"All right, class, and don't forget to turn in your reports tomorrow. You may leave." Chairs squeaked as the students left the classroom.

"Did you have any homework, Shikamaru?" Jeremy asked as he walked outside.

"Yeah."

"Okay, call me when you're done and we'll work on the program."

"Who said I was going to DO my homework?"

"Um, well, it's a good idea..."

"Nah. We'll just go ahead to the factory now."

"I'll just call Aelita and see if she has any homework."

"Go ahead. I'll meet you in the control room."

"Right."

Aelita was free, and the three were soon together in the control room. They went over the new program, and soon all they had to do was wait for it to finish itself. They kept watch, of course, in case anything might happen.

"So, anything new?" Aelita asked, sitting against the wall near Jeremy's occupied chair.

"Yeah, weirdest thing happened today."

"Really? What?"

"Well, before the RTTP, I told Lee I was going to try out for the chess team so I could get out and come to the factory. And, after the RTTP, we were both in our dorms, and Lee asked if it was about time for the tryouts."

"What? Are you sure?" Jeremy joined in.

"Yeah. I don't know how, but somehow he remembered it from before the RTTP."

"But...That's impossible!"

Aelita shook her head. "I don't know about that. You all came from a different dimension, right? Maybe that has something to do with it. Though we can't really tell since the rest of you have already been in the scanners."

"I guess. But it's still confusing. I don't see how he could be immune to the return trips without being in the scanner."

"Weird." A short beep came from the computer. Jeremy turned back around. "All right, looks like we're done here," he said, getting up from the chair.

"Everything work out okay?"

"Uh-huh. Let's go, then. I promised Kiba I would help him with the science report."

"He needs help?"

"Yeah."

"If you say so. See ya." The three Lyoko warriors made their separate ways to their dorms.

Shikamaru opened his door to see Lee putting up a couple of papers. The genin greeted his roommate.

"Hey," Shikamaru said back. He dumped his stuff on his bed and stopped. He turned around. "Hey, did you... Have a nightmare last night?"

"Huh?! Yes, I did. How did you know?"

"Did it have some dark guy and the village up in flames?"

"It did. How-?"

"All of us had that dream a while ago. All of us from Konoha."

"How strange!"

"Yeah. We think it might have a link to how we ended up here. Can you remember what happened?"

"Yes, I think so!" Lee closed his eyes and began to elaborate his last experience in the Leaf Village.

Shikamaru jumped up. "He made hand signs?! Did you see what they were?!"

"Um, l-let me think..." Shikamaru's cell phone started ringing. "Of all times-Hello? Do you even really need me there? We can talk about that later! Are you sure? Okay, fine, I'll be there." Shikamaru hung up.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, Jeremy. He wants me over at his dorm to help on his, uh, science project."

"Okay, goodbye, then."

"Bye." The door shut a bit louder than Shikamaru intended behind him. He grumbled and made his way to the factory.

"Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Aelita. Transfer, Kiba. Scanner, Yumi. Scanner, Aelita. Scanner, Kiba. Virtualization," Jeremy said, the three appearing on Lyoko. Hinata appeared short after. "All right, the tower is dead ahead." The four started off. Still keeping an eye out for warnings of monsters, Jeremy mostly turned to his outside-of-Lyoko companion. "So, any ideas yet?" he asked.

"Yeah, just a theory, though. From what I can tell, the jutsu that sent us here also affects our memory, since none of us could remember how we got here until we had that nightmare."

"Some krabs coming up, guys! Okay, continue, please?"

"So, apparently, Lee had the nightmare last night, well, actually tonight. I still don't know how that jutsu works, but I guarantee it has something to do with this."

"Probably." Jeremy heard someone come up behind him. It was Yumi, apparently devirtualized.

"What are you guys talking about? It doesn't seem like either of you was paying much attention to the computer screen."

"Tower deactivated."

"Oh, I'll tell you about it later. Return to the past now!"

"So he still remembers from before the return trip?"

"Yeah, at least a little bit. It may have been a one-time deal, but we can't be for sure."

"Weird."

"Yeah, really. Well, I have to get home now. See you guys later."

"Bye." Yumi left the group, leaving Jeremy, Shikamaru, Odd, Ulrich, and Aelita. "Well, I guess I'll go ahead and get back to my dorm," the ninja in the group said.

"Go ahead. I need to go to my room, too." The members of the cluster took their separate ways to their rooms.

"Hey." Shikamaru came into his room. Lee, looking like he was about to leave, was putting up a book. "Where you headed?"

"Oh, the other day, Jim said he wanted to meet me in the gym after I finished my homework."

"Today? As in the 25th?"

"The twenty-fifth? I could have sworn today was the twenty-sixth! Come to think of it, I have had a feeling of deja vu all day today."

"Huh." So I guess it wasn't a one-time deal. He really can remember from before the RTTP, Shikamaru thought. "You know what?" the chunin started, "I think I was supposed to meet up with Jeremy right about now."

"Did he still need help on his science project?"

"Yeah, that must have been it."

"Okay, I will see you later, then."

"Bye."

Shikamaru made his way to Jeremy's room and knocked on the door. The blonde opened said door and let Shikamaru into the room.

"What's up?"

"Lee can still remember tomorrow. I think it's pretty much official he's immune to the RTTPs."

"Huh. Well, this is definitely going to make things harder."

"Yeah. Hey, you think..."

"Do I think what?"

"Well, chances are, with him remembering from before the RTTPs, it's going to be close to impossible to keep Lyoko a secret from him."

"Are you suggesting we add another person to the team?"

"One way or another, he's going to end up finding out anyway, so I don't see why not."

"Hmm." After pondering this for a moment, Jeremy decided. "Okay. You're right; we'll go ahead and let him on the team."

Shikamaru walked back to his room and opened the door.

"Hey, Lee. Come here for a sec."

The genin turned his head. "What is it?"

"Jeremy and I are going to show you a secret."

"Okay..." The mattress squeaked as its former occupant stood. Jeremy and Shikamaru were standing in the hallway as Lee closed the door behind him.

"All right, let's go," Jeremy said, turning to the direction of the stairs and leading the group to the forest entry.