It happened to her that night, as it happened every night. Her consciousness congealed in a single spot, pulling itself together from all facets of the Wired. It was a house; it had been her house at one point. Floating atop a cloud of exhaust amongst the cables and panels of the Wired. Absentmindedly (as one often is when they are omniscient) she strolled up the stairs and forced open the door.
"I'm home!" she called, entirely out of habit although there had never been anyone waiting for her, even when she was "normal". Strolling upstairs she found her room, exactly as it had been before things had gone wrong. At a single thought, she rearranged coding into her old bear-pajamas, and felt a little more comfortable from their presence.
Laughing cheerfully she skipped across her room and booted up her old Navi, despite the fact that it was now quite pointless. Still, a visible interface was always helpful in dealings with the World. Running diagnostics, she checked on a few politicians, rewrote a few bank accounts, and sniped a few dozen ebay auctions. She was bored.
The truth of the matter, she realized, was that despite having cosmic power she had no purpose. Humanity had pretended it had a God for so long, it didn't really need one. Sure she could know anything with a mere thought, but in the end it was all useless trivia.
It was then she found herself with Alice again. It always happened. Alice was her last connection with the world so she found herself watching her a lot.
"Ah, so here you are again," a voice cooed from behind her.
"Buzz off," the girl muttered, not looking away from the monitor.
"Oh come on Lain, why do you have to be like that?" the voice asked.
Lain continued watching, but when it became clear the other wouldn't leave she responded coolly, "I have no need for you anymore."
"You have no need for anyone anymore Lain," the voice pouted. "Anyone besides her that is."
"Will you please leave me alone?" Lain asked, anger edging into her voice.
"We've been over this before Lain; it's just not possible," the voice explained. "After all how could I leave, when you thought me here in the first place."
Momentarily losing interest in watching Alice sleep, Lain's eyes fluttered towards the voice. "We both know that isn't true… why would I make you up if I don't want you here?"
"It's because you're lonely," Lain responded, a dark smile on her lips. "I'm all you have."
"Go away! I am Lain, the only Lain, and I don't need some imaginary friend to comfort me!"
"You don't?" the other Lain laughed, leaning forward and pinning Lain to the chair. "No of course not, you're God right? And what good use you've put your powers to- spying on married women!"
"It's not like that," Lain pleaded with herself.
"But we both know it is…"
"Just leave me alone!" Lain began to cry, falling into the Lain's arms.
"We can make it all better… if you let me."
"What are you going to do?" Lain asked. She was terrified that the other her was preparing to act on its own again after all these years but she felt powerless to stop it.
"What you should've done a long time ago," Lain smiled, patting Lain's head reassuringly. "Navi, get me Taro."
"Yes Lain."