1ERROR 31

"Glad you could all make it," Lios' voice echoed throughout the empty, white space.

Kite stood next to him, and they both faced a small group of characters. Mia stood near the front supporting Endrance, who stared blankly at the ground. Haseo and Azure Kite stood near them. A few feet away, Tsukasa and Mimiru stood together, Tsukasa's expression not much different from that of Endrance. Mimiru glanced between Tsukasa and Lios nervously.

"I'm sure you know why we called you together," Kite spoke. "We've been trying to use a Door created by Aura to access the lost data of FRAGMENT, but so far have had no success due to the meddling of a rogue NPC who calls himself BlueRose. Until we are rid of him, we cannot safely use the Door. Aura has confirmed that once inside FRAGMENT, we cannot log out until we have come back through the Door. If the Door is destroyed while we are in FRAGMENT, anything could happen."

Tsukasa coughed and raised her hand.

"Yes?" Kite looked over at the Wavemaster.

"Um... I have some experience in not being able to log out. Maybe you should send me in first to make sure it's safe?"

"That's not the problem," Kite sighed. "If the door is destroyed, you could lose your character or even go into a coma again."

"As I said before," Lios cut in, "this means the current objective is to destroy the threat: BlueRose."

"He can't be destroyed," Endrance spoke for the first time in hours. Mia, stared silently at the limp form of her friend.

Haseo also glanced at Endrance.

"Don't I know you?" he asked.

"No," Endrance replied curtly and returned to his silent state.

"Well, I see no reason to listen to you then," Haseo growled irritably. "I could have killed him easily back at the Cathedral but the little punk ran off before I could force him into the ACG."

"As far as we know, the ACG and my Empty Skies are the only ways to keep him from running away," Azure Kite mused.

"I've got another way," Lios joined in again. "CC Corp has developed a field that you cannot leave."

"Like this area back when you trapped me and BlackRose?" Kite asked.

"No. The field literally exists outside of The World. Thus, you cannot get back to The World once you are in it."

"How do we get him there?" Haseo asked.

"I'm still working on that," Lios replied. "But I think it's possible with the use of your Avatars."

ERROR 32

A few hours later, Kite stood on the bridge in Mac Anu, waiting. A few moments passed in which players hurried back and forth past Kite on the bridge. A few chattered excitedly amongst themselves when they recognized Kite's character. Eventually, one player waded through the crowd toward's Kite. His white hair glistened under the twilight sun of the root town. The beautiful wings on his back reflected a similar light, and his silver armor shined brightly.

"What's up?" Balmung of the Azure Sky halted next to Kite.

Kite was silent. Balmung stared patiently at the character. Suddenly Kite turned towards the knight.

"Sorry!" he shouted. "I had to take the trash out."

"It's okay," Balmung smiled. He was amused by the occasional moments in which he was reminded that there was a world outside of this game. "What did you call me here for?"

"Well, as you know, we're trying to get into FRAGMENT now. I'm still not sure if it's such a safe idea though, even if BlueRose is destroyed. I wanted to ask you how much you remember about FRAGMENT."

Balmung sighed and shook his head.

"Other than a few glitches and bugs, I just remember FRAGMENT as being a downgraded version of the game we're playing now."

Kite turned back toward's the rail and looked over into the river that ran below.

"But," Balmung continued, "I know someone who might be able to tell you more.

Kite looked back up.

"Who?" he asked.

"He used to be an Admin. Sort of. He was captain of the Cobalt Knights."

"The what?" Kite tilted his head.

"Nevermind," Balmung shook his head again. "Anyway, his name is Albireo. He's extremely strong, and has been playing since FRAGMENT was released."

"Wow," Kite listened excitedly.

"Yeah, Orca and I even asked him to party with us to help us beat The One Sin event."

"He refused?"

"Yeah. He prefers to play solo, but I'm sure he'd be willing to talk to you about FRAGMENT. He respects high level players."

"Okay, well I'm counting on you then," Kite patted Balmung on the shoulder and walked toward's the Chaos Gate before logging out.