Chapter 1- No More Replikas (09.03.07)
As Odd shot the generator of the last supercomputer, he reflected that this was the last Replika supercomputer. The supercomputer in the Amazons was destroyed, and so was the one in New Mexico. The others had been destroyed, too. Without his precious Replikas, XANA couldn’t exist anymore. And that’s what made Odd whoop in success. “Yes! Let everyone bow down to Odd, the supreme destroyer of the final Replika!”
Ulrich and Yumi were looking out from the Skid anchored to the green tower. The tarantulas outside vanished. William looked at the disappearing Ice Replika in dismay, shouted “Super Smoke!”, and vanished into the Digital Sea with a wisp.“Great job, Aelita and Odd!” called Ulrich, even though they couldn’t hear him.
“I’m bringing you guys back in,” Jeremie said to Aelita and Odd. A moment later, they vanished, reappearing in the Skid. Odd was grinning from ear to ear.
---
An electric current passed over the virtual bubble. From the Skid’s standpoint about 100 meters away, Aelita could see the bubble was about to give way.
The bubble finally exploded into a thousand binary interfaces. XANA’s final Replika was destroyed.
“Thank you, thank you,” Odd said, mimicking a bow, “because you all know that it was me that destroyed the last XANA supercomputer.”
Everyone rolled their eyes. “Aelita, did Odd really do that?” Yumi asked, reproachful.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Aelita replied. Yumi, Ulrich, and Jeremie groaned.
“What?” Odd inquired innocently. “Are you guys just jealous that you weren’t the one that destroyed the final Replika?”
“Frankly, Odd,” Jeremie said, “we’re just unhappy because we’re going to have to listen to you brag about your victory for weeks.”
“What, me? Brag? Never!” Odd grinned.
---
At the cafeteria, everyone was sitting down but Odd. He had gone to get fourths, because he thought he deserved it, being the destroyer of over half of the Replikas.
“So, guys,” asked Yumi, smiling, “what do you want to do with all this free time, now that XANA is gone for good?”
“I’m probably going to study more,” Aelita said.
“Spend more time with my family,” was Yumi’s reply.
“I’m going to eat more!” Odd said, grinning as he sat down, his plate laden with a mound of fourth helpings.
“You need to study more, Odd,” Ulrich said, rolling his eyes. “Have you seen your last science test score?”
Jeremie shifted uneasily in his chair. “Guys, I’m not sure XANA is really gone.”
Everyone turned. “What?” Ulrich asked. “All of his Replikas are gone. There isn’t anywhere that he can exist…except…” The realization hit him like a bowling ball in his face. “Does that mean we have to turn of the Lyoko supercomputer?”
“Well, yes,” Aelita replied. “No matter how XANA was defeated, we would have always had to turn it off.”
“But…” Odd stumbled, “that means all of your father’s hard work will go to waste.”
“It’s the only way we can really defeat XANA,” Jeremie said. “But I feel the same way as all of you.”
“Do you guys want to stay at my father’s room?” Ulrich asked. “He’s our last class of the day. I was going to, anyway.”
“Sure,” everyone said.
“We can ask his advice on what to do,” Yumi said for all of them.
“Guys, I hate to be a party pooper,” Odd said, “but there’s another thing we have to do before we shut down the supercomputer.”
“What, Odd?” Jeremie asked, surprised.
Odd looked around, and then said, in a carrying whisper, “We have to bring back William.”
Everyone turned to where William’s clone was sitting a few tables away, alone. It had been rather convincing these last few weeks, but it was no match for the real one.
“We owe it to him,” Aelita murmured.
“Why?” Ulrich asked. “It wasn’t our fault that XANA took control of him.”
“It’s our fault for not bringing him back sooner,” Jeremie said. “And whether we like it or not, it’s the right thing to do.” Everyone knew Jeremie was right.
---
The last bell rang. All the students started piling out of the science room. All of them, but four.
“Hey, dad,” Aelita and Ulrich said, walking up. They gave him a hug.
“Mr. Hopper,” Jeremie asked, “what was that last equation? I didn’t get it.”
“Save it, Einstein,” Odd said, turning to Franz. “There’s something else on our minds.”
Franz put on an inquiring gaze. “Did you destroy the last Replika?”
“Yeah, we did,” Yumi said, entering the room. “But there’s something else.”
“You need to turn off the supercomputer, don’t you?” Franz guessed. “And you’re afraid all of my work will go to waste?”
Ulrich stared. “But how did you know?”
Franz’s features seemed to droop. “Ulrich, it was obvious, considering that XANA can still exist in the supercomputer. But it’s my fault that all of you have been risking your lives on Lyoko.”
Everyone started. “Why?” Jeremie asked.
Franz sighed. “It was my fault for creating XANA in the first place.”
Aelita patted him on the back. “It wasn’t your fault. You could have never known that your AI would turn rogue against all of humankind.”
Franz shook his head. “It was my fault for creating something so dangerous. That’s why the Secret Service came after us, Aelita. All because of me.”
“Mr. Hopper,” Odd said, stepping forward, “we’ve been risking our lives on Lyoko because we’ve been willing to. And because it was the right thing to do. And besides, you make mistakes, you solve them, you learn from them, you move on.” Odd grinned. “I do that all the time.”
Ulrich nearly fainted. “Does anyone have a tape recorder? I’ve never heard Odd admitting he’s made a mistake before.”
“In any case,” Jeremie said, cutting in, “I’d think we’d better wait to shut the supercomputer down. There could be a Replika that we don’t know about yet. Unwittingly cutting off our only way to get to it isn’t very smart.”
Franz ruffled his hair. “Very good, Jeremie. I’m glad I mentored you.”
“So, we’re just going to wait?” Yumi asked. “Leaving the supercomputer on could let XANA do something nasty.”
“We all see it that way, Yumi,” Aelita replied. “But there’s no other way.”
“We should just run a check of the supercomputer every day,” Ulrich said.
“I would volunteer to do it for you,” Franz said, “but I have to teach.”
“I’ll go,” Jeremie said. “I can go everyday at lunch. In fact, I'll head over right now.”
“The usual?” Yumi asked.
Jeremie nodded. “I’ll call you guys if there are any developments.”