Author's Notes: So, who missed me? :) Sorry I ended up taking such a long break, but I've been having an actually busy summer for once. Anyway, I present at last part 3 of my ridiculously long story, .hack/Guardian.

...God, I hate the formatting restrictions on this site, though. 255 characters really isn't enough to sum up a 150+ page file.

Anyway, this is going to pick up right where Segment 2 left off, jump right into the AIDA Server incident, and then off from there. Fair warning, though, there's another extended real-world sequence. I'll give warning when we reach it, so those of you who want to can skip it (nothing in there but character development anyway). Once that's over, it'll go back to the usual pattern of flipping back and forth but giving ample time to each. Well, regardless, enjoy!

.hack/Guardian

File Segment 3: Interlude of Memory's Rain

Time: 2017/8, coterminous with .hack/GU vol.2: Reminisce

Haruko paced impatiently outside of Raven's Home. "Atoli…" he muttered fervently. For about the dozenth time, his mind ran back over the events of the past hour. For a long time, he had waited at Morrigu Barrow for Haseo and the others to return from the other side of the sealed Tri-Edge sign. Then Kuhn, in full Magus form, had burst out of the wall, carrying an unconscious Atoli.

"Atoli!" he yelled. "Kuhn, what happened to her?"

Kuhn shook his head. "We beat Tri-Edge, but then another AIDA showed up and attacked Atoli. Haseo saw it and tried to stop her, but she was too far away."

Without even thinking about it, Haruko split himself into Hikari and Yami. Hikari took one look at Atoli and immediately summoned Archos. "All right. Let's get her to a safe place," she said, laying one hand on Atoli's brow.

Kuhn blinked at Archos, and then shook his head violently. "You're right… let's hurry." The two Avatars warped out, carrying Atoli between them. With nothing around to hurt or kill, Yami howled in frustration and followed them.

At Raven, Kuhn had dispelled his Avatar and carried Atoli inside. Hikari tried to follow, but without a Guild Key, she could not enter. She sighed, and reunited with Yami. Haruko had been pacing outside the guild ever since.

Just then, Kuhn emerged, looking haggard. "Hey, Haruko. Have you been waiting out here this whole time?" Haruko nodded wordlessly, and Kuhn sighed. "Sorry. I should have given you a Guild Key. Atoli's… well, she's not all right, but she'll be okay for now."

Haruko nodded. "I'm not at all sure what you're talking about, but I'll trust you."

Kuhn sighed. "And now there are bigger problems. First of all, do you know about Atoli's abilities?"

Haruko blinked. "You mean that she's an unawakened Epitaph User? Yes, I know about that. She's seen my Avatar once or twice before."

Kuhn shook his head. "That AIDA that attacked her stole her Morganna Factor- the very thing that makes her an Epitaph User. And ever since then… but haven't you noticed already?"

Haruko clenched his fist so hard that his nails cut his skin. "Either start making sense, Kuhn, or…" He broke off. "That… hurt." He stared at the slightly bleeding cut in his hand. "I can feel it… No way. That shouldn't be possible…"

Kuhn nodded. "You see it too, huh? Everyone has been pulled into the game itself."

Haruko's eyes flew wide. "If that's the case…" He pulled out his staff. "I've got to contact everyone, at once!" Kuhn stared blankly. Haruko huffed. "If we're really inside the game right now… what happens if our character gets killed?"

Kuhn's eyes widened. "You mean…"

Haruko nodded grimly. "We could potentially all end up as Lost Ones if this continues. I'm going to call in my guildmates and try to keep some order. Zelkova-sama will likely help out too- our guilds have been allied since the beginning." His hands flew frantically about as he sent out a deluge of short mail to everyone he could reach.

Kuhn nodded. "All right. I'll go try and gather some information, like Yata told us to. The faster we figure this out…"

Haruko gave him a thumbs-up. "The less chance of anyone getting PKed. Go ahead, and good luck." He paused. "Oh, and keep an eye on Atoli for me, okay? I'm still worried about her." He charged to the warp point and teleported to Central District.

Immediately, he noticed a large group of fearful players surrounding a blue-suited C.C. Corp executive. "Hey, what's going on?" one yelled.

"Why can't we log out?"
"Are we really inside the game?"
"Do something! You're with C.C. Corp, aren't you?"

Haruko rolled his eyes and stepped forward. He cleared his throat. "Everyone, relax. A nasty virus has gotten into the game and… well, since I don't know any technical-sounding terms, I'll just go with 'screwed everything up'. C.C. Corp has a team of debuggers inside the game working on the problem right now, in collaboration with some players that have had prior experience with this entity."

An angry-looking Twin Blade spun to face him. "I don't believe you. What kind of virus could pull us into the game?"

Haruko shrugged. "I don't know how it could possibly do this either. But the important thing is to keep calm. A good friend of mine is one of the C.C. Corp people working on the problem. Like I said, just stay calm and wait, and things will return to normal soon enough."

The same Twin Blade snorted. "Yeah, right. I've heard of you. You're that kid Haruko who's been around since before the incident seven years ago."

Haruko sighed. "There has never been any proof that the Yokohama incident was related to 'The World' in any way." His eyes sharpened. "And you are?"

"Petabyte," his opponent snorted. "And I'd say what's happening now is pretty conclusive. Besides, everyone knows that the official C.C. Corp line is bullshit."

Haruko's eyes narrowed. "Regardless… Petabyte-san… I was indeed there. In fact I was loosely involved in the efforts to contain the incident. I can promise you all that this can be reversed, and that no harm will come to you as long as you don't panic and do something stupid."

"Something stupid like what?" piped up a blue-robed Harvest Cleric.

Haruko shook his head. "PKing, for a start. We honestly have no idea what the result would be. Best-case scenario, you're kicked out of the game and wake up in front of your computer, completely fine. Nice, but ludicrously unlikely. Much more likely is the worst-case scenario: your real-life self winds up in a coma."

The crowd fell to muttering among themselves. "Don't worry," Haruko continued. "Both my guild, the Twilight Guardians, and Zelkova-sama's Moon Tree will be patrolling around the fields and Mac Anu, and keeping order. If you're attacked or see someone attacked, just contact anyone you know in either guild and we'll be right there."

Petabyte snorted. "Moon Tree? Oh, please. I'd rather die than be saved by those hippies."

A tic appeared in Haruko's forehead. "Shall I arrange that for you right now, Petabyte-san?" he said in a dangerous voice.

Petabyte took a step back. "O-of course not. Sorry."

Haruko nodded. "Good. Normally I'm a pretty forgiving guy, but right now I'm a bit edgy with everything that's going on. So I wouldn't recommend pushing me."

A blond-haired Macabre Dancer raised her hand. "Yes?" Haruko said kindly, noticing her.

She blushed. "How can you be so sure that it can be reversed, though? I mean…"

Haruko smiled calmly. "It's all right. I knew a person once who was pulled into the game for a long while, but in the end his friends managed to rescue him. It may take some time, but eventually we'll get you all out of here, all right? Just stay calm, stay in Mac Anu so you don't become a target for Kestrel, and wait for the professionals to fix everything. Don't worry. We'll get you all out safely."

Amid a small amount of mutterings, the crowd dispersed. The executive shook his head and sighed. "Phew. Thanks. I honestly don't have a clue what's going on here, though."

Haruko grinned. "That's okay. Almost nobody does. But I'd expect a better greeting than that… Oniisan."

The executive's eyes bugged out. "Michael? Is that really you?"

Haruko grinned. "It's 'Haruko' when we're in the game, Adam-niisan. And I'm 'Sora' now, remember?"

Adam shook his head. "Don't go trying to be a hero, Michael. I appreciate you getting everyone off of my back, but this is a really dangerous situation."

Haruko shrugged, ignoring the fact that Adam was still calling him 'Michael'. "So? All that means is that I definitely can't stay out of this. I can't leave others in danger- you know that, Oniisan."

Adam frowned. "So, what illegal powers have you picked up this time?"

Haruko grinned. "Only the best," he said, holding aloft his right hand- and the Twilight Bracelet clamped onto it.

Adam grimaced. "You idiot. Running around like that… you'll get yourself deleted, and shame yourself and the entire family into the bargain! Do you have any idea how hard I've worked to get as high in C.C. Corp as I have? And you're going to make all that a waste, just so you can have fun playing at being a hero!"

Haruko glared. "Play? I'm trying to protect everyone from a dangerous virus, and you're worried about your job?"

Adam glared right back. "This is a game, Michael! You have to play it by the rules, and you can't take it so seriously!"

Haruko turned his back to Adam. "Tell that to Shino-chan, and Mirage-kun, and everyone else that's in a coma right now because of this thing." He slapped the warp point and vanished.

"Michael!" Adam shouted after him. He swore. "You idiot… If you keep going like this, you're going to make the same mistakes Kite made!"

"Kite didn't make any mistakes. It was C.C. Corp that made the mistake."

Adam spun around. His eyes narrowed. "Helio. I should have guessed you'd be mixed up in this too."

Helio glared at him. "Your little brother is putting his very life on the line every day, for you and for everyone else. How can you possibly feel ashamed of him?"

Adam snorted. "Stop being so melodramatic! He's not putting anything on the line. All he's doing is throwing the entire system out of whack, and putting everyone at risk!"

Helio's eyes flared. "You really are a fool. I can't count the number of times I've come into his room and found him collapsed at the console, exhausted from fighting this thing. He's always recovered afterwards, but there's never a guarantee he'll wake up the next time."

Adam rolled his eyes. "That's because the little shut-in spends far too much time online. You come in and find him asleep at the controls- and no surprise, when you consider what a net-addict he is."

A short, bronzed blade suddenly entered his field of vision as someone grabbed him from behind. "Don't be stupid. Your kid brother's no net-addict. He gets pretty straight B's in school, and he nearly beat me in skiing. No way could a net-addicted kid pull that off."

Helio smiled. "Ah, Alkaid. Or should I say Chika-san?"

Alkaid grinned. "Call me what you like, Hiruma-san. Is Haruko really that dense, though, that he couldn't recognize me?"

Adam slipped out of her grip and spun around. "You'd love for there to be something strange going on, wouldn't you, Former Emperor Alkaid? That way, Endrance might really have been cheating in his match against you."

Helio shook his head. "Don't talk about that which you have no concept of, Adam. Endrance was indeed cheating- using a skill that, like Haruko's, should never be used against a player."

Alkaid glared at Adam. "There's no way you can be Haruko's brother. He may be an idiot, but he's still a good guy, and it only makes him more fun to be around. But you… you're being deliberately stupid, and it just ticks me off."

Adam snorted, and spun on his heel. "Whatever. It doesn't matter to me what dregs like you two think of me."

He stopped suddenly, gasping as a blade swung up to his left ear. Haruko glared at him, having just warped back. "I leave for five minutes to plan with Zelkova-sama, and you're already insulting my friends? Are you so eager to test out my theory about PKing under these conditions?"

Adam stood stock-still, gulping like a fish as Haruko held the blade gently to his neck. "Don't insult my friends like that again, Adam." Adam flinched at the sudden, disrespectful form of address. "I will not tolerate it." Haruko held the blade to his brother's throat for a moment longer, and then withdrew it. He spun on his heel. "Helio-kun, Alkaid-chan. Could you come with me for a while?" He stormed off towards the Mac Anu Dome. Alkaid and Helio glanced at each other, nodded, and then followed him.

Behind him, Adam shuddered and slumped down on his knees. "What… what was that? Was that really Michael?" He shook himself. "If he's set himself against C.C. Corp, then I'll oppose him with everything I've got. If he wants deletion, he'll get it."

At the Dome, Haruko slumped down and sighed. "I'm a wreck… I wish Atoli was here. She could always calm me down, even if Sakaki-san was around."

Helio put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to keep doing so much, Haruko. You're going to snap if you keep this up. And after what happened to Shizuka-san…"

Alkaid shook her head. "I don't get it. But I do get that you're really giving your all to help everyone out. And I really respect you for that. But you need to give yourself a break once in a while, okay? Sticking out your neck too much is really bad for you."

Haruko grinned. "Someone's got to do it, though. And so long as it doesn't affect my schoolwork, who cares?"

Helio sighed. "Well, your sensei might care a bit. And as we both know, 'caring' for him generally involves getting hit over the head with a shinai."

Alkaid blinked. "Kendo? So, you can ski really well and beat the crap out of people with bamboo sticks. Nice. You're pretty athletic, ne?"

Haruko raised an eyebrow. "Who told you I ski? I don't remember saying anything about it."

Without missing a beat, Alkaid replied, "Akiko. While you were in Hokkaido a little while back, I asked him where you were, and he told me."

Haruko nodded. "Makes sense. Say… you're from Sapporo, right? I was down in Niseko back then. You ever been there?"

Alkaid raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes," she said, guardedly.

Haruko leaned back against the Chaos Gate and smiled. "There was this girl I ran into there, named Kuramoto Chika. Do you know her?"

Alkaid rolled her eyes, but Haruko didn't notice. "The name sounds familiar, all right. What's she like?" In the background, Helio chuckled.

Oblivious, Haruko shrugged. "Well… she's an amazing skier, for starters. We skied all day, and I never once managed to beat her. She's a nice girl. Cute, too." He blinked. "Come to think of it, her face is a lot like yours, except that she's got brown hair, and it's longer."

Alkaid grinned, one eyebrow raised. "Weird. But then again, you get a lot of deja vu in online games like this." Man, he's dense. Maybe I should just tell him, just so I can see the look on his face.

Haruko scratched his head. "I guess. I still feel like I've met her somewhere before, though." He stood up wearily. "Well, I'd better go check the fields and make sure Kestrel isn't harassing…" He broke off. "Short mail… Mayako-san?" He frowned. "She's in trouble. Helio-kun, Alkaid-chan… will you help me out?"

Alkaid grinned. "Sure. I'd love to get in on some action."

Helio shrugged. "Of course. But Alkaid, remember, don't PK the enemy if you can help it. There's a chance they'd end up in a coma if you did that."

Alkaid saluted. "Roger that! Let's go, Haruko!"

Haruko grinned. "All right. On to ∆Hidden Forbidden Dead Wood!"

Helio frowned. "A Lost Ground? Are you sure you've got the area word right?"

Haruko nodded. "Technically, Indieglut Lugh is combat-capable. We fought Cerunnos there, remember?"

Alkaid nodded. "Right. Thanks again for inviting me along for that Abyss Quest, by the way."

Haruko grinned and raised his staff. "Any time, Alkaid-chan. You're my friend, remember?" The three vanished in a whirl of blue light.