Code Lyoko: Reincarnated, twenty years later

Chapter 13 - Measage from Franz

We all headed back home. The men had broken down the door and only the door, everything else was perfectly fine. Was their only purpose to kidnap Miss Renaud and Yumi? This time, Odd and Ulrich decided to stand guard, insisting that they had fought XANA's monsters well enough to take on a few of the men in black.

We headed to the secret room, through a narrow passage way and into a white room there was a leather sofa that faced a TV set and a small cabinet. "There's a cassette inside," Mum noted.

We all took our seats on the extremely small sofa, and me and the other Junior Warriors sat on the front, the parents behind us. Alex and I tried to figure out how to work the damn thing and when we did, we were able to see grandpa. The first and probably the last time I will ever see him.

He looked kinda old. And if he looked this old in 1994, then I wonder what he would look like now.

The TV flicked grey, then black. We sat back. Loud piano music began playing, with yellowish images being displayed in a slideshow format. My mum shifted awkwardly shifted as she saw a woman with bright pink hair, similar to both her's and mine. "Mummy," she mumbled.

My grandmother was beautiful. She seemed kind and considerate, yet strict and stubborn. She was like me, a mixture of both kind and sneaky.

And then, without warning, Franz Hopper's voice resonated through the speakers as the pictures changed to show a younger girl. I'm guessing it was mum.

He finally spoke, "My dear little Aelita, I hope you are here to see this video. I've taken some care into hiding it, knowing your passion for chemistry." He paused for a second. "Nevertheless, if you are watching this film then that means things have not gone well for me. I swore that if I ever returned, I would destroy this room and end the adventure forever. It breaks my heart that I cannot be there with you."

(Author's note: I'm directly quoting from the novels so this part is kinda long!)
He proceeded to explain how he escape Switzerland after Anthea's abduction. "Your mother Anthea and I were working in Switzerland on a top secret project named 'Carthage'. But late in the project, we realised that our work was to be used not to benefit humanity, but to dominate it, and so we made the decision to escape. But we were unsuccessful. Your mother was kidnapped and taken away from us. I don't know where she is being held captive, but I am certain that she is still alive. I can only hope that she is alright. You cannot imagine how long I have searched for her. I did all that was in my power to find her again, but I also had to think of protecting you.
I hid in this city and began teaching at Kadic Academy, under the assumed name of Franz Hopper. While here I also created Lyoko, using the same programs that your mother and I developed together under Project Carthage. It was my intention that Lyoko would protect us from the malign intentions of Carthage. But nevertheless, in the course of time, they tracked me here as well. And now that they have arrived I must make fresh preparations to escape again. But they've attempted to capture you, and injured you in the process. And injured you severely, a bullet to the head. You were in danger of dying."

I turned to mum, her hand on her head, possibly looking for a faded scar.

He continued: "I alone had the means to cure you. And, if you are listening to me now, you already know what I mean. When I complete recording this message onto the video cassette, I will take you with me and lead you to Lyoko. To keep you safe. To heal you. But I am very afraid Aelita. X.A.N.A..." The screen flickered and he was briefly cut off. "...but if you're listening to me know then things clearly did not go according to plan. And so you must destroy the supercomputer and everything hidden beneath the old factory."

I felt myself hold my breath. "You must destroy it. The computer itself is not evil. It's the men. They're evil." Grandpa dried a tear with his handkerchief, trembling with what seemed to be fear and anger. "And one more thing... Inside the cabinet, there is a wooden box. It contains a chain with a pendant. It was a gift that your mother made for me, and I in turn gave an identical one to her. Please treasure it as if it is the most precious possession you have. And then Aelita, you must find your mother. I know that this is a difficult and dangerous task, my dear, but you're clever and brave, and there will certainly be someone there to help you, as there has been for me. So if you ever need help you can call on the aid of..."

The audio was briefly cut off again and the video skipped ahead a few seconds. "...ern. If you ever have need, turn to them. And when you embrace your mother again, please give her a kiss for me."

                                                                      

The video jumped ahead again due to further interference, but this time nothing else played.

I immediately leaned forward to grab the wooden box and hand it to mum behind me. She seemed paralysed. When she did pick the box up, she trembled, much like grandpa had in the video. She slowly opened the box and pulled out the pendant.

"Waldo and Anthea," she murmered.

"And a knot," Dad said.

"Yes. Together, forever."