Summary: Unknown to others, the old player of Kite has been in "The World R:2" since the beginning of the events of G.U., but he isn't the same as he was before. But now, a month after the defeat of Cubia, his existence will be revealed after he and his PC are infected by a virus that threatens to control him and destroy "The World"...

X-X-X

When he originally bought the game, it was a means of communication between himself and his friends Akira and Yasuhiko. It was nice in the beginning, the three of them having fun and adventures like in the original version of The World...it almost made him forgot how sad he was when the original World was destroyed. But then, Akira died in a car accident. It had struck him hard because they were boyfriend and girlfriend--and they were both in there together. At times, he wished that he would have died with Akira in that accident, but he was only in the hospital for a few months while The World R:2 went to hell and back before it got rid of its bugs.

Afterwards...he didn't know what happened, but something inside of him broke after Akira's funeral. It was as though his brain and his heart finally realized that she was gone now. No more dates or kisses via the game. No more celebrating Valentine's and White Day together... Just...no more Akira.

He didn't know why, but he broke off all communication with Yasuhiko for the past few months. He couldn't bear to let his best friend see him in that sort of condition. The majority of his time was spent simply roaming random fields with his status always set on busy. He'd never answer Yasuhiko's flash mail or part invites. He was even starting to wonder if he should simply discard his member address from his list. They both went to different colleges and were now living in different places now. This game was the only thing that brought them all together...but it wouldn't be the same as it was before, could it?

This game wasn't only the Goddess's Death. It was the death of the old Kite and the rebirth of the new Kite. Akira's death and his distancing himself from Yasuhiko also helped...

X-X-X

Log-In 00: Same Name, Different Kite

A lone PC warped into the water-type field. He was a human male Twin Blade with short, messy blue-green hair that framed the sides of his face and short bangs hanging above his turquoise-colored eyes as they stared out into the field. He wore a tight-fitting red shirt with black elbow-length sleeves, black leather pants, black gloves and ankle-length boots. This PC's name was Kite, after the player's original character.

"A level 1 water field... This should be an easy place to get around in..." The field was far beneath his current level of 113, so it would be easy for him to just wander around in. Despite how things were for him in the real world, Kite couldn't stop playing the game. Akira's death changed the way he played, though. He wanted to be alone right now--no matter how much his friend Yasuhiko wanted to help him through his mourning period. He could hardly remember the last time he actually tried to level up or run through a dungeon on purpose. All he did was randomly choose an area and walk through it, thinking and remembering better times.

Kite basically went through the entire field, cutting down any monster that tried to attack him with ease. As he got mid-way through the field, he noticed something. Actually, he heard something.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!"

"Stop screaming, you little brat!"

"Help, somebody! Anybody!!"

The Twin Blade blinked before he increased his speed and ran in the direction of the screams. He just couldn't get rid of his habit of wanting to help others. A few seconds later, he was standing behind a large boulder where a group of players were standing around another group of PCs who were on the ground.

"Listen, noob! We just want your weapons!" A large Beast PC shouted as he pointed his broad sword down at the female Harvest Cleric on the ground. He was a male Ya Tribe Beast with the head of a cougar, wearing only a pair of armored pants and metal gloves. "No character with a level of one should have such a rare item. Where'd you get it?"

"I... I can't tell you...!" The Harvest Cleric cried. Her character design was unusual for the game--red eyes, waist-length blonde hair with a bright red ribbon tied up in it, a frilly white Lolita jacket with a red leotard, white shoes and white stockings. What stuck out the most were the dark red bat-like wings that stuck out of her back.

"We wouldn't tell you bastards in a million years!" The other girl on the ground--A Lord Partizan shouted. Her design was as unusual as the other girl's. Her eyes were a darker shade of red than the Harvest Cleric's and her hair was blood red and styled into two pigtails. She wore a black tube top and a black miniskirt with slits on the sides, long black gloves that reached her elbows and long black boots. Like the Harvest Cleric, she had little bat-like wings sticking out of her back, though these were dark purple.

"What'd you say, girlie?" A female Adept Rogue quickly kicked the Lord Partizan in the face and made her fall on her back. The Adept Rogue was also a Beast--a dark brown Lei Fei Tribe female with yellow cat-like eyes and pale blonde hair set up in a high ponytail, wearing a sleeveless black gi, a black skirt and dark blue pants with gold arm bracers and a purple teardrop tattoo underneath her left eye. "Do you know who we are?!"

"If she doesn't know, she's pretty stupid!" A male Tu Tribe Shadow Warlock snorted. He was short with black fur and dark green eyes, wearing black robes that had his Wave symbols on them. The Shadow Warlock was quickly smacked in the back of his head by the Adept Rogue.

"Hush! We are the Wild Killerz Trio!"

"Cougar!" The Beast Edge Punisher shouted as he held up his sword.

"Lynx...!" The Beast Shadow Warlock whined as he held his head.

"And Puma!" The female Adept Rogue exclaimed. "If you don't tell us where and how you got those weapons, we'll PK you newbies like we did that other kid!"

The other kid that Puma was talking about was sitting next to the Harvest Cleric on the ground with his head hung in shame. He was transparent, showing that he was KO'ed and unable to fight. If his Harvest Cleric friend were at the right level, she might have been able to heal him. "This...this is exactly the reason why I hate this game! I don't even know why I bothered playing it!" The male Adept Rogue whined. His character's design was normal compared to the other two. He had short white hair with several strands sticking out of place and dark red eyes that were hidden behind a pair of thick glasses with circular lenses. The Adept Rogue wore a black shirt with a high red collar, black pants and a pair of red and black shoes.

"Would you shut up? You're making us look bad!" The Lord Partizan hissed at the Adept Rogue.

"Etna, don't shout at Sir Erebus! It's not his fault that we're in this mess!" The Harvest Cleric hissed at her friend.

"Quiet, Flonne! It's his fault because if it weren't him, we wouldn't have these damn weapons!"

Erebus sniffled as his transparent eyes widened in shock. "She...she's right... It's all my fault...!"

"Now, Sir Erebus, don't you mind her!"

"That's it! I'm going crazy listening to these brats, Puma!" Cougar shouted as he looked down at the female Beast PC. "Can't we PK 'em yet?"

"It doesn't look like they're going to talk, so..." Puma gave a cat-like smirk. "Sure, why not?"

Lynx and Cougar gave wicked grins as they pulled out their weapons. "I've got the redhead. You've got the blonde," Cougar told the Shadow Warlock as he raised his broad sword high in the air.

"Heh-heh-heh...! Just what I wanted!" Lynx opened his Grimoire and began preparing for a spell.

Kite narrowed his eyes and stepped out from behind the rock. "Hey! Stop that, right now!" The Beast PCs looked at the Twin Blade as he approached them. "You guys must be pretty weak if you're picking on a bunch of new players!"

"What'd you call us? Did you call us 'weak'?!" Cougar growled as he took a step in Kite's direction. "You've got a big mouth, man. And that's gonna cost you--big time!!"

"We're the Wild Killerz Trio of Kestrel!" Lynx exclaimed as he pointed a finger at the blue-haired PC. "We could PK you in less than a second!"

"I highly doubt that," The Twin Blade muttered as he took a step forward. "I haven't been in a very good mood lately, so if I were you guys...I'd just walk away. Otherwise..." He drew his dual blades and crossed his arms across his chest, "...I'll PK you...!" He spoke in a dark tone.

"You obviously didn't hear us when we told you our names, freak!" The Beast Shadow Warlock exclaimed as he summoned his Grimoire again. "Eat this! Vak Don!" A fireball appeared over Kite's head. He jumped out of the way in time to dodge the attack and dashed towards Lynx with his blades drawn, but he was blocked by Cougar. The taller PC swung his sword downward, but Kite blocked it with his dual blades. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Puma charging towards him. The Twin Blade kneed Cougar in the stomach and jumped out of the way in time to avoid being cut in the back by Puma's sword.

"Stop dodging and fight, you bastard!" The female Adept Rogue shouted as she charged towards him and changed her weapon to a pair of dual blades. She started to attack Kite, but he blocked all of her attacks. After a while of clashing, Kite managed to catch both of Puma's blade's with one his and stabbed the Adept Rogue in her stomach. Her HP dropped to less than a half from that one blow. 'He's a lot higher level than we are if he could cause that much damage with one blow...!' She looked up at him through her hair. Yellow eyes locked onto cold-looking turquoise ones before a second blow aimed at her neck PKed Puma. 'God, I love that...!' She thought as her character disappeared and became transparent.

"Oh, crud...! He PKed Sis...!" Lynx whimpered as he hid his face behind his Grimoire.

Cougar growled and gritted his teeth. "Stop whining and cast a spell! We'll make him pay for what he's done!"

"B-but, if he could PK Puma with two blows, imagine what he could do to us--"

"Just cast a damn spell!!" As soon as those words came out of his mouth, a series of blows struck him from behind, bringing his HP down to the point where it was now red. Kite jumped away from the Edge Punisher and dropped back into his fighting stance. Cougar growled loudly and held his broad sword high up in the air. "That does it!! I'll kill you, you bastard!!! RRRRAAAAAAARRRRRRHHHH!!!" The Beast PC charged towards the Twin Blade and swung his sword in a horizontal arc. Kite jumped back in time to avoid being hit and dashed forward, striking Cougar and PKing him before he could get another curse out.

Lynx began to shake in fear. Both of his siblings were gone now...and stupid him, he forgot to bring items to revive them! 'He could kill me with one blow...! I gotta get out of here!!' The Tu Shadow Warlock turned around and began to run away...until the foot of the female Lord Partizan that he and his siblings were terrorizing stuck out and tripped him, causing him to fall on the ground.

'That'll teach you, you bastard!' Etna thought with a smirk as Kite approached Lynx. The Twin Blade was clenching his dual blades in his hands. 'I think I'm gonna like this!' She thought before one of Kite's blades struck stabbed Lynx in the back. "Wicked...!" She whispered as the Shadow Warlock disappeared from the area.

Flonne the Harvest Cleric immediately stood up and bowed to Kite. "Thank you very much for helping us!" When she stood up straight, she flashed Kite a pearly white smile. "If you don't mind my asking, what's your name?"

Kite blinked before he put away his dual blades. "I'm...Kite."

"'Kite'? What a lame name for such a strong character!" Etna exclaimed as she stood up and placed her hands on her hips.

Up close, Kite realized something about the female PCs' appearances. From a distance, he couldn't tell, but up close, they had the appearance of kids--maybe 14-year olds or something. It wasn't very weird to see such youthful-looking characters dressed in skimpy clothing, but the fact that their character designs looked uncommon compared to other players was eye-catching. 'Maybe they're hackers who modified their avatars' appearances,' He thought as he watched Etna.

"Sir Kite, thank you for saving us! If it weren't for you, we would have been PKed on out first day of playing!" Flonne exclaimed as she held Kite's hand. "Whatever can we do to repay you for this?"

"You don't have to do anything. I was just nearby and I helped. That's just the type of person I am."

"This game needs more people like you in it..." Erebus mumbled, still on the ground and transparent. "You wouldn't try to PK us after what you just did, would you?"

The blue-haired Twin Blade blinked and smiled, forgetting the reason why he came to the field in the first place. "Nope. If I want to PK somebody, I'll only do it if they trouble me or any one else. Which reminds me..." He walked up to Erebus and gave him a revival item. "Here you go."

"Th-thank you..." Erebus immediately took it and came back to life.

"Nice to see you looking solid again," Said Etna as she looked at the Adept Rogue. He looked at the ground and she huffed, folded her arms across her flat chest. "What? Are you still crying of what I said? Get over it!"

"Etnaaaa!" Flonne whined before looking at Erebus. "Sir Erebus, would you mind giving Sir Kite our member addresses?"

"That's if he knows how..." The female Lord Partizan muttered as the Adept Rogue approached Kite.

"Um... Here." Three tones in his ears notified the arrival of three requests to Kite waiting to be approved. He clicked yes for all three requests and the names Erebus, Etna and Flonne appeared underneath the name of Yasuhiko's character.

"Great! If you need help with playing the game or just want to form a party, just call me, okay?" Kite smiled at the trio. "And I'll call you when I need you."

Erebus's eyes widened. "Y-you want to play with us?"

"Wow... Helping out a bunch of noobs..." Etna muttered. "Are you going to try and PK us at some point?"

Kite sweatdropped and stared at the Lord Partizan. "No. I'm just the type who can't help helping people out. Besides, with me around, who's going to PK you?"

"Ah, that's wonderful! We can level up without fear of being PKed again!" Flonne exclaimed.

"That's great. Then we should continue on with this dungeon," Said Erebus. He then looked at Kite and fixed his glasses. "Th-that is, unless Mr. Kite has more important things to do than play with a bunch of newbies..."

The blue-haired Twin Blade remembered why he was in the area in the first place. But after staring at the hopeful faces of Flonne and Erebus, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his head and rubbed the back of his head, flashing a smile. "I'll come with you guys. But I'm not in your party, so..."

"That's okay," Said Etna, immediately popping up by Kite's side and wrapping her arm around his. "You'll be more like a bodyguard to beat off any PKers who may be waiting. You don't mind, do you, Kite?"

"Uh, no."

"Good!" With that, the red-haired Lord Partizan began to drag Kite deeper into the dungeon, Flonne and Erebus following behind them.

'This is nice,' The Twin Blade thought with a smile. 'I haven't felt like this in a long time... I forgot what it was like to be in a party. ...Maybe I should send a message to Yasuhiko and see if he'll forgive me...'

X-X-X

"I've found him..." A voice spoke from within the data stream of The World. Several numbers and codes began to take the form of a person. "I've found someone to play with..." The person spoke softly as static overtook the screen and caused it to black out...

X-X-X

Next Chapter

Kite: Who's there?!

???: Come play with me.

Kite: Who are you? Why did you call me here in the first place?!

???: I wanted someone to play with. You're the first person I'll ever play with.

Kite: What?

???: Don't worry, I won't hurt you...

SYSTEM ERROR...SYSTEM ERROR...SYSTEM ERROR...

Next: Log-In 01: Mysterious Message

X-X-X

"Well, here we are at the end of the prologue for .hack//Viral!" Blu Rose spoke through the readers. "Yes, I know: I should either be focusing on my other stories or on posting Twilight again, but the combination of that damn YouTube and the final volume of the .hack//G.U. game in English compelled me to write my own fic. Don't be too surprised, though, if this turns into a failure and I delete the story."

"Don't do that!!" Rena and Shugo shouted into Blu's ear as they popped up on either side of her.

"Eeeeek!!!" Blu dropped to the floor and rubbed her ears. "Damn it, Shugo and Rena! Don't you have a .hack//DUSK fic to appear in or something?!"

"Nope," Said Shugo.

"For nobody's paid attention to our series since the creation of .hack//Roots and G.U.!" Rena cried as tears started to appear in her eyes.

"Aw, don't worry. Maybe this cameo in my Author's Note should bring up your popularity," The authoress told the twins.

They both gave her half-lidded stares. "...There's no money in cameos."

Blu sweatdropped. "Too bad. The only way you'll not be cameos is if you somehow manage to snag a spot in some new .hack series that'll come out later on."

"...Y'know, that's not such a bad idea," Said Shugo as he rubbed his chin.

"Yeah, let's pitch that to the creators and see if we could get a game!" Rena gasped. "Or even better: another series!"

"Stick with the game," Blu muttered. "The games are waaayyy better than the anime. And less confusing." She turned to the readers and smiled. "Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this prologue to .hack//Viral! If it gets enough reviews, maybe I'll continue it! I'll see you in the next chapter--if it comes to exist!" The authoress waved goodbye to the readers as Shugo and Rena plotted in the background. "Bye!!"