A/N: Man! These things are so hard to re-write ;-; Anyway, this one's a little bit more re-written than the other chapters, which is why it took me so long, because I had to go back and check everything and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, enjoy!~

Chapter 4

"Tobias... Can you hear me, Tobias? Wake up!"

I groaned, my eyes opening slowly. There's that woman's voice again... As my eyes opened fully, I saw an unfamiliar male face peering down at me. Startled, I shouted in surprise, scrambling backwards, but instead hit a headboard.

"Toby, calm down!" the male told me. "I'm the school nurse, Mr. Ash. You blacked out in class, and Reno here brought you to me."

"N-nurse? B-blacked out?" I stammered, looking over at Reno, who had a worried look on his face.

"Yeah," Reno said coming up to me in the little bed. "You blacked out after the projector died on us."

"The projector...?" Then it hit me. What I had seen...was that a memory? I don't remember that ever happening within the past three days... So when had that happened? Upon instinct, I reached my hand around and felt the back of my head, but was unable to find the wound that had happened in that memory.

"Reno here says you were also complaining about a feedback noise from the bell, but when I checked your ears, I didn't find anything that might be wrong with them," Mr. Ash commented. "This could also be a result from listening to too much loud music."

"I don't listen to music, I don't think..." I replied.

"You don't think?" Mr. Ash asked, arching his brow. "Everyone listens to music in some way or another."

I just grabbed the front of my head in confusion, my fingers running through my hair. "I don't know..." My heart was beating a mile a minute. Why hadn't I noticed this before? And since when did I become so occupied in trying to remember things? Well, it's true I want to remember my past... Should I tell them I have amnesia? Or would that cause too much of a problem? As I opened my mouth to explain, but the bell rang again, and oddly there was no feedback noise to be heard.

Mr. Ash and Reno looked at me expectantly and I shrugged. "I don't hear it now," I told them.

The nurse sighed. "Well, since you're awake now, you might as well head off to lunch. Just take it easy and drink a lot of water."

I nodded, slowly getting up off the bed with some help from Reno. "Thanks, Reno."

"Any time, friend," he said with a gentle smile. "Now let's get going; I'm starving!"

A smile flew onto my face as well once we made our way towards the lunchroom through the throng of students in the hallway. I'm going to ask Dr. O'Shay about that memory...but most importantly about my mother and father—most definitely my father.

A wall of noise slammed into me and I looked up, seeing what appeared to be the lunchroom with dozens upon dozens of kids sitting at their respectful tables, trays full of food in front of them. Off to the left, there were a couple of robots standing against the wall watching everyone in the room with an air of authority.

"Well, here we are!" Reno said enthusiastically, interrupting my mind's exploration. "Let's go get our food and then I'll show you to our table." As I nodded, both of us made our way to the slowly growing lunch line. We grabbed our trays and stood behind everyone else.

I peered down the line, seeing an automatic food dispenser. Oh, that's cool, I thought with a slight chuckle.

"So Toby, tell me about yourself," my friend began. "You can't have gotten that smart from being home-schooled, surely?"

I shrugged. "I...honestly don't know how I'm so smart. I'm guessing I was like this before..." I broke off with a sigh.

"What? Before what?" Reno pushed.

"I'll...tell you about that later..." I sighed as we selected our food by pressing on the picture while it dispensed from a sliding door in the top of the conveyor.

"Okay..." he said, confused. "Well, then, let's start with something simple. What's your favorite color?"

"Blue," I answered immediately, blinking afterwards. Where'd that come from?

"Cool! Mine's yellow," he answered. "It makes me feel happy."

I nodded. "What's your favorite animal?" I asked.

Reno tapped his chin in thought. "Hmm...tough one. I think I honestly like tigers the most. So ferocious, but yet so beautiful... You?"

I looked away, thinking. Would this answer come so quickly as had my favorite color did? "Dogs," I said, turning back to him.

"That's not so bad," he laughed. "Alright, we're done here. Let's get you to the table so you can meet everyone!"

As Reno made his way towards the middle of the room, I grabbed his shoulder. He turned. "Yeah?"

"I forgot to tell you that this isn't how I normally look," I said, scratching the back of my head, once again feeling my flattened hair. "I'm gonna warn you, though, I have a weird hairstyle."

He laughed, patting my shoulder. "Hey, if it's not as weird as Ken's hair, then you're fine."

"That green-haired kid, you mean?" I asked, chuckling.

"You've met him?"

"Yeah. We bumped into each other in the hall, same with Daichi—but literally."

Reno shrugged. "You'll get used to him, trust me."

He began off again and I paused watching after him with a half-smile. Reno's so nice about him despite what he does to everyone else. With a small shrug, I followed my friend as he sat down at a surprisingly large table, but only one other person was sitting there—Ken.

"Hey, Reno!" he called with a wave.

"Hey, Ken!" Reno waved back, walking over to the large table and sitting down across from him. "What's up?"

"The sky, duh," Ken said, pointing upwards. "As well as the ceiling, as well as—"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Reno laughed, holding up his hands, stopping Ken in mid-sentence.

I sat down next to Reno, smiling at Ken. "Hi," I said.

"Hi yourself," he greeted me.

"So where are the others?" Reno asked, taking a bite of his apple.

"They're coming. Daichi won't be joining us today at lunch, because of his group over there," Ken mumbled with a point of his thumb in the group's general direction. "If you ask me, I'm glad he's not here today."

"Don't be rude now," Reno said, shrugging it off. "I take it he'll be coming to study with us after school?"

Ken nodded. "Yeah. If we're lucky enough, he might even take his common sense..."

"Why don't you guys want to bring it up with him?" I asked.

Reno turned to me, raising his eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean...well, obviously Daichi is kinda rude. He hangs out with those 'cool' guys over there and treats you guys like you're lower than him when they're around. So why keep him around at all? I wouldn't exactly want to hang around a guy who's nice to me one moment and then turns on me the next just to stay cool, you know what I mean?"

Reno and Ken looked at each other. "I guess...it just makes us seem more secure if he's around, because he's the strongest of our group, minus Cora."

"Cora?" I echoed. "That one girl in the notes from history class?"

"She was in your history lesson?" Ken asked with a chuckle.

"No, no, no. He means the noting app in the desks," Reno corrected with a chuckle himself.

"Oh," Ken laughed a little. But I still frowned.

"How does he make you feel more secure if he joins the side of the bullies?" I pointed out. "Doesn't seem to me that knowing your so-called 'friend' might hit you the next time you look at him."

Reno opened and closed his mouth, trying to find an answer. "He... I don't know..." Reno sighed. "I'll have to talk to him about it." As Ken was about to outburst, he added, "In private."

I placed my hand on the side of my face. "I'm just gonna stay out of this one. My head is still killing me."

"Oh, yeah, I heard about that," the green-haired boy said. "It's good to know you're okay, though."

"Hey, guys!" a female voice said from behind me. I turned, seeing two females, plus another male I haven't met before. As soon as I turned, however, the girl with purple highlights nearly dropped her lunch pal she was carrying. "Oh, my God! T-Toby? Is that you?"

"Huh?" I echoed in confusion.

"Wait...you're the new guy? It was you I was chatting with earlier?" she asked, eyes wide.

I paused. "Wait, you're Cora?"

She didn't answer, instead running up to me and giving me a hug. I was taken aback a moment before a weird heat rose up in my face. As she pulled back, she looked away, embarrassed. "I-I'm sorry, it's just... I never thought I'd see you again, and—"

"Wait, wait, wait...you've met me before?" I asked in confusion, the heat going away.

Cora blinked. "You don't...remember? We were childhood friends! You saved me from my house when it was on fire when we were little! Like, around five or so years ago!"

Reno and the others gasped, looking at me in amazement. "Are you serious?" the other girl who'd walked over with Cora cried. "You saved her life?!"

"I—I—" I stuttered, unsure what to say. I sighed, looking away. "I...was meaning to tell you guys earlier, but..." I broke off, unsure still of what to say. "I have amnesia."

"What!" they all blanched—minus the other girl and boy.

I shrank somewhat in the seat. "Well, yeah... I woke up about four days ago...and well, that's about it. I don't really remember anything from before that. Nothing except my name—but I've slowly been getting back random memories. I got one earlier in third period when I fainted, but...I don't quite understand that one."

"Oh, so that's why you don't have your spiky-doo." Cora grinned. "You must not remember how to put them on."

"Spiky-doo?" I laughed at the funny name despite myself. "Oh, actually I do remember those, I—er...just forgot to put them in today," I said, rubbing my head. "I mentioned that to Reno earlier."

"So you really don't remember anything? Not even, um...giving me something before I left?" Cora asked, sadness in her eyes.

I looked to the ground with a similar sadness. "No. I don't. I've been trying really hard to remember my past, but I'm not really getting anywhere, because the guy I live with is being super secretive..."

"This person wouldn't happen to be Dr. Alfred O'Shay, head of the Ministry of Science, would he?" Reno asked.

I blinked at him. "H-how'd you know?"

"I can read miiiinds...!" Reno said spookily, but then laughed. "Nah, it was easy to figure out when I saw your username in the noting app."

"Oh," I said a little dumbly. "Well yeah, he's taking care of me right now."

"Makes sense, since he and your dad worked together," Cora spoke up, digging her hand into her lunch bag.

I froze, remembering when O'Shay mentioned my dad a couple days ago.

"No matter what anyone says, your father was a great man, Toby. Always remember that."

I swallowed nervously. Should I ask them? They might know more—and might tell me. "So my...dad and Dr. O'Shay worked together?"

"Yeah," Cora replied. "Your dad was head of the Ministry at the time, but from what I heard, he soon went downhill after there was an accident."

"Accident?" I echoed, remembering also when O'Shay mentioned I had been in an accident when I was at the hospital.

"I don't know anything about it, though," Cora sighed apologetically. "I only know that there was some sort of accident and then Dr. Tenma disappeared..."

I looked at them, confused. What kind of accident was it? There were just so many questions I had, and I wanted to know all of the answers—but I knew I wouldn't get them. "So..." I began, swallowing nervously. I looked to Cora, who looked back at me expectantly. "What was my...f-father like?"

She sighed and glanced away. "Well," she began, turning back to me, "he was something, I'll tell you that. But he was a good guy at heart." She placed a hand on my shoulder in comfort as she continued. "You and him didn't get along very well when I lived next door, and I'm sure it continued on like that, but... I know you loved him, and he loved you. His work just...got in the way."

"D-do you think you could...show me a picture of him?" I asked. "I-if you have one, I mean."

"Uh, yeah, I think I can..." Cora pulled out a holo-phone, tapping on it a few times with her tongue out of the side of her mouth before she turned the phone to me and handed it over. "There. That's your dad."

I stared at the picture, my eyes taking in every curve, every angle of his face, his form—everything. He looked almost exactly like me, but with a bigger nose, and a lot taller. My head began to spin as something within me clicked, and I staggered, sitting on the seat as I became dizzy.

"D'you think that the 'accident' is linked to Toby's missing memories?" Ken asked, not noticing my sullen look as I handed the phone back to Cora.

"It's a possibility, but the accident happened over a year ago," Cora said, frowning. "At least, that's when I first heard about it, so it could have been longer than that."

"A...year?" I echoed softly, my eyes wide. My heart was beating rapidly a mile a minute. Something didn't quite add up.

"Yeah, and I hadn't heard from you in that period of time, either. You would always send me emails when I moved to Sunset City," Cora said. "Then you stopped. I mean, it could've been because of this 'accident', but since you don't remember, I can't really ask you why..."

My vision began to blur, and I blinked my eyes to try and clear it.

"Hey, are you okay?" Cora asked.

"I-I...I don't know," I said, my head spinning. "I..." With a plunk, my head landed on the table in front of me. I vaguely remember them calling my name before darkness fell over me once more.

I was sitting in an unfamiliar environment, watching a holographic TV in darkness. I knew that this was another vision, but I couldn't control my movements. Everything was clear in this vision, unlike my other one.

A loud noise alerted me, and I turned, seeing a man walk into the room, throwing his coat over the chair and angrily leaning on the table, his hand through his hair. "Dad?" I called. "What's wrong?"

"I can't believe..." he muttered. Finally, after what seemed like a million minutes, he looked up at me. Upon seeing me, he hurried over to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Dad, what—" I began, but he talked over me.

"We have to leave," he said. He let go of my shoulders and walked back to his bag on the stool. "No, I have to leave. I have to get out of here, before—"

I stood up and hurried over to him, looking up at him. "What do you mean, Dad? Why do we have to leave?"

He looked down at me and into my eyes—deep into my eyes, as if he were searching for something. Finally, he spoke. "Your father had a very important job to do and he screwed up—messed up. Can't be undone." He closed his eyes as if in pain. "I'm finished..."

The vision changed to another day, I was sitting at a computer, and it seemed like...I was chatting with someone? As I finished typing, I angrily stood up and walked over to a dresser. I noticed I was in a completely different room, and it was a bedroom—my bedroom, it seemed. I threw some clothes in a bag, some memorable items, and some necessities. I glanced back at the computer sadly, before shaking my head, as if to clear it. Then, I jumped out of the open window.

"Toby!"

I woke back up in the lunchroom. It was dead quiet, as if it seemed that everyone was waiting for me to return. Slowly, the voices began to start up again, and I looked up, seeing the faces of Cora, Reno, Ken, and the other boy and girl peering down at me. "Wha...?" I murmured groggily.

"I'm glad you're okay!" Cora exclaimed. "You blacked out again."

"I-I did?" I stuttered, lifting my head and rubbing where I'd banged it on the table.

"I was worried I was gonna have to take you to the nurse's office again," Reno laughed.

I broke off from everyone's stares for a moment, thinking. That was my dad... I mulled. If that was my dad, then... Images flashed in my head of the vision I'd just had, and the nightmare from a few days ago. The blurry man suddenly seemed to clear up, as if my father and he matched, and... My eyes widened in horror and my skin began to crawl as I remembered the needle and the blue liquid.

"Hey. Hey! Toby!" Reno began to shake me, but I was unfazed. He looked up at everyone else. "I think he's having a flashback."

"Could it be from the 'accident'?" Ken asked.

I was vaguely aware of their comments from my position; everything was jumbling together in the present, as I was focused solely on my past. I couldn't contain it any longer.

I screamed.

Everyone in the lunch room froze to look at me, my screams piercing their ears. The robot guards turned to me and began heading over.

Everyone at my table was trying to calm me down, but I was fighting them. I suddenly noticed a flicker of blue out of the corner of my vision, but that only made my screams amplify more.

"TOBY!" Cora screamed.

"Stand back, children!" the guards said, pushing past my friends. "We'll take care of this child." They bent down to scoop me up, and as soon as they did I visibly relaxed, and my screams died down as tears ran down my face.

I didn't know what to think anymore.

~O~O~O~O~

After a few minutes of rehabilitation in the nurse's office, Cora and the others had come to visit me before I went home. Dr. O'Shay was called in to pick me up from school, as I had fainted twice, and that was not okay, according to the nurse.

"How're you feeling, Toby?" Cora asked me as they all came up to the side of the bed.

I glanced over at them with a slight smile on my face. "A-as good as I'll ever be, I guess." I looked at the other two kids who I didn't know the names of yet. "I don't think we were properly introduced."

The girl's eyes widened. "Oh! Right! I'm sorry. My name's Rose," she introduced, and held out her hand to the other boy. "This is my step-brother, Zane."

Zane waved his hand at me. "'Sup, lil' bro?"

"Other than what happened?" I chuckled a little maniacally. "Not much, really."

"We're glad to see you're okay, buddy," Reno said. "You seem like a really good friend. I'm glad we got to meet."

I smiled. "Thanks, Reno."

"Uh, is this where, uh...Toby is?" A new voice sounded by the door.

Mr. Ash motioned into the room. "Yes, he's right this way. Don't forget all classes start in ten minutes!"

I looked up and saw Daichi walking over to the bed, a glum look on his face. The others watched him with a wary expression as they parted to give him room. "Hey," he began uncertainly, scratching the back of his head. "I, uh... I wanted to apologize for...for what I did earlier today."

I sighed. "It's not a big deal. Don't worry about it," I told him.

"Well, I think it's a big deal." He scowled and looked at his feet. "I felt like I had something to do with your fainting... And I'm really sorry."

"Like I said, it's not a big deal," I repeated. "And I'm pretty sure it wasn't your fault." Remembering earlier, I added. "And I'm pretty sure you need to get out of that bully deal you have going on. You're hurting your friends."

The kids gasped, looking between me and Daichi. Daichi sighed. "Yeah... Yeah, you're probably right. I've already said something to them about it, and I have a feeling I'll get beaten up sometime..."

The first bell rang for class and everyone began out the door with a wave. "See you, Toby!" Ken called.

"Feel better!"

"See you Monday!" Reno called.

Daichi and Cora hung back, Cora awkwardly shifting her legs while looking around. Daichi broke the silence. "I want to make it up to you. On Sunday, we were all planning on going to my dad's space station, and..." He broke off with a sigh. "I was wondering if you'd want to come, too?"

"Your dad has a space station?!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah, that," Cora laughed. "I was gonna tell you I can't go. My parents and I have to go out of town."

"Ah, well, that's fine," Daichi said with a shrug, turning back to me. "So, how about it?"

My mind reeled for a moment before I shook my head to clear it. "S-sure!" I answered. "I'd love to come."

"Great," he said with a sigh of relief. He headed for the door with a wave. "See you Sunday, then!"

"Yeah, b-bye!" I replied after him, with a slight wave. I turned to Cora as soon as he left, feeling slightly awkward. "So, uh... Do you have something to apologize to me for, too?"

"What makes you think that?" Cora said with a huff.

"Well, it's just...Daichi did it, so I was wondering why you're still here?" I answered sheepishly.

"Oh, well, uh..." She broke off. "I just...wanted to ask for your address, was all." She made a pout face and I could tell she was trying not to act awkward.

"My...address?" I echoed slowly.

She turned away from me and sighed. "Never mind. Just ignore me."

"No, wait!" I said, watching as she turned back around. "Why do you need it?"

"Well, I just wanted to come talk to you later after school," she explained. "I-It would be better if I told you...some more stuff about your past in private, I think."

I nodded. "Yeah, that would probably be good...er..." I broke off with a frown. "I...don't know my address."

Cora opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by O'Shay hurrying in the room. "Toby!" he exclaimed, rushing over to me. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine, Doctor," I answered. "I just had a few episodes is all."

"Alright, well, I'm glad you're okay," he sighed. Turning to Cora, he added, "Are you his friend?"

Cora nodded. "Yes, I am. I take it you're Dr. O'Shay?"

"Yes, indeed!" he replied. Turning back to me, he held out his arm. "Let's get going, Toby. That's it, take it easy..."

I struggled out of the bed and to my feet, feeling extremely exhausted and light-headed. I looked to Cora and then to O'Shay, remembering what she had asked. "Oh, say Doctor? What's our address?"

"Our address?" he echoed. "Why do you ask?"

I motioned over to Cora. "She wants to come over later to check up on me, if that's okay?"

After a moment, Dr. O'Shay chuckled. With a smile, he added, "Well, of course! It's great that you already have a friend."

I smiled, as he took out some paper and wrote down our address. He was right; it did feel good to finally have friends.

~O~O~O~O~

A few hours after we arrived home, I was lying downstairs on the futon, a pillow underneath my head as I watched some TV. I glanced at the clock next to the TV, noting that it was already 3 PM. I sighed, wondering when Cora would get here. Taking a quick sip of water, I watched as O'Shay emerged from the kitchen with a bowl in his hands.

"Here, Toby. I made you some soup!" he said, setting the bowl down on the table in front of me. "It'll help you feel better."

"Thanks, Dr. O'Shay," I sighed, sitting up and wincing a little bit as my head spun slightly. Taking a sip of the soup, a knock sounded at the door and I about choked on it. That must be Cora!

"I'll get it!" O'Shay bellowed, heading over to the door and opening it. "Why, hello! Come right in! He's over on the couch."

Cora stepped inside after a quick 'hello' to O'Shay. Once she saw me on the couch, she smiled sympathetically. "You look a little better."

"Thanks," I sighed, taking another sip of soup. Cora sat down on the love-seat, setting her bag down next to her, looking up at the TV as I swallowed the broth.

"Alright, I have to run a quick errand in town, so I'll be back soon," O'Shay called to us, slipping on his jacket and grabbing for the door handle.

I nodded with a smile. "Okay, see you soon!" I replied as he walked out the door, it locking behind him. Cora turned back to me and we locked eyes for a moment, before I looked away. "So, uh... That was strangely convenient."

"Yeah," Cora laughed. "Anyway, what do you want me to talk about first?"

I hummed to myself, finger tapping my chin as I leaned back against the futon. "How about... You mentioned at school earlier that I saved your life?" I began. "How about that?"

"Ah, alright," Cora said with a nod. "That's probably about all I can explain right now, because a lot of stuff is included in this story." She sighed before continuing. "It was a Tuesday night..."

"Hey, Toby! You wanna come out and play?" little Cora asked, standing outside a two-story house, looking up at an open window on the top level.

A little boy with spiked hair peered out over the edge of the window, his big brown eyes full of curiosity. "Uh...lemme ask my dad!" he squeaked, turning back inside to go and ask.

The girl played with her shirt anxiously, waiting for Toby to appear back out the window. A few moments went by, and he finally popped back out. "Did you ask?" she asked excitedly, eyes brimming with excitement.

His eyes were full of anger and sadness. "He said I can't because it's getting too dark," he grumbled. "Stupid Dad..."

"Aww..." she pouted, turning away. Pausing, she turned her head back around, a sly smile on her face. "You can always sneak out..."

"I would get in so much trouble for that, Cora!" Toby exclaimed in a hushed whisper, eyes wide.

"You wouldn't get caught," Cora said, turned around fully, hands on her hips. "It's not like he ever comes up to check on you, anyway. He's always in his office, right?"

Toby looked away with anger brimming his eyes before finally deciding. "You're right," he mumbled, slowly beginning to climb out of his window.

"Whoa, what're you doing?!" Cora hissed as he started climbing down.

"I'm gonna climb down and you're gonna catch me," he huffed.

"I don't think I could hold you up, let alone catch you!" she hissed again. Toby grunted, stepping down slowly off the banister, but suddenly, his foot lost his gripping on the roof and he came sliding down with a loud shout of surprise—Cora as well. The girl barely had time to react before he fell off the roof and on top of her, both of them groaning as they lay on the ground with pained expressions. "Ow! You fell on me, you idiot!" she whined, rubbing her head.

"Aw, c'mon, Cora. Don't baby-up on me. You're the one who told me to sneak out," Toby whined back, a slight pout on his face.

"Okay! Enough whining; let's go to my house and play!" she giggled, running off down the street.

Toby began racing after her after a split hesitation. "Wait, Cora!" As he caught up to her, he puffed out of breath. "Jeez, you run fast."

"Now who's babying-up?" she teased, playfully hitting him on the shoulder, a little bit too hard, causing him to rub it in pain—mumbling, "Ow..." As they both reached Cora's house, they hurried inside and up to her room—which was surprisingly boyish, due to the fact she was a girl. "Okay! Let's play house!" she blanched, getting the stuff ready.

"Aw, house again?" Toby groaned.

"Don't complain. You enjoy it," Cora laughed, dragging over a chair and a couple blankets.

Toby watched her as she continued grabbing things and going back and forth across her room, and when she brought over more and more girly stuff, his expression turning from curiosity to poker-faced. "Can we have more action figures and stuff in this game?"

Cora paused in her dragging and building. "Why?"

"Well, it's just you always bring your dolls and stuffed animals. Why can't we have some cars, or some action figures with action-packed actions, or something?" he asked, punching the air in front of him to mimic the action figure's actions.

His friend put her hands on her hips. "You do realize all your 'action-packed action figures' are over at your house, right?"

Toby groaned, face-palming. "You told me to sneak out!" he whined, hands out. "I wouldn't have forgotten them if I hadn't snuck out!"

Cora shrugged with a smile, continuing to build their 'house', which was just a pile of chairs and blankets. "Well, you can play it your way next time."

With a groan and a sigh, Toby began over towards their fort and sat on the ground next to Cora. "Okay, so are we playing with the stuffed animals this time, or the dolls...?" he asked, picking up one of each in each hand.

"Dolls," Cora decided with a smile and picked one out of a box. "And I was extra nice and got you a guy doll yesterday while mom and I went to the mall," she said, holding out a little man-figure.

Toby brightened up. "Thanks!" he exclaimed, reaching out his hand and taking it from Cora.

Cora giggled. "Oh, I was thinking," Cora said as she made her little dolls bounce over to Toby's. "Maybe we could make our house game more interesting if we gave them superpowers."

"Superpowers?"

"Yeah! We don't have to have action figures to have superheroes."

Toby grinned. "Sure! My guy can have SUPER SPEED! WAAAAH!" He swept his hand holding the doll across the carpet, grinning as he did so.

"And my person has FLYING POWERS!" Cora jumped to her feet and raised her doll over her head. "Zooooom, whoosh!"

A sudden orange light pierced the dull glow of the room. "Hey...what's that light over there?" Toby was glancing towards the window.

"I dunno." Cora shrugged. "Probably a bonfire?"

With an arched brow and curiosity pouring over the edge, Toby got up from his position on the ground and pressed his hands against the glass and peered down below. As soon as he did however, he gasped and jumped back as flames swiped up the side of the building where his hands and face had just been. Cora screamed, holding her dolls close. "My house!" she screamed. "It's...it's...!"

Eyes wide with fear, Toby put on a determined expression and turned to Cora. "Cora, listen to me," Toby said, taking her shoulders in his arms and looking her in the eyes as tears rolled down her face—he refused to show weakness in front of his friend. "It's going to be okay. I'm going to get you out, I promise."

"I want my mommy!" she cried, wiping her eyes and sobbing uncontrollably. "We're gonna die!"

"We are not going to die!" Toby assured her with determination, as smoke started to pour into the room, causing the alarms to go off. He remembered what he had learned in school about fire safety, and repeated it to his friend. "Now stay low to the ground and follow me. Don't crawl, otherwise you can't hurry through and we might get trapped." As she nodded, Toby began inching forward with Cora following close behind, a doll in one hand, Toby's shirt in the other.

Flames began to lick up the walls of Cora's room as they made their way slowly towards the open doorway and into the hallway. The little girl coughed into her hand as the smoke became thicker and thicker the further they went. "Try to cover your mouth with your shirt, Cora," Toby instructed.

Cora did as she was told, covering her face with her shirt, still holding onto her doll and Toby's shirt. "Are we gonna be okay?" came the muffled cry.

"Yes, we are. Now come on!" he ordered as they made their way towards the stairwell, only to fall back with shouts of surprise as wisping flames and parts of the ceiling fell directly on the stairs, collapsing it.

"Okay, we are not gonna be fine!" Cora screamed, eyes wide.

"No, we will!" Toby shouted back—although his voice squeaked with uncertainty.

"That was our only way out!" she cried, tears dripping down her face as they sat on the floor in shock. "How will we be fine, huh?!"

"I promised I'd save you, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do," Toby told her determinedly. "Come on; we can try your parents' bedroom."

The little girl nodded. "Okay..." As they began to hurriedly make their way towards the bedroom, the smoke slowly became thicker and thicker, flames surrounding the walls. Tears stung Cora's eyes once more. "I want my mommy...!" she whimpered.

"You'll see her soon, Cora. I promise," Toby said. "We gotta get out of here first."

They reached the door, which was slightly ajar. Toby pushed on the door itself, careful not to touch the handle in case the room beyond was ablaze. Sirens could be heard in the distance, filling the two children with hope and causing Cora to gasp. "They're coming!"

"It'll still be a while before they get here, Cora. In the meantime, if we sit here waiting, we could end up a part of this house forever," he said sternly, somewhat surprised that the flames hadn't reached the room as they stepped inside. "Now c'mon! This will be our only chance to escape!"

Abruptly, Toby stood and ran for the window, keeping his face covered with his shirt. Cora started after him, reaching out with her hand to grab his arm and hold it tight. Toby unlocked the window and it slid open. The boy peered over the edge and saw the only part of the house untouched by the blaze. Turning back to Cora, he added, "We're going to have to jump."

"Jump?!" she squeaked in surprise.

"Yes, but we'll be fine. I'll go first, and then you." With that said, Toby hopped out of the window and landed with a grunt and a roll. Standing and checking himself over quickly, he looked back up at Cora in the window. "Jump, Cora! I'll catch you!"

"I'm scared!" she whimpered, tears streaking from her blue eyes.

"I won't let you fall, I promise!" Toby said, a quiet determination on his face as he reached out his little arms.

With a slight hesitation, Cora began to slowly inch her way out of the window and down the roof. As soon as she was halfway down the slanted rooftop, her parents' bedroom erupted in flame, startling Cora and causing her to lose her footing. Time seemed to slow down as Toby braced himself with arms outstretched for his friend to catch her. "I'm going to catch her! I'm going to catch her!" he whispered to himself.

Cora fell onto Toby, him slightly succeeding in catching her as they both fell to the ground. With a laugh full of accomplishment, Toby smiled at her. "I caught you! W-we did it! We made it!"

The little girl looked into her friend's eyes and hugged him tightly, surprising the brunette. "Thank you...so much, Toby...!" she whispered in his ear, tears of joy streaking down her cheeks. "You saved me. You saved my life..."

Toby hugged her back, tight and strong. "You're welcome, Cora."

Soon after they had narrowly escaped the house, the authorities arrived—police, paramedics, and the firefighters—the firefighters spraying down the house with water, and the paramedics comforting the two children after their frightful experience. Toby had briefly gotten scolded by his father about going outside when specifically told not to, but after being told of Toby's heroic actions, Dr. Tenma allowed Toby to go un-grounded, which was about as close to a 'good job' as he could come to. Cora's home had been completely destroyed. Toby wasn't sure what was going to happen to Cora, since now she couldn't live across the street from him anymore. A few days later, though...he found out.

Cora's family stopped by the Tenma home on a Saturday morning. When they entered the house, though, Toby noticed Cora's eyes were red, as if she'd been crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked her, as the parents went to go talk among themselves.

Cora gave a loud sniff. "W-we're...we're moving away," she said, her voice thick with the threat of tears. "We're moving out of Metro City, into another place a long ways from here."

"What!" Toby cried. "No! You can't move! Who will I play with?"

"Toby, you can't always play," his father told him, stepping into their conversation. "You're going into the middle school stuff now; you'll have to study harder and more often. No time for silly childish games anymore; you're getting too old for that."

"But I'm still just a kid!" Toby protested. "I'm only 9-years-old!"

His dad leaned down to his level. "You are a smart child whom I have so much planned for. You are going to listen and do as you're told, understand?" he said in his ear.

Toby looked away angrily, glaring at the carpet. Tenma stood and shook hands with Cora's parents, as they headed to the door.

"You're leaving already?" Toby asked Cora in a cracked voice.

She nodded. "I wanted to stay longer, but..." She trailed off and gave another loud sniff.

"Cora!" Cora's mother called. "Time to go!"

"Coming," Cora sighed sullenly.

"Wait!" Toby cried. "Wait a sec, I need to get something!" Toby ran off out of the living room up the stairs to his bedroom. He grabbed what he was looking for and then ran back downstairs where Cora was waiting.

"Here!" he puffed, holding out a large, woolly teddy bear.

"Wh-what is this for?" Cora asked, tears in her eyes as she looked at Toby.

He stared back at her with a smile of sadness. "It's my favorite teddy bear..." he told her. "I want you to have it. That way, you can always keep me close even if I'm not there."

Cora gasped and fell into his arms. "Oh, Toby!" she cried, a happy smile on her face. "Thank you! I won't forget you."

Toby pulled her back at arm's length and looked her in the eyes. "I'll email you every week," he said quietly. "That way, you can know what's going on here while you're gone."

The girl nodded, wiping her tears away and turning. "Goodbye, Toby. I'll see you again some day."

"Goodbye..." Toby murmured, a small wave of his hand the symbol of their friendship following her as she walked out the door...

"And that's what happened," Cora finished with a sigh.

I blinked. That was sure a lot to take in. "I had a teddy bear?" I asked after a few moments of silence. I immediately mentally face-palmed after I'd said that. Of all the things to say, I had to ask confirmation that I owned a teddy bear? I thought, annoyed.

Cora laughed. "I named him Allan," she smiled. "You hadn't given me a name to call him, so..."

"Uh..." I grunted. Again, another profound word to say. I grimaced a little. "So...uh... Do you know anything about my...my mother?"

"Your mother?" Cora echoed. She shook her head. "No, not really, sorry. All I know is that you mentioned she...she passed away when you were younger."

Shock displayed clear as day on my face as I looked at my socks. "Oh."

"Don't worry, though! I'm sure she's in a better place now, watching—"

"That's not the point!" I interrupted. "I've lost my memories, I've lost my place in this world, I've lost everything! My parents, everything, Cora!" I cried, tears threatening my eyes.

"Hey, hey," she tried, putting out her hands to calm me down. "It's alright, Toby. I do understand. Your family was like a family to me, too."

I sighed, glancing away and wiping my eyes on my sleeve. "I'm sorry you had to see that..."

"Toby, I don't care if you cry in front of me," she told me. "I want what's best for you. If you want to regain your lost memories, I'll be there for you to help you. I'll do everything I can to help you get them back, I promise."

I looked back at her, seeing a sincere smile on her face. I couldn't help but smile back at her, my cheeks flushing a little. "Th-thanks, Cora."

A strange chirping noise sounded at the door, and Dr. O'Shay stepped into the apartment with a whoop of relief, taking off his jacket and setting his bag on the ground. "That was some heavy rush hour traffic!" He glanced in our direction. "Ah, you're still here, Cora?"

I looked at the clock and noticed it was almost 6 PM. I blanched despite myself. We were talking for that long?

"Whoops! I better get going!" Cora laughed, getting up and hurrying towards the door. "Thanks for having me over, Mr. O'Shay."

"No problem, sweetie. Come over any time!" O'Shay replied with a smile.

Cora turned back to me. "I'll come back over tomorrow, if that's alright?" she added, looking to O'Shay for approval.

"Sure!" O'Shay answered.

Cora smiled. "Okay, see you, Toby! Feel better!" With a last point at me as she was out the door, she added, "Finish your soup!"

"Bye!" As the door closed, I chuckled, picking up the spoon and taking another sip of the soup.

"So what did you guys talk about?" Dr. O'Shay asked.

I shrugged, swallowing the broth. "Not much, just school stuff," I lied, watching him with a wary eye. "She let me know about the homework in our fifth period."

"Okay, good. Oh, and finish your soup before it gets cold!" he replied before heading down the hall into his office. I sighed, swirling the spoon in the bowl. I had a lot to think about now, after what Cora had told me. Slowly, I finished my soup, all the while thinking of what tomorrow would bring.

A/N: Is it getting interesting now, huh? Huh? :D Please leave a review, even if it's only one sentence! I really need them!