"Yah!" Odd yelled as he swung from the rope, landing on the factory floor along with Ulrich and William, joining Aelita and Yumi who had already jumped down.

"Odd, I've never understood why you always yell when you swing down that thing." Yumi said, looking towards him.

Odd gave a faint smile before replying, "Without it, it just feels really boring. Yelling makes it seem like an action movie, like there's a huge explosion behind me."

"We've lived through too many action movies already, Odd." Aelita said, turning towards the elevator. "Let's go."

Everyone else stood still for a moment before following her. The elevator, like everything else there, was exactly as it was on Earth, key code and all. Aelita entered the code as the others entered the elevator, sending them down to the lab.

The trip down would only last a few seconds, but to Aelita, it would last for hours. 'I don't know whether I should be anxious or reluctant about this... If it's not him... If he really is...' Aelita felt a tear begin to build up in her eye.

'No, I can't think like that. I have to believe that he's alive, I have to believe.' Aelita concluded her thoughts just as the elevator opened.

As the metallic panels separated, the gang was astonished by what they saw.

Franz Hopper sat at the computer, typing at a pace that would earn envy from even Jeremy. Upon noticing the gang having entered the room, he turned and stood from his chair.

"Daddy!" Aelita yelled, running towards the now open arms of her father. She entered his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist with a fury of joy. Tears which she had so well held back earlier were now flowing like streams down her soft cheeks.

"Aelita, my darling, it has been much too long." Franz said, returning her enthusiasm in their embrace.

On the other side of the room, the four others watched the emotional reunion.

"So he really is alive." William said, gazing on at the breathtaking moment. "I didn't think it was possible."

"I still don't think it's possible." Ulrich said. "After all the times X.A.N.A. has tricked us, trapped us, almost killed us, what makes this any different?"

Yumi elbowed him in his arm. "Ulrich, be considerate. We all knew the risk, but this is the real Franz and they are having a moment. Now shut up and let them have that moment."

Their embrace was still going strong, their time of separation being mended by their time now joined together, their time as a family.

Franz pushed Aelita out from his chest, still holding her shoulders at a distance. "It has been so long, my little girl has grown so much." Franz cracked a rare smile from his normally solid facade, looking down at his daughter.

"Daddy, where have you been this whole time?" Aelita asked, tears still falling from her innocent face.

"I've had to hide myself for a very long time. I hid myself inside of X.A.N.A. at the last second before you thought he was destroyed, but I knew he would survive somehow, I built it to be resilient till the end. I was able to stay out of sight from X.A.N.A. by being in the last place it would look, inside itself. After a long time of waiting, I began work on this; a replica that would allow me a safe place to work on ways to help you and your friends fight X.A.N.A."

Franz moved his arms from Aelita's shoulders and sat back down at the computer, typing away. "All of you, come closer." He said, motioning the others to come and look as well.

They all gathered around the monitor, which displayed a large spherical area.

"Is this the replica?" Ulrich asked, curious as to what he was looking at.

"In a way, yes." Franz replied. "As a way to keep X.A.N.A.'s monsters from entering, I created a special bubble around this replica that not only makes it appear as though this were just empty sea, but also as a way of protection in a more direct way. If anything without a special armor touches that field, it will instantly have it's code eradicated, dispelling it from the area. I hope that clears up some of the confusion on why I added a few new pieces to your ship."

"We understand." Aelita said, standing close to her father. "I'm just glad you're still here, and that we're together now."

—

Jeremy had been in the dark ever since they entered the bubble, not hearing anything from them, nor was he able to speak to them. All he could see were the Warriors on his map, their green light only diluted by one thing:

A bright red circle in the middle of them all.

Thanks for the wait, after many different tech issues, all seems clear! Make sure to review and sorry for how short this is, next chapter won't disappoint by any means!