Hey there guys! I'm glad to see you're all on the edges of your seats to find out what happens next! I'd also like to thank all of my reviewers!

Speaking of reviewers…

Well guys, I have exciting news. You people are record holders!

That's right! As of right now, "Log On!" is the most reviewed .hack story on Fanfiction . net! (fireworks go off and all that jazz)

So thanks to all my reviewers! You guys are great! Please, keep on enjoying the story!

Chapter 18: What I Need

"Mai? Honey? It's almost seven. Shouldn't you be getting up?"

Mai's mother poked her head into Mai's dark bedroom, where Mai's form was still huddled under the thick blankets. Ever since last night, she had been lying in bed, unable to sleep and unable to talk.

"I'll inform you later of the details of the battle," Wiseman had said to Dekai and Kite. "I need to locate the surge of energy that is Cubia. Then, we'll be able to make the first move against it."

"Right!" Dekai nodded, grinning. Iam and the others had held back, looking at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact. "Will we go alone?"

"No," Wiseman shook his head. "You'll have a party with you to help defeat Cubia and X-Cubia's minions. They'll be after you, of course."

"Sounds awesome!" Dekai smiled again and nodded. "Tomorrow huh? I'll get home really fast from school!"

Iam couldn't say anything. She felt so useless and so out of the loop. She wasn't used to not being clued in on the great threats to "The World" and now she felt like such an outsider. Such a meddler. She felt like she didn't even belong there. Her status had been stripped from her out of necessity.

And it made her sick.

"I feel sick," Mai said slowly to her mother. "I'm not going to school today."

"Really honey? Can I take your temperature?" Mai's mother asked, sitting on her bed and feeling her daughter's forehead. "You don't feel warm…"

"It's my stomach," Mai said. "I might have a stomach bug."

"All right," Mai's mother nodded. "If you're feeling under the weather, I'll call the school and tell them you won't be coming. You don't have a test today, do you?"

"No. No test."

"Oh!" Mai's mother stopped herself and rubbed her head. "Your father and I are going to the movies tonight, remember? Will you be all right baby-sitting?"

"Yeah," Mai said slowly, remembering her parents had a movie date with friends of theirs.

"You sure? We can stay home."

"I'm fine."

"All right," her mother nodded and stood up from the bed. "I'll call the school in a bit. You get some rest. I have to wake up Shizuma."

Mai grimaced at the mention of her little brother's name. Her mother shut the door, enveloping her in darkness once again. She laid back down on the bed and hugged her knees, silently sobbing to herself.

She was so upset, so angry, and so jealous that she didn't know what to do with herself. After such a fight to keep Shizuma away from the game, he had run in and stolen her identity. The whole reason she played "The World" had been taken from her, and she felt extremely empty.

"Hiromi…" she murmured, dissolving into sobs once again.

"Hiromi-sama…"

Hiromi looked up from his desk to see Ayumi looking at him, her eyes downcast. She motioned her head to Mai's desk next to her, which was empty. "Mai's not here today. Do you think she's still upset?"

"Yeah," Hiromi nodded, sitting down and taking out his math book. "I'd say so."

"So you two have also noticed Mai-san's absence." Hiromi and Ayumi looked up to see Souchirou standing over them, cleaning his glasses. A sad expression was on his face, something rarely seen. "I still remember her anger of last evening."

"Damn straight," Ryoko murmured, walking up to them with Sean behind her. She sat on Hiromi's desk and shook her head. "She was raving."

"Don't blame her," Sean murmured, sitting in the empty desk in front of Hiromi. "I was…kind of pissed too. But what can you do?"

"I guess we're back to being normal," Ayumi sighed, sitting in her desk and looking out the window. "Normal players…with normal abilities."

"Do you think we'll ever see Tiyra or Sersen again?" Ryoko asked. "I mean…we never learned their names. What if they don't want to hang out with us again after all this?"

"Don't say that," Hiromi shook his head. "We're all friends, no matter what."

"After your outburst last night, I'd say that you and Mai are more then 'friends'," Ryoko smirked, trying to lighten the mood. "You were going nuts lover boy!"

"Well, Mai obviously doesn't like me that way," Hiromi said, and the others drew back, slightly surprised. "If she did, she wouldn't have gotten so worried about our relationship deteriorating just by us losing the rings."

"You don't get it!"

Hiromi looked up to see Ayumi turning red and looking at him with an angry expression. He looked at her, puzzled, and she continued. "You don't get it, Hiromi-sama! Mai's afraid! She's afraid that she'll lose us if we lose our common connection! She can't see…" Ayumi frowned, tears threatening to come out of her eyes. "She can't see everything that we share even without the rings on our fingers!"

There was a silence between the group. But it wasn't an awkward silence, or a silence of guilt. It was a small silence of agreement.

"Yeah…"

Mai put on her headset slowly, as if coming out of a strange dream. She logged in to her character and looked around the boards. No new messages of coma victims.

"Even if there were…I wouldn't be able to do anything…" she murmured, shaking her head. She quickly clicked "Log In" and decided that now was the time to begin her new life.

"Why are we even here?" Gabriella asked. It was that evening, and Orizo had sent them all e-mail messages, telling them to meet online that night. So, all nine former Prism Knights had met at the Theta server, Iam being the only exception. "I really don't feel like logging on right now. I feel naked without the ring."

"I just wanted to see the battle," Orizo said, standing up. The others gave him an odd expression, and he explained himself. "We might be still able to help fight, even if we don't have our rings anymore."

"Yeah right," Barai scoffed, leaning against one of the pillars. "We're like a wolf with three legs."

"Orizo's got a point…" Achean said.

"Yeah," Vizota nodded to her partner. "We could at least ask Wiseman or Kalen if we can help out."

"What about Iam?" Tiyra brought up, and the crowd was silenced. They all looked at each other uncomfortably, and then Orizo broke the awkward pause.

"She'll help if she wants," he said simply. "Now c'mon, let's go see if Wiseman is on."

"I have his address!" Chikoro said, raising her hand. "I got it before we left. I'll just send him a message--" She stopped and paused. "Guys…it says that Iam's on."

"Where do you think she is?"

"I'll use my 'search' command," Barai said, pausing and using his Bowman wide search ability. He stopped and then nodded. "We're lucky. She's here. Near the Grunty stables. Let's go!"

"Right!" Chikoro nodded, following Barai. The others shrugged and followed the two through the high roads of Dun Loireag, avoiding other players and stray grunties. Without as much as an "excuse us" the nine sprinted through the town until they finally arrived at the desolate Grunty stables where their red clad party member was sitting cross-legged, petting a dark red Grunty.

"Iam…" Sersen spoke up first, and she looked up, her eyes hollow.

"Oh…hey guys," she murmured, looking back down. "I was just visiting Crimson D. He gets hungry a lot."

"Iam…" Orizo stepped forward. "We're going to ask Wiseman if we can help fight. D-do you…"

"Would you wish to accompany us on our intrepid battle?" Zaiten asked, finishing Orizo's sentence. Iam paused, and then stood up slowly.

"Fine," she shrugged. "Whatever. Shizuma's next to me anyway. I can feel him. He's probably already there."

"I just sent a message to Wiseman," Chikoro said softly, interrupting the awkward conversation. "He's at Mac Anu. Kalen plans to temporarily cut the server again until Dekai and Kite can pass through."

"Then we'd better be there, or we'll get cut too," Vizota said, nodding to her friends. "C'mon. Let's head out. There might be a way to help yet."

"I still can't believe it! Why didn't you tell me before, Wiseman?"

"Can we drop the subject? I don't much like to discuss real life in the game. And especially since we're in the situation we're in."

"Fine, fine!" Dekai grinned, jumping up the stairs to meet Wiseman and Kalen. The three had been conversing for a while. More of Wiseman and Dekai conversing while Kalen worked feverishly at his keyboard. "I've been practicing all day! Check this out!" he struck a pose with his fist pointed out and tried to look as composed as possible. "Prism Data Drain!" He grinned, lowering his arm. "I've been practicing all day! This is sweet! It makes the monsters so much easier to defeat! And I've actually gotten used to it!"

"I know," Wiseman sighed. "I was there…remember?"

"Yeah!" Dekai nodded. "But it was so cool! All the lights and the flashing! Watcha!" He threw a punch and then a kick. "I'm an unstoppable hero now! It feels so cool!"

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be playing," Wiseman smirked slightly and raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah, I definitely owe you one!" Dekai grinned. "When I become a super cool hero, I'll pay--" Dekai stopped midsentence and seemed to break out of his victory trance. He was suddenly silent, and he looked at his feet.

"What's wrong?"

There was a pause. Dekai shuffled his feet, and he shook his head. "Nothing…"

Wiseman remained silent, not betraying any sort of emotion from Dekai's odd reaction. He turned to their black hacker companion. "Kalen, are preparations almost complete?"

"You bet!" Kalen grinned, pressing another button on his keyboard and looking up at the blue screen that came up in his face. "Another five minutes, and the server will be completely offline."

"Hmm?" Wiseman paused, and then smiled. "I've just received a message from Chikoro. It seems that…those ten want to help."

"No kidding?" Kalen asked, raising his eyebrows. Dekai looked up, hopeful. "After all that crap they had to go through?"

"They're wasting their time," Wiseman said sternly. "I should have told them before, but--"

"Wasting who's time?"

Dekai, Kalen, and Wiseman all looked over to see none other then Shugo, Ryo-Oki, and Kite standing in front of them, their groups behind them. Wiseman raised his eyebrows, surprised at the large party that had just appeared in front of him. "Kite…you invited everyone else? The invitation was only for you."

"Sorry about that Wiseman," Kite said, nodding his head and looking again at his white and gold bracelet. "I thought they should come."

"Are you all here to help?" Wiseman asked, raising an eyebrow at the other party members. They all nodded, and he sighed. "An overflux of energy will only confuse the Cubias destinations. I've limited the support to two people per bracelet wielder."

"That's crap!" Ryu brought up, scuffing the dirt with his shoe. "Are you saying we can't go?"

"Well, only two of you are barred from the battlefield," Wiseman said, turning to Ryo-Oki and Shugo. "And those two are you, Shugo, Ryo-Oki."

"But why?" Ryo-Oki asked, an anxious look on her face. "I can't just stand by while this is going on… At least let me fight!"

"I agree with Ryo!" Shugo said sternly, taking a step forward. "We should be able to fight with Kite! Why can't we?"

"Because you might still have fragments of Aura's power within you," Wiseman explained, and the two looked at one another. "Even the slightest smidgen of Aura's power could offset the balance and destroy the entire plan. Even though it is most likely that nothing will occur," Wiseman said, "I cannot take the chance. You two will have to stay here. I apologize."

Ryo-Oki and Shugo sighed and shook their heads at one another. "All right. I guess that's just how it is," Shugo shrugged. "But if that's true for us, what about those ten?"

"The same is true for them," Wiseman said. "None of them will be allowed onto the field of battle."

"I guess we're wasting our time then."

Kalen and Wiseman turned to see none other then the ten former Prism Knights standing behind them. It was Iam who had spoken. She walked forward, the same dark expression still on her face. Dekai stepped forward. "Iam…are you feeling okay?"

"I'll just log out," Iam said, completely ignoring Dekai. "See you later guys."

"Wait," Wiseman commanded her, and she paused. "First, we should pick our parties for the battle. I've located Cubia's presence, and a way to fight it. An area has been pinpointed."

"Parties?" Tiyra asked. "But we can't come, right? So we need four other people."

"I shall accompany Dekai," Wiseman said, stepping over to the Prism Wielder. "For my own reasons. Anyone else who wishes to contribute their help is more then welcome."

There was a pause as the group looked at one another, frowning and nodding. Finally, Ouka stepped forward and nodded to Wiseman. "I'll go with you and the kid," she said. "I'm the strongest of my group, and it only makes sense, right?"

"Then we'll need two members to accompany Kite," Wiseman said. "Any takers?"

Ryu sighed and stepped forward. "What the hell? If it'll help get that bracelet back, I'm in."

"Ryu…" Ryo-Oki looked at the silver-haired mercenary and smiled at him. "Thanks a lot!"

"Save your thanks for after I win," he huffed, standing over by the white-clad warrior. "I don't need it now."

"I'll be the last member!" BlackRose said, stepping forward defiantly. Wiseman looked at her, as did Balmung. "I have to! Right?" she looked at Kite, and he smiled and nodded to Wiseman.

"BlackRose can come with me and Ryu," he said, smiling.

"Then we have our parties," Wiseman announced, stepping forward. "Dekai will lead Ouka and myself while Kite will lead Ryu and BlackRose. Are we all prepared for the battle?"

"I've got lots of drinks!" BlackRose assured Kite. "And you've got Ol Repth right? Since we're 40B?"

"Yeah," Kite nodded. "My armor's got that spell. What about you Ryu?"

"Can we stop asking these pointless questions and get right to the fight?" Ryu asked, rolling his eyes. "I'm fine! Let's just get to the ass-kicking, shall we?"

"I have a large arsenal of spells at my disposal," Wiseman assured them. "And also many healing spells. There is nothing to worry about on our side."

"Then I'll look after the kid!" Ouka said, baring her claws. "I'm strong enough to look after the newbie."

"Hey!"

"Heh! No offense, no offense!"

"Are you sure there's nothing we can do?" Vizota asked, raising her eyebrows.

All of a sudden, Kalen clicked the "enter" button on his keyboard and, as it had happened the day before, every other player besides the ones gathered in the niche of Mac Anu had disappeared. Kalen gave a satisfied grin and nodded to Wiseman. "We've got around forty five minutes until they patch up the server."

"Good," Wiseman nodded, then turned back to the Prism Hackers. "If you wish," Wiseman said, "you may wait for us to return with news of the battle."

Iam sighed and sat down, looking at her right hand with a dazed expression. "I'm just going to log out. I've got homework to catch up on and stuff…"

"Wait!"

Iam looked up to see Rena, Shugo's sister, walking towards her. Behind her was Ryo-Oki as well. "Don't leave yet," Rena pleaded. "I want to talk to you for a second."

"We have no time for conversation," Wiseman interrupted. "We have to get to the battlefield before the surges of energy move on."

"What's the area?" Ouka asked.

"Delta, Hidden, Crossed Over, White Sun," Wiseman said. "We're lucky…the administrators haven't blocked it yet."

"Good," Kalen nodded. "The last thing we need is those meat heads getting in our way."

"Are the parties prepared?" Wiseman asked, turning around. Next to him were Dekai and Ouka, and Kite had BlackRose and Ryu by his side. The others looked on anxiously as the six members neared the Chaos Gate. "Once we step inside, there's no turning back. We either arise triumphant or fall hard."

"Enough of the speeches!" Ryu commanded, shouldering his large blade. "Let's kick some Virus Protection ass!"

"I agree," BlackRose nodded. "Let's go!"

"Delta, Hidden, Crossed Over, White Sun!" Kite yelled, and one by one, the parties jumped into the Chaos Gate. Dekai went last, and as he put his foot through the blue portal, he turned back to look at his sister and frowned.

"Sorry Sis…"

With that, Dekai fell forward into the portal, and he, along with the other five, were gone from Mac Anu. The others watched after them, and a deafening silence filled the place around them, making them all the more anxious as to the whereabouts of their party members.

"Iam," Rena began. "Want to go for a walk or something?"

Iam looked up at the two girls, Rena and Ryo-Oki, in front of her and sighed. She stood up and shrugged. "Whatever."

"Good," Rena smiled, grabbing Iam's arm. The three walked off towards the bridge, leaving the others to themselves, all quite curious as to what the three would be talking about.

"So…Iam…" Rena began as the three reached the bridge and sat down next to one another. "Your little brother is the Prism Bracelet wielder?"

"Thanks for reminding me," Iam snapped sarcastically.

"It must be tough," Ryo murmured, looking at her own wrist.

"You must be feeling it too Ryo-chan," Iam said sympathetically, turning to the blonde haired girl. "Your powers are gone too, aren't they?"

"You're right," Ryo-Oki nodded, looking slightly forlorn. She scuffed her shoe on the cobblestone street, looking around the still empty server. "It is tough. After all, that bracelet has brought me a lot of happy memories and wonderful friends," she said.

"And it also must be tough to have your sibling stealing it from you, right Iam?" Rena asked. Iam turned to Rena and frowned.

"You don't think much of me, do you?" Iam sighed. "You think I'm just jealous of my kid brother…"

"That's not what I'm saying!" Rena said hurriedly, shaking her pink haired head back and forth. "I understand what it's like to get angry at your brother. I don't know what the relationship between you and Dekai is," Rena began, pressing her hand to her chest, "but I know that Onii-chan and I…have always been very close."

There was a pause, and Rena continued, "And that's why I was proud of him when he received the bracelet!"

"Proud?" Iam asked, confused.

"Mmm'hmm," Rena nodded, smiling. "Onii-chan was always giving up on his dreams and worrying about what everyone else thought before he came here."

"That's the kind of power "The World" has on people," Iam smiled slightly, sitting on the rail of the bridge. "It sure changed me."

"But when he got the bracelet," Rena continued, "he wanted to become a hero so badly! And he did!" She smiled at Iam. "He helped save people and protect me. I didn't have time to be jealous," Rena shook her head, "I was too proud."

Iam paused, and then shook her head back and forth. "I'm not…jealous. I'm angry that he stole it from me. It was mine…before it was his."

"It wasn't yours!" Ryo-Oki intervened. "It was all of yours!" Iam's eyes widened and Ryo-Oki continued to speak. "All ten of you had that power before it was gone! And now you're afraid that your bond will be gone along with the rings!"

"And what if it does?" Iam asked anxiously. "Sure, we'll try to keep in touch and hang out, but after awhile, we'll find other stuff to do, and other people to see!" She gasped for air, "And I'll be alone! I won't have these friends anymore!"

"I told you before!" Ryo-oki interrupted Iam in a loud and worried voice. "My bracelet brought me so many friends and memories! But just because the bracelet goes…" she paused and smiled widely, "doesn't mean the memories go too!"

Iam drew back, slightly surprised by Ryo-Oki's passionate words. She looked at her empty hand, drew it close to her chest, and remained silent. None of the girls spoke for what seemed to be the longest time, even if there was so much left to be said.

"Woah!"

Woah…woah…woah…

Dekai gasped as the party landed in the area they had traveled to. Instead of a normal area that consisted of the trademark golden portals, traversing monsters, and Grunty food, this area was obviously nothing that could have been programmed into the game by the creators.

It was a huge expanse of melting black and purple sludge that seemed to drip along the huge walls of the giant room. Two paths led up to one summit at the middle. The parties had been separated on the two paths, and were very far away. "Looks like we'll have to fight our way to the center…" Wiseman murmured.

"This place is huge!" Dekai gasped, looking around. "But where are the monsters?"

"Oh, they'll come," Wiseman nodded. "Just wait…"

There was a pause, and, as if to answer Wiseman's call, a huge rumbling began beneath their feet. The others all started to lose their balance, and Ouka had to catch Dekai as he almost fell. BlackRose, Kite, and Ryu glanced over at Wiseman's party and gave a nod. They all knew what was coming.

"Holy…" Ouka began as the source of the rumbling revealed itself. Dekai, wide-eyed and fearful, gasped as the huge being rose from the blue-back abyss.

It was a gigantic monster with several violet tentacles that looked like tree branches growing from its white skeletal face. Dark and piercing eyes, two sets, and a sinister looking mouth, filled with sharp teeth, the beast gave a loud roar as its dark, massive body rose into the air.

"I-is that Cubia?" Ouka asked Wiseman. He nodded solemnly.

"Yes, that is Cubia," he said darkly. "But the threat is not over yet…"

Both Dekai and Ouka looked at Wiseman anxiously, but their gazes were redirected by another huge rumbling from beneath their feet. Dekai and the others looked up, and this time, even Kite and BlackRose were shocked as to what rose from the surface of the murky depths.

The immense creature was similar to Cubia. It had a skeletal face and a murky black blue body as well. The branches sprouting from its horrid structure were also viewable. But there were a few distinct differences.

X-Cubia seemed to be Cubia, only broken. One of its eyes was out of line with the other, and was larger. Its mouth was constructed oddly, as if it were about to fall off its face. Teeth were missing, and the jaw looked broken. In contrast with Cubia's white face, X-Cubia's face was splotched with blackened, almost burned, patches. The branches that looked almost like hair on the massive creation were limp and looked dead, hanging uselessly at the sides of the colossus's face.

"What the heck is that?" Dekai murmured, looking at the beast. "It's all screwed up."

"Much like Prisma, I assume," Wiseman announced, and then turned to the other party that was situated in front of the real Cubia. "Kite! You know what to do! Meet us at the middle! Once we get there, the two cores will destroy one another!"

"Right!" Kite nodded. "Let's go!" With that, the three of Kite's party ran out, their weapons drawn. Wiseman turned to his party.

"We have to go too," he told Dekai. "Things called "Gomuras" and a single "X-Cubia Core" will attack us as we head down the path. Ouka," he turned to her and she nodded. "I'm counting on you to take out the Repth Gomuras when the core is physically resistant. Dekai, you help Ouka anyway you can, but don't get in the way."

"I won't!" Dekai assured him. "I've brought plenty of drinks. I'll do my best to help out."

"When the Core is magically resistant, I'll attack the Gomuras," he said. "Dekai, you help Ouka with the X-Cubia Core. The faster we defeat that core, the faster we can get directly to the center platform. Once we're there, we win."

"Got it!" Ouka bared her fist. "Let's go!"

The three nodded to one another, took a deep breath, and leapt forward towards the battlefield. Every step was one step closer to the center platform where the two huge beasts awaited them.

"What if I don't want them to be just memories?" Iam asked Ryo-Oki. She sighed, and shook her head at the blonde Heavy Axeman. "What if I want things to go back to way they were?"

"Change is tough," Ryo-Oki nodded. "I should know… But sometimes, change can be good, you know?"

"Ryo-Oki's right," Rena nodded. "You never know what might come out of this."

"What good could possibly come of it?" Iam asked, shaking her head. "All I can think of is bad stuff."

"It might be tough," Rena nodded. "I'm not going to pretend it won't be. But…you can't condemn the future, can you?"

Iam looked up at Rena, chewing the girl's words over again. You can't condemn the future. "I guess you're right," Iam shrugged. "I never know what could be coming."

"About your brother…" Ryo spoke up, and Iam sighed, stepping down on the bridge.

"I'm still mad at him," she snapped. "I'm not 'proud' like Rena. Shizu—I mean…Dekai never had "self-esteem" issues. He didn't need the bracelet…" There was a deafening pause. "I did."

"What do you mean?"

"I needed that bracelet to make friends," Iam said honestly. "Before, I always thought…I guess…I always thought that I was too good for everyone."

She had already done this lesson, along with five others after it in the textbook. She found school to be extremely easy and sometimes found herself slipping ahead of the class.

"Too good?" Ryo-Oki asked.

Often times she had gotten penalized for it. Mai thought this was ridiculous, "What's wrong with getting ahead in life?" she had argued more times than she could count.

"Yeah," Iam nodded. "Like, everyone around me was so inferior."

Of course everyone had a copy of the game and everyone played together with their Waveyhoos and Bladewhatzits. Mai thought it all very silly, who needed video games when there was always a good book to read or a good story to write.

"But then I came on here…and for the first time in my life," she looked up and smiled, "I was called a 'newbie'."

"Hey newbie, you're holding up traffic! Move aside!"

"Hey!" Iam turned around clumsily to defend herself, "How dare you! I got just as much right to stand here as anyone else!"

"Move aside newbie!" he yelled.

"Who are you anyway," Iam spat, "To tell me to move?"

"I'm Orizo," he told her, "Who might you be? I can tell you're a newbie just by your weapon..."

"Urgg..." she grumbled, "I'm Iam..."

"Iam?" he laughed, "Like I AM? What a lame name!"

"It's pronounce E-am not I am you blockhead!" Iam yelled to the laughing man taunting her, "And Orizo isn't exactly the most wonderful name either!"

"Better than I AM!" he screeched.

"GET OFF MY CASE KNUCKLE HEAD!"

"MAKE ME!"

"I lost my temper," Iam laughed. "I can't remember the last time I did that. I was the kind of person who just stood in the background and commented on everyone else's stupidity.

"I thought myself superior, in a way. I didn't want to fit in with anyone, since I thought I was so much above them. But then I was thrown into a world where I was the lowest of the low, and he was my only companion. I had no time to be standoffish or elite," she shrugged. "The game doesn't allow it.

"Then the rings came along. And I had to become even more involved. But, by then, I welcomed it. I wanted to meet people, to see people, and to find people. My fifteen years of wasted time was over. And I owe it all to this game."

"Wow…" Ryo-Oki murmured.

"Soon, I started to open up," Iam said.

Mai looked at them, then back at her book, then back at them, then back at her book. She smiled slightly, put her bookmark in and stood up. She walked quietly over to the desk of students talking and cleared her throat. Silence partook the room and everyone turned to her, "I just started playing yesterday," she smiled.

"And as I made more friends…"

"Ayumi Kanzaki! Cheerleader and lover of Hiromi-sama!"

"How dare you insinuate that I, Souchirou Hibiki, would follow someone as lowly as you!"

"Please welcome Ryoko Watanabe-san."

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Sean McGuire."

"I started to understand exactly what this game had done for me…"

"My name's Tiyra, what's yours?"

"I'm a Career Werewolf, my name's Sersen."

"SOTA! WILL YOU STOP FOOLING AROUND!"

"Jeez Fuko, give me a break…"

"But it wasn't until I lost it all," Iam said, staring at her wrist, "when I truly realized how much I'd changed. How much I relied on that ring for change."

There was another pause. Suddenly, Iam finished her thought. "I need it."

"PHA GAN DON!" Wiseman shouted, raising his staff and letting the huge masses of earth fall of the X-Cubia core. The parties had been fighting for what seemed like hours against the wrath of the two Cubias. Dekai and Ouka were busily hacking away at the Gomuras surrounding the attacking Wiseman. "It's almost down! How are you doing?"

"The kid isn't bad for a newbie!" Ouka called, clawing at another Gomura. "He hasn't died once! Funky, isn't it?"

"Maybe it's more then luck or skill," Wiseman thought out loud. "Perhaps the bracelet is protecting him."

"Staccato!" Dekai called, performing the move on the Gomura, destroying it. "How's it going, Wiseman?"

"PHA VAK DON!" he shouted, engulfing the Core in flames, depleting the last of its HP. "It's down! Move!"

The group sprinted off as the Gomuras and the core started to dissolve around them. Dekai glanced over to see Kite, BlackRose, and Ryu a bit ahead of them, still hitting hard on their own cores and Gomuras.

"Are we almost to the platform, Wiseman?" Dekai asked.

"I'd be more worried about the problem at hand," Wiseman grimaced. The group stopped in their tracks as another Cubia Core appeared, along with spawning Gomuras. "You know what to do! Attack!"

Ouka and Dekai lunged forward towards the Cubia Core, now completely resistant to magic. The two began an all out offensive, while Wiseman's powerful magic defended them from the Gomuras and killed off those helping the Core. "We're almost there!" Dekai shouted as he gave another hack to the Core. "I can feel it!"

"I'm glad the game meant so much to you, Iam," Rena said. "But…but…"

"But what?" Iam asked.

"But what happens when it ends?" Ryo-Oki asked. Iam's eyes widened and she looked at the blonde girl. "I mean…one day…it'll end. You won't play anymore. Just the way "The World" works…"

"I-I never…thought about that…" Iam murmured, looking at her feet. "I guess I assumed we'd play forever."

"That's impossible," Rena said. "There are more things in life then this game."

"Like," Ryo-Oki began hesitantly, "what did you have before the game?"

"Before?" Iam asked, raising her eyebrows. She looked at her hands, clenched tightly together. "Well…I'm not exactly sure."

"There must have been something," Rena said.

"I had…my parents."

"Welcome home dear!" her mother called as she threw open the door to show Mai a giant chocolate birthday cake in the kitchen, covered with pink frosting! Mai didn't especially like the color pink, she liked violet, but a violet cake would look odd and Mai liked chocolate. "Woah! Thanks Mom!" Mai ran in and smiled at the large cake...

"Hey dear!" her father, blonde hair as messy as ever and blue eyes as shiny as ever walked into the room and gave his daughter a hug. "How was school?"

"They sound like a lot of fun!" Ryo-Oki smiled. "My Dad's gone a lot for work, so I'd guess it's really cool to have your dad home."

"What else?" Rena asked.

"I had…my writing."

That was Mai's passion, story-writing. She wrote every day and new stories were always popping into her head. Right now she was thinking about writing one about a girl who desperately tried to get away from the annoying students at her school by transferring to Germany where she met her true love...

"You like to write?" Ryo-Oki asked. "That's really cool! What do you like to write?"

"Stories, mostly," Mai shrugged. "I was never into essays or poetry very much. Just stories. Funny, since I started the game, I haven't worked on my story notebook much."

"And…anything else?" Rena asked.

"Well…I can't really think of anything," Iam murmured. "I had no friends. School was boring, and I never even cared about my grades or after-school stuff. I can't really think--" Iam stopped and let out a huge gasp. Her eyes were wide.

"Iam?" Ryo-Oki looked at the girl with wide eyes. "Wh-what's wrong?"

Iam didn't answer. Her eyes were starting to water, her mouth still wide open. Her shoulders were shaking. "Iam, what's wrong?" Rena asked. But Iam didn't answer.

"This isn't looking good!" Ouka called as she struck at the Cubia Core, only to have a Kill Gomura hit her in the back with great force. "Eurg…I'm running low on HP!"

"I'm out of drinks!" Dekai called. "What about you, Wiseman?"

"I can't heal you! I'm using all my SP just to keep these things at bay!" Wiseman called, casting another spell. "Finish it off, quick!"

"Doing our best!" Ouka called, striking again. "But what do we do if we lose against these things?"

"That isn't an option!"

Wiseman and Ouka looked down towards Dekai, who had been the one to speak. He was viciously slicing away the HP of the X-Cubia Core, even if his low strength stat was only allowing him three or four points of damage per hit. Sweat was beading at the top of his forehead as he worked hard to bring the core down. "We can't lose!"

"Dekai…"

"I promised her!" he snapped to them. "That I'd become a hero and pay her back! I can't lose here!"

"But--" Ouka began.

"No buts!" the boy called, powering up his next attack. "I'm going to become a hero and pay her back!" he shouted. "I can't let her sacrifice go to waste!" He glared at the Core and powered up his daggers. "PRISM TWIN SWORD SLICE!"

He leapt into the air and brought his two daggers into the X-Cubia Core, killing it instantly with a huge explosion of energy. Wiseman and Ouka were both wide-eyed and had their mouths agape at the amazing display of power that Dekai had just displayed. He sighed, rose to his feet and began to run. "Let's go! There's not much time!"

"Iam? Why are you crying?"

"Iam!"

Iam's tears were now flowing silently down her face. She whimpered slightly, then broke into sobs. She threw her face into her hands and began to cry loudly. Ryo and Rena rushed to her side to comfort her. "I-I had him…"

"What?' Rena asked, not able to decipher what their friend had said.

"I had him before the game…" Iam sputtered.

"Open this one first!" Shizuma picked a crumply wrapped gift that was covered in tape and a bow stuck on quite awkwardly. "I bought it myself!"

"I had my b-brother," she cried, tears falling down her face. "Who always l-loved me!"

"Really?" Mai asked, quite touched at her brother's thought. She smiled and with a bit of difficulty opened the package. It was a scarf, a red one. She smiled and hugged her brother, making him blush, "Thank you."

"And who I love back!" she cried loudly. "And…and I remember…"

"SHIZUMA! Give me back my shoe, I'm going to be late!"

"No way!" Shizuma laughed as he ran through the halls of Mai's house, carrying her loafer shoe with him. Mai threw on her blazer and straightened her bow as she chased her annoying brother through the house. "Have to catch me first!"

"GOT YA!" Mai cheered as she jumped on the little boy, sending him sprawling onto the carpet. "My shoe."

"I remember that he never meant any harm!" she cried. "He just wanted to play!"

"Lucky nuttin'," Mai sighed, eating some old popcorn from the night before. "All my friends are on an awesome field trip right now."

"Sorry…" Shizuma said, looking apologetic. His face suddenly perked up. "Hey! I know!"

"Hmmm?"

"How 'bout I fake sick and play "The World" with you!"

"And every time, I shot him down!" she snapped, her voice choking and cracking as she spoke.

"Nice try little bro," Mai said, pushing him out the door. "Seriously, you've been trying to get on my game forever."

"No." With that, Mai grabbed the shoe and forced it on her foot.

"Why not!" he asked in a whining tone.

"Because you'll just mess up," she sighed, "You don't know how to play."

"I could learn!" He insisted to her, "C'mon Mai!"

"I'm going to be late to meet Ayumi and Hiromi," Mai sighed, grabbing her school bag and lunch, "See ya little bro! "The World" is a big kid's game!"

"It's MY computer and MY game," she retorted, narrowing her eyebrows. "And I'm saying you can't play!"

"I got so angry!" Iam shook her fists, as if wanting to hit herself. "And I never realized the horrible things I said and I did!"

As the last monster fell to the ground, Dekai jumped into the air. "Oh yeah! Owned!"

"Any newbie can take down those monsters," Iam had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. "C'mon, we'll fight until you hit level 2, and then I'm going back to play with my friends."

"Shut up, will you?"

"Shut the hell up," she turned slowly around to face her younger brother. Dekai flinched and looked at her with a fearful expression. His smirk had disappeared from his face, and was replaced with a slightly gaping mouth. Iam licked her lips and finished her statement. "I hate the sight of you."

"And then…" Iam looked up, a hollow and empty expression on her face. "And then I did something…unforgivable…"

It was Shizuma's scarf that had been her birthday present. She took the scarf, held it in her hands, and ripped it clean in two, throwing it in the waste basket. Mai frowned, "He deserved it."

"I can't--"

She took the scarf, held it in her hands, and ripped it clean in two, throwing it in the waste basket.

"I just can't—"

…Took the scarf, held it in her hands, and ripped it clean in two…

"I just can't—"

…Ripped it clean in two…

"I just can't forgive myself!

…Ripped…

"Open this one first!"

…Ripped…

"I bought it myself!"

RIPPED!

"I JUST CAN'T FORGIVE MYSELF!" Iam shrieked, pulling at her hair and exploding into sobs. "OH GOD, I CAN'T FORGIVE MYSELF!"

"Iam, calm down!" Ryo-Oki grabbed her friend's shaking form. "It'll be okay!"

Iam sprung up, eyes puffy and pink, face soaked with tears. "Sh-Shizuma! Oh my God! I just realized!"

"I hope you never come back!"

"Fine!" Dekai remarked, stepping in front of the other nine. "Who cares about you? I know I don't! Heroes don't have to worry about regular people who are just wannabes."

"I can't believe I would say something so stupid!" Dekai cried out to Ouka as the two of them fought down more Gomuras. They were so close to the center platform that it was barely five steps away. Just a bit more… "I can't believe I would say that to Mai!"

"Say what?" Ouka called. "I don't get you, kid! Who's Mai?"

"Iam! I want to be the bracelet holder!" Dekai snapped, and Iam turned to her little brother. "Why can't you accept that I'm the hero and you're not? Are you that jealous?"

"I was so big-headed!" Dekai cried out as the next Gomura fell. "Just because I had the bracelet! I thought I was so cool, that I didn't even think about Mai!" He frowned, "And then…I accused her of being jealous."

"What I do know is this:" Dekai began, "I'm finally in the spotlight at something that you started! You can't stand it that I'm better then you!"

"I've got to apologize…" Dekai murmured. "Say I'm sorry, and try to make things right again…"

"PHA VAK DON!" Wiseman cried, and the Cubia Core fell to the ground. The other two beamed. "C'mon! We're almost there!"

With that, the two sprinted foreword with Wiseman, almost at the goal. Kite, Ryu, and BlackRose were running up as well, and the two stepped proudly onto the center platform where the two Cubias awaited them. "This is it everyone!" BlackRose said, grasping her sword.

"When the Cores appear, push them into each other!" Wiseman announced. "This will create the reaction!"

"Right!" Kite said, nodding. "Let's do this!"

Both Kite and Dekai's bracelets began to glow as the Cubia's readied their next cores. They gave a strange motion that resembled screaming, and, very soon, two cores, very much alike, rose from the ground in front of the fighters and began to attack. "Quick! PUSH!" Dekai screamed, running to the core and sinking his weapons into it. Then, he began to push towards the other core. The others nodded to each other.

"HYAH!" Ryu and BlackRose stuck their swords into the core and began to push, as did Kite. Wiseman used his staff, and Ouka used her high strength to push with her fists.

As the cores got closer, the ground underneath them began to rumble, and the resistance between the two became heavier. "Keep going!" Wiseman shouted. "It's working! The polarities are rejecting each other!"

"Keep pushing!" Dekai shouted as he gave another shove. Kite and others were doing their best as well, even though it was tough due to the constant attacks of the Gomuras. The parties chose to ignore them, instead, focusing all of their power on pushing the cores together.

"C'mon!" Ouka growled. "We're almost there!" Truthfully, the cores were now only inches apart. The groups kept pushing, but the two cores were starting to emit electrical shocks, as if doing everything they could to not be pushed together.

"We can do it!" Wiseman assured them. "We're almost there!"

"Can't – give up yet!" BlackRose grunted as she pushed with her shoulder as well as her sword.

"This thing is going down right now!" Ryu gritted his teeth and give the core another huge shove.

"No way am I losing to this thing!" Ouka growled, pushing forward again. "C'mon! Keep on pushing!"

"We can't lose now!" Kite told himself, pushing once more. "Let's finish this!"

"Iam…" Dekai murmured, looking at the core. He glanced into its dark depths and saw the angry face of his sister staring back at him. He saw his own arrogant grin, and the tears in his sister's eyes. He shook his head, shaking the image from his mind, and gave the core another huge push. "NOW!"

As if by signal, the parties pushed the cores into each other with one huge motion. The moment they touched, the two cores began to crack, and the Cubias began to writhe in pain. The Gomuras dropped one by one, completely out of life force. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a silence gave way.

BAM! The cores exploded and the adventurers were thrown back by the huge impact. The Cubias fell to the ground and fizzled away, completely defeated.

"AAAAHHH!" Dekai screamed as he fell back and tumbled over himself.

"Dekai!" Wiseman reached out to the boy, but it was too late. Dekai fell off the edge of the platform and fell towards the black abyss. "DEKAI!"

The group ran towards where Dekai had fallen and looked over. Dekai was still falling the distance. "Dekai!" Kite called as Dekai reached up his hand towards them.

Suddenly, a red colored blur seemed to leap over Dekai. They all blinked from surprise, but when they opened their eyes, both Dekai and the blur were gone. "Oh my gosh!" Ouka cried. "He fell! What are we gonna do?"

"I'm messaging Kalen," Wiseman said quickly. "He'll be able to track Dekai."

"What's wrong with Iam?" Chikoro asked, looking at the crying form of her friend that was in the far distance. "Is she still upset?"

"Not sure," Achean said.

"How do you think the fight is going?" Vizota asked. "It's been awhile…"

"I can't say for sure," Sersen murmured. "But I'm starting to get worried too."

"Hmm?"

The group looked up to see Kalen pop his head up from his keyboard work. He paused, "I've got a message from Wiseman."

"What does it say?" Vizota asked eagerly.

There was another pause as Kalen read the message. The group waited a few seconds, then, suddenly, Kalen gasped and started to run towards the bridge. "Iam! Iam!"

"K-Kalen!" Orizo ran after the Black Hacker. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's Dekai!" said Kalen. "Dekai's gone!"

"What?" Iam looked up, her eyes wide. She ran over to Kalen, shaking. "Wh-what's wrong? What happened to Shizuma?"

"He fell off a ledge after they won the battle--"

"They won?"

"Yes, Ryo, they won. But Dekai…he fell off the ledge! They don't know what happened to him!"

"I'm taking off my headset!" Iam said. There was a pause and everyone waited for Iam's reaction. "G-guys! It's no good! I-I…" she stopped, then spit it all out at once. "I can't take off my headset!"

"Damn," Kalen cursed. "It's the Prism Players all right. They must have hacked into your headset and put it on the tight security function."

"I'm going to the area!" Iam insisted, running forward towards the Chaos Gate.

"No, you can't!" Kalen exclaimed, running back and catching Iam's shoulder. "You don't have a ring anymore! Even if you find Dekai, who knows what might happen?"

"I don't care about that."

Kalen pulled back, and everyone gasped at Iam's reaction. She spun around to face him and stepped right up close to Kalen, her face an inch from his. "You don't know what it's like!" she snarled. "I don't care if I don't have a ring anymore! My little brother is in trouble, and I'm going to help him!" she turned on her heel towards the gate. "And if you get in my way, I won't forgive you!"

"Iam!" Orizo ran after her, but it was too late. Iam was already at the Chaos Gate.

"Hidden, Crossed Over, White Sun!" she called out and then jumped through the Chaos Gate without a second thought.

"Iam! No!" Orizo reached in his hand after her, but pulled back, realizing she was already gone. "Wh-what happened? I thought she despised Dekai just a bit ago…"

"She's realized something important," Rena said, stepping forward with Ryo-Oki. "And now…she feels it's her job to save her brother."

"Good luck Iam!" Ryo called to the Chaos Gate. "I know you can do it!"

"Iam?"

Wiseman looked up as he saw Iam running towards the five of them, panting and out of breath. She looked at where they were standing, near the ledge. "Is this where he fell?" she asked.

"Iam, what are you doing here?" Wiseman asked. "You're a normal player now! You can't just dive into something! You don't know what could be down there."

"It doesn't matter whether I'm normal or special!" Iam insisted. "All I know is that I'll always be Shizuma's big sister. And that means that I have to go after him."

The five looked at each other, and then back at Iam. "So I'll ask once more," she said sternly. "Is this where he fell?"

"Yeah!" Unexpectedly, Ryu stood up. "This is where the guy fell!"

"Ryu!" Wiseman warned him, but Ryu ignored him in a classic Ryu fashion.

"Some weird red blur came by though," he explained to Iam. "The next thing we knew, he was gone. I think the blur went with him."

"I see," Iam nodded, and then walked towards the ledge. She rocked her arms back and then turned back to the others. "I'm going in. I'll be back with Shizuma."

"Iam! Wait!" Wiseman reached out to catch Iam's shoulder, but he was too slow. The next thing anyone knew, the red clad Long Arm had dived off the ledge into the murky depths that Dekai had fallen through. They all gasped and looked over the edge, but Iam was gone, very much like Dekai before her. "Dammit! Quick, we have to get back and analyze the data here to find out where that portal goes!" he said to the others. "Time to Gate Out!"

'Where am I…?'

…

'Am I dead…?'

No…

'Who's there?'

No one worth mentioning…

'Prisma?'

No.

'Aura?'

No.

'Who are you…? I don't know where I am. I remember jumping…but now everything's so dark…'

Why did you jump?

'I had to…he was in trouble. Dekai…'

Let him die…

'I can't.'

Why not?

'He's my brother…and…'

And?

'And I love him. Who are you? Why do you keep asking questions?'

I don't understand. Please repeat.

'Who are you? Why are you talking like that?'

I don't understand. Please repeat.

'Am I almost to where Dekai is?'

Yes.

'How close?'

Very.

'How close is very?'

Why am I still here? Do you think I'm worthless?

'How could I think you're worthless? I don't even know who you are…'

…

'Are you there?'

You're almost there.

'To Dekai?'

Yes.

'Thank you…for keeping me company.'

…You're here.

End of the chapter! Ack! I bet you're all pretty mad at me, aren't you? Sorry, sorry! Please review the story! The next chapter will be SUPER cool, I assure you!

Sammy