"Jeremie?" Odd called; disbelief clear in his voice, Aelita actually saw him looking up into the sky.

Aelita felt it before anyone even saw it; it was a sudden change in the whole of Lyoko, as power changed hands. The ground shook in a strangely familiar fashion; one that Aelita hadn't felt in a long time. She instinctively looked towards the tower and saw what she knew would be there; the red aura around it slowly changed to a bright green.

"Jeremie. No." Aelita said quietly; he was doing just what she feared he would do. He was about to sacrifice himself once again to save her.

"What's going on?" Ulrich asked; evidently he had heard her.

Aelita couldn't bring herself to tell him. The monsters that surrounded them looked about in confusion; they were receiving no more orders and didn't know what they should be doing. Aelita knew. She could feel the unseen battle that went on in the very system codes of Lyoko itself; Jeremie struggled against Xana and the winner would take Aelita, Odd and Ulrich as their prize.

"Xana can't match me." Jeremie said confidently; and as he did so, several of the monsters exploded. Several more followed soon after and the rest of the horde began a disorganised retreat; desperate to escape the thing that they couldn't see.

Aelita watched the monsters retreat; she should've been happy, but she wasn't. The longer Jeremie kept this up, the more of him that was being lost to the digital sea. "Look Jeremie, you've done enough." She said; desperate to make him understand whilst there was still some of him left. "Now please stop."

"I want you safe." He said simply. Aelita felt a stab in her heart; all that she wanted was for him to be safe as well. "I want all of you safe. I saved Yumi."

"Yumi's alive?" Ulrich spoke up; his voice full of hope and relief, such that Aelita had never heard before.

"Yes." Jeremie responded proudly. "I materialised her. She's unconscious, but okay; my father's taking care of her."

"But what about you?" Aelita was surprised by how desperate her own voice sounded; but she felt it too. "If you don't stop we'll lose you."

"I'm just fixing the materialisation program first; besides, I've taken care of that."

It took Aelita a moment to understand what Jeremie was trying to tell her; but soon she realised that the answer was staring her in the face… the tower. Jeremie was using its power to keep himself together and stop the digital sea from drowning him. She felt so relieved and proud at the same time.

"Jeremie; you're a genius." Aelita said; a broad smile spreading across her face.

"Yeah, I know." Jeremie paused for a moment before his voice became very serious. "You guys should be okay now; the materialisation program is fixed. There's just one more thing we have to do."

"What's that?" Aelita was worried, she had stopped smiling; the seriousness in Jeremie's voice was unnerving.

"Deactivate the tower."

"What!?" Aelita couldn't believe what Jeremie had just said. "Don't you realise that if we do that you'll be scattered into the digital sea? We'll lose you forever."

"We have to." Jeremie spoke solemnly. "Xana's fighting back. If he takes over this tower again; he'll be able to take control of me. Then there's no telling what he'll do."

Aelita looked to the boys for support; but found none. Odd was simply staring into the sky, as though unsure whether any of this was happening; Ulrich looked away into the distance, his expression unreadable. She turned away from them to speak to Jeremie. "But I'll find a way to free you; I'll get you out of there."

"There's no time Aelita; and anyway, I don't want to go back to Xana."

"I don't want to lose you… not again." Aelita knew that she was clutching at straws now; she just wanted a moment longer to hear his voice.

"Please Aelita; do this for me."

[*]

The journey into the tower was the longest that Aelita had ever experienced; she felt time dragging its feet and yet still moving towards the moment she dreaded. She never imagined that one day she might be throwing Jeremie away; in some ways she was saving him from a worse fate, but she would have to suffer for it as well.

She floated up to the top of the tower; and the platform lit up as she placed her feet upon it. The symbol of Xana was clear on the floor; Aelita wondered what he must be thinking as he watched all of this. The blue interface popped up in the air before her; inviting her forwards, toward that final moment.

Aelita hesitated. Some of the things Yumi had said to her drifted to the front of her mind. If she was never going to see Jeremie again then she had to tell him- she had to hear his response.

"Jeremie," She said nervously; keenly aware that her voice was shaking. "Are you there?"

"Yes." Jeremie responded. He sounded different; weaker. Xana must be putting up quite a fight.

"Jeremie. There's something important I have to tell you." She hesitated again; she had to get the words right.

"Aelita… hurry."

She knew that she had to move. It seemed so painful to place her hand onto the interface and watch as it recognised her; her hand was shaking almost as much as her voice; and she was sure that, had she been on Earth, tears would've been pouring down her face.

The code was entered; there was nothing more she could do. Aelita heard a noise around her as though a great machine were powering down. The screens of data that covered the black walls of the tower vanished, disappearing into the abyss below her. Everything became dark and silent.

"Jeremie?" Aelita said; her voice barely above a whisper.

"Goodbye, Aelita." Jeremie's response seemed to come from below her; but it was so faint.

Aelita knew she would have to speak quickly. "Jeremie, I-" The words caught in her throat. "I… I love you." She finally managed to whisper… and waited.

Nothing. There was no response. Jeremie was already gone.