Chapter Zero: Pilot
A young boy, carrying a girl of the same age, ran through the streets. Another figure, a girl with black hair and glasses, followed suit. No life could be found for miles around. FanFiction seemed to be giving up at long last. If these high school kids were planning on doing something, they would have to do it now.
"It's so quiet…" Hiyori Tamura, the black-haired girl, whispered. The boy turned his head and gave off a muted smile.
"Seems she was right. The situation seems to have escalated beyond my previous calculations. Let's hope this Intel is reliable; otherwise, you're never getting home." He said. He then averted his attention to the girl in his arms. She was severely bloodied, but she showed no signs of pain. She just stared into the boy's eyes.
Hiyori thought back on the day's previous events and nearly broke down in tears. After everything, what good would come from going back home? No one was waiting there for her, anyway. She saw to that…
After walking through the flame-infested pages and links, the group finally arrived at their destination: one certain category unaffected by this whole disaster.
"Hiyori, I think it would be safer to stay out here. I should go in alone. If this Intel is correct, then this person is highly dangerous."
Hiyori looked at the boy and shook her head. "I'm not letting you go in there alone. You already saw what happened to the others. What if something happens to you?"
The boy gave off his signature smile. "If I don't make it out, resort to Plan B. It is incredibly risky, but what other option is there? Anyways, I trust that you will correctly determine the proper course of action to take if the need arises."
"But, what if I can't do it?"
"Kyon spoke highly of you, so I don't see any need for you to doubt your abilities." Hearing the name Kyon, Hiyori shivered from an ever-present feeling of dread.
The boy handed the injured girl to Hiyori. "Please take good care of her. Without her, things could have been a lot worse." He walked forward, but slowly looked back. "If this happens to be the last time we meet, I want you to know that I wish you luck in bringing Patricia back. Hopefully, things improve for you after this nightmare. For all of us, in fact."
The black-haired girl watched the boy disappear into the unharmed category.
"He is wrong. This is my fault. I under-analyzed the situation." The bloodied girl spoke softly. Hiyori patted her head in an effort to calm both of them down.
The world around the two girls continued to collapse into bits of data. It wouldn't be much longer until FanFiction exhaled its last breath…
Meanwhile, the boy found the culprit sitting behind a cliché oversized office chair.
"Wow, it sure took you long enough, Koizumi." The culprit said. The chair spun around and Koizumi found a gun pointed directly at him. An image of a cat glistened on the left side of the gun.
"Now, now. No need for violence. I am merely here to ask you to save this crumbling site. Sure, it is not perfect, but I have grown attached to the community here. All stories, both good and bad, are what make this haven human."
The culprit laughed. "You just don't get it, do you?" With that, the gun fired...
...But this is not where our tale begins...
