Disclaimer: Don't own .Hack or anything else of any importance. Except this story of course… and all my fanfic…

Login 10: We're all here with you, Mimiru!

"Mimiru!" Kite ran to Mimiru's side. "Mimiru, get up! You can't give up now, you can't ever give up! Not when we're so close!!"

Mimiru curled up onto the ground, voice so soft, it was barely a whisper. "Kite… that's not true… we were never close and we never were gonna be. This… is too much. It's just not possible…"

It was a game, sure, but Kite saw, just then, a small tear slip out of Mimiru's eyes and slid down her cheek. It hit the ground with a soft splish.

I… can't do anything. I'm weak and I was stupid. I couldn't ever have protected anyone or anything. Even now… I can't even protect this World. Even when it's become a part of me… I can't- I'm useless…

Tears started falling from her eyes. Kite could do nothing but watch. Unfortunately Franzi took this moment to strike.

"YOU STUPID GIRL!!! YOU REALLY THOUGHT YOU COULD SAVE THE WORLD???" Franzi started running full speed at them, blades at the ready. "YOU THINK YOU COULD BE THIS PLACE'S SAVIOUR? YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD BE A LEGENDARY? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?? YOU CAN'T SEE THAT THIS PLACE WAS DESTINED TO DIE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?"

Mimiru stayed in her position. Kite turned around to fight back.

"Y-you know what, Franzi?" Mimiru's voice was frail.

"Huh?" was the hacker's reply.

"You're right."

"Wha-?" Both Franzi and Kite fell back with the two words.

"…you're right, Franzi." Kite could see a faint smile play on Mimiru's lips. "All along, I believed in something that would never have worked. And I did think I could do anything. I thought I was good enough to become a Legendary, even save The World… now that I can hear all of this out loud… I can finally realise how stupid I really was. Because… all along…"

Kite's eyebrows were raised in the most awkward position.

"…all along- I… I never would have been able to…"

"LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU, FRANZI!!!"

All three of them jerked up as the loud voice piped up. Subaru and all the others appeared on the edge of the battlefield.

"We're friends and we're never gonna let Mimiru lose to someone like you," Subaru's voice was clear and determined, a different kind of strength came from her voice now, something Mimiru hadn't heard before.

"S-Subaru…"

"…we were never strong and we didn't even try," Subaru said. "We were just bystanders watching the stronger ones do the fighting. Aura didn't ever recognize us to be heroes or fight you."

Kite and Mimiru stared open-eyed at the player. She continued, in a softer tone, "Besides… all of us we were… afraid of losing and afraid of getting hurt… so afraid we wouldn't even consider giving up our lives to save our World."

"…Subaru-" Mimiru started.

BT, Tsukasa, Bear, Crim and Black Rose looked on with Subaru. "But even if we're not as strong as Kite and Mimiru, we're not going to let them fight alone anymore! Because what we're all fighting for here is one of the most precious things of our lives! The World is like an alternate universe for us! It's a place where we can play and enjoy ourselves and truly become the kind of heroes we want to be. That's why… that's exactly why-"

"-I won't let you take The World away from us!"

They all looked over at Mimiru in shock. The Heavy Blade struggled to stand up when her HP bar was so low. They held their breath as they witnessed the agony it took for her to get to her feet. And even then, Mimiru wobbled unsteadily.

The blade felt twice as heavy as usual when she picked it up. It took so much more effort now, but she fought the urge to give up.

Franzi was watching everything disbelievingly. "What the-"

"I'm sorry." This came from Mimiru. "I'm sorry for thinking I could save the World. I'm sorry for trying so hard to do something so hollow and pointless like be a Legendary. I'm sorry I'm so weak. I'm sorry that I wanted to give up. And I'm sorry for trying to save The World by myself…"

"What are you getting at?" whispered Kite.

Mimiru gave a typical Mimiru-like grin that brought all the courage back to her. "…because no-one can save The World without their friends by their side to help them!"

Subaru felt tears in her eyes then. She was… finally truly able to help, not just standing back and watching everyone else fight behind the big screens. She couldn't do anything by pressing buttons, she had to be on the field with her friends to give them to courage they needed.

Mimiru took a deep breath and wiped away a tear from her eyes. She took her blade and took it by the ready.

"All right!" she exclaimed, "Let's take down the hacker and save The World!!!"

"…yeah, yeah, really emotional, fascinating," said Franzi. "But talking's not gonna help you save this World!"

"Ugh!!" Mimiru fell back a step as she felt pain surging again. Tsukasa ran up to her.

"…I don't do much combat, but I'll give you my HP!" she said.

"What?"

Tsukasa held up her wand and started transferring HP to Mimiru.

"What are you doing?" cried Mimiru. "If you give all of yours to me, then-"

"It's for a good cause." said Tsukasa. "And stop talking and go fight! You have to fight for The World we all know and love!"

Crim, Black Rose, Bear and BT launched into battle. Kite was weak too and he took time between strikes to check on Mimiru.

"I'm glad you're back to the Mimiru I know," he said.

"Yeah," she huffed. She was clutching the blade so tight she swore that her fingers were bleeding, and just from clutching a sword.

Franzi was… undefeatable.

And the time till sunrise kept ticking away. Mimiru couldn't do anything to stop that second hand of time from moving.

Tsukasa was weak now. Mimiru hardly had any HP. She was on the brink of death.

"I'll give you some more Hp, Mimiru?" Tsukasa gasped.

"N-no!" Mimiru cried. "No! Tsukasa, no matter what, you have to stay alive!"

"S-so do you, Mimiru," she replied.

"This is a waste," she said. "Nothing we can do, even together can beat this guy. Only something… of The World… something that is more powerful than anything else, like Aura."

"…" Kite didn't know what she was getting at.

"Aura's object!" yelled out Mimiru, thrusting it out in front of her.

"What?" exclaimed Kite. "Mimiru, NO!"

That's login 10. Read and review!