4: The coming storm
"Mr. Dunbar, what are you doing back there?"
"I'm reading a book. It's called Harry Pot–"
"I don't care what you're reading about. Put it away or I'll confiscate it. You're in class now young man, so pay attention –"
"How much?"
Several students gasped. Clearly, something had affected William's brain while he was ill. Rule number one in room 113 is that you never talk back to Ms. Lebreton; let alone twice. Reading about a fictional wizarding world during her class wasn't recommended either.
"I–I beg your pardon?" his teacher said, aghast.
"You asked me to pay Attention. How much do I pay him…or her…I'm not really sure if it's a guy's name or a –"
Ms. Lebreton approached William and grabbed his belongings.
"Principal's office. Now. As for the rest of you, start working on homework questions 5.1 to 5.15," she said brusquely to her class of shock and muffled laughter.
"Pff–HAHAHAHAHAHA!" snorted Odd when Yumi told the rest of Team LYOKO about William 2.0's eventful first morning during lunch.
Yesterday, Jeremie had completed the script for William's clone and successfully materialized it in the scanner room. There didn't seem to be any problems upon initial observation; he looked like an exact carbon copy of the former LYOKO warrior and Kadic student. With Aelita's help and adhering to Yumi's specifications, Jeremie also toned down the clone's personality, in addition to hardwiring other basic human elements, such as common sense.
Although, he might have toned his personality down a little too much.
Today's events in the wonderful world of math class proved it; William 2.0 (aka 'William sans cocky') was having trouble in the communications department. It wasn't that the clone lacked the capacity or intelligence, but it had a one-dimensional algorithm of thinking and thus, could only interpret in the literal sense. It was unable to comprehend different meanings or loaded language, such as sarcasm.
"So, I'm guessing that if you told it to 'get lost'..." said Ulrich.
"Then we'll have a wild William on the loose and we'll have to put up 'MISSING KID: WILLIAM DUNBAR. REWARD: €1 IF FOUND, CALL …' Yeah, things might get a little…"
"Chaotic." Ulrich finished, as Odd choked on his milk. Aelita thumped him on the back several times.
"I didn't know he'd turn out like this. Sorry guys."
"Don't be silly Jeremie. You're the only one who could've done it, and you did a fantastic job. And for the record, he's much, much better than the original," said Yumi. Ulrich nodded fervently.
"Yeah, J. I'm sure everything'll be fine; other than the fact that he won't laugh at my awesome jokes anymore."
"Umm, what awesome jokes Odd?" inquired Ulrich. The others laughed. At Odd's expense.
"By the way Aelita, have you heard about the SubDigitals auditions?" asked Captain Funnily Unfunny as he left his seat.
"Sub...SubDigitals auditions?" Aelita sputtered.
Yumi chuckled. "Yeah. They put up flyers all over the school yesterday."
Aelita didn't know that. She had spent most of her time outside of class at the factory with Jeremie, working on William's clone.
"Did you know their drummer is actually Jim's nephew?"
Odd returned to the table and handed Aelita a flyer. "Here you go Princess."
"Thanks, Odd." She scanned the application form. The group was looking for someone from Kadic to perform the opening act in their annual winter concert at the Paris Waterfront in February. To be considered, all you had to do was submit a two to three minute demo of one of your compositions by the end of the week. That didn't seem too difficult. Two days was plenty of time.
Furthermore, the selected individual would then have to attend biweekly rehearsal sessions. However, the main selling point was that you got to hang out with a renowned band, and fine-tune your musical talents at the same time.
"Well, here's your chance DJ Lita!"
"You did say that you've always wanted to perform at a live concert…looks like a perfect opportunity to me."
"Y…yeah. I guess I – I should try…going for it."
Encouraged by her friends, Aelita could not wait for the rest of the day to finish so that she could get started on composing her perfect composition.
Only Jeremie seemed a bit disappointed. Deep down, he really wished Aelita or the rest of the gang didn't take notice of the SubDigitals posters. With XANA undoubtedly up to something these days and now a clone that had to be monitored, was there really time for another extra-curricular distraction?
"So, I guess you won't be able to help me today or tomorrow with upgrading the other outfits?"
"Well…I – I really want–"
"No, it's perfectly fine, Aelita. You have something more important to do than keeping XANA at bay. I understand."
"I never said that."
"Jeremie," warned Yumi.
"What? I'm just suggesting that it's just one small opening act up for grabs. Compare that to fighting against XANA and –"
Sensing an impending argument over the greater good, Odd jumped in to divert the conversation. Somewhat.
"Hey Einstein. About the mods...how's mine looking? Added those super explosive 100% accuracy AAA-type atomic homing laser arrows yet?"
"What?" asked Jeremie, mind still set on berating his friend.
"Odd's asking about our avatars," Ulrich replied.
"Oh…that. Well, actually I only finished Aelita's and Ulrich's."
"Aw man. Wait, you're saving the best for last though, right? So? How do they look?"
"Well, I made the outfits sleeker, so you all should be more manoeuvrable on LYOKO. And I also tweaked the armaments and added other features as well. For instance, Aelita now has –"
The bells rang to signal the end of their lunch break. Yumi immediately took Jeremie by the arm and muttered to him.
"It seems everything is going along well then. Can't you just give Aelita a couple of days to apply for the audition? You know how much this means to her."
Jeremie didn't want to admit it out loud, but Yumi could be very persuasive. He sighed. "Fine. I suppose it's alright. I…guess two completed avatars are enough to even the playing ground. For now." He then turned to face Aelita.
"Well...good luck."
"Thanks Jeremie," Aelita smiled.
AELITA
It was nearly ten, as Aelita put on her headphones once more to listen to her partially-completed demo on her laptop. It was becoming a consistent pattern: work on it for ten minutes, then stop and listen to it. After all, it had to be perfect. Performing for such a group as the SubDigitals was almost an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
It was without a doubt that Aelita Amadeus Mozart has some serious musical talent. Last year, she dazzled Kadic's art teacher Mr. Chardin during her first music class, who said that he had rarely ever taught anyone as musically inclined as her. In addition, she also proved herself as an adept DJ, and performed at several school spirit days and dances. Aelita appeared to possess the terrific trio combination of perfect pitch, metronomic sense of time and creativity.
All this was tied to another one of her memory fragments. She had a feeling that it was her father who was partly responsible for refining her musical abilities. When she first visited her old home, the Hermitage, she had a flashback of her dad teaching her to play 'Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star' upon seeing the grand piano in the living room.
Hmm, the bass part seems to be a little too loud…it's getting hard to hear the other instruments… she thought and made to edit her work.
Suddenly, a window popped up on her laptop screen. Initially startled – had her computer caught a virus? – Aelita was even more surprised by the message.
Aelita, come down to factory ASAP. I have something urgent to discuss with you.
Franz H.
Even though the message was a brief two sentences, Aelita reread it again and again. And now she was faced with a major dilemma.
Should she go?
She really wanted to meet her father. She had a lot of questions about…well, everything. From LYOKO to life. And of course, details pertaining to her mother.
On the other hand, it could just be a trap, set by XANA. But surely Jeremie would have noticed a XANA attack via his desktop alarm, and have come to alert her and the others?
In the end, her curiosity emerged victorious. Like many wise teenagers, she first checked the weather network for the current conditions outside, and decided to slip on her pink hoodie. As she headed for the door, Aelita stopped and took out her cell phone.
She was about to call Jeremie, when she remembered that he would, no he should – he promised – be asleep by now. Aelita didn't want to interrupt him as he was catching up with his rest. And she didn't want to disturb the others either. But, just in case…should any trouble arise, she left text messages on Odd's and Ulrich's mobile devices.
Gone 2 Lyoko. Got text from FH.–A
Aelita quietly stepped outside of her room and, making sure Jim wasn't anywhere nearby, proceeded down the stairs and headed for the abandoned factory.
The Princess descended onto LYOKO's Ice sector. Clearly, global warming was not an issue within this virtual world. There were mountains upon mountains of ice sheets and icebergs encompassed by the Digital Sea and a navy blue landscape. Aelita glanced around and didn't see any of XANA's monsters. A good sign.
She also noticed something different about her outfit; Jeremie really did a number when he modified it.
Aelita paused to admire her friend's work. Whereas her old outfit consisted of a pink skirt and top that made her look like a woodland sprite, her new one was much more…modern. A full body pink jumpsuit with a seemingly transparent skirt and shoulder blades. The new suit was just as Jeremie described: lighter, more comfortable and enabled greater flexibility. In addition, there was a star-shaped bracelet attached to her left arm.
She then remembered the main reason why she was on LYOKO. And it was not to hold a personal fashion show.
"Da…Daddy?" she called out with uncertainty.
No reply. Nothing happened. All Aelita could hear was the sloshing sound of the waves against the ice sheets. She started walking in the direction of the nearest Way Tower. Perhaps that was the meeting place.
As she rounded a block of ice, something began to surface from the Digital Sea. She turned to face what appeared to be a giant floating sphere that had a sky blue glow. But before she could do anything, it engulfed her and for a while, all Aelita could see was a stream of white light...
"Hello, Aelita. Long-time no see."
The girl turned to face a grey-haired bearded man with opaque spectacles. Objects materialized around her, transforming the empty white space into what appeared to be a living room.
A living room with an interior design much similar to that of the Hermitage.
"D-daddy?"
"Long-time no–" Before he could even finish, Franz Hopper was smothered by his daughter's embrace.
She pulled back just a bit. "Daddy, what are you doing here?"
"Just wanted to give you a sense of homecoming. Do you like it?"
"It's…it's beautiful. Is...this is the Hermitage, right?"
"Affirmative."
Aelita looked around. There were photos hanging above an active fireplace. From beyond the living room entrance, she could smell something like...cookies baking in the oven. Already, she was beginning to feel at home.
"Daddy…I'm so glad…you're alright. There's so many things I wanted to ask you."
"Would you like to listen to some music?" Franz Hopper asked.
Aelita didn't even have to say yes, as her father headed to the grand piano and began playing 'Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star'.
When he had finished, Aelita clapped enthusiastically.
"That was great."
"All the best for you, Aelita."
Her attention went back to the ever-present smell of warm cookies.
"So...where's mommy?"
Franz Hopper appeared perplexed.
"Mommy?"
Aelita giggled. "Don't be silly daddy. Where's mom?"
Her father readjusted his glasses.
"…I don't know what you're talking about, Aelita. Would you like to listen to some music?" he asked as he stood up and made his way towards the piano again.
Aelita stopped smiling. Something wasn't right. She turned to look at some of the photo racks over the fireplace and was surprised by what she saw; what she failed to notice earlier in light of her excitement.
All of the photos…had only two people – herself and her father. And yet…there appeared to be a third body in several of them. But there was no head…just a blank white circle.
"Dad, where's mom?" she asked with a distinct change in tone.
Her father turned around. "Mom...what a silly concept. She doesn't exist. And that's quite enough from you young lady."
The pinkette stared at him incredulously. "How can you say such a thing?"
Franz Hopper walked up to her and as he came nearer, Aelita could see a fuzzy 'A'-like outline beginning to form over his glasses.
XANA's eyes.
It was a trap. And she fell for it. Why didn't she see this coming? And then Aelita realized why; she was simply too happy. She wanted this to be true; to finally see her father, to finally see her mother. That she would believe anything…
"It's time. I'll cut to the chase. Where is he?" Franz Hopper's voice sounded deeper and raspier.
"Wh-what?"
"He…Second One is coming. Where is he?" For some reason, Aelita could sense...what appeared to be fear, reverberating from XANA's words.
The Scyphozoa appeared from the doorway. Aelita screamed as XANA Hopper grabbed her by the neck and slammed her against the wall.
"Where is he?"
"I-I don't know who you're talking about!"
"The Second One. Of you little brats."
"I…what? I…I…" said Aelita as she struggled against XANA's vice grip.
It flung Aelita across the room. He then motioned for the Scyphozoa as it began gliding towards the girl.
"If you won't tell me, I'll just have to extract what I need."
"AELITA! Where are you?" said a voice overhead. That familiar voice…
"JEREMIE!"
"What?" XANA Hopper looked around, shocked.
"Aelita! Press the centre button on your wristband!"
She held up her right arm and did as Jeremie instructed. A pair of white wings sprouted from her back.
Aelita Hopper: now twenty percent more heavenly.
She didn't need to be told twice what to do. Aelita threw a pink sphere of energy at XANA Hopper, who dodged it as it took a chunk out of the house. Seizing the opportunity, she flew right through the newly created window, hoping XANA's insurance covered the damage.
"AFTER HER!"
Aelita had nearly reached the edge of the white surface, when a blast of dark energy struck her. Her wings disintegrated and she fell back onto the surface to see WilliXANA standing in front of her.
But it was only for several seconds, before Captain Cockshaw was shoved away by a flash of yellow.
Upon materializing into focus, the yellow flash turned out to be none other than
Ulrich Stern: now with the supreme need for speed.
The LYOKO's warrior's avatar – like Aelita's – had been modified and modernized. Apart from a full yellow and black suit, he had an extra katana. After all, two sharp XANA choppers were better than one. His speed and agility also appeared to have increased to better rival that of a XANA-controlled William.
"What are you planning this time, XANA?" Ulrich asked as he pointed his sword at Franz Hopper.
As William got to his feet, XANA Hopper appeared, revealing a face of utmost hatred.
"We're done here." And with that, the spectre clapped its hands together as it, William and the Scyphozoa, along with the white landscape disappeared with a cloud of darkness as the Ice sector expanded back into view.
"Hmm, it appears that XANA has deactivated its own Tower. I'll materialize both of you back now."
"Copy that, Jeremie."
The yellow flash then turned to his partner, who appeared to be at a loss for words.
"Aelita?" he asked as his fellow warrior's eyes suddenly slid out of focus, consciousness leaving her. The last thing Aelita saw was Ulrich trying to catch her before she hit the ground. And then everything went black.
"I didn't know you could pass out on LYOKO."
The two boys were talking quietly in the scanner room, waiting for Aelita to wake up. Sure enough, she soon began stirring.
"You all right?" Ulrich asked as he reached and helped her sit up.
Aelita slowly opened her eyes and turned to the source of the voice. Ulrich. She noticed that his hair was wrapped with a towel. Beside him was Jeremie.
She gently rested her hand over her head. "Y-yeah. I think so."
Although Jeremie was unmistakably relieved, those feelings were replaced with annoyance at his friend's foolishness.
"What on earth were you thinking? Going to LYOKO by yourself this late at night."
"Jeremie..." began Ulrich.
"You could have…well you did fall right into XANA's hands again! You do realize what you did was incredibly dangerous that was, right?"
"But Jeremie–"
"Couldn't this have waited until morning?"
"Jer–"
The boy continued his worrywart motherly rant. "You're lucky Ulrich managed to get your message. You know how worried I was? And–"
"JEREMIE! SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" Aelita yelled. Despite trying her best to contain them, tears began to well up in her eyes. She tried to brush them off.
Aelita was extremely frustrated with herself, and for worrying everyone with her actions. She thought she was doing the right thing. She thought she would actually get some answers and finally meet her father face-to-face after all these years. And in the end, she was horribly mistaken. But to also hear Jeremie scolding at her like that...was just too overwhelming.
The tech genius fell silent.
"I…I went to LYOKO because…I got…a message from...my father...Franz Hopper." As she struggled to speak, Aelita realized how stupid the whole situation now seemed. Jeremie was right. It was so painstakingly obvious XANA was behind it. And she went in anyways.
Ulrich showed a face of surprise, but Jeremie looked as though he was in deep thought. While he was working on Yumi's outfit, he did notice an activated Tower several minutes before Ulrich came to get him. However almost immediately, the glowing red outpost returned to its neutral blue state. And so he convinced himself that it was merely a glitch.
"Okay...well it turned out to be XANA impersonating as Franz Hopper. What did the message say?"
"He…he said get to the Ice sector ASAP and that there was, there was something urgent he needed to tell me. And...and that he didn't have much time."
Aelita looked at Jeremie. "I didn't want to tell you…because…you've had it pretty rough this week with the mods and the clone. I thought you could've used some rest. So I texted Odd and Ulrich."
The boy felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't been sleeping.
"XANA transported me to...the Hermitage. It looked just like the one in my dreams"
XANA showing Aelita her memories? I thought it was trying to destroy them…
"And…I did see my father. I thought it was all real. But when I asked where my mother was…he…he," Aelita couldn't go on, and began sobbing.
JEREMIE
Ulrich stared at Jeremie. Do something.
The other boy pointed to himself. Me? Not really sure if what he was doing was right – not sure what he was even supposed to do, Jeremie crouched down and placed his hands on either side of Aelita's shoulder.
"Hey, it's…going to be just fine. It's okay. Ulrich and I are here now," Jeremie said as he handed her a pocket tissue.
Aelita sniffed. "Th-thanks."
They stayed like that for several minutes as Aelita wiped away her tears. And then Jeremie continued.
"So your father…well XANA said that your mother was –"
"Didn't exist," she said flatly.
"Ah." Jeremie understood. There wasn't any data on the supercomputer, the Hermitage...anywhere regarding Aelita's mother. And XANA was just a program bent on elimination. It couldn't understand humanistic concepts, including family relationships.
"And when he said that my mom's name sounded silly, I was able to tell that it wasn't my father. I also noticed the pictures at the house...they were all of me and my dad but, there was also a third person beside me...but the face was blank. So I tried to get up and leave. That's when the Scyphozoa appeared."
"Maybe XANA was just waiting to get the Scyphozoa in range. So it disguised itself as Franz Hopper to lure Aelita?"
"I don't know Ulrich. It also seemed odd that XANA just left afterwards as soon as you showed up, without a fight."
"Maybe your upgrades made XANA finally realize that Team LYOKO's just too full of awesome now, and that there's no way it could beat us."
"I don't think so." Both boys looked at Aelita.
"I…I think it was more of a recon mission. XANA thought I had intel on…it's weird, because XANA seemed a bit afraid."
"What?"
"It kept saying the same things over again: 'where is he' and something about a 'directive'. But, I had no idea what XANA was talking about."
Ulrich and Jeremie cast worried looks. Who – or what – could make XANA scared? Was it even capable of feeling fear? And…even more pressing, would this unknown entity pose a threat to themselves?
"Wait…do you think…it could be the –"
Jeremie didn't need Aelita to finish, and gave a curt little nod.
AFG.
Agents of the French Government. The Men In Black. The relentless black-suited individuals that haunted Aelita's nightmares. The ones who were likely after the supercomputer for their own devious ends.
The three just sat in silence for several moments, contemplating how little they knew of what looked to be a future of increasing danger; both on LYOKO and Earth.
Jeremie, trying to be upbeat, was the first to get up; his irritation over Aelita forgotten.
"Well, no point in sitting here. Now that tonight's ordeal is over, we should probably return to Kadic. After all, I need to get my…seven hours of rest," he said, smiling weakly to Aelita.
The girl smiled back. "Good."
"Feeling better now?"
"Yeah, thanks to you two."
"Glad to be of service," said Ulrich with a little bow as his towel slipped off onto the floor.
"By the way, Jeremie. The mods you made on my avatar – the wings – it felt amazing. To fly."
Jeremie blushed at the compliment. "No problem, angel."
"What was that?" Aelita asked, breaking into a grin.
"Er...never mind. Come on, let's get out of here."
The three left the factory. They were once again puzzled by XANA's motives and were now also concerned with the coming storm. Something that had even XANA on its heels; pressing for information. On the other hand, the recent encounter with her 'father' only left Aelita with even more questions than answers. Nobody seemed to know anything about her mother; Aelita wondered if she really had ceased to exist, as XANA claimed.
Nevertheless, LYOKO once again brought the three closer into each other's lives. After all, Aelita, Jeremie and Ulrich now had to think of a cunning plan that would enable them to evade Jim Morales: the First Star Commander of Curfew Security.
Fragmented Legacy Fun Fact 004:
When I designed Aelita's character, I made sure to make her stand out. Although she may be the most emotional out of the LYOKO warriors, it is only because she was trapped within the supercomputer for 15 years; hence, at times, she seems a little immature.
A|N's:
Feel free to leave a comment, and as always, thanks for reading Code LYOKO: Fragmented Legacies =) As well, here's a short preview of what happens right before Chapter 5.
The Morning After Pill
There was a slight hint of frost on the ground and the temperature hovered just under ten degrees Celsius. It seemed that Old Man Winter had arrived in France ahead of schedule.
The early Bus 34 (nicknamed 'le Pill' for its tubular design) on its way to the suburban regions of Paris, had just dropped off a single passenger at the Kadic / College Station. He sported a Maple Leafs cap, with a knapsack strapped onto his back and carried a medium-sized rolling luggage. Equipped with the necessities to survive nine months of boarding school, Bryan set off towards the main entrance of the prestigious Kadic Academy.
He had arrived. And there was no welcoming party.
Not that Bryan had been expecting one. It was too early for such pleasantries. He took off his Leafs cap, which revealed his medium-length sky-blue hair, and took a moment to enjoy the view: mounds of damp bright-coloured leaves and never-ending lines of trees. And coming into the foreground, was the venerable institution itself.
Bryan smiled. He was back to where it all began.
Only this time, it was to be the beginning of the end.