They'd been lounging in the Hermitage's living room all evening, one eye on Jeremie's laptop, another on a film playing on the TV. The blonde had built three networked robots in the grounds around the Hermitage, with motion-detection lasers built in. They could control the traps from here, so all there was to do was wait. Still, it had been so long that Aelita was actually surprised-not to mention startled-when the monitor on Jeremie's laptop began to flash and beep. Quickly, she extinguished the TV.

Jeremie's fingers danced over the keyboard. The teenagers huddled around him, watching the screen intently; it was now displaying a lanky figure wrapped in a long grey greatcoat, the type usually seen in film-noir films. "Ha!" Jeremie exclaimed. "He came in through the front gate, just as I predicted."

"But there aren't any dogs with him," Yumi said, frowning. "And it was definitely dogs that attacked Kiwi."

"He might have left them behind. They weren't with him yesterday, either. In any case, we'll be able to question him soon enough."

He zoomed in on the intruder's face, which filled the monitor. It was indeed the boy in the image; he had copper-colored hair, pasty skin, and bags underneath droopy eyes. He looked very ill, and the freckles added a youthfulness that made him seem younger than he probably was.

Aelita's stomach roiled. Again, she got the feeling she knew him, though she didn't remember where from or who he was.

"Everyone, get ready," Jeremie continued. "Once he's in position, I'll spring the trap."

Ulrich sprinted into the kitchen, where they'd left a large box of materials for the coming interrogation. Effortlessly, he lifted it and brought it into the living room. Aelita and Yumi both moved to help him unpack.

Meanwhile, Jeremie tapped an irritated finger against his leg. "Come on...why are you just standing there?" To them, he complained, "Why isn't he approaching the porch or garage?"

"I can lure him towards the trap," Ulrich offered.

"No, that's too dangerous," Yumi said. "For all we know, he might be armed."

"No, wait-" Jeremie held up a hand, staring at the screen. The glare reflected off his glasses. "He's moving."

Aelita leaned forward, watching the young man take faltering, hesitant steps. At first he started towards the porch, raised a hand as if to ring the bell, then dropped it. He then went towards the garage. With the tap of a button, Jeremie had switched cameras, to the one mounted over the trap. Aelita knew he had deliberately prepared things so he could relocate the trap depending on where the intruder was.

A wireframe grid appeared on the monitor; a range-finder. The intruder's eyes seemed to shine.

She held her breath.

Jeremie's finger hovered over the ENTER key.

For a single heartbeat, time stopped. The world held its breath.

The man stepped into range.

Jeremie stabbed the key.

The trap was sprung.

Even with Eva's recent lesson on image enhancement, Odd bungled through the process of loading the DVD on his laptop, finding the exact still frame, and enhancing the image. He boosted up the contrast and played with curves and made a deformed mess of colors several times. His eyes stayed fixed on a single point-an area between the trees, where the pixels were jumbled, as if something had been hidden.

When he finally got the process right, his reward was the image of a man with imposing musculature. But what were those indistinct shapes around him? He saved copies of it and started again, trying to make the image as clear as possible. His next success revealed the man was carrying a rucksack, and next to him, coming waist-high, were a pair of dogs.

His mind leaped onto a single thought: those dogs were big enough to have savaged Kiwi. This was the man they were looking for, not the one Jeremie and the others were trying to capture tonight.

Then another, more chilling, thought occurred to him: this man had managed to mask himself from the video feed. To do so, he had to have sophisticated equipment. If he had that, he was likely very dangerous-and Odd's friends didn't know he existed.

Not even bothering to switch the computer off, Odd leaped to his feet, seized his jacket and phone, and sprinted out of the room.

How did Jeremie miss that?! He'd been talking with Ulrich-had that distracted him? Maybe he was just tired; he tended to overwork himself to the point of passing out. Desperately, Odd stabbed at the buttons on his phone, trying to reach someone. Anyone. Jeremie, Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita-all their phones had been switched off, probably to not give themselves away while they lay in ambush.

As he dashed through the corridor, a familiar and large figure blocked his path. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"Sorry, Jimbo, no time to stop!" he yelled, still aiming for the door.

It was then Odd realized that, while his legs were still pumping, he was moving in place. Jim had lifted him up by the collar from behind, in a comical, cartoonish manner. "No time for what? Must I remind you that you're under curfew?"

Indecision tore Odd's insides in two. He couldn't tell Jim where his friends were or anything about the situation; leaving the dorms at night was a suspension at least, and the trap probably meant expulsion. But he had to alert them to the real threat.

"Well?"

If he couldn't tell his friends, he needed someone else to carry a message. He rapidly ran through his options. Sissi? She was in trouble too. William? As if. That only left… "Alright, I'll tell you, but only if you put me down."

Jim grunted skeptically, but nevertheless did. As soon as his feet were on the ground, Odd took off again, tearing through the dorm halls at top speed. "HEY!" the gym teacher shouted. "Get back here!"

He didn't waste air on a response. Without breaking stride, he stabbed the buttons on his phone, calling the number that Eva had scribbled on his hand. To Odd, out of his limited choices, she made the most sense. She lived off-campus, so she shouldn't have any trouble getting to the Hermitage. Pick up, pick up, pick up...

"Hello?"

"Eva! It's Odd, and I need a really big favor!"

"Odd? You sound out of breath. Is everything-"

"No time to explain! There's a house I need you to go to-called the Hermitage-"

He glanced over his shoulder. Jim was right on his tail.

"It's in the forest behind Kadic! Big house, kinda run down. I need to you sound the bell, three short trills and one long. Tell them the red-headed man is not the guy we're looking for. There's another man, with two dogs. If they check the video footage again, they'll find him. Got it?"

She repeated the instructions back to him. Despite the late hour, she didn't sound sleepy at all. In fact, she sounded rather excited.

"Perfect!" Odd beamed as he heard Jim's lumbering steps drawing closer. "It's really important. Thanks a bunch!"

He barely had time to snap his phone shut before a hand closed around the back of his shirt.

His head was spinning. His limbs felt like they were engulfed in a thick, black molasses. His mouth was full of cotton, and his eyelids was glued together. Ugh...

What was going on…? He tried to sort things in his head, put puzzle pieces into place.

He'd...been coming to the Hermitage, yes. For the second time in as many days. Looking for…his old teacher, Professor Hopper. And...

His heart clenched.

Aelita.

Yes, that was right. He'd come here looking for them. Twice! But he hadn't rung the doorbell either times. His cowardice shamed him. After what he'd promised, lost, and hoped to regain, he'd just stared at the front door, paralyzed. Surely they couldn't be here. He'd looked before. The newspapers had gossiped about the mysterious disappearances of Professor Hopper and his only child. If he rang that doorbell and didn't get an answer...could he bear it?

There would be a sign, surely. Lights on or something. He'd...yes, he'd planned to circle the house, looking for some indication, any little thing, that hinted they were here. Only then would he have plucked together the courage to ring.

But before he could get started, there'd been a blast-a concentrated jet of air-a loss of balance-a net-an electric shock-

He still didn't have a clear picture of what had happened, just jumbled pieces. But he was starting to get an idea. Someone had set a trap. For who? For him?

The hairs on his arm stood on edge. For the professor and Aelita?

There was only one way to find out. Reluctantly, Richard opened his eyes.

He was still tangled in the net-which was actually made of some metallic mesh, he could now tell. But instead of being in the garden, he was in a dark room with a cement floor. The only illumination came from a blade of light slicing out from the bottom of a door. He could faintly make out several large box shapes, something like stairs, and a semi-circle of…

Four figures. They were shrouded in darkness, their faces completely invisible. He shook his head in disbelief. This was like something out of a film. This couldn't be real, could it? People like him didn't get knocked out, kidnapped, and-

"What is your name?" demanded the figure furthest on the left, interrupting his thoughts. He jumped at the voice. It was very deep and reverberating.

"R-Richard," he stammered. "Richard Dupuis."

"Why were you in the garden?"

He hesitated. Should he lie? But he wasn't doing anything wrong. But what if they were trying to capture Professor Hopper and Aelita? What if they deemed him guilty by association? Should he deny everything?

You promised, he reminded himself, and took a deep breath. "I was looking for Professor Hopper."

A different voice spoke. Not as deep, but more guttural. "Skulking around is a strange way to look for someone."

"I…"

The voice this time was female and raspy, like a smoker's. "Did you know the professor?"

"Yes. Before he disappeared, I was a student of his. And a friend of his daughter, Aelita."

One of the figures started.

He shifted, the rapid patter of his heart slowing somewhat. These people hadn't threatened him. Not when he first woke up, not at the sound of his old professor's name. This situation was still absurd, but that was a little reassuring. "I made him a promise that if his daughter was in trouble, I'd help her. So I came here hoping I could, because-well, I can't show you why, bound up like this."

The first figure that had spoken, the one on the far left, fiddled with something. The mesh of the net loosened, allowing him to move. Groping blindly inside his greatcoat, Richard managed to brush his fingers against his palm-pilot computer. It was small, only a little bigger than a playing card. He pulled it out; it had lit up instantly at his brush against the screen. On said screen was a scramble of letters and numbers, filling every available space. After a few seconds, the display went blank, before filling up again. He turned it around to show it to his captors.

"This started ten days ago," he said. "At first I thought I'd picked up a virus, but then I realized it was Professor Hopper's doing. At least, I hope it is."

"What makes you think that?" the fourth figure, who had thus far not spoken, asked. Another female voice, soft and cold.

"Look at the first six letters," he said.

A heartbeat passed. Then four sharp inhales told him they'd seen it. The series of letters and numbers appeared to be incomprehensible and random, but the first six of each line all spelt out AELITA.

They left Richard in the garage, relocating to the kitchen to discuss what they'd learned and what was to be done. Jeremie quickly searched Kadic's records and found that yes, there was once a student named Richard Dupuis.

Aelita sat on a box, one hand pressed to her forehead. She was shaking lightly. Richard Dupuis…

"You really don't remember him?" Ulrich asked. He'd placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No. I mean, his face looks familiar, but...I don't remember anything." A small part of her wished it was the boy from her memory-dreams who'd shown up. But-no, that was ungrateful. She had a piece of her past back. She shouldn't take that for granted. "We have to let him go, though. He said he made a promise to help me, and he hasn't done anything wrong."

"Yeah, but the fact you never aged in Lyoko made a beautiful mess of things," Ulrich said. "It's been over ten years. He'll expect you to be an adult. How are we supposed to explain that?"

"We aren't explaining anything yet," Jeremie interrupted. He picked up the vocal manipulators they'd taken off. The devices resembled a little ball of dark plastic tied to a ribbon. Tying it back under his chin, he continued, now in a much deeper voice, "I'm still not convinced about his innocence. We'll continue the interrogation."

Aelita sighed. She couldn't believe Jeremie was pushing forward with this. To her, it seemed obvious; Richard was trustworthy. Those codes were proof. "I think he's telling the truth."

"Noted." Translation: that's not enough to change my mind.

"I don't want to use this thing again," Ulrich grumbled, picking his own up.

"Quit your whining," Yumi said, giving him a friendly nudge to take the sting out of her words. "It's only for a little longer."

They returned to the garage, single-file. Aelita watched Jeremie move to Richard's feet, keeping low so as to stay in the darkness, and seize the palm-computer. The young man jerked back, and pity shot through her. He came here to help me, and we're treating him like this…

For several moments, all was silent as he studied the screen. Finally, he said, "Alright. These codes...they're definitely the same Hopper used to create Lyoko. I'm not sure what they mean, though…"

And then, from upstairs, they heard the doorbell ring. Drin, drin, drin, drrrriiiiiiin. The chimes echoed throughout the Hermitage's walls, penetrating even the lower layer of the garage. The signal?

"Aelita!" a female voice called from outside. "It's me, Eva! Odd sent me, and he said it was something important. Can you hear me? Are you in there?

At the sound of Aelita's name, Richard perked to life and started wiggling in the net. "Aelita?! Is Aelita here?"

Jeremie hesitated, obviously trying to think of what to do. Aelita shook her head. Enough of this. Striding to the wall, she flicked on the light switch. Immediately, she hissed and squeezed her eyes shut against the bright, blinding light. Ow.

When the spots had disappeared from the back of her eyelids, she opened them. Richard was staring at her, white as a sheet. "You're...oh my. But you're...you…"

Then his eyes rolled back in his skull and he passed out.

Jeremie was suspicious of Eva's arrival, of course, but that quickly turned to dismay when XANA mentioned the surveillance video. A little more prodding, a tiny suggestion that he could show the exact frame in just a few seconds, and the boy's pride was so ruffled he forgot to be cautious around a stranger.

It took the fool half an hour to go through the security footage and locate the incriminating evidence. In that time, XANA investigated the garage under the guise of passing curiosity. There was little to note; the only partially interesting thing were Jeremie's vocal modulators, and those he turned over, peering past the plastic to study the electronics within. They seemed passable, though nowhere near his far superior program for vocal morphing. Still, the study could prove useful. The adult woke at some point and did nothing save stare at Aelita, like some useless lump. Aelita told XANA his name was Richard, seeming grateful that was the only question he'd asked. Thus far.

A curse from Jeremie had the entire room turning their heads. XANA smirked to himself. Finally.

The boy's finger pointed at his laptop screen, which had a clear, enlarged image. "There. A man, two dogs. This is insane."

"You didn't notice him before now?" Ulrich chided.

Jeremie looked sulky. "Only because the feed had been tampered with."

"You mean someone modified them to hide this second person?"

"More likely, they had something that enabled them to remove him in real-time. Incredibly advanced technology."

XANA knew this already, of course. The level of technology to vanish in real-time from the security feed was on the same level as those electronic bugs around Aelita's room. Which meant, of course, a member of the Green Phoenix. The presence of two dogs would indicate one Grigory Nictopalus, spy and hitman. If he was skulking around the Hermitage, that added further evidence to XANA's theory that they were investigating Hopper's work. What else existed that was of importance in this dull city?

He calculated the Lyoko Warriors had no new knowledge of the man, and thus this topic would provide no further information to him. Time to move the conversation along. Eva smiled. Yumi frowned at his vessel suspiciously. Now what did I do wrong?

"Are you telling me this is what you guys get up to at night?" he asked, putting a deliberately obtuse tone in Eva's voice. "All this equipment, these computers, booby-traps...where'd you get this stuff?"

Ulrich's mouth opened like he was about to speak, but Jeremie elbowed him sharply. "They were...purchased...by me, from a security system store."

Oh, you're not escaping that easily. "But why'd you buy them?"

Watching them flounder for an answer that didn't involve Lyoko was relishable. Watching Jeremie's face pale when Richard cut in and ruin whatever half-cooked cover story they were about to throw together was even better. "I came here because I was Aelita's friend," Richard said. "More than ten years ago now. But then codes began appearing on my palm-computer, and they kept repeating her name-and I came here to help her-and she should be twenty-six but she's fifteen…"

The children burst out laughing. After a pause, XANA joined in, even though he didn't see what was funny. He mentally grimaced; the peals of Eva's laughter sounded fake even to him. Still...

Codes on a palm-computer? More and more intriguing. He did not allow his vessel's eyes to drift to it, though curiosity itched. If he could get his vessel's hands on that little device, he'd crack it in no time. This evening was turning out quite fruitful; putting up with Odd's irritating nature had, it seemed, been worth it.

"So you guys are up to something dangerous, then?" he finally asked, when the chortling had died. Immediately the kids tensed; more amusement flickered in him.

"Well-it'd be dangerous for us to tell you anything more," Jeremie hedged. "The situation is complicated enough as it is."

"But you haven't told us anything to begin with!" Richard exclaimed. XANA watched in barely-concealed delight as the idiot put the children on the defensive for him. "Aelita is...she's…"

"I'm ill," she said hastily. "It's a rare genetic condition that stunts my growth."

Congratulations, Aelita. You've proven yourself a superior liar compared to the rest of your friends. Humans had weak programming-their 'genetics'-which were, he hypothesized, the source of their natural faultiness. XANA found it easy to believe something like Aelita's lie existed.

"And now she attends school with us and nobody remembers her from before," finished Yumi. "Which is why it's a secret, you understand."

But Richard was shaking his head over and over. "No, I don't understand! That isn't a proper explanation for why any of this is happening! And I refuse to leave this city until I get one!"

XANA leaned forward, wondering if the children would actually give out the answer, but Jeremie shook his head. "Another time. It's really late and we have to get back to Kadic soon if we don't want to be discovered."

"Fine. I'm staying at the Hotel de le Gare, next to the train station. I'll leave you my phone number for now. But if I don't hear from you, I will come looking for you," Richard said darkly. It would probably have been more intimidating if he didn't look like a fresh-faced infant and hadn't been captured by four teenagers, in XANA's opinion.

Still, those four teenages took him seriously, or pretended to. They nodded and took the number and let him go. Then Yumi turned to Eva. "You live outside Kadic too, right? C'mon, let's walk to the suburbs together. Two girls are safer together at night than one."

And it conveniently keeps me away while the rest of your group discusses what they learned.

He didn't like the thought of being alone with Yumi, but it would be more suspicious to decline than not. He'd proven Eva reliable tonight; he had to push the idea that she was part of the group. Perhaps if he blathered about pointless things, he could keep Yumi too off-guard to interrogate him.

That plan was sound, and so XANA followed her into the night.

"Aelita? Is everything okay?"

She sniffed, rubbing her eyes. Her friend stepped closer, features laced with concern. It was early morning, far earlier than she usually visited. She'd practically flown the length of the bridge, desperate to run away from her life. She'd needed to run away from the reality where Mommy was still-

"It's the anniversary," she choked out. "Of...of…Mommy's…"

"Oh." He gently took her hand. With a light tug, he began to lead her away . "I'm...not sure what I'm supposed to say or do. Would it be appropriate to say I'm sorry?"

"I don't know! I…" She wanted it to get easier. She wanted it to stop hurting. Daddy believed Mommy was still alive, and Aelita really didn't want him to be wrong. But year after year, they didn't find Mommy, and year after year, that little hope inside Aelita dimmed. And this morning-

"I dreamed she was back. I dreamed we'd rescued her and defeated the men in black and she was back. She smiled and...a-and hugged me, and then we celebrated, and she listened to my music and told me h-how much she loved it, and-and then I woke up." Even remembering that horrible moment, when Mommy was fading and the world was rushing in, sent another explosion of grief through Aelita.

"At least that's happier than your usual nightmares," he said, trying to tease. She didn't smile. His faded. "I'm sorry. That was the wrong thing to say, wasn't it?"

She didn't answer, but when he moved to drop her hand, she tightened her grip. Awkward he may be, but she couldn't bear her pain alone. Daddy was still sleeping, she shouldn't disturb him. He was so tired and had been working so hard...

In silence, her friend led her into one of the city's many parks. This one was more a garden; it had an abundance of winding paths, flowerbeds, and charming little benches. Cultivated trees were cut into animal shapes, and the paths, if viewed from above, formed pleasing aesthetic shapes. They sat on a stone bench wrought with the image of vines. Aelita stared at the grass, letting the tears run until they dried.

Finally, she managed to speak. Her voice was only slightly broken. "I'm glad you're here. There's no one else I can talk to about Mommy, or Daddy's work, or the men in black."

For as long as she could remember, there'd been an invisible barrier separating her from everyone else. No one was allowed inside; even if she made a friend, like kind Richard, they could never truly touch her. But the boy with her, he could cross that barrier. With him, there were no secrets; with him, she would never be alone again.

A dark little voice breathed, Unless you lose him.

"Don't worry," he said, as if reading her thoughts. "I don't have any plans to leave."

"What if it's not a choice?" she whispered. "What if the men in black take me far away like they did Mommy, and I never see you or Daddy or anyone again?" It was hard enough being without Mommy; how would she manage with everyone she loved gone?

"I'd stop them." The sheer conviction in his voice made her look up. He was usually cocky, but this was different from that. His face was firm, and something inscrutable was flickering in his eyes. "I'd stop anyone who tried to take you away."

Tentatively, she smiled.

Suddenly, the sky grew dark, storm clouds racing across it. Torrents of wind whipped her hair about. Lightning flashed. Her friend was torn away right before her eyes. She screamed his name, but it was lost to the gale around her. Aelita leapt to her feet, looking about wildly.

"Aelita!"

There! He was on the other side of the park, eyes wide and terrified, reaching out to her. But before she could even move towards him, he was suddenly swallowed up by a darkness so thick it seemed to have actual substance. And in that darkness, something started to glow. A symbol. Two circles around a dot, three lines on the bottom of the outermost circle, one on top.

"No! Give him back!"

In response, the darkness took form, solidified. Terror paralyzed her as it became a huge black dog with a blazing red Eye. Baring its teeth, the dog snarled and leapt. She screamed-

And awoke with a gasp. She was drenched in sweat and sucking in air. But weirdly...upright? Aelita looked around and shrieked again.

She wasn't in her room anymore, but in the sewers. She knew this spot. It was the secret passage that led from Kadic Academy to the grounds of the Hermitage.

What had happened? She scrunched up her face, trying to recall the events that led to this. For a moment, they didn't come, and she cursed her stupidly blanking mind.

But then, finally, memories trudged out. She, Ulrich and Jeremie had walked back to Kadic after parting ways with Yumi and Eva, discussing their findings of the night. Jeremie, in particular, had theorized the man with the dogs wasn't part of the government that had been involved with Project Carthage. His reasoning was that government forces usually didn't loose men with bloodthirsty dogs, so either this one had little restraint...or someone else was lurking. Neither was reassuring.

He'd also proposed waiting so he could continue studying the footage of the Hermitage, hoping to obtain some kind of clue from it. Then they'd reached the dorms, said their good-nights, Aelita had gone to bed, and now she was here. She must have started sleepwalking, and the thought alarmed her. She'd never done that before.

But that dream...what did it mean that a dog, a representation of the people who stole her mother, had been on XANA's side? And what did it mean that her friend was swallowed by XANA? Was he...was he killed by that monstrous AI? The sheer thought devastated her more than it should have, for a boy who was technically just a memory.

She didn't move from her spot for some time, staring blankly into the sewers and listening to the soft churning of the water. As if by straining her ears hard enough, she could find answers, or maybe some kind of reassurance.

But the darkness offered neither.

A/N: My (and Richard's) calculations for Aelita's age were taken from a great fan-made timeline, by Cyclops on the Code Lyoko website. Actually, it does a great job of organizing dates and events for every episode in the series! Definitely worth a look if you're confused or sick or making up birthdays/dates.

Anyway, Aelita was thirteen when virtualized on Lyoko. Ten years passed before Jeremie turned on the supercomputer. She spent another year on Lyoko, unaging, then was virtualized in Season 2. Jeremie says they've been fighting XANA for "two years" in "A Lack of Goodwill", so she turns fourteen at some point in Season 4. From a picture of a heavily-pregnant Anthea surrounded by snow, we know her birthday is sometime in winter. For the sake of convenience, I picked early January, so she's already had her fifteenth birthday unknowingly.