Hello, friends! After four long years, I finally took a look at this story and decided that it needed some major editing. So here you go, the new and improved version of Xana!

A corridor: a long, empty corridor. A few hundred yards were all that stood between Xana and her freedom. Her heart pounded as she ran. She had a bobby pin and a pocket knife clutched tightly in her hand. They were a gift from a friend who would most likely loose her life for giving them to her.

Everything had been so painstakingly thought out, perfectly rehearsed over and over again. The corridor branched off to the right. She took it.

Hurry, run! Run fast! They're coming! She stopped for a moment to listen. Four voices. That's all she needed to know. Footsteps. They're getting closer. She ran faster. The hall stopped, splitting in two directions: left or right? She'd memorized these hallways. She'd walked this path a thousand times, or more. The guards were getting nearer. She took to the right: it was dimly lit and better suited for hiding. The guards split up. Two went left, two went right. She watched as the guards passed her, fearful that the heavy beating of her heart would give her away. Had they looked up, they would have found her. She watched the guards until they were out of sight, then slid down the wall.

Foolish guards, you cannot catch her. She is too clever for you.

Be swift. They've noticed your absence. She ran back down the hallway she had come from, and this time turned left. She looked closely at the air vents. 1... 2... 3... She stopped. Lucky vent number 4. She carefully, silently, unscrewed the screws, and removed the vent. She slipped inside the air duct and climbed up. She crawled a long, counting the steel plates as she went by. 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10... 11... 12... 13... 14... 15... 16... 17, she stopped. She carefully removed the plate and looked at the intricate wiring underneath. She snapped four of the wires and reassembled them in a different order before connecting them again. She didn't have any footage to loop the security cameras with, but this was the next best thing: she froze them. She moved three panels over, and did the same thing, but on a smaller, much more intricate level. By doing this, she added a 15 second delay to the alarm system. Fifteen seconds was all she needed.

She crawled back down the air duct and retraced her steps back to the original corridor. She continued to walk down the hall until she reached a heavy metal door with a hand scanner on it. She slowly undid the screws and pulled the hand scanner back just enough to see behind it. There was a thin wire, like a single strand of hair, going from the back of the scanner, connecting to the alarm. She took a deep breath and ripped it off. The wire snapped. A tiny red light, began to flash, but there was no siren. 15 seconds. Go.

She removed a tiny panel and used the thin, flexible knife to cut the wires with precise cuts. There was a tiny hole below a slit running along the left side of the panel. She gently eased one of the bobby pins into the hole, then hit it with the palm of her hand, locking it into place. She then, began to reconnect all of the wires, except for two, which she left snapped. She jerked the bobby pin upwards, through the slit. There was a faint clicking sound and the door slid open. 7 seconds. New personal best.

Behind the door was a dimly lit hallway, even longer than the one she had just left behind. Voices could already be heard from a distance. There wasn't time to stand and gawk. She slammed the door behind her and ran as fast as she could. She heard people pounding on the door, but it remained steadfast. The noises grew quieter and quieter as she distanced herself from them. Silence. For a long time, the only noise that was heard was the sound of her own heart pounding against her rib cage. Then shouting erupted. The lock must have been cracked. She had no choice but to run faster, faster, faster. Where was the second door?

There! She saw the green glow of the hand scanner. She ran to the door, holding her breath. There was no time to hyperventilate. She kicked the scanner and followed up with the same procedure. The lock clicked and the door swung open. She passed through and slammed it shut behind her. A few yard ahead of her were a simple set of stairs. Beyond that, another hallway, and ultimately the third and final door. She was almost there. She was almost free. She had been dreaming of this one, beautiful moment for five years.

She had to be quick. The lock already seemed to be put under a great deal of stress. It wouldn't be long before it snapped. She had just sprinted up the flight of stairs when she heard the deafening crack. They had broken through. No, don't give up. Not yet. Just a little farther. Her captors were closing in.

Finally, the third door. She broke the scanner, but this time, rewired the hardware inside in a manner that when the door closed, with the scanner being gone, would take hours to open the door manually. But this took time. Her captors were only a few short yards away when the door clicked. She had no time. No time. She slipped inside and slammed the door as fast as she could. But was it good enough? Were all her efforts in vain? They pounded on the door, but it would not budge. Yes! Now she was safe. Now she was free.

Her heart pounding against her chest, she took a good look around at her new surroundings. It was a small room: a closet. That's why no one came to find her; the laboratory was well hidden. The door on the other end was a simple wooden one with a regular old doorknob and a simple deadlock. She drove heel of her foot through the doorknob snapping it off, breaking the lock. She walked outside, but what she saw caught her off guard. Five, very surprised looking men were all pointing guns at her. What? There weren't supposed to be guards up here!

One guard walked towards the shocked looking girl with a smug expression on his face. "I remember you." He said. "You're the little girl who tried to break out three years back. Hey, but don't give up. Try again in another three years. You know what they say, third time's the charm." He smirked and grabbed her arm.

She immediately began to panic. She'd waited five years for this. She wasn't going back. Not now, not when she was so close. She grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground. She kicked him in the nose. This is what she was trained to do. She wasn't going to give up now. Not now. Not ever. The man pointed his gun up at her but she was too swift, and kicked it away. Both she and the guard lunged at it, but she got there first. Of course, the four other men who were watching stood up in efforts to help. Four rounds were shot. But of course, none of them hit her. She was trained to evade even bullets.

"Please don't make me shoot you," she begged. All she wanted was her freedom, she wasn't out for revenge. The men didn't back down. They lunged at her.

Five shots rang out. Four men lay dead at her feet, and one lay alive, dying in his own blood. She crouched down by his side, her eyes brimming over with sorrow.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"A-are you?" the man asked, gasping for air.

"I didn't wanna hurt anybody, but you gave me no other choice. It was self defense," she said. She didn't want to look anymore. She got up and started walking away.

"D-don't you… you want to know about… about Franks? A-about… your family?" he asked.

Xana froze. "Where is he?" she asked, her eyes turning hard.

"I'll never tell," he spat, grinning.

"Then why bring him up?" she asked.

"I wanted t-to see… see you squirm,"

She narrowed her eyes. "Where is he?" she asked again. She was met with the same response. She growled, frustrated at his stubbornness. "Tell me where he is!" she shouted.

"A-and what are you… you going t-to do about it… if I don't?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes. "You're alive. And as long as you're still alive, you can still feel pain. You know that. After all, you helped teach me. Remember?" She hissed, her words cold as ice. "Please… don't make me hurt you,"

His sighed, resigned. "The park on 23rd Street. He's there. He's always there on Thursday night," he whispered.

She stood up and nodded. Still clutching the gun, she sealed it away. Her heart clenched and she stopped. She couldn't just leave the man alone to die. But when she glanced back, he was already dead. She walked on.

It was night. She closed her eyes as the wind brushed against her face. Wind. She'd forgotten what wind felt like. She opened her eyes, staring at the graffiti on the wall opposite to her. She glanced up at the trees, their leaves blowing in the wind.

Green. I'd forgotten what green looks like. Five years it too long. Too long. She mused to herself. The others have never seen color. Someday, I will free you all. Then you'll know color. You'll see what the sky and grass really look like. You'll know what it's like to feel the sun on your face and the mud between your toes. I promise, you'll know.

Green, red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, these were none of her concern now. She had a mission to complete, then she'd stop and stare.

Someday, she'd return to this God-forsaken place. But, not to stay. Never to stay. Never again. She ran on, the moon lighting her path. She missed the moon. She missed the silver stars. The stars.

And those twinkling lights up there, are the stars. There here so that we won't feel alone in the dark!

Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes at the memory. Not now. Please, I'm coming to get you. To bring you home.

She stopped at the top of the hill. The view of the city took her breath away. The city lights looked almost like earth-bound stars. She ran on.

Finally, she reached the park. She looked around, feeling a bit overwhelmed. So many people were there. She walked around a bit, looking for the one she wanted. He was sitting all by himself at a table, reading a newspaper. His light brown hair was the same, but his green eyes seemed somehow different.

Xana clutched the gun in her hand, but made herself a promise: she would not hurt him. She only wanted information on her family. She would not hurt him.

"Jonathan Franks?" She asked, her voice a hushed whisper. At first he didn't respond. It was almost as though he had forgotten his name. He looked up, suddenly. There was confusion in his eyes.

"Yes?" He asked. He sounded different.

Xana swallowed. She hated this man. She hated what he had done to her. But she would not hurt him. "Where are Sakura and Souske?" she asked, doing her best to remain calm.

"What?"

"Where are they?" Her voice filled with anger. "Where are my brother and sister?"

"I don't know!" He said. He seemed to be caught off guard.

"Acheron took them didn't he?"

"Acheron is dead!"

"No he isn't! I know he isn't!" She was loosing control.

"Yes he is!"

"Tell me where they are!" She was just on the verge of shouting. She revealed the gun below the table. Jonathan's eyes widened in fear.

"Sakura and Sousuke. Where. Are. They." Her voice was icy.

"I told you, I don't know! I never had anything to do with that!" He shouted, his voice trembling with emotion.

"Liar!" She stood up and shot him in the stomach. Jonathan fell out of his chair, his face twisted in pain, blood pooling around him. People screamed, dogs barked. It was chaos. Somebody shouted: "McGee!" It was the voice of an older man. It sounded stern, but shocked and worried, and almost horrified.

"Man down! Man down!" This voice belonged to a younger man.

"Director, McGee's been shot!" The third voice belong to a woman. She had an Israeli accent, and sounded as though she was talking on a phone or something.

"McGee?" The young shooter asked, looking down at the man's pained face. She stumbled back upon seeing the NCIS badge. "You're not Franks!" Horror struck her and she ran away, leaving the three other people to try to save their friend.