Chapter 42 The Creator (Franz Hopper)
A.N. – So, this chapter will reveal some truth mixed in with lies that A and Xana can use to keep the Lyoko warriors at bay. The full truth is coming.
Short Summary – After a mysterious man appears in the lab during a Xana attack, the man is revealed to be Franz Hopper, creator of Lyoko, Xana, and Aelita. During a catch up session, Franz turns the group against Jeremy, convincing them that he was putting their lives in danger, but the danger doesn't begin till they enter Lyoko.
Disclaimer – I do not own Code Lyoko or the story idea. I am just a fan of the show, and the idea was submitted by James Marshall.
A was lounging around in her abode, knowing Xana was going to find a way to reveal Franz Hopper to the group. A knew Xana wasn't going to release the real Franz Hopper, so the only option was to do it himself. And that attack was beginning.
"A, get to the ice sector immediately! The superscan picked up an attack by Xana and this one looks like trouble!" Jeremy tells her.
"For one tower? What's Xana doing in the real world?" A responded.
"We don't know, but it's something big if he needs five towers."
"Five? Okay, I'm on my way."
A arrived in the ices sector, but the group haven't shown up yet. She would think at least someone should be here by now.
Aelita's Point of View
Aelita was in the corridor with the rest of the group waiting on Yumi. "I wonder what he has planned this time" Jeremy says, knowing that with five towers, Xana could something really nasty.
"No problem Einstein. We'll take out your five towers in no time" Odd says, with confidence.
Yumi jumps down. "I got here as fast as I could" she says as she arrives.
They all descend down and see someone at the computer. "Ah, there you are. I've been expecting you" the man says. They approach as he deactivates a tower. "That Xana, always closes the door shut, but leaves the window open."
"But what are you doing here?" Jeremy asks with confusion.
"I'm deactivating the towers."
"Without going to Lyoko!?" Jeremy was in disbelief. All this time there was a way to stop Xana manually.
"Of course. But before we get formal introductions, we all need to be here."
"We are" Yumi responds.
"Then you forgot about your friend" he opens up A's communication window and she sounded pretty annoyed.
"Hello? Jeremy? Are you there? Is Xana still attacking or what?" A asks.
The man hands Jermey the communication mic. "A, sorry. You got to come back. You have to see this."
"Okay, be there soon."
A's Point of View
A used her Lyoko door and exited into the lab. "So, what is it I have to see?"
"Ah A. It's been a long time since I saw you. Nearly ten years ago" the man said to her.
"It's you. The man who recruited me and gave me this" A responds, flashing her Lyoko band.
"Yes, but you can call me Franz, Franz Hopper. I created Lyoko and Xana, but I lost control of it. His mission was to destroy a military project based on a multi-agent system, but he gained self-awareness and became obsessed with world domination. I though shutting down the supercomputer would stop him, but then it turned back on. I'm not mad at you. You didn't know what you were unleashing at the time."
"What about me?" Aelita asks.
"I created you to be the guardian of Lyoko, but I never thought I'd see you in flesh and blood. Luckily for you, A here volunteered to be the original source for your creation."
Aelita was in shock but relieved. This was all the proof she needed to know A was her sister, because she was created from her DNA.
"So, how did that work?" Odd asks.
"I just created a guardian using a piece of A's virtual DNA structure. So, there are similarities that makes them like sisters."
"But where were you for the last ten years?" Ulrich asks.
"I was able to virtualize myself. I went trying to stop Xana myself, but I shut down the supercomputer from within and when Jeremy turned it back on, I was prisoner of Xana and I managed to escape."
"What now then?" Yumi asks.
"We have to destroy Xana."
"We'd love to, but he's infected Aelita with a virus. A also has something tied to it as well. We got to help them before we can shut down Xana without endangering them" Jeremy explains.
"We'll find the anti-virus and figure what Xana did to A."
"Sure, but how?"
"Well, that why I showed up, to help. Together, we'll free the two young girls and stop Xana for good."
A was in Odd and Ulrich's room waiting for Odd to finish. "If you don't hurry up, Jeremy's gone miss out on his surprise" A says. She wasn't about to forget Jeremy's birthday even if it was a younger version of him.
"Hold on and done," Odd said finishing wrapping Jeremy's present. "I hope he like's it."
"Considering you put more effort in this than schoolwork he should be somewhat impressed" Ulrich says as a joke.
They head on over to his room. They stand behind him as he is on the phone. When he turns around he is congratulated by them.
"Happy birthday Einstein!" They all say in unison.
They start messing with him and soon after he hangs up. "Here. A present" Odd says handing him the wrapped gift.
"What are you waiting for? Open it" Ulrich says.
He opens it. "Wow" he says in awe at a picture of him and his friends. Odd holding his dog, Ulrich has his hand on a smiling Jeremy, Aelita is giggling, A in the middle of Yumi and Aelita, with her arms around both, and Yumi putting her arm around A. "It's great!"
"Yeah. And I drew it from memory" Odd says.
"So you can imagine the effort it took" Ulrich says, giving the same joke.
"Hey, how about heading to the factory? I can't wait to see Franz again" Jeremy suggests.
"So, you used the scanners to virtualize the others?" He asks.
"Well, yes. We can't always use A's Lyoko band to get to and from Lyoko, especially when Xana was attacking. We had to deactivate the towers" Jeremy explains.
"The virtualization process wasn't ready for that yet. I gave the Lyoko bands to A and the others to test Lyoko without the risk of using the scanners. It's a very dangerous procedure with serious side effects. I only virtualized myself as a last resort, knowing it could harm me."
"What is this side effect?' Yumi asks.
"Cell degeneration."
A, Yumi, Ulrich and Odd were in the scanner room. A went first and then the others occupied the three scanners. The four returned to learn the horrible truth.
"I can't believe it! What a nightmare!" Yumi says in disbelief. All this time, she was suffering from cellular degeneration.
"Nice one Einstein! Dr. Shrank transplants animal limbs onto human beings, but compared to you, he's small time" Odd comments.
"Did you know about this A?' Jeremy asks.
"When he gave us these, he just said when I need you, use it. He never said that the scanners were never ready. If I knew, I would've told you earlier" A responds.
"You know, I don't know if I can trust you or Jeremy. To think you were trustworthy" Ulrich says.
"Just know Ulrich, without the scanners Aelita wouldn't exist. Believe what you want, but if you want out, no one is stopping you! I'm leaving!" A says as she storms off, the others all going their separate ways. The group was now divided. A leaned against a tree and dialed up her ally. "Your plan is working but I'm getting affected too."
"Don't worry. With their trust now in pieces with each other, getting the keys from Aelita will be no problem" Xana tells her.
"I hope your right, because I just got their trust back."
A's phone rings the night came, and she was waiting for part two of their plan. "Yeah?"
"Time for part two. I'll call Yumi and then you make sure your there with them" Xana tells her.
"Okay. Mind telling me what part two is and why I'm gonna need to be there?"
"Don't worry about that. If all goes to plan, the keys will be mine." The next morning, all of them arrive in the lab, the tension still high from yesterday. "I know how to program an anti-virus. All I need is the data from sector five to finish it."
"Great! We'll go and get it" Aelita states.
"I thought the scanners were too dangerous to use" Jeremy says, knowing that Franz wouldn't risk lives…even if it meant destroying Xana.
"If we wanna get to sector five, then we have no choice" Franz says.
"It will be our final mission!" Odd declares.
"Okay, then what am I supposed to do?" Jeremy asks, not knowing what he was doing here if Franz was at the controls.
"If I were you, I'd stay out of the way" Franz says with seriousness in his voice.
"It's not fair! Everyone blames me for everything, yet we didn't know anything! Then you come along and ruin everything! We all turned the supercomputer back on together and you weren't there! If you were such a great man and scientist, you would've kept us together rather than tearing us apart!"
"Perhaps. But you, you didn't care about your friends. You would've prevented yourself from becoming Xana's slave and stopped him from destroying my diary if you cared so much!"
"Fine. Since we don't trust each other anymore, I guess this friendship is over. I'm leaving."
"Jeremy…" Aelita says trying to stop him, but he ignores her.
"Right? Shall we?" Franz says, wanting the mission to continue.
The others go to the elevator. "You coming A?" Ulrich asks.
"Go ahead. I'll be right there. I gotta discuss something with Franz," A says. Once the elevator closes, she speaks up. "That wasn't subtle enough! Jeremy's bound to know somethings up once he clams down and gets a clear head."
"With him out of the way, it will provide me a clear opportunity to virtualize Aelita alone. Once that's done, nothing will stop me from getting the keys" Xana says as he prepares the virtualization.
"You better do it quickly then. Because knowing Jeremy, you're on a timer."
Jeremy's Point of View
Jeremy was in his room, now thinking about what Franz said before he left. He already called his dad and said he wanted to leave Kadic, but first he wanted to know what happened. The last line kept playing on repeat in his head.
"…and stopped him from destroying my diary if you cared so much!"
"Franz Hopper's diary" Jeremy pulled out the remains of the diary after Xana got his hands on them. It was a start and if Franz was just recently released from Xana's grasp, he wouldn't know anything of the past. "But how could he know the diary was destroyed?"
"Great. Maybe we'll find out more about the mysterious owner of the Hermitage" Yumi wonders.
"Yeah but not right now. The diary's encrypted" Jeremy responds.
"…and stopped him from destroying my diary if you cared so much!"
"How could Franz Hopper know that I did it, even Xana?"
"You played the role of the puppet" Ulrich says.
"Not only that, but Xana made you destroy all of Franz Hopper's CD's. Looks like we'll never know the secrets behind Lyoko and Xana" Aelita mentions.
"…and stopped him from destroying my diary if you cared so much!"
"Xana!"
A's Point of View
Everyone except Aelita was in sector five already. "The countdown has started. Clean up and I'll send Aelita" Franz tells them.
The four of them gasp entering the core zone. "Franz, I don't mind cleaning up, but it looks like Xana is planning to end us" Odd comments seeing triple the normal creepers (4) in the zone.
"Don't worry about it. I upgraded your weapons."
After seeing the new abilities, the creepers started dropping like flies. A knew everything was going to plan, but she knew that Jeremy would soon be arriving. Ulrich eventually spots the key and gets it opening up the door to the celestial dome.
"Well done Ulrich" Franz congratulates him.
"This is too easy. I want more creepers" Odd says, ready for a challenge.
"Don't worry Odd. It isn't over yet. I got more surprises in store for you" Franz says just before he's ready to virtualize Aelita.
Jeremy's Point of View
Jeremy comes back, just in time to see Xana's plan come into effect. "Jeremy, what are you doing here!?"
"I just came to see how your managing…Xana!"
The symbol flashes on his glasses. He fires electricity at Jeremy. "You're very clever Jeremy. But you're too late." He modifies a program. "I've fixed things now so none of your friends can return. No more life points and it's bye-bye. Now for my prize." The Scyphozoa arrives and starts draining her memories. Xana was about to achieve victory. "Admit your defeated Jeremy. There's nothing you can do now."
"Nope. Not this time" Jeremy replies confidently.
Xana now looks confused as the Scyphozoa finished draining Aelita's memory. An error pops up on the screen. "What's the meaning of this!?"
"A decoy. I don't know what you want from Aelita, but it won't be happening today."
"Noooooooooo!" Xana replies as he appears in specter form and disappears. Jeremy looks in awe, never seeing Xana this way.
He then runs up to fix everything Xana broke.
A's Point of View
The others are surrounded by creepers, and it all looks hopeless. Even Xana set A up, disabling her wings and energy orbs.
"I've often wondered how it will all end. Now I know. This is it" Yumi speaks, thinking it's all over.
"Then let's go down fighting. If we lose to Xana, we shouldn't by surrendering" A says.
The four prepare to fight. The creepers fire and they all dodge. Ulrich eventually gets hit and devirtualizes.
"Ulrich, no!"
"I guess we already lost…" Odd says, losing his best friend.
"Come on Odd. Don't be so pessimistic" Jeremy replies happily.
"Jeremy!" Yumi replies.
"Yes, I'm back. Now let's start over."
The warriors have their weapons back. A activates her wings and takes flight. "Time for a little revenge" A says, after being double-crossed by Xana. She creates two energy fields and destroys two of them. The others clear out the room.
"Is Ulrich okay?" Yumi asks, concerned for him.
"Yeah. I fixed everything that Xana messed with. He's home safely. We just have to deactivate the tower. Aelita is coming" Jeremy informs them.
"No time. I'm doing this myself" A says. She flies into the tower. She floats to the top doing a flip before arriving. She presses her hand to the interface.
Aelita
Code
Lyoko
"Tower deactivated."
The screens fall and the tower deactivates, ending this nightmare.
"Once again, A saves us" Jeremy says.
"It was you who saved all of us. We should be the grateful ones" A replies.
"Are you mad at us? We kinda turned our backs on you without thinking things through" Yumi asks.
"No, I'm not mad. I also checked out your bio schematic during rematerialization. No sign of alteration whatever" Jeremy tells Yumi.
"Oh, what a relief. He really scared me that Franz Hopper."
"That false Franz Hopper. The real one is still somewhere on Lyoko."
"But what if what Xana told us was true? What if Franz is his prisoner? Xana's not gonna let him go" Aelita says.
"Xana never tells the truth. He is lost" Ulrich answers.
"Right, but right now we have no leads. We need to confirm Franz is still on Lyoko. Once we get a solid lead we can start looking for him" Jermey tells them.
A knock is heard at Jeremy's door and Jeremy's dad was there. Jeremy forgot to mention that he considered leaving due to Xana's lies and deception. Jeremy goes out to discuss the situation with his father. When he returns, Odd questions him.
"Hey, what's going on here? Where were you going?" Odd asks.
"Nowhere. I know where my place is. It's right here."
Everyone smiles back at him. "Your father seems really nice" Aelita says.
'Oh, you have no idea' A thinks, knowing how Jeremy's parents treated her really well.
"Yeah, I love him. It's great" Jeremy replies
"Like father, like son" Ulrich says.
Jeremy walks up and shows them the framed picture. They really had an unbreakable bond.
A returned to sector five for a little chat. "So that's why you left me out. You didn't want me to know I was at risk of being eliminated."
"This partnership is limited. Once the keys are mine, your more of a liability. And with each passing attempt, my patience grows thinner. When do I get my keys?" Xana questions her.
"First of all, they're not YOUR keys, they're MY keys. And secondly, soon. Me being from the future, everything needs to happen a certain way for humanity to survive and you survive as well. Any alterations will cause great damage to both our futures. The end of the school year is approaching in two weeks. Wait till then, and the keys will be yours."
She heads to her father's cell. "Going to see your old man?"
"He's my father and I deserve this more than you think." A enters the cell and talks to her father. "Dad? Are you there?"
"Yes Aelita. Please tell me some good news" Franz replies.
"Well, the warriors know of your existence. If you want to help me against Xana, it's time to make contact and then I'll give you the power to override Xana temporarily. It's time for them to find out the truth behind Lyoko and current Aelita."
"You know this truth may be too much for them to handle."
"That's not the only truth they need to learn."
A.N. – Only two chapters remain in this season. Next will be a combo and then the finale, The Key! PM me with story ideas! Review with questions or comments! I will respond! As always, till next time! See ya next year! -lyokowarrior97