Roman continued running through the Carthage sector, sneaking pass possessed creatures, and listening out for The Creator every chance he had gotten.
"Aiden!" Dr. Hopper yelled slamming his body against the wall.
"He's close." Roman thought to himself
A small battalion of Creepers started to go in one direction along side some Blocks and Kankrelats. Roman quietly followed behind them sliding down a ramp and hanging on a bar watching as what appears to be a meeting in progress. A ghostly figure appeared in the middle of the floor slowly forming into a shape.
"What is that?" Roman lightly whispered to himself
The ghostly figure appeared in Roman's armor with the metal chest plate, shoes, and the lower leg plates. Slowly turning them into his own image with a dark green marks and a black base color stretching out slowly forming into a human.
"Ahhh, it's great to be back into my own." Xana said in a well rested tone.
"You won't get away this." Dr. Hopper said
Xana laughed for a moment,"Thanks to that little brat of ours I already did." Xana turned around with dark brown hair, red eyes, lightly tanned skin, and an evil smirk on his face
"D-d-d-dad?" Roman questioned slipping from the bar a little before repositioning his hands.
"Malcolm?" Dr. Hopper asked.
"Did you honestly think you can keep me out of the place we built together? " He asked taking Roman's gloves out of the digital data floating around
"I had to you were using the super computer to hack into the world government." Dr. Hopper said
"We could have had everything together, but you...you just had to throw it away. " Malcolm said pacing back and forward
"How did you get back here after all these years?" Dr. Hopper asked
"I never left, after you banished me I placed a virus into the system created in my own image. Sadly the image came out in a ghostly ghoulish format unless it was combined with armor from another program. A program that you created to protect the animals here, a program called Roman." Malcolm explained
Roman started to swing from the rail to an oncoming platform hovering over Malcolm and Dr. Hopper. He laid down quietly watching from up above.
"Now I knew for a fact that you wouldn't just give me the program as a friendly gift. No, I had to take it or trick you into giving it to me." Malcolm said
"And how could you do that when the program is controlled by someone else?" Dr. Hopper asked
"You mean to say the program is controlled by Aiden. He knows what I'm capable of...why do you think he ran away from home from you from reality all together. Because he was afraid...afraid of me." Malcolm said smiling evilly
"Aiden, he's your son?" Dr. Hopper asked in disbelief.
"OF COURSE HE'S MY SON!", Malcolm yelled," I been planning this for years and now he is the key to make me the most powerful being in Lyoko." Malcolm said
Dr. Hopper looked around thinking until he saw the platform the Roman was on. Over hearing every word, Roman realized that this was a trap from the beginning.
"What are you looking at?" Malcolm asked pulling Dr. Hopper's head down towards him and looking up.
Roman ducked and curled up hoping that Malcolm didn't see him.
"He's here isn't he?" Malcolm asked smiling evilly
"No!" Dr. Hopper yelled
Malcolm nodded,"Yes yes he is, I knew he would come back to save you. Finally it's all coming together." He said turning around to his small clan of controlled creatures.
The creatures stood like soldiers following a blind cause unaware that their leader is no more than an insane maniac bent on revenge.
"You and you find Roman and get me that Armor!" He yelled at the Creepers and a few Kankrelats
The Creepers and Kankrelats nodded and left the meeting while their orders.
"You and you come with me it's time to cause some havoc. " He said to the Blocks and Crabs
Malcolm whistled for his solid black Manta as it came down from hiding it drove down right passed Roman without noticing him.
"I got to find a better hiding place." Roman thought to himself before finding and jumping on another platform closer to them.
Malcolm stepped on the Manta's back and created a copy of himself, "Guard him." He said pushing the copy on the ground and it slowly transformed into a light brown fur wolf stalking the area. Roman made his way to a empty Hornet's hive and tried to catch his breath realizing his worse nightmare was in the last place he'd least expected. He stared at the armor reflecting off the light coming in from the cracks of the hive.
"He wants the armor right, Aiden?" Roman asked.
Aiden's digital matter slowly flowed out of Roman's body and formed into a small little boy curled up in the corner nodding lightly.
"Why don't we just give it to him?" Roman asked
"He doesn't want just the armor, he wants something else and you know it just as well as I do." Aiden said holding his knees to his chest
"Than what else does he want?" Roman asked
"Until he gets that armor, who else can deactivate his towers?" Aiden asked
"Aelita, we have to warn them." Roman said getting up and racing out of the hive.
He glanced down at a ten foot drop and back up at Aiden, who looked scared hiding in the darkest part of the hive.
"Are you coming because I can't do this without you." Roman said reaching out for Aiden's hand
Aiden glanced down for a second, "I'm going but only to save dad and protect my sister." Aiden answered grabbing Roman's hand and turning back into digital matter.
After an hour or two the wolf fell asleep in the corner, Roman jumped off the platform and scaled down a pole before jumping onto a rail swinging himself to a ramp. The wolf snarled and growled waking up from its sleep looking around, sniffing the ground for any evidence of another person's presence. Roman had taken off the left wrist plate of his armor and threw it across the room. The wolf instantly ran in the left direction as fast as it can, leaving Dr. Hopper hanging in chains against the wall.
"Pssss, dad over here." Roman said in a low whisper
Dr. Hopper looked up with tired eyes,"Aiden you have to go." He said
"Not without you." He said breaking the chains and freeing Dr. Hopper.
Dr. Hopper was so exhausted and weak he fell to the floor as soon as he was released. Roman picked him up to his feet and dusted him off.
"Let's go home, father." Roman said putting Dr. Hopper' s arm around his shoulders leading the way.
Before the two could even take their first step, the wolf snarled and growled loudly spitting out the wrist plate and staring at the both of them hungrily. Roman gently leaned his father against wall, before getting on his hands and knees growling back at the wolf.
"Roman stop!" Dr. Hopper command
Roman instantly made the first move tackling the wolf and throwing it across the floor. The wolf quickly got up and had shaken its head before charging for Roman. Improving, Roman slid across the floor, picked up his wrist plate activating the spikes on the side, and punching the wolf directly in the mouth with the brass knuckles. The side of the wolf's jaw was completely shattered but it still continued trying to attack. After a few minutes, Roman was covered in scares, claws, and bite marks gasping for air holding up his blood covered brass knuckles, while the wolf was limping with slight growl.
"I don't care if I die here, I will protect my family." Roman said charging towards the wolf.
The wolf growled before attacking for the final time. Roman grabbed the wolf by its neck locking it in a hold around it. Before Roman could break its neck, the wolf turned into a ghostly ghoulish form and moved out of Roman's grip, eventually leaving all together. Roman slowly rised to his feet as he limped over to Dr. Hopper, who was standing up waiting for him.
Roman fell into Dr. Hopper's arms,"I'm so tired." He mumbled
"I know son, I know." Dr. Hopper said carrying Roman out of the Carthage sector.