Author's note: I remember being anxious to get back to this. Well most people haven't noticed I wrote a chapter three, so if you went straight to this one from two then please make a U-turn. It took me a long time to finish this chapter. I ended up having to look through the player's guide to find a situation to write about. Mia and Elk seemed fun.

Okay, it may seem like this story doesn't have a plot. . .but I promise I'll get to it. You know. . .virus thing has to be settled.

Disclaimer: .hack is Bandai's. They're mean to Balmung. o_o Either way, .hack isn't mine.

'Thoughts', *Emphasis*

?+a^$)r_=8ur

Rain pounded on the sole window of my bedroom. The sky was blanketed by dark clouds, covering the midday sun. Thunder shook the entire house every half-second. I was the only one to know just how annoying that was. My parents always left early in the morning, and the storm had started long after their departure. I would have enjoyed the weather on a weekend, but today was Tuesday and I was supposed to be in school. It must have been the gloom omitted from the clouds that kept me inside; I just didn't feel like going to school that day. Instead I surfed the 'net for nothing in particular.

I read the BBS of "The World". The past few days I had ignored it, logging in and sitting in Mac Anu. People that passed by would point me out to their friends, talking like I wasn't even there. "Do you think she's an event character?" one of them said. "She looks so weird. Like she's glowing."

I sighed. There was a thread about rare weapons, the main topic being a pair of blades called the Spiral Edge. Apparently it was being guarded by a tough monster and someone needed help defeating it. Nothing I really needed to know about. There was a post by a *real* event character, challenging any takers to a game of tag.

"Tag?" I said aloud, reaching for my headset. "Finally, something to entertain me."

Logging in, the first thing I saw was a blaring red sunset. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned around. "Damn! I hate this server. When will they open something else?" I opened my eyes to see a Wavemaster staring at me.

"Didn't you know?" he said in a most unflattering voice. "Theta was recently opened. I heard there was this weird ghost girl in some protected area, too." He scratched the back of his head. "It's interesting to know how fast people get around. . ."

I frowned at him. "Thanks for the info. I guess I missed it." I activated the Chaos Gate, checking my word list. Then, curious, I looked at another option: "Other Servers". There it was. The symbol for Theta. I glanced at the Wavemaster who still stood there.

"Are you waiting for someone?" I asked curiously.

He glanced at me as if he had never seen me before. "Um. . .yeah. A friend of mine." For how he came off he didn't seem very talkative anymore.

I didn't say anything in reply. The silence was awkward, giving me a chance to head to the place I'd read about: Delta: Detestable, Golden, Sunny Demon. As soon as I warped in, I was met by a regular looking goblin. I assumed this was the one that had written the message on the BBS - Stehoney as his signature had implied.

"Let's play tag. If you win, I'll give you a reward. I really doubt that will happen, though." he said. He ran off without another word.

I stared after him for a moment. "I guess I'm It, then." I took off after him, my Bloody Lance at the ready. For how good he made himself out to be, he wasn't all that quick. I caught up to him in a manner of seconds, of course using some maneuvers that involved cutting him off most of the time.

When the red target closed on him, I never took the opportunity for granted. The lance cut through him once and he fell down, gray and lifeless. Out of nowhere, the same voice called out. "You did better than I thought. My bad for underestimating you." The voice turned smug, yet painful. "But don't get cocky. I'm only an apprentice of the Four Gob Kings." At the last syllable, he made a dying noise and I was granted an item called a Goblin Cap. When I looked at it, the description said it was a level six rare piece of head armor.

"Feh. What good will that do me?" I shrugged, deciding to put it in storage when I got back to Root Town.

Upon my re-arrival, the Wavemaster I spoke to earlier was still standing there with the same expression. I hadn't really noticed, but he looked rather sad. I frowned, realizing my excursion couldn't have taken more than three minutes. When I gated in next to him he looked at me hopefully. He must have thought I was his friend because the look turned upside down, so to speak.

Looking at him made me want to cry. He was so pitiful! I couldn't help but ask if he was okay.

"I'm fine," the Wavemaster said. He wasn't too reassuring. He turned away from me. He noticeably tightened his grip around the staff he held. It must have been a gift from someone; it certainly wasn't a newbie's weapon. I dropped my shoulders. I wasn't going to waste any more time trying to make conversation. I started off toward the Elf's Haven to store the armor I'd received.

As I walked down the stairs, I passed by a very peculiar character. She looked like a cat with very long ears and purple fur. The most logical explanation was that she was a NPC. It was illegal to make your character look like anything but a human. I was confused to hear the Wavemaster's voice prove me wrong.

"Mia! I found an area that has a lot of Aromatic Grass. Do you want to go?"

"Yeah, let's go," replied Mia. Her voice was definitely passing through smiling lips.

I kept walking until I heard the sound of two people gating out. I stopped near the stairs leading to the Elf's Haven, fairly close to the bridge that I now preferred not to walk over. Looking over my shoulder I gazed at the Chaos Gate curiously. There was definitely no way anyone could customize their character in the shape of a cat, unless. . .I couldn't imagine such people just walking through Root Town like everything was normal, but. . .

"Was that a hacker?"