to interact with your father, but I think for now it might be best-" Jeremy starts to say but Mia nods.
"I know. It'll be best not to interact with him." I look to Aelita.
"You know, Aelita, Mia is going on a shopping trip with me after classes are done today. Would you like to come with us?" I ask hopefully.
"No thanks," Aelita replies, picking up her tray. She walks away from us and I sigh.
"Are you two going to be okay?" Ulrich asks concerned.
"I hope so," I reply.
"Where's Mary going to be staying, Lila? I forgot to ask you," Sissi says.
"In the lab. I know she's going to try and look for a house soon, but for now the lab seems to be good for her," I say.
"Well that's good. Wow! Is that the time?" Jeremy asks, checking his watch. The bells ring and we look at one another.
"We gotta go! Like now!" Odd exclaims, getting up. The others pick their trays up, besides Mia who just keeps eating. Makes sense I suppose since she hasn't eaten in years.
"See you guys later," she go put our trays in the dish washing section and rush off to our class.
We're sooo going to be late, I think.
The Next Day
Inside the freight elevator
We're all heading down to the lab.
The shopping trip went well yesterday. I bought Mia some new clothes, all of the essentials she would need, pillow, sheets, and blankets included. A skateboard since she suggested it would help her get around in the tunnel system. She was really fond of the purple leather jacket with a zipper she found. She said she'd start wearing that in the near future. For now she's has a lot of white t shirts, seems she didn't want to stand out which I get. Black jeans, plenty of socks, briefs, and brown Velcro tennis shoes. Even though we were late yesterday, our teacher understood since we had a new student attending the school. We weren't punished this time, thankfully. I also updated Mia on current events to bring her up to speed, and she finished updating her laptop, too. Aelita won't really talk to me, though… I wish I could apologize but, how can I? I couldn't reveal the truth to her, she needed to learn it herself, I think.
The freight elevator's doors open and Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, Sissi, Mia, and I walk into the lab. Mary is by Jeremy, sitting on his chair. They're looking at the screen.
"Hey, Einstein, we've been looking everywhere for you," Odd says. We walk into the lab. Jeremy looks at us.
"Mary and I have been up all night, reading Franz Hopper's diary," Jeremy explains. He starts typing on the keyboard, and the video on the screen rewinds itself.
"Listen to this," he says.
"And pay attention, every bit of this… it's important," Mary adds. We nod. Jeremy rewinds the video diary to the part he wants to show us, and presses play. Grandpa Schaeffer is in his lab coat, wearing his red sweatshirt. He has his hands together, folded.
"June 6th: 1994. Day 67. Project Carthage was a military program used to block enemy communications," Grandpa Schaeffer explains.
"Wait, it's further down," Jeremy says. He starts typing on the keyboard again, and fast forwards the video. He presses play.
"So I've built the supercomputer, created Lyoko and last of all… Xana. To destroy Carthage." Jeremy fast forwards the video again and then presses play. This time Grandpa Schaeffer is holding what appears to be a cup of coffee.
"June 6th, 1994. Day 639."
"It's still further," Jeremy says and once again fast forwards the video diary. This time, when he presses play, Grandpa Schaeffer looks frantic.
"June 6th, 1994. Day 1,265. Someone is watching me. Someone wants to get rid of me!"
All of us gasp a bit, minus Mia. After all, she saw how paranoid he looked on his last day on Earth. Jeremy fast forwards the video diary once more. He presses play. Grandpa Schaeffer fixes the camera angle a bit, he then settles his hand on the arm of the chair.
"I wanted to destroy the supercomputer. And destroy all of the evidence of my activities. That's when I discovered one of its fascinating properties… returning to the past. It gave me all the time I could possibly need, to perfect my great project. The only thing that will allow me to escape my enemies."
Typing on the keyboard, Jeremy fast forwards the video again and then presses play.
"June 6th: 1994. Day… 2,046."
"This is it," Jeremy says. All of us peer closer at the supercomputer's screen.
"The scanners for the virtualization are ready. In a few hours, I will go to Lyoko with Aelita. Just like me, Aelita will hold the keys to Lyoko. Together, we will be the absolute masters. We will be safe together… forever," Grandpa Schaeffer says, and he turns the camera off. The video diary ends. Aelita, looks shocked beyond belief. Jeremy and Mary turn back to us.
"The keys to Lyoko. That's what Xana wants to steal from Aelita's memory," Jeremy says.
"What would Xana want to do with them?" Ulrich asks. Aelita continues looking at the video diary folders, still trying to process the information she's just been told.
"Escape from the supercomputer… and take over the world," Aelita says.
Later
Inside the cafeteria
Aelita, Sissi, Mia, and I are all at the table. Aelita and Sissi are sitting together, while I am sitting with Mia. Aelita has only eaten a banana, she's left the peel on her tray. Her eyes are closed and she's stirring her soup. Sissi, Mia, and I can't help but be concerned.
"Aelita, you guys. You should have stuck around until the end," Jeremy says, he sits down next to Aelita. Odd sits down next to me, and Yumi takes a seat next to Jeremy. They also have their meals with them, and they put their trays on the table.
"I didn't have time to tell you the best news of all. It turns out, I've been wrong all along," Jeremy mentions.
"You have?" Ulrich asks, sitting down with his tray.
"About what?" Sissi asks.
"I thought that Xana had given Aelita a virus, so I've been looking for an antivirus. But thanks to Franz Hopper's diary, I've figured out that Xana didn't give her anything at all. In fact, he took something from her," Jeremy explains.
"He did?" Yumi asks. She puts down the bowl she's been sipping from.
"Like what exactly, Jeremy?" I ask.
"I don't really know yet. It's a fragment that belongs to her. I've located it in Sector Five," Jeremy answers. Odd stops sipping from his own bowl and looks at him.
"We can go and get it tonight! After the end of the year dance," Odd says.
"Awesome! It'll be our final mission. And then, it's time for a well-earned vacation," Ulrich smiles, putting his hands behind his head.
"Out of the question!" Aelita exclaims suddenly, getting up from her chair and pushing it back.
"Huh?" all of us ask. Aelita walks away from the table and makes her way to exit the cafeteria. Jeremy gets out of his chair and runs to catch up to her. Part of me wants to go too, but it's probably best Jeremy handle this alone. Mia looks at me.
"Say, I forgot to mention… um, Mary told me to tell you she's going out today. She's searching for houses," she tells me.
"Is she really?" I ask.
"Mh-hmm. She wanted to let you know she took the debit card," Mia replies. I nod.
"I can't imagine what Aelita must be feeling…" Yumi trails off, sighing.
"Me neither…" I trail off, looking down at my tea. All of us sigh.
Afterwards
Sissi, Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Mia, and I walk out of the cafeteria with our classmates.
"If I can have your attention! I'd like to remind all of you, that during the end of the year dance, any overly suggestive dancing, wild behavior, or trouble making will be severely punished. Uh, that's all," Jim says, ending his announcement.
I notice Kayori standing under the arches as she waits for one of her classes to start. She seems to have noticed me and smiles at me.
"So far, I don't have anybody to take to the dance. Fortunately, I have a way with women," Odd says. Turning around, he walks up to a girl with red hair. He puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Hi, want to go to the dance with me?" Odd asks.
"I told you to never speak with to me again!" the girl replies angrily.
"Oh, sorry," Odd says, pulling back. Mia, Sissi, and I can't help but giggle slightly at his failed attempt. Looking at Kayori, I decide to walk over to her and let the others go about their business. I smile at her.
"How are you doing?" I ask her.
"I'm alright, thanks. So, are you going to the end of the year dance tonight?"
"I'd like to… though I don't have a date either," I reply. Kayori rubs her arm.
"Well… how about we go together? As dates?" she asks, then blushes. I blush too.
"Um… I'd like to… it's just that my friends don't know that I'm, um, bisexual," I reply in a whisper. "To be honest, this is still kind of new to me." She nods, understandingly.
"I understand. My parents don't know that either. And… we can consider it a date if you want to, but say that we're...going as friends?" Kayori suggests.
"I'd like that," I smile. Kayori smiles too. Looking back at the vending machines area, I see Odd, Ulrich, and Mia are sitting on the ground. I turn to Kayori.
"I should be heading back. Can I get your number?" I ask her. She nods and takes out her cell phone too. Taking out my cell phone, I create a new contact. I enter Kayori's name and hand the phone over to her. She puts the number in for me, and presses the button, confirming it. She smiles and hands me the phone. I text her with my number, writing "Hey, it's Lila." Her phone vibrates and she smiles.
"Got it," Kayori says.
"Great," I smile, putting my cell phone in my pants pocket.
"If… if anything comes up, I'll try not to let you know the last-minute okay? Things are kind of… iffy, but I honestly want to go with you. I really do," I smile.
"Okay," Kayori nods. "I'll try not to be too disappointed if you can't make it."
"Thanks," I say. Kayori smiles and I smile at her again, before taking off and going to meet the others at the vending machines area. Jeremy walks up to us, too.
"Has anyone seen Aelita?" Jeremy asks.
"No," Ulrich replies, looking up at us.
"There's no answer on her phone, and the supercomputer isn't responding," Jeremy informs. I turn to him.
"That's strange…" I trail off.
"Any chance it's just buggy?" Mia asks.
"Maybe, I'm going to the factory to check on it. Lila, want to go with me?" Jeremy asks, looking at me.
"Sure," I reply, and I look at Odd playing his Game Boy.
"Where's Sissi by the way?" I ask.
"Getting ready for her date," Ulrich replies. He and Mia share a chuckle at Odd.
"Are you two… going out?" I ask him. Odd simply nods.
"It's… more like a pity date," he replies, which causes Ulrich and Mia to laugh. Odd pouts at them. Jeremy and I shrug. We start making our way to the factory.
"Cover for us with the teachers, okay?" Jeremy asks. As we're leaving, Yumi shows up. We smile at each other in acknowledgement, but don't really say anything.
"You know, I'm really worried about Aelita. I wish the two of you could make up… it's weird seeing you guys not talking," Jeremy says.
I nod.
"It is for sure…"
Inside the lab
Jeremy sits on his chair, he types a few command keys and the main screen of the computer begins to load. But then, it blanks out.
"This isn't right..." Jeremy trails off.
"No, it isn't. Why did Mary go house shopping on the one day we need her to fix things?" I ask.
"I'm not sure. Let's just go to the supercomputer room and check on it," he suggests. I nod.
Inside the freight elevator
Jeremy and I stand next to each other, the freight elevator brings us down to the supercomputer room. We're both concerned and confused as to why the supercomputer isn't working.
The freight elevator finally reaches the room, and the doors open.
Our eyes widen, the room is completely dark… and so is the supercomputer. Everything's been turned off… and Aelita is on the ground.
Mom! I think, I go to the supercomputer and reaching it, I pull the lever up. The lever goes back up and into its hatch. The supercomputer lights up, restarting itself. The light is in the supercomputer room is back on too. Jeremy and I rush to Aelita's side.
"Aelita!" Jeremy exclaims, taking a hold of Aelita. It's almost as if he's cradling her.
How… how long has she been… I think.
"Answer me! Come on! Wake up!" Jeremy exclaims.
"Come on Aelita, you've got to wake up! For us!" I exclaim too. Sure enough, Aelita wakes up with a sigh as if she's just been asleep. But it's more to it than that. She was dead for at least a couple of minutes… she…
"Surely you must have known how all of us would have felt if we hadn't found you in time!" I exclaim at her.
"You're insane! Why did you do that?!" Jeremy asks sadly.
"To save the world... to save you all!" Aelita exclaims.
"We'll save it together. And then you'll have your whole life in front of you. A brand-new life," Jeremy tells her.
I go to them. I put my hand on Jeremy's shoulder, trying to comfort him as he holds Aelita. This is the first time I've felt close to them, like they were really my parents. But I have to remember, if another version of me is ever born in this timeline… that version will be their child. Not me.
They're my best friends, and I can't stand seeing them like this. I wish I could tell Aelita the truth, that she really does have a whole future ahead of her. With Jeremy, and her child. But I can't. And I hate that I can't.
Afterwards
Back inside the lab
I check my phone. Kayori's texted back.
I understand you can't get to the phone now. Sorry, you can't make it… but at least you did warn me…
I reply:
I did. I'll make it up to you, okay?
Kayori:
Okay.
Me:
I'll talk to you later. Got to go.
I receive another text from her but decide it's better not to look at the phone now. I put my cell phone back into its pocket. Jeremy has his headset earpiece on, he's already adjusted the mic part and Ulrich's Lyoko profile picture with his number pops up. Jeremy is preparing us for our mission.
"It's me. Are you at the dance?" Jeremy asks.
"No, I don't want to go," Ulrich replies.
"Glad to hear it. Aelita, Lila and I aren't going either. Come to the factory. It's mission time. Let Odd, Sissi, Mia, and Yumi know too. Okay?" Jeremy asks.
"Okay," Ulrich replies. He ends the call and his picture, along with his number, disconnect. I look at Aelita and she looks at me.
"Hey, I'm… I'm sorry for um… keeping the truth about you a secret for so long. At the very beginning, it's true, I knew… but Mary forbade it because it would change the timeline drastically if you knew much earlier on. And you know, with your future self's sacrifice … it makes sense why. Time travel is tricky to understand, Aelita, I just hope you can forgive me?" I ask her.
She looks at me, contemplating whether she should forgive me or not. Jeremy continues typing away, giving us this moment to settle things.
Aelita pulls me into a hug, to my surprise. I hug her back.
"I'm sorry too, Lila… and I forgive you. I shouldn't have tried to…"
"I know. I forgive you too."
Jeremy smiles at us, happy that we just made up.
Afterwards
Ulrich, Odd, Sissi, Mia, and Yumi are all in the lab. Aelita and I are standing side by side.
"This is the big one guys, we're going to recover Aelita's fragment and get rid of Xana once and for all," Jeremy says.
"Let's go then," Odd says. He starts walking to the freight elevator. "I'll lead the way."
Yumi, Sissi, and I look at him, it's very rare to see Odd taking the initiative. Yumi and Sissi follow after him, I follow Yumi, while Aelita follows behind. Ulrich is the last one to follow us in. I look at Mia.
"You aren't going to Lyoko with us?" I ask her. She shakes her head.
"While I did build my own limbo sector, I, uh, don't actually have my own code for materialization into Sector Five yet. I'm hoping all will go well, and that all of you will succeed. This way, you won't need to get me a materialization code at all. I'll stay here and protect Jeremy if Xana thinks about activating a tower and hurting him. Sound good Jeremy?" Mia asks him.
"Sure. Just be careful everyone," Jeremy replies. I nod and press the red button to go down. The freight elevator's doors close, and down it goes.
Inside the scanner room
The scanners doors open, Yumi, Aelita, and I step into our respective scanners. The scanners doors close, and I close my eyes.
"Transfer: Yumi, Transfer: Aelita, Transfer: Lila," Jeremy begins. The scanner starts spinning and starts humming.
"Scanner: Aelita, Scanner: Yumi, Scanner: Lila," he continues. The scanner continues spinning and humming.
"Virtualization!"
The bright light and wind engulf me, billowing my hair and lifting my time machine necklace slightly. I'm virtualized to Lyoko.
TO BE CONTINUED:
IN:
The Key Part 2: Season 2 Finale
Author's Note: Well that's it! Mia's backstory has officially been revealed! Finalcool720, good job on guessing one of the original backstories for Mia. Unfortunately a while back AeroJester203 and I had decided it would lead the fanfiction down a darker path. So the idea was thrown out.
Mia was 25 years old. She lost her body and consciousness by ten years just like Lila did. (Thank you Paladin777 for reminding me to confirm that.) Mia was born sometime in 2018. This means she is older than Lila because Lila had not turned 11 just yet when Mia was 12 and William had called Jeremy in the year 2030. This was shown in the chapter Lila Belpois. Mia left her and Lila's future world in 2043, shortly before Lila did but time jumped to June 6th, 1994. Lila was revealed to be 24 when she time jumped in Lila Belpois and not 23 like how I had written it in the prologue.
Mia is also the "hypothetical time traveler," that was hypothesized in the dark saga. She is responsible for the original Lyoko Warriors defeating Xana so soon because Jeremy found that connection.
Make no mistake. Mia Dunbar AKA Mia Bedard is a good person. She does not have a bad hidden agenda. Mia not knowing her mother isn't a trope for this fanfiction per say... but we'll dive more into Mia's past sometime during season 3 of Changing Destiny: Lila's Journey! I hope you enjoy part 2!
Don't forget to review, I would really like to hear all of your thoughts on this part!
LyokoWarrior1994