Four teenagers staggered out of the scanners, hollow-eyed and gasping.
"There was no activated tower," Yumi muttered, helping Odd up as she forced herself to stand. "XANA wanted us there. But...then...how..."
"He deactivated it himself." Aelita looked up slowly over the heads of her friends, and into Jeremie's wide, terrified blue eyes. For a single moment, her heart flipped at the sight of him, safe and sound. Concern, but unhurt.
Then guilt overcame her, and she forced her eyes away from his. "It was all a ploy."
"So Magenta can only come out when the tower's activated?" Ulrich asked, leaning against Yumi's shoulder. Jeremie nodded.
"I think so. But..." He turned back to Aelita, who was trying to walk to the elevator by herself, not looking her friends in the face. "Aelita?" He hurried to her, catching her just as she stumbled forward, her chest still heaving with emotional overload and exhaustion. Aelita flinched at his gentle touch and tried to move back.
"Please...let me go."
His heart squeezed painfully at the agony in her soft voice, but he hesitated, then let her go when he was sure she could stand on her own. "Aelita, this isn't your fault, you-"
"My power's are gone," she whispered, shaking her head. Her fists clenched at her sides. I will NOT cry, she told herself, hating the sting of tears threatening to overflow. "I'm useless to you now."
"Useless? Aelita, no-" Jeremie started, but Aelita moved forward into the elevator, her face pale and drawn.
Jeremie stared after her, then looked back at the others. Now standing, Odd raised an eyebrow at the young genius. "Well, Einstein? Don't stare at us, go get her." Ulrich rolled his eyes, but Yumi smiled tiredly and nodded.
"He's right. Go."
His heart in his throat now, Jeremie spun and hurried to the ladder as he heard the elevator start it's climb to the first level. As he climbed, deja vu hit him, images flashing through his head of what had occurred just a week ago. How strange had it been, climbing this ladder, find an Aelita who wasn't Aelita at all...A shudder went down his spine, and he hurried. He had seen the hurt and shock on Aelita's face then, and longed to do something. Anything.
"She talks about being useless," he muttered as he finally reached the landing. "I'm the useless one. I can't even protect her, when she's the one who's so amazing-"
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he froze. "Amazing."
Her powers were gone, she had said. Hadn't been the program he had started on a whim a week ago been to help strength them? What if she didn't need a program at all?
His heart suddenly pounding even harder than before, Jeremie leaped over the league and hurried out into the first floor.
"Aelita!"
Silence. Jeremie's heart sank. Had he missed her?
Then, softly, a sound echoed to him. He paused, listening. The sound...His heart wrenching, Jeremie turned around and hurried to the elevator.
"Aelita?"
The sobs, quiet and broken, echoed beyond the door. Almost panicking with the desire to help her, he knocked sharply on the door. "Aelita, please, open up."
For a moment, the sobs stopped. After a moment, his ears straining to hear any sound, he heard footsteps, and a soft beeping. The door slid open, and reveled Aelita, her face set despite the slight red around her eyes. A single tear trickled down her cheek.
"Aelita..." Unable to stop himself, Jeremie reached out and touched the tear, whipping it away. Slowly, Aelita raised her gaze to meet his, and for a moment, the two simple stared at each other.
"Jeremie, there's nothing you can do now," she said softly, shaking her head. "It's not your fault-"
"It's not yours either, Aelita," he replied softly, and, despite his racing heart, gently rested his hands on her arms. "Please, Aelita, stop blaming yourself. This is XANA's doing, and I know how to stop it."
"No, Jeremie, you-" Aelita froze, and stared up at him. "You know what?"
Jeremie smiled slowly, and despite everything, Aelita's heart flipped over. That manic gleam in his was back, she noted, and, without realizing it, took a step closer to him. "Aelita, do you remember the program we came up with, it was supposed to-"
"It didn't work, Jeremie," Aelita interjected, shaking her head. "It had no effect on my powers." Or lack there off, she thought sadly, until-
"That's because your powers were never given to you by a program made by me. You had your singing power when you first were sent to Lyoko, right?"
Confused, Aelita nodded slowly. "Yes, but-"
"And you developed the energy field yourself." Jeremie continued, his eyes glinting behind his glasses. He was smiling now, watching as the realization began to dawn on her beautiful face. "The only reason your wings work is because-"
"You developed them," Aelita finished, her emerald eyes wide. "Jeremie, do you think-"
"I think that the program may have done the opposite of what was supposed to do. It muted your real powers, and then when XANA used your DNA to create Magenta, that must have depleted them farther."
Aelita's eyes narrowed. "Thats' why the Creeper that attacked me in Lyoko faded off instead of dying. It...is it possible it absorbed my power?"
Jeremie nodded. "Yes. Wouldn't be the first time he's stolen idea's from you, Aelita. Although perhaps this time his idea is even sicker than usual."
"Be that as it may, if I could get back into Lyoko..." Lyoko. Magenta. No. I couldn't face her again, not without my powers, it'd be...
"Aelita, Magenta only awakens when a tower's activated." He smirked, taking her hands in his. "Until then, you'd be safe. Safe to train your powers again. Although perhaps one of the others should go in there, just to be safe. If-"
"I can't ask them to do that, Jeremie." Her eyes suddenly sad again, Aelita took a step back. "Did you see what happened to Odd and Yumi? How she just froze us all in place? It's too-"
"Dangerous." Jeremie bit his lip, then shook his head. "Aelita, you know they would. If I could, I'd go into Lyoko with you, but I'd be useless," he added ruefully, wincing. Aelita shook her head wildly.
"Jeremie, you're not putting yourself anywhere near that place. Magenta wants you, more than the others. She'd-"
"I don't care. The others wouldn't care. You'd do the same thing if it where one of us."
"Yes, but-"
Jeremie held up a finger, and Aelita sighed, shrugging sadly. Jeremie, seeing this, put a hand on her chin. A part of him trembled at being so close to her, to touch her, but he ignored it. That wasn't as important now as helping her. "Aelita, please, look at me."
It took a moment, but finally, she raised her eyes to his. "Don't make a decision now. You're exhausted, the others are exhausted. Tomorrow, we'll talk to them about it-"
"But-" Aelita stopped, realizing that he was right. The others would do it, and it was doubtful that XANA would be ready to attack again in the next 24 hours, so...maybe...
"Tomorrow?" Jeremie suggested, smiling again. For moment. despite the nightmares, both sleeping and real, Aelita felt warmth spread in her veins. She hesitated, then nodded, smiling back.
"Tomorrow."
