Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own .hack or anything from it save the characters
I have created. Bandai owns the rest.
PG-13: I could probably get away with PG, but not sure just how violent it might get later, so better to be safe.
Author's Comment: So you know, all areas mentioned can be reached in the game and are to a great degree accurate.
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Leaning up against one of the walls to the buildings in Mac Anu near the Chaos Gate, Kite waited with arms folded behind his head and the sole of his left foot at the juncture between ground and wall. Glancing up at the tall buildings that surrounded the gate, Kite wondered if any of them even served a purpose other than to act as decoration. He supposed there was, but he'd never really looked into just what they were. There had been talk of expanding the size of Mac Anu as of late to accommodate all the new players that were joining up, but there had been talk of doing that for years according to the Message Board, and the virus had obviously halted any expansion plans quite well.
Glancing at the Chaos Gate again, Kite sighed and checked the time again, wondering when Mycinity would show up. Her recent email to him had been quite vague on its purpose, but quite specific on where and when to meet up. All it had said otherwise that she wanted to show him something, and that it was most important. What that important thing was he didn't know, but it was probably some area she'd found on this server since he hadn't told her anything about the problems within 'The World' that he was dealing with.
Of course she might just want to go clear out a dungeon with him, even though given that her level was up to Level 15 now, as having access to her Member Address let him know, she probably didn't need much help from him to clear out most levels on this server. Still, he had given her his Member Address, and even though it had just been to cheer her up, as he really hadn't pondered what she might want to do with him once she could contact him, he did sort of owe it to her to see what she wanted.
As if in answer to that thought, the slim young Heavy Blade warped into Mac Anu, then turned to face Kite. As she saw him leaning up against the wall, her face froze as she held back a scream. "Oh no, I'm not late am I? I'm so sorry, my clock must be off."
Pushing off from the wall with a shrug of his shoulders, Kite waved her off. "No, I was early. You're right on time. Don't worry, I wasn't waiting too long. Besides, waiting for you gave me some time to think."
The dread and worry easing out of her body now, Mycinity smiled and began walking over towards the Twin Blade, hefting her sword up over her shoulder. "Thinking about what?"
"Oh nothing in particular, just some silly things."
"Oh, I see."
Lifting his arms up above his head to stretch now, Kite returned Mycinity's smile and said, "So, what's this important thing you wanted to show me?"
"Join my party and I'll show you."
Moments later a flashmail arrived, and Kite chuckled for a moment as memories of something Orca had said to him about it being weird flashmailing someone who was right in front of you, but then the memories of what happened after came to mind and he cut off the laugh. As he accepted the Join mail, Kite watched Mycinity with a very lighthearted expression, almost amused. It was obvious she wanted to take him somewhere, and if she was getting him to join her party, it probably had something to do with leveling up or cleaning out a dungeon. Oh well, sometimes fighting on easy levels was relaxing.
"So, will you tell me now?"
Mycinity grinned, then shook her head. "Nope, it's a secret. You'll just have to see it when we get there."
Kite shrugged. "Ok then. Where are we going?"
Turning to face the Chaos Gate, Mycinity called out, "? Chosen Solitary Gate!" Moments later the warp rings took effect and the pair was off to the area. As they left, a tall, black robed Wavemaster stepped out of the shadows of one of the buildings, a frown on his face. Staring where the pair had just been, the Wavemaster hissed through clenched teeth. "This is very bad. Something must be done before it's too late, or else this world will. . ." Moments later he too warped away.
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As the pair materialized into the jungle area, Kite did a quick check on the area stats. No real shockers, it was a pretty straightforward area, and being Level 17 it seemed almost certain that this was a leveling up training adventure. If only she'd checked his level, Mycinity might have realized that she could have picked an area far higher and gained a great deal more experience points. Of course she had said there was something important here.
Reaching out and grabbing Kite around his right wrist, Mycinity began to tug at him to move on towards the open path. Caught unaware, Kite nearly fell forward, barely catching his balance. "Come on Kite you silly little slow poke, we have to get moving."
"Wha. . . wait Mycinity, don't you want to grab that Piney Apple over there first? They're really hard to find, the rarest f the grunty foods."
Not even bothering to look back as she continued to tug Kite towards the path, Mycinity giggled lightly. "Rare huh? You sound like Elnon, and trust me, you're waaaay cuter than he is. Now let's hurry UP!"
"Ok ok," Kite said with a sigh, falling into step with Mycinity. Taking one last look back at the Piney Apple, Kite shrugged and began looking down the path he was being dragged along. It was a jungle area after all, and that meant monsters would likely be along soon.
Not that Mycinity was the least bit worried about that. Just as Kite had gained information on her character's stats upon trading Member Addresses, so too had she on his. While she had known that he was powerful, she had never dreamed he was a Level 69 warrior. Sixty-nine, what a wonderful number, and there was so much that could be done with it too. While she knew that it was just a coincidence that his level happened to be that, her mind began thinking for the fourth time since she'd learned of his level of the alternative meaning that number held, even if it was sort of disgusting to her. It probably didn't matter of course, it was as if players were capable of doing. . . 'it'. . . in 'The World'. . . could they?
That thought was banished from her mind at the sudden sound of an activated magic portal. Releasing Kite's arm as she gripped her sword with both hands now, Mycinity looked up in near awe at the towering Thousand Trees monster before her. She hesitated for only a moment before raising her sword up high to swing, but by then it was too late, the fight was over. Leaping in at what had appeared almost like a blur, Kite had delivered a pair of slashes that toppled the large creature before even it knew what had hit it. The creature had already begun to fade away by the time Kite's feet landed on the ground, Mycinity standing frozen in mid- swing.
Finally she just lowered her sword and muttered, "Oh." Just staring at the spot where the Thousand Trees had been standing a few moments ago, Mycinity finally snapped out of it and looked over at Kite. "We need to make a right down that path. It won't be much farther."
Kite nodded. It must have been the dungeon she was heading for, which meant she wanted to clean out a dungeon together. Oh well, that shouldn't be too hard. Still, how did she know which way the dungeon was? She hadn't used a Fairy's Orb after all. That meant that Mycinity had been here before, either in a party or by herself. Was that why she wanted his help then, her party had been unable to win on its own? He'd find out soon he supposed.
The next junction offered another magic portal that held a trio of Arrow Fish, all of whom perished again at the hands of Kite before Mycinity could swing her blade. Ignoring the cross path and continuing down the trail, the pair soon came into view of the dungeon. Skipping a few paces ahead of Kite, Mycinity leapt and spun in midair in a 180 so she was facing Kite again. Raising her right arm into the air like a ring announcer as her left motioned towards the dungeon entrance, Mycinity grinned. "We're heeeeeeere."
Rubbing his head in slight confusion, Kite replied, "Um My, what's so special about this dungeon?"
"You'll see."
Turning his gaze away from Mycinity and back to the dungeon entrance now, Kite's eyes narrowed slightly as he prepared for the fight ahead, despite the total one-sidedness of it all. As Kite walked down the stairs into the first room of the dungeon with Mycinity right behind him however, the sight before him was the last thing he expected to find.
The first room within the dungeon was long and somewhat narrow, stretching on for some ways, but that wasn't the unusual part. What was unusual was that there were about a dozen or so players standing in it staring up at him. Two of them he immediately recognized as the Wavemaster and Blademaster that had been with Mycinity when he had first met her, but the rest were new, although he couldn't quite make out the last few in the back.
From behind Kite heard Mycinity shout out, "We're here everyone! See, I brought him, here he is!"
The crowd began to move forward towards the pair now, and Kite's face flushed slightly red. He wasn't used to having people stare at him. Moving down the final step and into the room itself now, Kite watched as a Tall Heavy Axeman in bright platinum armor moved up to him and looked down. "This is the great Kite you told me about My? Hmph, somehow I expected him to be bigger, and more imposing."
"Oh shut up Creeson you big fat ass," a short Twin Blade interjected, reaching out and shoving the Heavy Axeman aside with relative ease, "Twin Blades are by nature usually short and agile. Besides, this is a game, you can pack a lot of power into a small frame in 'The World', or would you like me to demonstrate you weight lifting newbie?"
Creeson kept quiet instead of responding to the challenge, then slowly backed off. As he did so the Twin Blade turned back to face Kite and said, "So, you're Kite huh?" Then over Kite's shoulder she called out, "You were right My, he is really cute, especially those blue eyes."
Kite's cheeks burned hotter now, and he turned to look back at Mycinity whose face was, if possible, even redder than his own. Then suddenly Mycinity screamed out, "Ken, he's standing right there, don't you know how to keep quiet!"
The crowd around them began to chuckle lightly as if they were hearing a rather old joke. Kite too had to smile at it, they certainly seemed to get along. As he was about to look back at the Twin Blade, her hand came to rest on his arm as she said, "Don't be offended by Mycinity, she gets that way sometimes. She doesn't like expressing her feelings much or let guys know how she feels, but she's pretty sweet on the inside." As Kite returned his gaze to the Twin Blade, he thought to argue given his last meeting with Mycinity, but thought better of it. The girl then went on, "Oh, by the way, my name is KenRyu, it's nice to meet you."
"Hello KenRyu, I'm-"
"Yeah I know, you're Kite." Sliding her arm through his, KenRyu continued, "So Kite, how about we ditch this party and go have some fun of our own, you stud you?"
Kite gulped. "W-what?"
"KEN!!!" Mycinity was fuming now and was being restrained by a samurai.
Releasing his arm and cocking her head to the side, KenRyu grinned and said, "Just kidding. Hehehehe." She then walked off out of the crowd with the grin still across her lips.
More fits of laughter emerged from the crowd, and at last the samurai released Mycinity as KenRyu left their view into the depths of the crowd. Launching in after her, the still quite enraged Mycinity tripped over a foot and crashed right into Elnon who landed hard on the dungeon floor, Mycinity now on top of him. As she struggled to lift herself up, Elnon gave a wry grin and said, "Goodness me Mycinity, you sure are being forward with me. You could have least asked first."
Before the crowd could again start laughing, a resounding smack was heard through the room as Mycinity's right hand slapped Elnon across the cheek sending his head slamming back down to the floor. Struggling to her feet, Mycinity suddenly froze as if reaching a sudden recollection.
The crowd parted slightly as she reached her feet lest Mycinity desire to slap anyone else who got too close, and Mycinity turned to face Kite, a smile on her face. "Kite, I sort of forgot to tell you what this is all about, you see. . ."
But Kite however wasn't paying attention. His eyes had traveled beyond Mycinity to the blonde female Heavy Axeman dressed in white, golden halo above her head standing at the back of the crowd, and due to the parting was now visible. "Ryoko, is that you? What are you doing here?"
"Hello Kite. I saw the Message Board so I thought I'd come here but I-"
"I made it everyone, don't start without me. I'm not late am I?"
At the sound of another familiar voice Kite turned towards the entrance to the dungeon, and his jaw dropped. "Natsume, what's going on? Why are you here?"
Walking down the last few steps, Natsume's own jaw dropped now as she replied, "Kite, you're here too? Wow, are you making a guest appearance here, or an inspirational speech to all the members or something. That's great you know."
Kite just blinked blankly at her. "Um, excuse me?"
"Well why else would you be here, you can't be a member, who ever heard of joining your own club."
A bad feeling was beginning to arise from Kite's gut now. "Natsume, what club?"
With her usual grin, Natsume replied simply, "Why the Lord Kite Fan Club of course."
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Author's Notes:
Ok, sorry this one took so long to get out. This Christmas break was a rather dismal one and I got somewhat depressed and just didn't feel like writing. That plus our internet connection was rather on and off again. Never fear though, I am back in the dorms now and should hopefully have the next one out in a day or two.
First things, I decided to just put both Ryoko and Natsume in together since I thought of a way to pull it off. Hope that pleases those of you who have been requesting to see Ryoko. Gardenia will be in the next chapter, you should be able to figure out why now. I've also figured out a way to reduce the overall size of this fic, mainly because I have a major amount of classwork this semester, and I may or may not have the time. Besides, the new .Hack game will be out soon and I had planned to have this finished before then. That won't be the case however, but I'm still going to end this the way I had planned. Just so you all know, this story will end chronologically before .Hack/Quarantine would start. Basically the end of Outbreak.
Please review, and if you would like to ask me a question or make a more private comment, please feel free to email me. Just make sure the Subject is clear so I don't delete it as spam mail.
PG-13: I could probably get away with PG, but not sure just how violent it might get later, so better to be safe.
Author's Comment: So you know, all areas mentioned can be reached in the game and are to a great degree accurate.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- _-_-_-_-_-_-
Leaning up against one of the walls to the buildings in Mac Anu near the Chaos Gate, Kite waited with arms folded behind his head and the sole of his left foot at the juncture between ground and wall. Glancing up at the tall buildings that surrounded the gate, Kite wondered if any of them even served a purpose other than to act as decoration. He supposed there was, but he'd never really looked into just what they were. There had been talk of expanding the size of Mac Anu as of late to accommodate all the new players that were joining up, but there had been talk of doing that for years according to the Message Board, and the virus had obviously halted any expansion plans quite well.
Glancing at the Chaos Gate again, Kite sighed and checked the time again, wondering when Mycinity would show up. Her recent email to him had been quite vague on its purpose, but quite specific on where and when to meet up. All it had said otherwise that she wanted to show him something, and that it was most important. What that important thing was he didn't know, but it was probably some area she'd found on this server since he hadn't told her anything about the problems within 'The World' that he was dealing with.
Of course she might just want to go clear out a dungeon with him, even though given that her level was up to Level 15 now, as having access to her Member Address let him know, she probably didn't need much help from him to clear out most levels on this server. Still, he had given her his Member Address, and even though it had just been to cheer her up, as he really hadn't pondered what she might want to do with him once she could contact him, he did sort of owe it to her to see what she wanted.
As if in answer to that thought, the slim young Heavy Blade warped into Mac Anu, then turned to face Kite. As she saw him leaning up against the wall, her face froze as she held back a scream. "Oh no, I'm not late am I? I'm so sorry, my clock must be off."
Pushing off from the wall with a shrug of his shoulders, Kite waved her off. "No, I was early. You're right on time. Don't worry, I wasn't waiting too long. Besides, waiting for you gave me some time to think."
The dread and worry easing out of her body now, Mycinity smiled and began walking over towards the Twin Blade, hefting her sword up over her shoulder. "Thinking about what?"
"Oh nothing in particular, just some silly things."
"Oh, I see."
Lifting his arms up above his head to stretch now, Kite returned Mycinity's smile and said, "So, what's this important thing you wanted to show me?"
"Join my party and I'll show you."
Moments later a flashmail arrived, and Kite chuckled for a moment as memories of something Orca had said to him about it being weird flashmailing someone who was right in front of you, but then the memories of what happened after came to mind and he cut off the laugh. As he accepted the Join mail, Kite watched Mycinity with a very lighthearted expression, almost amused. It was obvious she wanted to take him somewhere, and if she was getting him to join her party, it probably had something to do with leveling up or cleaning out a dungeon. Oh well, sometimes fighting on easy levels was relaxing.
"So, will you tell me now?"
Mycinity grinned, then shook her head. "Nope, it's a secret. You'll just have to see it when we get there."
Kite shrugged. "Ok then. Where are we going?"
Turning to face the Chaos Gate, Mycinity called out, "? Chosen Solitary Gate!" Moments later the warp rings took effect and the pair was off to the area. As they left, a tall, black robed Wavemaster stepped out of the shadows of one of the buildings, a frown on his face. Staring where the pair had just been, the Wavemaster hissed through clenched teeth. "This is very bad. Something must be done before it's too late, or else this world will. . ." Moments later he too warped away.
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As the pair materialized into the jungle area, Kite did a quick check on the area stats. No real shockers, it was a pretty straightforward area, and being Level 17 it seemed almost certain that this was a leveling up training adventure. If only she'd checked his level, Mycinity might have realized that she could have picked an area far higher and gained a great deal more experience points. Of course she had said there was something important here.
Reaching out and grabbing Kite around his right wrist, Mycinity began to tug at him to move on towards the open path. Caught unaware, Kite nearly fell forward, barely catching his balance. "Come on Kite you silly little slow poke, we have to get moving."
"Wha. . . wait Mycinity, don't you want to grab that Piney Apple over there first? They're really hard to find, the rarest f the grunty foods."
Not even bothering to look back as she continued to tug Kite towards the path, Mycinity giggled lightly. "Rare huh? You sound like Elnon, and trust me, you're waaaay cuter than he is. Now let's hurry UP!"
"Ok ok," Kite said with a sigh, falling into step with Mycinity. Taking one last look back at the Piney Apple, Kite shrugged and began looking down the path he was being dragged along. It was a jungle area after all, and that meant monsters would likely be along soon.
Not that Mycinity was the least bit worried about that. Just as Kite had gained information on her character's stats upon trading Member Addresses, so too had she on his. While she had known that he was powerful, she had never dreamed he was a Level 69 warrior. Sixty-nine, what a wonderful number, and there was so much that could be done with it too. While she knew that it was just a coincidence that his level happened to be that, her mind began thinking for the fourth time since she'd learned of his level of the alternative meaning that number held, even if it was sort of disgusting to her. It probably didn't matter of course, it was as if players were capable of doing. . . 'it'. . . in 'The World'. . . could they?
That thought was banished from her mind at the sudden sound of an activated magic portal. Releasing Kite's arm as she gripped her sword with both hands now, Mycinity looked up in near awe at the towering Thousand Trees monster before her. She hesitated for only a moment before raising her sword up high to swing, but by then it was too late, the fight was over. Leaping in at what had appeared almost like a blur, Kite had delivered a pair of slashes that toppled the large creature before even it knew what had hit it. The creature had already begun to fade away by the time Kite's feet landed on the ground, Mycinity standing frozen in mid- swing.
Finally she just lowered her sword and muttered, "Oh." Just staring at the spot where the Thousand Trees had been standing a few moments ago, Mycinity finally snapped out of it and looked over at Kite. "We need to make a right down that path. It won't be much farther."
Kite nodded. It must have been the dungeon she was heading for, which meant she wanted to clean out a dungeon together. Oh well, that shouldn't be too hard. Still, how did she know which way the dungeon was? She hadn't used a Fairy's Orb after all. That meant that Mycinity had been here before, either in a party or by herself. Was that why she wanted his help then, her party had been unable to win on its own? He'd find out soon he supposed.
The next junction offered another magic portal that held a trio of Arrow Fish, all of whom perished again at the hands of Kite before Mycinity could swing her blade. Ignoring the cross path and continuing down the trail, the pair soon came into view of the dungeon. Skipping a few paces ahead of Kite, Mycinity leapt and spun in midair in a 180 so she was facing Kite again. Raising her right arm into the air like a ring announcer as her left motioned towards the dungeon entrance, Mycinity grinned. "We're heeeeeeere."
Rubbing his head in slight confusion, Kite replied, "Um My, what's so special about this dungeon?"
"You'll see."
Turning his gaze away from Mycinity and back to the dungeon entrance now, Kite's eyes narrowed slightly as he prepared for the fight ahead, despite the total one-sidedness of it all. As Kite walked down the stairs into the first room of the dungeon with Mycinity right behind him however, the sight before him was the last thing he expected to find.
The first room within the dungeon was long and somewhat narrow, stretching on for some ways, but that wasn't the unusual part. What was unusual was that there were about a dozen or so players standing in it staring up at him. Two of them he immediately recognized as the Wavemaster and Blademaster that had been with Mycinity when he had first met her, but the rest were new, although he couldn't quite make out the last few in the back.
From behind Kite heard Mycinity shout out, "We're here everyone! See, I brought him, here he is!"
The crowd began to move forward towards the pair now, and Kite's face flushed slightly red. He wasn't used to having people stare at him. Moving down the final step and into the room itself now, Kite watched as a Tall Heavy Axeman in bright platinum armor moved up to him and looked down. "This is the great Kite you told me about My? Hmph, somehow I expected him to be bigger, and more imposing."
"Oh shut up Creeson you big fat ass," a short Twin Blade interjected, reaching out and shoving the Heavy Axeman aside with relative ease, "Twin Blades are by nature usually short and agile. Besides, this is a game, you can pack a lot of power into a small frame in 'The World', or would you like me to demonstrate you weight lifting newbie?"
Creeson kept quiet instead of responding to the challenge, then slowly backed off. As he did so the Twin Blade turned back to face Kite and said, "So, you're Kite huh?" Then over Kite's shoulder she called out, "You were right My, he is really cute, especially those blue eyes."
Kite's cheeks burned hotter now, and he turned to look back at Mycinity whose face was, if possible, even redder than his own. Then suddenly Mycinity screamed out, "Ken, he's standing right there, don't you know how to keep quiet!"
The crowd around them began to chuckle lightly as if they were hearing a rather old joke. Kite too had to smile at it, they certainly seemed to get along. As he was about to look back at the Twin Blade, her hand came to rest on his arm as she said, "Don't be offended by Mycinity, she gets that way sometimes. She doesn't like expressing her feelings much or let guys know how she feels, but she's pretty sweet on the inside." As Kite returned his gaze to the Twin Blade, he thought to argue given his last meeting with Mycinity, but thought better of it. The girl then went on, "Oh, by the way, my name is KenRyu, it's nice to meet you."
"Hello KenRyu, I'm-"
"Yeah I know, you're Kite." Sliding her arm through his, KenRyu continued, "So Kite, how about we ditch this party and go have some fun of our own, you stud you?"
Kite gulped. "W-what?"
"KEN!!!" Mycinity was fuming now and was being restrained by a samurai.
Releasing his arm and cocking her head to the side, KenRyu grinned and said, "Just kidding. Hehehehe." She then walked off out of the crowd with the grin still across her lips.
More fits of laughter emerged from the crowd, and at last the samurai released Mycinity as KenRyu left their view into the depths of the crowd. Launching in after her, the still quite enraged Mycinity tripped over a foot and crashed right into Elnon who landed hard on the dungeon floor, Mycinity now on top of him. As she struggled to lift herself up, Elnon gave a wry grin and said, "Goodness me Mycinity, you sure are being forward with me. You could have least asked first."
Before the crowd could again start laughing, a resounding smack was heard through the room as Mycinity's right hand slapped Elnon across the cheek sending his head slamming back down to the floor. Struggling to her feet, Mycinity suddenly froze as if reaching a sudden recollection.
The crowd parted slightly as she reached her feet lest Mycinity desire to slap anyone else who got too close, and Mycinity turned to face Kite, a smile on her face. "Kite, I sort of forgot to tell you what this is all about, you see. . ."
But Kite however wasn't paying attention. His eyes had traveled beyond Mycinity to the blonde female Heavy Axeman dressed in white, golden halo above her head standing at the back of the crowd, and due to the parting was now visible. "Ryoko, is that you? What are you doing here?"
"Hello Kite. I saw the Message Board so I thought I'd come here but I-"
"I made it everyone, don't start without me. I'm not late am I?"
At the sound of another familiar voice Kite turned towards the entrance to the dungeon, and his jaw dropped. "Natsume, what's going on? Why are you here?"
Walking down the last few steps, Natsume's own jaw dropped now as she replied, "Kite, you're here too? Wow, are you making a guest appearance here, or an inspirational speech to all the members or something. That's great you know."
Kite just blinked blankly at her. "Um, excuse me?"
"Well why else would you be here, you can't be a member, who ever heard of joining your own club."
A bad feeling was beginning to arise from Kite's gut now. "Natsume, what club?"
With her usual grin, Natsume replied simply, "Why the Lord Kite Fan Club of course."
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Author's Notes:
Ok, sorry this one took so long to get out. This Christmas break was a rather dismal one and I got somewhat depressed and just didn't feel like writing. That plus our internet connection was rather on and off again. Never fear though, I am back in the dorms now and should hopefully have the next one out in a day or two.
First things, I decided to just put both Ryoko and Natsume in together since I thought of a way to pull it off. Hope that pleases those of you who have been requesting to see Ryoko. Gardenia will be in the next chapter, you should be able to figure out why now. I've also figured out a way to reduce the overall size of this fic, mainly because I have a major amount of classwork this semester, and I may or may not have the time. Besides, the new .Hack game will be out soon and I had planned to have this finished before then. That won't be the case however, but I'm still going to end this the way I had planned. Just so you all know, this story will end chronologically before .Hack/Quarantine would start. Basically the end of Outbreak.
Please review, and if you would like to ask me a question or make a more private comment, please feel free to email me. Just make sure the Subject is clear so I don't delete it as spam mail.