I apologize for any confusion. Disregard anything that you don't recognize, it will only confuse you. On to the story, and sorry for the delay. If you want to research, that's fine, but otherwise I will be sticking to my original plot. I've also decided that if this became an anime, the song "Connect" would definitely be perfect. Yes, I know which OP that song is for. The second theme would obviously be "Let Me Be With You" followed by "19 sai". The endings would be "Minna Daisuki", "I Wanna Be", and "Magia". Count the Shout Outs! But they're not important unless you're a fan of anything else I try to reference on the sly.

A painful memory can be stronger than any mere wish.

"By the dedication of our pact, may my dear Princess be protected."

"Hi…deki?"

A hospital bed.

A simple place, yet it connected them all in many different ways. For Minoru, it was where his sister spent her last moments. For Chii, it was the same situation. It was also, while lying on one of these, where Garrett first woke up. And it was there, recovering from a double-amputation, that Amber realized how lucky, and misfortunate she had been.

Being a protagonist is nothing but suffering.

.

The man sat in his office chair, his hands entwined and resting on the middle of his chest whilst he leaned back. It was nighttime of course, so most of his face was obscured by the ambient darkness. By this time he should have been staring that girl down and demanding the location of her friend. Instead, he was face to face with another useless employee.

Yet another perky secretary, coming to report. She fluttered her eyelashes several times, probably in an effort to flirt with him He'd seen it so many times before. Couldn't they see that he wasn't interested? Of course not, they were bland, idiotic monkey programmed to kiss-up at every opportunity. He could not blame them for that, but it was damn annoying.

It was late, and most of the night shift had packed up for the long trek home, but he still had some work to do. Besides, a few hours earlier he'd been waiting for a very important call for some time, and when it did…well, it wasn't what he had expected.

What stupid men. He mulled over his decision to hire the idiot in the first place. Professionals? Hardly. He should have done the job himself instead of trusting a couple of common thieves. No matter how successful they were, their greed had gotten the better of those two, and now he was fuming over this latest development. Their last update was to brag that she was too pretty of a Persocom to hand over to him, as if they could decline his money and run!

How foolish was that?

They were up so something, that was for sure.

"So when do you think those reports will be finished?" said the girl, derailing his train of thought momentarily. He sighed, leaning into the desk lamp's frail light.

A mess of dark hair fell over his face, and he forced a grin. "Later on tonight," he told her.

The secretary pursed her bubblegum pink lips. It seemed her attempt at seduction failed miserably. "Don't work too hard, okay?" she suggested sweetly, hoping to reel him in again at a later date. "Well…" she giggled like a schoolgirl and turned to go. "See you later, Miki-sama."

"Yeah."

She strode away, swaying hips and all, the Pepto-Bismol heels clack clacking in her retreat. The door clicked closed upon her exit, and when he was sure she was out of sight, Mr. Miki looked to the far end of the office. There, a girl with long, ice blue hair and deep amber eyes stood immobile amongst the potted ferns and lilies. Not once did she blink or shift about during the conversation with a certain Ms. Saito, but she stared straight ahead in a hypnotic manner.

"I'm sorry," he said, addressing the girl, "it appears I've failed you again."

Instantly she broke from her trance, her eyes coming into focus. Her hair swinging with every step, she walked to the desk and smiled.

"It's alright Kamijo-kun," she said, her eyes connecting with Miki's and staying there.

He wasn't the guy who ran things at his company, but he was just a step away from it. After all, he had a corner office amongst other benefits, but it was only because he was so diligent in his work. The CEO himself said so. Though, if it was for her, he'd give it all up. In a way he was, and that was only one of the reasons he held so much disdain for his ignorant coworkers.

A petite hand brushed the side of his face. Kamiljo blushed to that she had climbed onto the desk.

"Looks like you need to shave again," she commented, the subsequent giggle tickled his ear as she whispered into it. Kamijo's face softened into a smile. Her sense of humor was strange, but original to say the least. She was toying with him, of course, but he didn't mind.

"Angel…"

Yes, he'd bring down heaven if it were to make her happy. Kamijo just had to find another way to lure the butterfly into his web. That is, if those imbeciles didn't do anything too idiotic.

For my Angel-chan.

.

Chii…

Sister?

Chii, please tell me you hear me, Chii?

She nodded. Yes, Chii can hear you. Why is Freya speaking to Chii now?

Because something is not right, Chii. Can You help me?

How, sister?

.

By this time of the night, Meroko was still onstage, but her backup dancers had been switched out. No normal human could dance for so long without collapsing, so it was clear to see that Meroko was a Persocom. Before the concert Hideki had wondered about that little fact, so he had asked Smith-san and Minoru about it on their way to the arena. Their answers were heavily detailed and far too technical for his liking, but it was interesting nonetheless. Though, he noted that both of them were enjoying the concert just as much as he was.

'Yūyake umare kuru mono yo'

Chii, however, her joy had been subdued quite recently, as if she were thinking deeply upon something. This was odd, because what did Chii usually think deeply about? Nothing, really.

'Kesshite miushinawanaide'

Something bothered him, though, he didn't know why, but he was afraid. Of what, he did not know, but it was nibbling at the back of his mind like a rodent burrowing though the walls of a house. He hadn't felt this way in a while and the only point on time he could recall feeling like this…was when Chii disappeared.

'You are you shoujo yo ima koso'

The empty seat bothered him. Where was Amber-chan? He wanted to say something about it, but he couldn't think of how to word such a comment about her absence.

'Furihodoki tachiagare!'

"Something's wrong," said Chii. Her voice was an even tone loud enough to distract the others of their group from the music.

"What's the matter?" said Yuzuki.

"Amber-chan isn't back yet."

So Hideki wasn't the only one to notice. At least now he could talk without his conscience bothering him about being a busybody.

"I'm sure she can handle herself, Chii, but I do think it's odd." Garrett frowned, but he tried to ignore the look he was being given. "Is it normal for her, Smi- I mean, Garrett-kun?"

"Do you think Miss Amber is alright?" said Yuzuki, concerned as always.

Minoru kept silent, watching them sort things out. He wondered as well, but she was capable of defending herself, that he witnessed the other day at his house.

"I'm…" said Garrett, looking down, "not sure, actually. Let me call her." He reached into his pocket to retrieve a familiar little face that he managed to sneak inside. "Amu?" Her sleepy face would have caused him to normally go 'aw', but he was beginning to grow worried.

"Yes, Master?" she said, yawning.

"Could you call Amber for me?" The crowd was unbelievably thick, so he couldn't leave at the moment, but tried to block out the background noise as he made the call.

"Okay!"

Streaks of light flashed across her eyes for only a few moments before there was a response.

"The number you have reached is either out of service or unavailable. Please call back at a later time."

For the first time in a while, Garrett clenched his teeth and swore like a sailor under his breath.

.

The dim lights hanging from the ceiling shone weak rays of light on the three figures in the room. Two were tall, clearly male, and both were leaned over the unconscious character on the floor. Her hands and legs were bound by ropes, and the side of her head was throbbing.

"Wake up!" barked a voice. It was directly above her right ear, and Amber could barely register it as an order. The man it came from was tall, over six feet, and looked like one of those henchmen that were easy to fool into making a blunder.

Too bad this 'henchman' was really the one who had organized the whole thing.

Beside him stood a nervous willowy man who kept wringing his hands and looking around anxiously. He wore a long, white lab coat with a name tag that read 'Kuroku', and had on a pair of spectacles with extra-thick lenses. One of them was cracked down the middle, and looked like it was held together with tape. He kept n clearing his throat softly, like something was stuck in it.

"Do you think she's alright? Her head hit the trunk pretty hard, some components—," said Mr. Kuroku, worrying enough for both of them.

When he first started this business with Norio-kun, it was merely a refurbished Persocom shop. Lately the merchandise they were acquired was getting more and more illegal, and Kuroku was too frightened by his partner to do anything about it. His girlfriend even left him recently, because he was so weak-willed, but he didn't care, Kuroku didn't want any conflict, and the best way to keep things running smoothly was to go along with Norio-kun's plans.

"It's fine," said Norio.

Huh? thought Amber, her thoughts gathered slowly from where they left off. It felt like her brain had gone through a blender, and was trying to reassemble itself from the gook.

"Wake up you piece of junk!" shouted the man again.

"Where?" she muttered. The light was shing directly into her eyes, causing a terrible glare to obscure most of her surroundings. In spite of that, what she did see were two faceless goons waving around a gun. One had a dark ski mask to hide his face, and was obviously trying to disguise his voice by talking very deeply. The other could have been a stick figure for all she knew, and she couldn't see his face through the brightness.

"You've got till the count of ten to tell us your owner's number," he said, pointing the gun at her face.

"My owner's?" It was then Amber realized she was still wearing the ears. Her mind could only think one thing: she was screwed. Keeping her breathing steady, the girl tried to recall the number Amu had been registered with.

"038-54…"

After all, considering who she was, this wasn't the first time this had happened.

...

Understandably, Garrett was anxious. To show that fact, the Chobit paced around the food court with his head watching his feet and hands crossed behind his back. Minoru had tried to remind him that there could have been many a reason why Amber had not called back or answered, but the boy was only met with irritated mumbles and more pacing. A few minutes ago he had tried to track down her cell phone, but it was futile, the phone was obviously still off, and he couldn't very well find it in that state, now could he? Yuzuki was at a loss as well, and if Minoru couldn't convince him that she was okay, then who could? After all, she thought proudly to herself, he was one of the most logical minds of his generation.

Chii is worried~, thought Chii. She liked that Amber girl even if she was a weird person. Chii wondered if she could help, but seeing Garrett act so upset really hit home. It reminded her of the time she had stumbled into that shady job, and just thinking about it made her angry.

Hideki could see the frown Chii wore grow deeper, but he was unsure of how to comfort her. Chii was usually so open with her thoughts, but tonight she was uncharacteristically silent, and he couldn't guess what she was thinking to make her look so mad.

A short chiming noise put everything on pause.

"Someone is calling!" announced Amu from within Garrett's pocket. He answered it immediately and was about to scold her for disappearing, but then he heard her voice.

"Garrett...Garrett, are you there?" said Amber.

He could tell something was off.

"Amber, are you—," he began, but he should have guessed what was going to happen next.

"Now, buddy, listen up good. If you ever want your precious little Persocom back in one piece, then I suggest you listen. Carefully."

A man's voice, dark and threatening, was on the line. Garrett clenched his fists and held back the anger that was rising within him.
"Y-yes."

He had made a connection with Amu the second he heard the kidnapper's voice, and was trying desperately to locate her. The signal was not from her cell phone, of course, but even then, it was hard to grasp. For one it kept on bouncing around so much he couldn't pinpoint it, and to add to that it was a private number, meaning he couldn't even trace who the owner was. Considering this, he was in some real deep trouble. Or rather, his partner was.

The man on the other end made his demands, Garrett would have to hand over 160000 ¥ or he would keep her for good. The location of the drop-off site: Tokyo Tower at midnight.

He has some outrageous notions, that man! thought Garrett when the receiver went dead.

"Garrett-kun?" said Hideki, taking in the now red-face boy trembling with rage.

"He wants money, as usual," he replied, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. "By midnight, he expects me to give him over two thousand dollars and drop it off next to a lamp post near the Tokyo Tower."

"That's insane!" said Hideki. He only had a few hundred in his own bank account, so it was an impossible thought for him.

"I might just have to comply."

"You do know," said Minoru, "that he might just take your money and run?"

"I do." The boy looked to the floor and thought. He felt as if he were missing something, but what?

Yuzuki took one of Garrett's hands and held them within her own. "There must be some way to trace her, I'm sure. I could help with that you know."

"Then we could run over and save her," said Chii.

Run over and save… thought Garrett. Run over and save.

"That's it," he said softly. "That's it," he repeated, louder this time. How could he call himself smart if he had been so stupid? "I know how to find her. I'll need your help, Yuzuki."

…

Norio Iwaki was a very depraved man, as Mr. Kuroku had come to learn over this past year. Kuroku himself was horrified to learn that over 50% of the inventory they had acquired, had been obtained by not only illegal but unethical means as well. Why, leasing Persocoms 22% above the normal price should have been illegal. Should have.

Still, even if he didn't agree with Norio-kun's practices, he did help him to steal the poor girl. It was interesting how he thought of them as people, yet his partner did not. The man always referred to them as 'it', and treated them as such. And worst of all, he did not care in the slightet how these people felt when their friends (yes, he considered them friends to their owners) were stolen away. It was like—heck it was kidnapping.

Still, he was afraid. Not for himself, but the girl. She was different than the others, that he could see, but why he could not ascertain for sure. When he hooked up the connectors from her ears to a monitor, the screen merely said "NO DATA". It was the first time that had happened. Of course, Norio-kun was angry at him for that, and demanded that by tomorrow "all that kid's info better be gone from that piece of crap, so I can resell it."

But before that, he wanted to do something.

"It'll all be erased by tomorrow, right?" said Norio, taking a swig of liquid from the flask in his large hand.

"Y-yeah," said Kuroku, nodding. "I'll be able to hack its OS by then, I assure you."

That was a lie; he didn't even know where to begin with a Persocom like this! Just by looking at her, he could only guess what company she was from, and was relieved when he found a bar code on the bottom of her right foot, as usual per a Gala Inc. model. They were known for their elegant, realistic designs, and moreover, didn't like to put barcodes in such 'conspicuous' places such as the upper thigh or breast.

But still…

Damn Gala and their closed code! He was well versed in Picosoft Panes, but not this. Hardly anyone had a Gala model in Japan, and even when they did, they were extremely expensive to buy, at least here, considering they had to be shipped all the way from California.

Amber watched their exchange from the comfort of her own little chair. She had allowed him to examine the barcode on her sole, and he typed it in to show his partner in crime.

Company, Gala Computer Inc. Model #00982, "Eve".

Norio squinted at the screen and made some approving caveman grunts. "Looks like her…sort of."

She was the daughter of a billionaire who owned and ran his own computer company. Of course he would model a Persocom after her and charge through the nose for them. In a way she was the ultimate collector's item, considering the fact she could be called the 'original'. That was the only conclusion as to why she had been kidnapped, given the nature of her situation at the moment. No one had cast any spells, from what she could sense, so it was a completely mundane operation. These two, through and through, seemed to believe she was 100% machine.

"She must be a custom built 'Eve', then. The unmodified version cost a lot too." said Kuroku, surveying the specs.

"Unmodified version?" Norio was confused. He wanted this one to sell for a lot of money, so he was hoping it really was custom built.

"The original doesn't have certain…features."

Oh, now he got it. "Well, I hope she has those, because I want to try her out!"

From where she sat, Amber suddenly had a very bad feeling of what this man was implying.

What? thought Kuroku, slightly nauseated from his partner's suggestion. He couldn't be serious. All those other models, sure, but this one was one-of-a kind! And didn't he promise to give her back if the boy came up with the money?

Then again, it was nigh impossible for anyone to follow through with such a request at this time of night, but it was still a matter of princi—oh yeah, Norio had none of those anyway.

"It's alright, Kuroku-kun, I'll be gentle…" a giant, raspy laugh heaved from his lungs before he took another gulp of the (most likely alcoholic) drink. "You did promise that you could erase da data afterwards, anyway."

"True, I did say that, didn't I?"

."Operation: Save the Shana Clone".

"You are a lifesaver, Yuzuki," said Garrett, as the six of them jogged down the crowed metropolis sidewalk. Persocoms and humans alike were milling around, so it was pretty hard to navigate. Even so, Yuzuki lead the pack to where she traced Amber's location, holding Minoru's hand as she weaved in and out of the person-shaped obstacles.

How blind could Garrett have been to forget about her legs? Her father even reminded him before they left that there was a tracking device within each of them, and he still forgot. Chii really was the lifesaver, because he probably wouldn't have remembered without her comment.

From the back of their procession, Hideki was having the worst case of Déjà vu. It was the whole situation that made him feel like he was running to rescue Chii from those creepy men all over again. He hoped that whoever had Garrett's Persocom wasn't trying to try the same thing, and that they got there in time.

.

You've got to get free

You need to or else,

There's knowing what he'll do.

Don't you think I know that?

.

Garrett advised the others that he would be alright on his own, but they ignored his warning. He sighed, and shrugged. They were going to learn the truth after all, tonight, but not in the way any of them intended. In front of them was an office building with yellow "CAUTION" tape covering the first floor. It was about eight stories high, and on the topmost level, the entire floor was radiating light.

So this was the place? He expected guards or even runes to impede their entry, but instead he peeled back the offensive obstructions from the door and they all stepped inside.

In the meantime, Norio was getting on Amber's last nerve. She couldn't carry out any spells without her hands, so it seemed she was stuck. Even if she was free, the most Amber could do was try to incapacitate him with a blow to the face, but he was probably to thick-skulled, and she'd hurt herself trying.

On top of that, he was stone drunk. The booze on his breath was enough to knock her out again. As he inched closer, the girl held her breath and hoped for salvation, because it looked like there was no escape.

A hand brushed the side of her arm gently, the sensation of the rough skin touching her, made her stomach jump. Her head was spinning, a wave of possibilities washing over the shores of her mind. She didn't have a single useful thought that could get her out of this.

Someone, please help me…

In the corner of the room, a tiny white rabbit sat and watched, waiting for the right moment.

.

Scream all you want, no one will come.

Elda, please help me!

Who's there?

Go get help!

.

She was trembling as he touched her skin, now why was that? Norio was trying to decipher the meaning of this within his impaired mind, but he didn't notice the ropes were beginning to dissolve.

A scream shook the entire floor.

Several stories below, our band of heroes paused in their ascension up the stairwell, but Garrett pressed on despite the terror brewing in his mind. He knew that scream anywhere. She'd had so many nightmares it was hard to forget that specific cry.

"Amber, hold on!"

He could feel the distress grow stronger, the closer he got. Or was there another reason for that? He did remember Amber telling him of the dream she had, but that was impossible.

The others resumed their pace, and reached the eighth floor only mere seconds after Garrett. He had found the door was locked, and had tried to open it, but even with his strength, the doorknob stayed firmly in place.

"Dammit!" he slapped the door, but it didn't budge.

It must have been reinforced…

What was he supposed to do, kick the door down?

Another scream and another earthquake.

Screw the consequences.

Garrett reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a flat rectangular object, which Minoru's eyes popped out at. He wasn't quite understanding what he was about to do, but he had to ask.

"You're not—," said Minoru, only to be cut off by a vicious glare. This wasn't the time to argue, considering the noises coming from the other side of that door.

"Adeat!" yelled Garrett. A flash of light and a second later he was holding a large, grey and silver sword. "Stand back!" The others obeyed the instant he said it, retreating to the safe distance of about three meters away. He lifted it above, then behind him in a swing, thrusting the sword in the direction of the door.

There were several explosions at once.

One damaged the door and the frame around it, the sword obliterating all of the wood that had once been there into ashes.

The second, Garrett realized, removed the far wall of the room where the windows were. Behind him, the others were gaping at the mostly ruined operation. One man was scrunched into a corner, near a few charred consoles. He shook considerably, and his eyes were wide. The other was unconscious, burn marks on his face and arms. Outside the window was a faraway white light that was getting smaller by the second.

"That's…"

遁走

And so…the main villain is revealed! (Sort of…) Kukuku~ I just came up with same random guy's name. His partner, you'll have to watch out for her later on, because that name is deceiving. Oh, and those two guys were scapegoats, I know…and if I disturbed you in any way I apologize.