Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from the .Hack series or Bandai.
.Hack//Penetration
By ZEROChapter Three: Caught In The Act
"We cannot let them do as they please. Something must be done about these two players. Go and capture them. Then, return them here."
"Understood. We won't fail you."
Elsewhere, Kite had just returned from another dungeon adventure with BlackRose and Piros. They already logged off "The World" and were even offline. Kite decided to do the same and logged off "The World." He went through his mail and saw that he got another e-mail from ZERO.
"At least he didn't do anything like delete some mail."
It read:
Sender: ZERO
Subject: Beware
Kite,
I've found another location of a virus core. This time, it's Virus Core Z. However, I've read the message boards and it seems that people have been searching for us because of our hacking abilities. We must be cautious or we may get caught. I'll be at Δ: Aqua Capitol Mac Anu.
"Could it be the System Administration? This is not good if they're after us." Kite logged back onto "The World" and found ZERO when he first entered.
"Okay, let's get going."
"Hold it right there."
ZERO turned around to see a bunch of players.
"Damn System Administration. Kite, let's switch servers now!"
They arrived at θ: Highland City Dun Loireag. When they arrived, they faced the same situation. Players of the System Administration were after them.
"Quick, enter θ: Chosen, Hopeless, Aqua Field now!"
Kite did that just in time and they were free from the System Administration.
They were free from the System Administration for the mean time, but they were trapped. They couldn't log out unless they risked being caught.
"At least that's over. There's no way they'll find us here."
"I wouldn't count on it. They might be able to find us, even if we are on a field. Best keep your guard up. The core is somewhere in the dungeon. There must be another trap involved. Let's go."
They decided to ride a Grunty this time. ZERO played the Grunty Flute and the Iron Grunty answered his call. They got on its back and started to ride ahead when other players entered.
"Halt! Stop before we use the Data Drain!"
"What?! And here I thought I was the only one who could do that."
"Hang on, I'm going to use a Speed Charm on the grunty."
"That's not possible. It only works on players."
"Not this one I made."
"Just use it!"
The Iron Grunty was now running faster than usual. However, the System Administration was doing the same thing. They summoned a grunty and were now starting to catch up with ZERO and Kite. One drew his sword and attempted to strike Kite, but ZERO used his sword to block it. The Iron Grunty was starting to outrun the others.
"Good, we're safe. What?! They have the same Speed Charm!"
"I didn't expect this. Hang on; I'm going to use a special ability. Now you'll see why I'm part Twin Blade."
ZERO took his sword and apparently split it down the middle. Kite was confused for a moment until he saw the swords starting to reform.
"Here, use this sword and hold them off."
"Twin Blades can't use other weapons except their own."
"You're starting to forget I'm a hacker."
Kite took the sword. The others were starting to catch up yet again. Kite didn't intend on slashing anyone, but didn't want to get caught. The others were now at the same pace and within striking distance. One started to hit ZERO wildly. ZERO felt every blow. He attempted to block, but it was a skill and he could not move whatsoever. Soon, he reached Protect Break status and was Data Drained by the player. ZERO slumped over and was apparently unconscious. Kite took control of his Iron Grunty and road towards the dungeon and entered, leaving the other players behind.
"ZERO, you okay?"
"Ya, I'm fine, but they took my hacking abilities away. I can only use my skills and Data Load. They took my items, Data Override, and even took my Data Bug."
"Data Bug?"
"Weren't you curious why my HP and SP were replaced by some strange symbols? This character I created hastily and I didn't have time to develop. I used hacking programs to create my character as you see now. Let me rest for a bit. We shall continue soon."
ZERO laid there with little power. After an hour of waiting, he finally got up.
"Okay, let's go."
They wandered deeper and deeper into the dungeon. There was no sign of anything, not even a simple treasure chest. As they continued forward, they didn't realize that the players of the System Administration were following them. Kite and ZERO finally reached a room where the gates shut and trapped them in.
"Be careful. There's something wrong and I don't like it."
They realized that they had activated a Magic Portal and a group of creatures were released. They seemed like ordinary creatures…until they suddenly fused together to form a gigantic creature that barely fit in the room. It had a deadly blade instead of a left hand and full armor, not to mention purple Phoenix Wings.
"I don't know what the hell that is, but it definitely isn't normal. Kite, your fast, right?"
"Ya, of course. That's what Twin Blades are known for."
"Okay, get behind it and slash it as much as possible. I'll distract it from the front. Try and slash it as much as possible. Once it starts to notice you, retreat and use some scrolls on it. If it reaches a break status, it could be anyone of us to use our skill. Understood?"
"Ya, let's do it."
ZERO struck the creature from the front. While it was chasing him, Kite went behind it and continuously slashed it.
"Good job. This should be done in no time at all. What?!"
The creature was doing something strange. It was starting to look fuzzy and was going static when the next thing they know, everyone in the entire dungeon was transported to this strange place and to make matters worse, the creature had created a clone.
"Hmmm…this seems oddly familiar (hint: .Hack//LIMINALITY). I just can't put my finger on it."
The System Administrator players were there too, but they didn't bother to interfere. They were too scared out of their minds to even attempt to attack Kite or ZERO. Both were having trouble dealing with the strange, new creation. Once they started to get used to the creature they were fighting, it just created another copy of itself.
"There's no way I can deal with this without my hacking powers. Wait, that's it!"
ZERO rushed forward to meet the System Administrator player who had taken his powers.
"I apologize for what I must do. I promise to heal you later."
ZERO struck the player relentlessly until he reached the break status. ZERO then used Data Drain to regain his previous programs, with the exception of the Data Bug.
"Oh well, here goes nothing."
ZERO cast Ap Do on himself and rushed forward, slashing each creature. It seems that he had defeated them, but they didn't give up. They all rejoined together and created one big creature that was so big, it seemed to go past the heavens. It also had an on new armor that was 10x stronger than its previous armor. It also had four arms. Each arm had a shield on the forearm. On one hand was a giant sword bigger than any existing weapon in the game. On another, it had a spike ball instead of a hand. One hand a gigantic axe 20x bigger than Piros's biggest axe. The last one held a lance that was bigger than any ship of the Aerial Fleet.
"This is a challenge. Luckily, I created just the skill to crush this foe…literally. Here it is, Crush Slash!"
ZERO rushed forward and leapt higher than the height of the beast. Oddly enough, the slash didn't make contact. However, when ZERO landed, there was some gravity that was bringing the creature to the size of a tin can. It resisted as much as it could. It won the fight with gravity…at the cost of all of its armor.
"I can't Data Drain yet. I hate to do this, but I have to! Data Load!"
ZERO weakly activated the bracelets concealed by his gauntlets and put them together to create one bracelet. It started to create the usual vortex and was slowly sucking the creature in. After a few minutes, it was complete.
"There, we're done here. Kite, give this Healing Potion to that player who lays motionless on the ground."
As Kite was about to do as ZERO said, he heard the usual scream, but this time there was something different.
"ZERO, you okay?"
"I just loaded a giant armored behemoth. What do you think? Don't worry, I got my vaccine. I'll take it now."
ZERO reached for his vaccine…but there was no more. He collapsed on the ground.
"ZERO, say something!"
"Get me more vaccines. I have a list on how to make it. Please help me. I'm begging you. If I don't take a vaccine within 24 hours, my character will be permanently deleted and I will die in real life. So please, just help me."
ZERO fell unconscious. Kite knew he had to hurry. He picked up ZERO's limp and flimsy body and used a Sprite Ocarina and gated out. He set ZERO by his Noble Grunty and instructed it to hide him.
"Don't worry ZERO, I promise. I will help no matter what."
To Be Continued…
Kite must search for the ingredients for ZERO's vaccine. With a time limit, a strong player to fight, and System Administration breathing down his neck, how will Kite complete this seemingly impossible task?
A.N.: Happy now? ZERO finally has his weakness and Kite takes the spotlight. I'm sorry if I make him seem invincible 'cuz it's a really bad habit T_T. Anyhow, hope you stick around and not think this fan fic's a total piece of @#Q$ 'cuz I put as much effort on this than anything else. I had to rush through the last chapter and this one so you'll see ZERO's ultimate weakness. For those of you who figured his weakness, I'd like to give u a prize, but I don't got @#$%, k? Anyhows, see ya!
ZERO