Recap:

"C'mon guys," Jeremy said. "It's time to find out who the sub is."

We all walked out of the cafeteria, and Yumi went down a different corridor while we headed to our classroom. We entered the classroom, and we saw the teacher, whose back was currently facing us. We went and sat down at our usual seats, waiting for the bell to ring. When it did, the noise died down, waiting for the teacher to start.

"Hello class. As is obvious, I am your substitute teacher this afternoon. I'm saying right now that it is not my job to be nice and polite to you, but to teach you, so don't expect to get away with anything while I'm here," he started, still having not turned toward the class.

No, it can't be, I thought. It just can't be him.

"My name is Mr. Norton, and--"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I screamed.

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"Excuse me, Miss…?" Mr. Norton started.

"Oh, you know very well what my name is, Mr. Norton," I shot back, glaring daggers at him.

"I assure you, I have no clue what your name is," he said calmly, making my blood boil. "But if you keep this up, you'll be earning yourself a one-way trip to the principal's office."

"Fine," I challenged, crossing my arms. "I'd rather me anywhere else than with you."

"If that's how you feel, you can go and see Principal Delmas. Go on then. Oh, and before you go, I would like to know your name," he said to me.

"Fine, I'll leave. And just to satisfy you, my name's Nara Sorori," I spat as I headed to the door. I saw his eyes widen a little as I said my name. Odd looked at me with a confused face, but I shook my head at him and walked out of the class.

I never thought I'd see him again. The nerve of him, to show his face near me. The nerve of me, standing up to him like that, what was I thinking? Do I have a death wish or something? Before I knew it, I was outside of Mr. Delmas's office. I knocked on the door.

"Come in," called the principal's muffled voice. I opened the door hesitantly, and I saw Principal Delmas sitting at his desk. "Ah, Miss. Sorori," he acknowledged. "Sit down, sit down." I did as I was told without a sound. "Miss. Sorori, you are not the type of student who yells out of turn at a teacher," he stated. I just kept my head down. "I suppose the obvious question to ask is why you did it."

"I-I don't know, sir," I mumbled. "It just sorta happened." I knew it was a lame excuse, but it was all I could say.

"Miss. Sorori, this isn't normal behavior for you, so I'll let it slide this one time, but if it happens again, I'll have to give you a detention," Mr. Delmas said.

"Yes, sir. Thank you," I said, standing up.

"Now, why don't you head back to your dorm for the rest of class," Mr. Delmas offered.

"Thank you, sir. That would be great," I answered, relieved that I didn't have to go back to Mr. Norton's class.

When I got to my dorm room, I collapsed on my bed, a sudden wave of fatigue sweeping over me. I was instantly asleep, my mind free to dream about the nightmare that is my past…

---Flashback---

"Good night, sweetie," a voice said in my ear.

"Good night, mommy," my six year old self echoed. I closed my eyes, and I heard my mother say good night to Samantha. When my mother closed the door, Sam and I sat up in bed, and Sam came over to my bed.

"How long do you think we can go before they know we're still awake?" Sam whispered.

"Two minutes, maybe," I whispered back.

"Two minutes? Last night we lasted five minutes," she said.

"Yeah, but you're talking too loud," I said back. Suddenly, two gunshots could be heard from downstairs. Samantha and I stopped talking and froze.

"What was that?" Sam whispered.

"I don't know," I whispered back. We heard footsteps coming up the stairs. "Uh oh, mommy's coming," I whispered. "Get back in your bed, quick!"

"Okay," she answered as she scrambled over to her bed. The door to our bedroom opened just as I closed my eyes.

"Mommy? What's going on? What was that noise?" I asked. I opened my eyes and looked in the doorway. It wasn't my mother; it was man who must have been in his mid-30's. He wasn't my father either, and I didn't recognize him at all. It was at that point that I noticed a glint from the object in his hand. I glanced at it, and that's when I got really scared.

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--Odd's P.O.V.—

(after class)

"Where do you think Nara went?" I asked as we walked out of the classroom.

"Maybe we should try the principal's office first," Ulrich suggested.

"Good idea," Aelita said. We walked to Mr. Delmas's office, and I knocked on the door.

"Come in," Mr. Delmas's voice said.

"Uh, Mr. Delmas, do you know where Nara went after you talked to her?" I asked.

"I sent her back to her dorm," he replied. We started heading out when the principal continued. "Can you give her a message? Mr. Norton would like to talk with her when she gets the chance," he said.

"Okay, sir. Thanks!" I said as we filed out of his office. We headed up to the girls' dorms and went to Nara's room.

Jeremy stopped suddenly. "I forgot my laptop, I'll meet you guys back here," he said as he ran off.

Aelita knocked on the door, "Nara! Nara, it's Aelita. Can we come in?" Aelita asked. Suddenly, we heard a scream coming from her room.

"Nara!" I shouted as I opened the door to her room and ran in.

--Nara's P.O.V.--

It was at that point that I noticed a glint from the object in his hand. I glanced at it, and that's when I got really scared.

It was a gun. My mind suddenly went back to the two gunshots I had heard just a few minutes ago.

Samantha and I started screaming as loud as we could. I backed up as far as I could on my bed until my back hit the wall. The man pointed the gun at me and somehow I screamed louder, "Mommy! Daddy! Tim! Help!"

"Shut up and be quiet," the man growled, "or I'll kill you now." I instantly shut my mouth. The man started to advance upon me, when suddenly he collapsed on the ground. I looked behind the man and saw Tim standing behind him with a baseball bat swung over his head.

"Are you guys okay?" Tim asked us, dropping his bat and walking over to us.

"Yeah, we are," Sam answered, crawling over to my bed. We heard sirens from outside. "Why are the police here?"

"I called 911 after I heard the gunshots," Tim answered.

"I'm a little scared to go downstairs," Sam muttered.

"So am—TIM! BEHIND YOU!" I yelled suddenly. For the man had woken up and had his gun pointed at Tim.

"Hey, kid," the man growled. "That bat of yours hurt. It's time you felt some pain."

Samantha was past the point of screaming, and she just sat on my bed shaking. I couldn't blame her; I was almost like that as well. But I couldn't just sit there and watch this happen to my brother, I had to do something.

I made sure I had a clear shot, and then I jumped onto the man's back, clinging my arms around his neck. Tim kicked the gun out of the man's hand after I had done this. The man grabbed one of my arms, and threw me off of him, sending me flying into the wall. Through the pain, I propped myself up against the wall breathing heavily. The man picked the gun off of the floor and aimed at me. I couldn't move, I was in too much pain; all I could do was sit there, my eyes barely open. The man's finger twitched over the trigger. My brother flung himself at the man, but it was too late.

It was like slow motion, as the bullet left the barrel of the gun and sailed towards me. The bullet just skimmed the top of my shoulder, but it was still a deep wound.

"Drop the weapon and put your hands up! Now!" a new voice said. I figured it was the police, so I gave a small sigh of relief. Another police officer handcuffed the man and led him out of the room. Tim slowly stood up off the ground, and brushed himself off.

"Are you alright, kid?" the police officer asked him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it's my sister I'm worried about," Tim said quickly, pointing at me. The police officer looked at me and got out his walkie-talkie.

"Officer Reese here. We need a paramedic up here, now." He walked over to me and leaned down, "You're gonna be alright, sweetie. It's gonna be alright."

----End Flashback----

I sat up in bed, cold sweat running down my neck, breathing heavily.

"Nara!" Odd cried as he opened the door to my room. He ran over to me, closely followed by Aelita, Yumi, and Ulrich, and hugged me tightly. "Are you alright? We heard a scream, and we got worried."

"I guess that was me who screamed," I answered, my hand drifting to the scar on my right shoulder.

"Bad dream?" Aelita asked sitting down on the bed as well.

"More like bad memory," I muttered, still clutching my shoulder.

"You wanna talk about it?" Yumi asked.

"Yeah," I said suddenly. "Actually, I do." And so I told them everything I had just witnessed in my dream. When I finished my story, I pulled back the neck of my shirt to reveal a 3-inch long scar running over my shoulder. "The doctor said if the bullet was any closer to my neck, it would've hit an artery. Tim really saved my life. You guys can tell Jeremy, I don't feel up to saying it again."

"What about that man?" Ulrich asked.

"Well, he should still be in jail, but—" I was cut off by Jeremy running into the room panting, laptop in hand.

"X.A.N.A.'s attacking," he managed. He ran out of the room with the rest of us close behind.

"Hey, Nara," Odd said as we were running. "You have a pretty horrible past."

"Yeah, don't remind me," I muttered.

"Well, I was just wondering, why aren't you like other people? I mean, I thought a lot of people with pasts like that ended up, well, kinda dark and they become outsiders. But you're not like that, Nara; you're nice, sweet, and not afraid to show your true colors. Don't get me wrong, I love you like this, but why are you so different?" Odd finished.

Wow, who knew Odd could be so deep, I thought. "I dunno," I replied, thinking about his question. "I guess I just didn't want to let it ruin my life. Someone once told me 'you can't change the past, but you can change the future, so don't mess it up.' I felt it was a good phrase to live by," I answered as we entered the clearing in the woods.

Aelita went down the ladder first, followed by Yumi and Jeremy. I started climbing down when suddenly, the ground started to shake. I lost my grip on the bars, but Ulrich and Odd grabbed my arms just in time.

"You okay, Nara?" Ulrich asked once the shaking had stopped.

"Yeah," I answered, getting my hands securely around the bars of the ladder. "Is everyone down there alright?" I called down.

"We're okay," Yumi called up. I climbed the rest of the way down, and Ulrich and Odd soon followed.

"Earthquakes aren't common here at all, especially one of that magnitude," Jeremy said.

"It must be X.A.N.A.," Aelita added.

"Yeah, I agree," Ulrich said. "We better hurry."

We reached the factory and we headed down the elevator, dropping Jeremy off on the first floor. Everyone else got out of the elevator when we reached the scanner room, but I stayed in the elevator.

"Which sector are we going to?" I asked before the doors closed.

"The Mountain Region," Jeremy's voice replied. I touched my wristband and I was transported to Lyoko. Aelita and Yumi appeared seconds later, followed by Odd and Ulrich. "Okay, guys, the tower is a few minutes away. Direction, south southwest."

"We're on it, Jeremy," I answered, materializing my board in front of me. Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita's vehicles materialized in front of them as well.

"Three Tarantulas at 12 o' clock, guys," Jeremy warned.

"We'll take care of these guys, and Nara and Aelita can get to the tower," Ulrich said as we reached the threesome.

"Sounds good," Aelita answered. I nodded my head, and we kept going to the tower. "There's the tower!" she shouted, pointing at the red tower in the distance.

"Yeah, and there are two Creepers guarding it," I answered. I formed a dark energy ball in my hand and shot at the Creeper. It missed by a mile, but it swung around and hit the Creeper from behind. "What goes around comes around," I said as the Creeper shattered.

"Energy Field!" Aelita shouted as she sent her own energy blast at the last Creeper. It hit its mark, and the Creeper shattered.

"Nice shot!" I called to her. "Now, get to the tower."

She nodded and walked over to the tower, and disappeared through it. A minute passed by, and finally I heard Jeremy's voice.

"Return to the past, now."

(rewind to Nara's room)

I found myself sitting on my bed, Odd next to me, the others also in the room. My hand was still clutching my scar, so I let my hand slide off my shoulder.

Odd stood up and gave me a long hug, "Are you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I answered with a smile. "Don't worry about me, guys." Everyone one left the room, but I kept sitting on my bed. "I'll be fine," I muttered, more to convince myself than anything.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, "Nara? May I come in?" Mr. Norton's voice asked.

My temper flared up again, "Give me one good reason why I should."

"Because I am not Jonathan Norton," he replied.

"Then who are you?" I asked.

"Chris Norton," he answered. "I'm John's brother. Twin, in fact, which is probably why you hate me."

My anger started to subside, but I didn't let my guard down, "How can I be sure?" Suddenly, something slid into my room from under the door. I got off my bed and walked over to the door. I picked up the object to find Mr. Norton's driver's license, on which had his name, 'Chris Norton'. I opened the door slowly and let him in. I handed him his license and went back to sit on my bed. "So, what do you want?" I mumbled.

"I wanted to say sorry," he started.

"Why? You didn't do anything," I said.

He sighed, "My brother never really fit in with the family, to say the least." My body stiffened at the mention of his brother as he continued. "We looked alike, be he wasn't like me at all. We never hung out together. I always joked with him, calling him crazy, but he really was. One day, he finally snapped, and he ran off. That was the last time I saw him, until the day when—"

"When he murdered my parents," I finished quietly.

"I'm sorry for what my brother did," he said.

"Like I said before, it wasn't your fault," I told him.

He laughed a bit, "I guess what they say is true, you can't choose your family, can you?"

I smiled back, "No, I guess not. Thanks, Mr. Norton."

"Anytime, Nara," he said as he left the room. In a weird way, I feel a lot better.

"Hey, Nara," Odd said suddenly, poking his head through the doorway. "Jeremy wants to get more info from Sector 5 in Lyoko. You wanna come with?"

"Sure," I answered, standing up and walking out the door.

(F.F. to Factory Scanner Room)

"Which sector?" I asked before the elevator doors closed.

"We're trying the new program, going straight into Sector 5. Can you get there?" Aelita asked.

"Yeah, I think. If not, I'll ask Jeremy to send a transporter," I answered.

I touched my wristband and concentrated on Sector 5. When I opened my eyes, the blue sphere was spinning around me. "Hey, it actually worked," I said as the rest of the gang materialized beside me. First were Odd and Ulrich, then Yumi and Aelita. We waited for the chorosome to open, then we sprinted to the end of it. When we reached the main room, I suddenly flew up to the ceiling, the others doing the same. When I reached the ceiling, my head hit it, hard. I rubbed my head and looked down. "What the hell?" I muttered.

"It seems like the gravity in this room is reversed," Yumi mused.

"Screw gravity," I muttered under my breath, still rubbing my head, until something on the floor caught my eye. "There's the key!"

"And now you're down to two minutes to get to it," Jeremy informed.

"How are we supposed to get down to it?" Ulrich asked.

I sighed, "I'll get it." I focused dark energy into my hands, and then released it, aiming towards the ceiling. The force of the blast propelled me downward. It was slow going, but I kept this up until I reached the floor. I focused more energy into my hands, and used it as a suction cup on the floor.

"You have ten seconds, Nara," Jeremy told me.

"Hey, Jeremy, this is not a complex room," I said as I moved along. "How the heck will the room change if I don't get to the key in time?" I hit the key, and I fell from about three feet to the ground. Everyone else had to fall a much longer way. "I guess it doesn't really matter now."

"Anything wrong, Nara?" Aelita asked.

"Nope, I'm just in a bad mood," I responded.

"Is it about—" Odd started hesitantly.

"Actually, no," I smiled at him. "I'm over that now, or as over it as I'll ever be. I just hit my head really hard on the ceiling."

"Let's get going, guys," Ulrich said, sprinting to the end of the room. We reached the elevator, and jumped on when it reached us. We ran along the arm when it stopped and ran to the outside of the sphere. Aelita ran up to the screen and started downloading files.

"We've got some Manta's, guys," Yumi said, pointing at three Flying Mantas coming our way. I created an energy shield with one hand, and focused a ball of energy in my hand. One of the Mantas took aim on me and shot, but I blocked it with my shield. I was pushed back a few inches by the blow. The same Manta shot repeatedly at me, each time I was pushed back farther and farther, until I reached the edge. The Manta shot once more, and I was knocked off the edge.

"Nara!" Odd cried out. I flung out my hand and grabbed the edge.

"That was close," I muttered. I looked ahead, and I couldn't believe my eyes. "What the heck is that?"

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