Alita's POV:

...Why was the world sideways?

I blinked, & lifted my head slowly. The world wasn't sideways. I was lying on the ground in the forest. Thankfully, not in a mental hospital.

Somebody was calling my name.

I was slowly pushing myself into a sitting position when Willem ran down the path towards me.

"Guys! I found her!" he yelled. I winced. That wasn't helping my headache at all…

"Are you ok?" Willem asked.

"The specter got me." I said. He helped me stand as the others joined us. "What about the tower?"

"Already taken care of, Princess." Od said. "Don't worry about a thing."

"We were worried when we couldn't reach you." Yumi said.

I patted my pockets. "I must have dropped my phone. I just woke up. How long was I out?"

"A couple hours." Ulrick said. "How do you feel?"

"Terrific." I said, sarcastically. I took a step forward, which made me dizzy. Willem didn't let go, & Jeremy stepped over to support my other side.

"Come on." Jeremy said. "You can lie down in my room while we check your codes, ok?"

I nodded, & with their help, headed back to school.

A few hours later, I was feeling better. Not perfect, but at least my head wasn't throbbing & I was able to walk on my own.

I had eaten a little bit of my dinner, but I wasn't really hungry. I just wanted to go to bed so that I could sleep off the lingering effects of the specter.

I opened the door to my room…

This wasn't my room.

It was completely white, & didn't have much furniture in it except for a bed & a desk with a chair by the window. I turned & walked back into the hallway.

This wasn't the school's hallway. It was an all white corridor. People walked by, & I caught sight of the logo on their shirts…The same logo for Kadic Mental Health Facility.

I went back inside the room, & closed the door. Was I still suffering from the specter's touch?

The room was laid out the same as my real dorm. Maybe that was where I actually was, even if I couldn't see it?

Slowly, so I wouldn't bump into anything, I moved over to the bed. I touched it. It felt real enough. I sat on it, carefully, & it supported my weight.

Maybe when I woke up in the morning, I'd be back to normal…

I was about to attempt to fall asleep when the door opened.

"Tyron." I said. My heart was pounding but I was determined not to show it. "What are you doing here?"

"It's time for your weekly progress report." he said.

"Get out of my room." I said. "I don't know how you found me, but I won't let you or XANA win."

"I can see it's going to be one of those days." he said, sitting at my desk. He flipped open a folder he had with him. "You had to be sedated earlier today, I see. Thought you were getting chased by another one of your specters."

Before I could come up with a reply, the door opened again.

Was it really…?

"Alita, sweetheart." she said. "How are you feeling?"

"Mama?!" I jumped up & gave her a hug. I just couldn't believe I was holding her in my arms again! It was all I'd wanted to do since finding out she was still alive…

XANA knew this.

"Stay back!" I said as I forced myself to push her away. "XANA's already tricked me with this once! I won't let him trick me again!" They were both specters, they had to be!

Tyron didn't seem fazed. "Should we get started, or are we waiting for your husband?"

"Ha!" I cried. "Nice try, XANA! My father is dead! He died trying to protect me!"

"Sorry I'm late." A voce said from the door. "I had trouble finding a space to park the car…"

But it couldn't be…

It's just not possible…

"It's good to see you, Alita, my der."

"…Daddy?!"

So…it's looking like this isn't going to be finished in a month, like I said it would. The good news is that I think I figured out why I've been taking so long to post chapters, & I might have figured out how to fix it. Too bad I didn't figure this out at the beginning of the month!

Don't worry, I still plan to finish the story!

Please review!