I sure hope I made up for lost time. I really really promise to update more regularly. Like LessWrong or some other big fanfiction writer.

I hope you enjoy this. I did.

I want to kiss, no…that's not it…

Could I perhaps kiss… that's not it either

This is it for sure. *deep breath*

Please, may I kiss you?

Chapter 19: Truth and Delusions, pt. 1

Hideki ran. He didn't quite know where he was going, but the adrenaline in his blood really served its purpose. He had fought, and now he was flying down the street at an incredible speed. Hideki ran until Chii hopped out of his arms and he collapsed onto the ground. Looking proud, his petite girlfriend pat him on the back softly.

"Hideki did a good job," said Chii. "But Minoru-kun is still in trouble. Hideki needs to call for help."

This was obvious, but Hideki wasn't sure what to do in this situation. It wasn't as if Amber or Garrett had left them a list of magical emergency numbers for them on the fridge. Normal police would probably not even stand a half of a chance against those psychopaths they jut confronted.

Still panting, Hideki looked up. "Call for help? Chii, I wouldn't know where to start!" He recalled Garrett saying something about the security system at Kokubunji's mansion, but that wasn't enough of a lead for anything. "We should probably check on Yuzuki—she's probably worried, or...worse."

Immediately after Hideki suggested they check up on Yuzuki, Chii's face went blank for a moment, and she stayed that way for about five seconds. Worried, Hideki wanted to shake her a little. However, when her face returned to its normal state, she smiled slightly.

"Yuzuki says she is alright and that no one has harmed her. But she wondered why her calls had not been getting through to us earlier." After a bit of forethought, Chii added: "Oh, and Dragonfly and Kotoko are at the mansion."

…

Kotoko stared at Kojima. Kojima stared right back. Both of them were inherently stubborn, so it was going to take a while before they were going to agree upon anything.

"I can't believe you're actually going to do this…," growled Kojima. He pressed his thumbs together and continued to lock eyes with his Persocom's unblinking optics.

"Well, believe it," said Kotoko. "If you would stop being so…so you for five seconds, maybe people would like you better, Koji-kun."

Dragonfly rolled his eyes dramatically and folded his arms. Of all the things he's already heard, this was number two on his list of hated phrases. She was beginning to sound like a nagging wife these days, and it was beginning to bug him.

"I already told you: I don't need friends," said Kojima. He sounded as if he said this to himself in the morning in front of the mirror, like some crazy mantra.

"Everybody needs friends," disagreed Kotoko. More and more she had noticed her master drawing away from human contact, and knew that these childish expressions were just him being mulish again. Humans were social creatures, she knew, so this Hikkikomori-like behavior was just too much. It was part of the reason she opened up the email from Garrett that had been marked "URGENT."

"Not me," Kojima asserted.

For about ten milliseconds, Kotoko wondered if this is how Junji sometimes felt when trying to convince Minako of something. However, Minako often had the facts to support the arguments to back up her positions, so this was slightly different. "Are you seriously not going to help them find a kidnapped little boy?"

Looking askance, the programmer scratched his cheek. "Don't let that kid fool you—Kokubunji is about as mature as I am. He'll be fi—OW OW OW*"

In a fit of rage at his insensitive stance, Kotoko had grabbed the renegade programmer by the ear. "That is it, master." The girl sighed in exasperation, regarding his 'title' with undisguised derision. "I am going to find Minoru, then, and you're going to help me."

Wincing in pain, Kojima asked through gritted teeth: "Why does that Garrett guy even have your email address in the first place?"

The body that Kotoko had transferred into was indeed capable of blushing, and she did so just then, never neglecting to hold Kojima's ear at just the right pressure to render him helpless. For a moment, Kotoko recalled how skillful Garrett had been in asking for her number, and tried to clear her mind of her frustration at Kojima's ineptitude at being charming.

"H-He happens to be a gentleman, unlike some people who assist kidnappers."

Kotoko was never going to let that go, was she?

More importantly, Kotoko was never going to let go of his ear, was she?

…

The concrete was colder than an iced over lake. However, it wasn't the temperature that awoke Amber. It was Garrett's voice. He was standing in front of her, his arms spend wide.

He was begging.

What was going on here?

That's right. The blurred edges of her mind were meeting together and merging. A memory charm, she suspected, had something to do with it. Her back was against the floor, and her arms were splayed at odd angles. Amber blindly reached out with a single, bloody hand. Where was her artifact?

It wasn't on her person was it? Last she recalled they had been dumped into some strange warehouse. Three daggers shot through her brain, then. Something in her stomach threatened to upend its limited contents. Remembering the ensuing fight was not going to be easy, obviously.

Nearby, she could hear the voices hovering around her. They were slightly muffled, but she could make out most the content. As she listened, Amber refused to believe what was happening.

No, it was impossible. He wasn't. No, he was.

"Garrett, you idiot, why are you surrendering!?" ...was what she had wanted to say. But, unfortunately, her mouth refused to form the words. Yes, even as fazed as she was, Amber knew that he was giving them up.

It was then, without much ceremony, Garret gently picked up his master. With a smug grin, Dr. Lestat asked Jared to lead them away.

Amber wasn't quite lucid, but the last thing she remembered before she passed out once again was her mouth babbling "You fool, you fool..." over and over until she finally was consumed by the darkness.

Somewhere, above it all, the being known deceptively as "Angel" smiled in contentment.

…

Sitting at his desk in the lecture hall, Junji was reviewing some of his students' papers. Most of them had promise. Many had talent. But as far as he could see, there was nothing 'original'. This was alright, though. No one could expect genius to simply happen spontaneously.

His wife, now, she was the genius, even by Persocom standards. He suspected it had something to do with her "mother," though. She must have "inherited" it from somewhere, he supposed. Imagine his surprise when he actually met Dr. Hakase face to face. It was probably only two and a half—no, three months after their wedding that she arrived at their home, with Minako's older sister in tow.

Minako had been quite, well, not upset about it, but she did seem just a little pissed. Just a bit. Her "father," Dr. Mihara, had at least the courtesy to speak with her without problem. Nevertheless, Dr. Hakase had waited how many years before finally arranging the family reunion?

It also didn't help that she also knew wrote a bit about magic as well. She even was friends with two mage legends, but couldn't even pay any mind to Minako?

It turns out that, like Chachemaru, Minako's older sister, Minako had been personally constructed by Dr. Hakase herself. Why she deemed it necessary to abandon—er, entrust her daughter to a complete stranger was even more unfathomable. This fact, coupled with the silly notion that she assumed only a mage would find her interesting enough to buy, magic withstanding, was just ludicrous to Minako.

The fact that she had been watched from her first activation was also unsettling and maddening.

Moreover, the odds of a mage buying her and "activating her true sapience" was like trusting the sun to rise in the morning and chat with you about your dreams. It was just plain old crazy.

(Minako also was upset that her own mother had missed her wedding, so there was that, too.)

Junji shook his head. Tonight they would be having dinner with his mother in law tonight. Miki, his own mother, would be there as well.

Somehow, he knew it was going to be a disaster.

The professor shuffled the papers he held in his hands. As he straightened them out, he hummed to himself to distract his mind from the impending doom that awaited him tonight.

Then a light blue image suddenly popped up before him, completely out of nowhere. It appeared to be a hologram of some sort. There were no visible projectors nearby, so this baffled the man, but nevertheless Junji peered down towards the tiny image.

It was Kotoko. It was a little grainy, due to many factors, but nevertheless, it was the obstinate Persocom, in miniature, standing on his desk.

She looked upset for some reason. Her face was scrunched into one disgusted apathy.

"...fine," she muttered. Clasping her hands together, she looked up at Junji.

With forced sincerity she droned: "Please help us, Junji Takeda-san, you're our only hope."

"...what."

This could definitely count as an excuse to skip dinner.

…

"How did I get into this?" said Minoru. He had just finished a slightly draining healing charm on Amber several minutes ago. Now she was up and about, pacing back and forth in the bedroom. Garrett was sitting near the tea set, staring at the cups, contemplating his own plans of escape. Already he had an inkling of what she was thinking, but he didn't want to believe she was that desperate to leave this place.

"Yes, how indeed," muttered Amber, wishing they were back home, possibly watching anime.

Minoru folded his arms. "Tsundere-chan?"

Grimacing, Amber stopped pacing. "Yes, Min-kun?"

"How high is your IQ?" he asked seriously.

She pondered why such a question had to be asked right now, but said "Somewhere around 189. Why?"

Taking this in, Minoru nodded. "Oh really? Then, please tell me…" The youngster's voice slipped into a deep and deathly register. "HOW DO YOU MESS UP A RESCUE LIKE THIS?"

"Ah," said both Garrett and Amber at once.

Garrett shrugged and thought back to the earlier fight they had. "Well, when we jumped into the portal. It seemed like a good idea at the time." Besides, it was their best bet at finding Minoru. They didn't want him to stay a bargaining chip, so they took a leap of faith. Now all three of them were bargaining chips.

"You couldn't have done something else?" asked Minoru, red in the face from irritation.

"Like what?" Amber said dryly. This train of reasoning had better go somewhere, or she was going to hex someone.

Minoru drew a blank at that. "I don't know!" He stomped his foot like a child having a tantrum. "You were on the outside of this cursed room!"

"Well, if there is any consolation, this room resembles Mary's Room." Amber said this and sat down at the tea party with Garrett. She looked at the tea and wondered how it would taste. It smelled like Earl Grey but she couldn't be sure. The tea cups were almost as nice as the ones she had back home in California.

Minoru stared at them blankly. He wasn't in the mood for mage trivia right now. "Mary's what?"

"It's a room impervious to scrying," explained Garrett as his partner sipped her tea.

Garrett tilted his head slightly and observed his surroundings more closely. He could see the outlines of several powerful spells hanging in the air, looking like quantum physics equations."Hmmmm. Actually, analyzing this place, I would say this place is Sarah's Room."

"That's even worse," said Amber, running a hand over her face in frustration. "In addition to being invisible to scrying, it's pretty much impervious."

There went 99 percent of her plans. There was probably only plan left that she could try, but she had never tried to accomplish it herself. She wouldn't even know if it would work. Yes, her best element was fire, but if Sarah's Room was just as impervious as it was nigh untraceable, then they would probably die trying to escape.

"So that means?" Minoru was growing more impatient as time went on.

Amber looked a little downcast as she gazed into her teacup. According to Garrett they were trapped seemingly forever. "Well, other than artefacts, we'll never be found, and we'll never escape."

"Oh that's just fine. Any good news, then?"

"We know someone who could help," began Garrett, thinking over their options. "If we could just contact them—,"

"Oh, good to know, then…" Minoru nodded slightly, and then stopped. "NOT!" His voice took on a more ironical tone. "I'm quite sure that this crazy lady has a signal scrambler. I bet even a Sat phone wouldn't even work!"

"Calm down, Min-kun." Sighing despondently, Amber set down her teacup.

This was really not okay. This really really was not okay. Even though he was upset and everything, neither Garrett nor Amber could really take him seriously—not dressed like that. What was most unsettling was that it suited him very well.

However to say that aloud, to his face, was another story.

"Calm down? Calm down? AHARHARHAR." The young genius laughed scornfully at their chances of escape. "I'm wearing a dress, and you suggest I calm down? Why I can't even believe that you would suggest such a thing—,"

Watching him begin to rant, Amber sighed heavily, took out her heart-shaped wand from the holster attached to her thigh, and pointed it at Minoru. "Somnium."

The boy slumped to the floor in a heap of snores. Sometimes sleeping spells were the best.

*Here, in Japanese, Kojima is about to say "Minoru-kun wa daijobu desu" when referring to Minoru. However, due to Kotoko…he cuts short the first word and starts to say "Itai" very loudly. Which means in English, "It hurts," or, more simply: "Ow."

So, all in all he said, in reality, "…dai—ITAI ITAI ITAI."

Thank you all for being so patient. I had to write this chapter from the hospital. Long story. I'm okay. I really need to get around to reviewing Thanos of Titan's story, "Coming to Terms". I also should write a trope page for it and edit the one for his other story, "Rebellion." Both are Chobits fanfiction, and, well, they're really good, but I've been busy, releasing my book and whatnot. Just search "Rolitania" in Google, and you'll get what I mean. I drew the cover myself. But the main reason I've not updated is Internet issues again.

However, I give you my condolences, Thanos of Titan. I lost my Ivy last March, so I understand. I'll review when I can, and I hope the best for you. Thanks for being one of my most loyal readers/reviewers.