I'm back, and just as bad. :/ Story number 3, here we go.

Jeremie Belpois: The resident genius of Kadic Academy blew through the science quiz as though it were air. As far as he was concerned, the class was a waste of time, time that was more valuable to him than any other person in the school.

Every day, he attempted to tackle the hardest problem a child of 13 had likely ever faced, a problem that made even the most complex math equation a pale shadow in comparison.

He had to figure out a way to destroy X.A.N.A., rescue William from the insane programs clutches, preserve the secrecy surrounding the whole operation and keep himself and his friends alive at the same time.

Despite this, his parents expected him to do well in school, and he would deliver.

"I'm done Ms. Hertz!"

Some of the other students made faces, but had long been used to his apparently supreme intelligence. Ms. Hertz approached him and took his paper.

"Excellent work Jeremie, feel free to do what you like for the remainder of my class." She began to walk back to her desk.

"I'm done too Ms. Hertz."

Jeremie had only one equal in the field of intelligence: Aelita. She always finished just after he did. Ms. Hertz took her paper on the way back to her desk.

She turned to Jeremie, smiling her pretty smile.

He made a show of looking at a non-existent watch. "You're getting slower, what's the matter?"

She giggled and tapped him with the back of her hand. "I am not!"

He rolled his eyes. "Sure you aren't." He too giggled.

Ms. Hertz took notice. "Quiet please, your classmates are still working."

Aelita produced a novel to read, and Jeremie reached into his bag and retrieved his laptop. Before he pressed the power button he spared a moment to see what his classmates were doing. Several of them, Odd included, were napping. Ulrich looked a bit happier now that he didn't have to guard his answers. Sissi was quietly berating Herb.

Welcome to another average day in Mrs. Hertz's class. He sighed and began to work on his programs.

The monotonous job of writing code was something that Jeremie despised even more than gym class. He had loved doing the coding for his robots because it was so simple and innocent. Now… He couldn't afford to be sloppy; one mistake could, and nearly had, cost lives.

He felt something slid under his forearm. He discovered a slightly crumpled paper with some familiar handwriting.

You work on that thing non-stop.

He turned his gaze to Aelita. She still read as if nothing had happened. She of people should have known that he had to work. He wrote:

I can't take a break Aelita, not until X.A.N.A. is gone, William is saved, and your father rescued. Every single moment I don't work is another chance for that program to slit our throats.

He slid the paper back. A few moments later it returned.

We appreciate what you do Jeremie, all of us, especially me. But you're letting it kill you; I know you'd skip class if you could. You CAN take a break and you SHOULD take a break.

She was always determined, and it was hard to deny her.

What do you suggest?

The process repeated itself.

Oh, I don't know? Hang with your friends? We miss you, you're always cooped up in the dorm when you aren't in class, and I miss you… a lot!

Did she really feel that way about his workaholic attitude? The last thing he wanted was for her to be upset, but sometimes the best thing for everyone wasn't always pleasant.

Aelita you need to understand that I just cannot afford to waste any time.

When she read his latest message she closed her book and looked at him incredulously. He was horrified to discover that her normally happy eyes were forming shining droplets of sorrow.

"And you think we're wastes of time?" She whispered angrily and before he could answer she stood up.

"Ms. Hertz may I be excused?"

"Yes, Aelita you may."

She strode briskly out, not even looking at him again.

Jeremie face palmed. "I'm a retard."

Ulrich was trying to get his attention. He quickly indicated that it wasn't a X.A.N.A. attack, and that he had just managed to piss Aelita off.

Just as Ulrich turned back to his test, the super scanner silently detected an activated tower. Jeremie felt a chill run up his spine, X.A.N.A. is attacking and Aelita is nowhere to be found. "X.A.N.A. you have the lousiest timing, ever!" He whispered to his foe.

He turned around to try and get his friends attention. His hand gestures went unnoticed by Ulrich who was now squarely focused on his test again.

Rolling his eyes, he stood up and perpetuated the lie he so often tells.

"Ms. Hertz I feel ill. May I go to the infirmary?"

"Huh, what?" Odd seemed to have woken up.

"We'll go with him!" Ulrich volunteered from behind him. He knew the infirmary routine by now.

"Well I-" Ms. Hertz always seemed surprised by these sudden requests. "Oh fine. But-" But... there was no one to talk to.

Jeremie, Ulrich and a semi-awake Odd were already rushing down the hall to get to the factory. Ulrich was dialing Yumi's number. Once they got to the entrance of the science building, a gruesome sight met their eyes and stopped them cold.

There were streaks of fresh crimson blood just before the exit, and signs of a one sided fight. The tell-tale reek of electricity pervaded the area. Nobody had a doubt that Aelita was now either a captive or-.

"-NO, he wouldn't do that, he needs her!" Jeremie exclaimed, as much to reassure himself as everyone else. Leaving the site of the carnage behind, they ran as fast as they could to the manhole. Yumi was waiting for them.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." She pointed out.

"X.A.N.A. must have done some real damage to Aelita!" Jeremie panted. "There was blood all over the atrium in the science building!"

"Oh no… what about you guys?"

Odd gave her thumbs up and a smile. "Green!"

She nodded; everyone quickly climbed down into the sewers and retrieved their mode of transportation. Soon, the cavernous walls echoed with the noise of traveling teenagers.

On the way, Ulrich matched speed with Jeremie. "What happened that you managed to piss her off like that?"

Jeremie groaned. "I have priorities that she doesn't exactly appreciate." When Ulrich didn't seem to understand, he explained. "I work as much as I can to save William and defeat X.A.N.A. I tried to tell her that I need all the time I can get to do that, but it sorta came out the wrong way…"

"Jeremie, whenever we get together and you aren't there, she's upset." Ulrich told him. "She becomes almost anti-social, and we have a hard time making her feel better."

"Really?"

"Yes! We understand that you have a lot of work to do, but don't let it own you like that!"

They arrived at the ladder to the factory. Ulrich let Odd and Yumi climb up first and then whispered to Jeremie. "We'll talk later, but for now let's just get this over with." They began to climb as well.

The bridge across the Seine was, as usual, devoid of any activity. No one paid much attention to the old factory any more, and so no one ever noticed some configuration of the same teenagers run into the place fairly regularly.

The elevator beckoned as the warriors swung down on the ropes. With regularly rehearsed precision, they took up their spots in the cab and began their descent into the secret life that no one knew about.

The elevator stopped at the console room, where Jeremie stepped off. He flung himself into the chair and fixed the communications device to his ear. He had to figure out what sector the tower was in, but first thing was first, he had to find Aelita.

As the program began to search for her on Lyoko and the network, he simultaneously opened up the cameras that covered most of the factory.

"Come on…" He folded his arms with impatience. "Where did you put her?"

He switched the microphone on. "I don't know where the tower is yet, but we have to find Aelita first, I'll have her location in just a sec, so sit tight."

"Jeremie…" Odd's disturbed voice responded from the Scanner room. "You'd better come see this…"

"What is it?"

"Aelita."

He threw the microphone down and nearly teleported to the ladder. He was in the scanner room in a heartbeat. Such was his speed and focus that he failed to notice a specter start using the console…

When he landed to the floor of the scanner room, Odd, with Ulrich and Yumi standing next to him, were staring into the central scanner, uncertain and afraid.

"Jeremie!" Odd beckoned when he noticed him. "Come here quick!"

When Jeremie obliged, he pointed. "Look!"

Aelita

She was horribly cut and bruised. Her clothes were tattered. She was pale; her blood was forming congealed pools on the floor of the scanner. The scanner room was warm, but seeing that forced all of them to shiver.

Praying to god, to anyone or anything that could possibly help, he rushed to the scanner to check for a pulse. He stepped inside, being careful to avoid getting any fluid on his clothes, while the rest gathered around.

He felt her neck, it was still warm… "Okay, there… no… wait… n- YES! She's still alive!" He shouted; relief more than anything dominating his tone. His friends relaxed too, but not as much.

"What will we do about the tower?" Asked Yumi. "She can't do anything in that state."

"I don't know, we may have t-" He never finished. The scanner door abruptly shut him off from the outside. The scanner began to power on…

"Hey!" He shouted, banging frantically on the metal. "HEY!"

It was no use, the light kept getting brighter and brighter. His mind expediently went over the possible outcomes of being scanned with another human and the outlook was grim, hopeless.

As the machine atomized him and his angel together, he gave himself over to death, wishing that he had been allowed to spend more time with her, wishing that he had allowed himself to spend more time with her.

But… He did not die…

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