Random Talk: So, um, perfectly good explanation as to why it took years to update! I have two muses for this story, Cubia and Sora. Sora muse wanted nothing to do with this chapter because he wasn't in it. Cubia muse was all emo for this chapter. Basically, I was having writers block. Shortly after, I actually met a fan of my fics in real life! We got talking and I got inspired. What would you know, my laptop breaks and no back up of what I had written so far. I was holding out to get the data off the old laptop, but I said "screw it" after many years and just re-wrote it. I hope it's worth the wait!

The Forgotten One

Login 10: Tears

As Mai sat in the hospital room, she couldn't help but let the memories rush through her head. Memories of Tomonari being in a similar coma several years ago brought tears to her eyes. It also brought up old feelings as well. Just from talking with him, she could see some of his childishness was still there. Yet, it was subdued by something she could place. It made him seem grown up at the same time. Maybe when he wakes, she could give them a second chance.

"Don't worry," Reiko said as she placed a hand on Mai's shoulder. "We'll get him back safe. We'll get them all back. We've done it before, we can do it again."

Mai just nodded as the tears fell. If anyone could save those who were in comas due to The World, they were already on their side.

Elk stared at the boy in white. Lately he has been thinking about things. It was weird that ever since he woke up in the clearing in the forest. For one, he hasn't thought much about Mia since he woke up but the boy in white was on his mind constantly. Why was he so important to him? He knew Mia was very important, but it was like she was a distant memory now.

"Wh-what's going on?" the body behind him moaned. Elk turned around to see the player in knight armor slowly wake up. "Hey, where are we?"

Elk shrugged before turning his gaze back to the boy in white. "Mother said you could help wake him, but he's still sleeping."

"Huh… So is this like a quest or something?" the knight asked as he walked up. "Well, I'm game! I'm sure with the two of us, we'll wake him up in no time! Besides, something tells me I have to help him. Name's Sieg."

"Elk."

"That's right my children," a female voice echoed around them. "We need to wake your brother. That way, we can take our proper place in this world."

The warehouse was buzzing with activity. They had to recreate so much data behind C.C. Corps back it wasn't even funny. Thank god Helba thought ahead to save bits of data from various players that she ran across over the years. She couldn't do much though without alerting the system. Speaking of Helba…

Ichiro sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He wondered how Helba was doing. Out of everyone in their little group, he was the one who knew the most about their mysterious leader. While he never seen her, he knew she had a family. He talked to her kid a few times. First time was an accident; he thought it was Helba at first. Kid was smart, knew his or her way around a computer since he put a simple trace on him. It was kind of cute. They became slow friends where he would teach the kid tricks behind Helba's back. In turn, the kid would tell him a poem he made up which would bring a smile to his face.

He knew this fight was personal in away because Helba's kid was a victim of the first Morganna Mode Gone rampage. Ichiro couldn't figure out which victim it was, and he sort of didn't want to know. He wanted to remember the kid as Helba's child and not put a face to them. More so, if he did find out, then he would be closer to finding out who Helba was and he felt that she deserved some secrecy.

A chat window popped up on his screen. Helba.

"How goes it, Bith?"

"Only 25% done" Ichiro responded. "About three more days and we should be done"

"Good"

Ichiro hesitated before asking his question. It felt like a forbidden topic these past few years, but he had to ask. "How's the little poet?"

"You know he's not so little anymore. Maybe when this is all done, I'll tell him you asked for him."

The window closed, leaving Ichiro to his thoughts. From the sound of it, Helba's kid was really a child back then. If that was the case and his memory on the coma victims were correct, this fight just got personal again.

Alkaid walked around the field, making sure they cleared it of everything. She and Atoli were getting to know each other a little more. She saw how close Atoli was with Haseo, and it made her jealous. Maybe if she can figure out what made her so appealing to the adept rouge, she could use it to her advantage.

It was weird though. Alkaid tried inviting Haseo to their party since she saw he was on, but there was no reply for the longest time. He normally would at least tell her that he couldn't make it soon after getting the message.

"Have you heard from Haseo lately?" Atoli asked as if reading her mind. "I tried contacting him but nothing. There's something I wanted to talk to him about."

"No, but I'm sure he's fine." Alkaid sighed. "I bet he's just busy with something and doesn't want to get us involved. You know how he is."

"Yeah, but this is kinda important," Atoli mumbled. "I'm sure if it was something major, he would at least have told me…"

That made Alkaid snap. How dare Atoli think that she was more important than she was! "His life doesn't revolve around you! Besides, what makes you think he wouldn't contact me if he needs help!"

"W-what?" Atoli stammered, looking at Alkaid in shock. "I-I didn't mean it that way…"

"This was a bad idea," Alkaid muttered as she walked away. As she passed a hill, she noticed a player that wasn't there before. "Why's that kid just sitting there?"

"That's Cubia," Atoli said, making Alkaid jump. When did she get there? "He's a little weird from what I gather when I talked to him. Silabus and Gaspard say he's okay, so he must be. Maybe we should see if he's okay."

"No," Alkaid sighed as she turned to walk away. "I know that stance and he wants some alone time."

Cubia sat on a hill in a random area. What Pi said made him think, and he didn't like where that train of thought went. If he was an AI, then he really doesn't exist. He was just a bunch of data. All his feelings and memories were false. It was a depressing train of thought to know you only exist in a computer. And if the fact he was an AI was true, why were Zelkova and the green haired man doing so much to keep him safe? Was there something in his data that was so important? And why were they protecting him in the first place?

As if to answer his questions, scenes flashed through his mind. He saw a boy being picked on by his fellow classmates. He saw him lying to his parents about where he got the bruises. He saw him typing on a computer, talking to someone. It then shifted to computer graphics. People annoyed, people in pain, people fighting him. All these painful memories made everything clear, making him cry in realization.

"I know what she wants, Zelkova-nii," he said.

"I know," Zelkova said seriously as he sat down next to Cubia. "You know what to do if it comes to it, right?"

Cubia nodded, crying even more. Couldn't they just have a break for once in their life?

Random Talk: Sorry for making this so short. I couldn't remember what I exactly what I wanted to do in this chapter, but I remember later chapters. Also, sorry for Alkaid's personality in this chapter. I had to establish her feelings for Atoli.

Until next time!

Rubai-chan, over and out!