Code Lyoko: Reincarnated, twenty years later

Chapter 1- Reawakening, Part 1

I didn't think I'd make one of these again. I'm Ruby Renaud and in 1991 I was reincarnated into the world of Code Lyoko. I'm a huge Lyoko nerd and well... I love Lyoko. I helped with their adventure almost twenty years ago and we've all moved on.

We've all made fan fiction, don't deny it. Here, Ulrich and Yumi have gotten married!!! And they've moved to Japan and started a martial arts business.
Odd got married to Sam and the two have taken the fame and glory with them to Hollywood.
The only ones here are Jeremie and Aelita who also have successful lives. Jeremie has his own company which produces devices that can turn the molecular structure of an object into a digital entity and materialise it again in another location sound familiar?
Aelita has become a musician, known for her DJing skills and her piano skills.

And me? I've taken a liking to Kadic. My entire life revolves around not messing up the original timeline, helping from the sidelines. And when we graduated, my heart wasn't ready for it. So I came back, as a maths teacher.

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Jeremie, Aelita and I sat in a restaurant. We tapped each other's champagne glasses and cheered, celebrating the official 23 year anniversary of the founding of Lyoko warriors. "Twenty three years..." I mumbled. "Twenty three years ago, we were saving the world. And no one knew."

"Thirty five years ago, my father was forced into hiding. If it wasn't for that, I would have never met you guys," Aelita smiled. She glanced over at Jeremie as she held his hand.

"I feel like I'm the third wheel," I chuckled. "I'd better get back. I have some work to do before going to bed. Good night."

"Want us to drop you off?" Jeremie asked.

"No thanks," I replied. "I like walking. It's a good change of pace." I walked out of the restaurant, gently clutching my purse. I strolled around town, going no where in particular. And soon enough, I found myself there. In front of the factory.
I like to go there, helps me clear my mind. I haven't gone inside, even though Jeremie's bought the building. It makes me feel jittery just standing outside.

I stood a few metres from the bridge, leaning on the rail that overlooked the abandoned factory. In the distance, I saw four figures emerge and run towards the entrance. A little bit of pink hair caught my eye.

Aelita? It couldn't have been. She was probably still with Jeremie. Who... Then it hit me. There's someone who inherited Aelita's pink hair and Jeremie's blue eyes. Someone who despite being the daughter of two geniuses, she ended up with average grades and quite athletic. Mia Belpois.

On instinct, I followed them in, watching as the elevator went down. I climbed down the rope, punched the elevator button and got in as soon as it came up.

When the doors opened, I inhaled the familiar feel of the futuristic aura of the lab. And I had four sets of eyes on me. "Miss Renaud?" Mia questioned. She was in her usual one shoulder hot pink shirt, with a light blue tank top, blue denim shorts and black tights. Her hair was tied in a side ponytail with a pink hair tie. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Mia," I replied.

"We asked first," a second female voice replied. Kyoko Stern wore a red turtleneck sweater, black leggings and a yellow hoodie, alongside a yellow headband. Other than the colours, she was the spitting image of Yumi.

"I saw you all, and I was worried so I followed you. Is that the real problem, though?" I said raising an eyebrow.

"We'll explain everything later," a male voice said. "But right now, we have some matters to take care of." Rick Della Robbia. Cunning, smart, deceptive. He had low grades but he could make up for them with his slyness.
He didn't resemble Odd all that much. He had bright golden eyes which seemed to illuminate in the darkly lit lab. And black-brown hair, parted to his left. He wore a pattered black and white shirt, black jeans and a purple jumper around his waist.

I played along with their stunt. "Alright. I get it. I won't do anything. I'll just sit here and wait." I sat on the floor and watched as the three got into the elevator and went to the scanners.

The fourth figure was dressed in black and orange. "Alex?" He was a Dunbar. Alex Dunbar was obedient, observed and a great achiever. And yes, he is the son of Sissi and William, a ship I have supported since forever. "You're guiding them?" I sprang you and paced toward the computer.

"How do you know that I'm guiding them?" I asked.

I flinched. "A hunch?" I replied with a small shrug. I heard him transfer, scan and virtualise the others.

I peeked at the screen to see the superscan with an activated tower, shown in red. "ACTIVATED TOWER? How's that possible? XANA's gone..."

Alex seemed surprised. "How do you-"

"Send me to Lyoko."

"What?"

"Send me to Lyoko. I can help."

"You know about Lyoko? But..."

"We both have some explaining to do. But desperate times call for desperate measures." I dropped my purse beside him and ran to the elevator. It opened to the scanner room. I stepped in the column and waited as the doors closed in front of me.