AN: Sorry guys, this is gonna be another short one! This time we get Jeremie's perspective on things! I promise you that the next chapter will be more action-packed!

Again, I want to thank everyone who has shown interest in this story! It means a lot to me!

I don't feel like I've done a good job of writing Jeremie in his current state of mind, but maybe I'm just being too overly critical. Let me know what you think!

Anyways, enough of this! I hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Chapter Three: Regret

Crawl to the mirror

And see all that you've become

A grim reflection

Of all the things that you have done

You try to weep but no tears have or will ever come

So this is who you are?

- Aesthetic Perfection, "The Ones"

Before The Really Bad Day happened, he was always stuck to his computer like glue, typing away at whatever significant task had enthralled him that day.

After The Really Bad Day, he was still stuck to his computer.

Some things just don't change as much, do they?

But for Jeremie everything had changed, and for the past three months he continued to suffer through the extent of what he had done. It was his fingers that had processed the program, it had been his mind that called that decision, but it had been all of him that paid the price for it.

Yumi was gone, but Aelita was alive.

In the end he chose to dishonor the sacrifice of his friend - who was of the real world, who had a family and friends who loved her - and chose instead to save someone whose whole life consisted of living within the confines of a virtual reality. He paid for that by not only losing the love of said girl, the respect of all his friends, but also by ignoring that the need to bring back Yumi was stronger than that of Aelita.

In the end it wasn't worth it.

Jeremie continued to have nightmares about The Really Bad Day, as he now liked to refer to it. It was always the same thing replaying over and over again - Yumi de-virtualized forever, his rash decision to prioritize Aelita's cause over Yumi's, and the utter twist of betrayal he had committed to his friends, none of whom wanted to be seen by him ever again. Jeremie couldn't blame them; even he didn't want to be around himself.

In all reality that should've been the end of it - having been effectively kicked out of the group, Jeremie should've gone down his own path. He could've looked more into his studies, maybe even consider the proposal his father made about transferring to a more prestigious school (if he still had friends, it would've been reason to continue to stay at Kadic, but now...). Instead, he continued to wither over his work. It was his road to redemption, he had put it.

It was his hand that created the prototype Yumi clone. Jeremie had known better than to expect gratitude from the others when he passed on the disk to Ulrich and Odd, and he certainly was wise enough to know that this wouldn't earn him entry back into the group. Under all pretense, Jeremie wasn't so sure in himself if he was ever going to be a part of the group again. It wasn't because he didn't want to re-divulge into Lyoko's affairs because he certainly did, but because of his crime. He saved them all from severe questioning by creating the clone, but it was never going to bring Yumi back.

Jeremie knew that Aelita had to be working on re-processing the materialization program and that it would take months before it could be operational, if at all. So that was what he occupied himself with in the meantime - he was going to recreate, bit by bit, the program even if it meant killing himself over it. And with him returning to a friendless status, that meant all the more free time to devote himself to his work.

That was not to say he did not miss the company of his friends - he missed Odd's obnoxious jokes that saddled between being funny but not really, and he missed Ulrich's rational, if otherwise juvenile behavior that almost rivaled Odd's level of immaturity, and he missed Aelita's logical understanding of him that allowed them to become so close... It pained Jeremie to re-imagine Aelita's face when he saw her after she became human.

Three Months Ago...

The elevator rode up from the third floor, and he knew to be expecting a whirlwind of justified anger. Especially from Ulrich since he had not quite left the vicinity of the room. He couldn't find it in him to leave, not until he saw Aelita.

The doors opened slowly and there she stood, in between Ulrich and Odd, both who stared back at Jeremie with stony looks. After checking Ulrich over to see that the boy did not look like he was going to rush at him and twist his head off, Jeremie stood and tried to plead himself to Aelita, whose expression could only be summed up as indignant.

"Aelita, I'm so sorry," he said. Jeremie knew it was useless - no amount of sorry was ever going to reverse what he had done - and he knew Aelita was not going to accept his apology. He accepted that. But he just needed to tell her that he truly, genuinely, and positively meant sorry. "I shouldn't have... It should've been Yumi. We could've- no, I could've... saved her, but I-"

Aelita raised her hand at him, silently pleading for him to stop. He did so promptly. "Jeremie, I..." She struggled to find her voice. Even when she was angry with him, her voice barely rose above the same volume of coolness she had when she spoke to him through the interface. "I don't want to hear it. It should've been Yumi here."

Jeremie nodded his head. His eyes began to feel wet. "You're absolutely right, it should've been Yumi."

"I want you to leave, Jeremie. I... I can't be here with you."

Though he had been expecting it, no less deserving it, it still deflated all the remaining strength Jeremie had within him. The others exited the elevator, there was no further word needed to be said. Jeremie took one last glance at all of his former friends, permanently burning their gazes of hatred and disappointment into his mind, and, with his head low, departed for the elevator.

And now here he was, three months later, busying himself over the materialization program. He had not deactivated the sensors from his computer or laptop, so when a tower was activated he would know. But that insistent beeping of danger took a much bitter meaning to Jeremie now - instead of it being a signal of Xana's next attack, it was a cold reminder that he was no longer a part of that. All because he was selfish and stupid in that moment of decision-making.

Jeremie sighed, holding his head between his hands. "Okay, let's try this again," he mumbled, pressing the Enter key to activate the process of running the materialization program to see whether it was active to run or not. He stewed in breath-holding silence as the computer processed the program with Yumi's Lyoko avatar on the screen when once it had been Aelita's. It finished the procedure with precisely the same note of beeps that indicated to Jeremie that the program was not ready.

He slammed his hand into his desk, wincing from how hard he had done so. "I'm never going to get this right!" he cried out. He closed out of the window and fell back against his chair to contemplate what was wrong. Oh if only he had been there the day Odd accidentally triggered the precise keys that activated the program.

If only he hadn't been stupid in the first place... None of this would've happened.

Taking a moment to recuperate, Jeremie thought about the coordinates he had just entered into the program and considered whether they needed minor adjusting or just needed to be deleted overall. "Okay Belpois, get it under control," he sighed, cracking his knuckles. "I can do this. I'm Einstein." He paused, realizing what he had just said.

He hadn't been called Einstein in three months. Even if the term was no longer an endearment as his nickname, it still had a history with him. A history that was buried on The Really Bad Day.

Jeremie shook his head. No, can't lose focus! He went back to the initial program and reconfigured several of the coordinates, taking some equations out and replacing them with newer ones. This has to be it, he thought hopefully. If I just delete this and switch this equation with that one... maybe this can break through.

A sudden pop-up window blocked his process. Jeremie grumbled and had instinctively moved to exit from it when he saw exactly what it was. It wasn't some window telling him that there had been another problem with the program - it was just the opposite of that in fact.

It was an instant message, from Lyoko.

Jeremie? Jeremie Belpois?

He narrowed his eyes, suspicious of the message. This had to be some prank, and immediately he thought of Aelita, Odd, and Ulrich doing this on purpose to him. But they would have no reason to, he reasoned. They don't want to have anything to do with me.

The next idea he had was that it was someone who was pulling a prank on him from the school. Again, that sounded absurd. His Kadic peers never bothered him much, not even with the occasion bullying of the past, and besides the top of the message, indicating its sender, said Lyoko. No one at the school knew what Lyoko was or what it even meant.

So that led him to his last idea - Xana. This was a trick, and he had to admit that it was clever of Xana. But... why would he choose this approach? Very quickly, without taking his eyes off of the message, Jeremie began a scan to localize an activated tower. His fingers twitched as his computer went through all the towers registered on Lyoko and finally came to the conclusion that all was peaceful. Not an activated tower in sight.

I don't understand...

BING!

Another message appeared, and Jeremie's heart nearly gave out when he read it.

Jeremie? It's Yumi. Yumi Ishiyama.

He began to frantically type back to her. Yumi? But how is this possible? You fell into the digital sea.

The seconds felt like years for Jeremie as he awaited a response back from her. He wasn't even so sure if he was imagining this or not. It was too surreal. After all, how did this make any sense - Yumi, who had been deleted, messaging him?

BING!

Xana. He brought me back, Jeremie.

Xana? But that's not possible.

That's what I thought, Jeremie. But he did it. That's how I'm able to get in touch with you. You have to get me out of here, Jeremie. I want to come home.

Jeremie quickly removed his glasses to rub at his eyes, which began to start feeling wet. "Oh goodness, Yumi..." he mumbled loudly, his voice quivering. Once he regained control over himself again, he furiously typed her back: Yumi, I'm doing all I can to bring you back. I'm so sorry for what I did.

BING!

It's okay, I forgive you. Just get me home, okay?

He nodded. I promise, Yumi, I'll bring you back no matter what I have to do.