Zean's eyes fluttered open. It felt as if he'd been simultaneously hit with a truck, a meteor, and a sledgehammer, then dumped into a compactor and hung upside-down for several hours. Needless to say, he had a headache the size of Netopia.
"Finally. Another hour of that incessant sawing, and I may have gone mad." The voice was all too familiar. So it wasn't a dream after all.
"Unngh... what... what happened?" muttered Zean.
"Well, let's see. First, I disemboweled the Navis who arranged your parent's... well, let's not get into that. Your adrenaline rush crashed, and you collapsed onto your bed. You've been snoring ever since, and I was about to try and bridge the gap between the two worlds in order to shut you up. Now, about that-"
"Just leave me alone," Zean started, "You're crazy. That's all there is to it. Insane. Off your rocker. I don't want anything to do with this."
"Yes you do. Think, boy. You've obtained your ultimate revenge, and it doesn't have to stop there. You may believe that this is your tragedy, something that happens only once in an eternity, and, for some reason, only to those who don't deserve it. Think again. Millions of men, women and children are hurting out there, and-"
Zean knew where this was going. This oddball was going to try to convince him to involve himself in another killing. Slim chance of that happening. "No! I don't want to hear any more! I've already killed three Navis, that's enough! I'm just a programmer, a simple, kind-hearted one who's suffering from a very traumatic experience, and I want NOTHING to do with your mindless murder!" Zean leapt for the monitor and picked up his PET, unplugging it and throwing it across the room. For a fourteen-year-old boy, he could be very forceful.
How could this have happened to him? First, his parents are killed, and now a deranged Navi plagued him like his throbbing head; all this, over the course of twenty-four hours. He needed to clear his mind. Gathering his pack, and, just in case, his PET, Zean hopped on his hoverskates and headed into the city.
A walk was just what Zean needed to clear his mind. It was as if the entire world just floated away. No more problems, no more heartbreak, no more errors. It was this kind of thing that truly inspired him, truly made him feel at peace. It was in this fashion that he had gotten into programming.
Zean had always been a dreamer. His thoughts tended to drift from one thing to another, and he never paid attention in school. Of course, he almost never had to: he was light years ahead of his class, acing every test that was handed to him. There was just no challenge, sitting in class, rattling answers off like they were nothing. Give a detailed description of Gospel, the ancient NetCrime syndicate. No problem. A bug-fusion reaction creates . Still no trouble. It was like he lived in his own world, and because of this, he had very few social relationships. He instead confided in the programs he created: each one could simulate an area of reality, like friends, surroundings...
"There I go, dazing off again. Dad would've scolded me by now..." Zean said out loud. The mere mention of his father's name was enough to stop his breathing for a moment. He had to move on, but he couldn't. Grieving doesn't solve anything. And now, facing the biggest challenge of his life, Zean had to stay totally focused.
Suddenly, Zean heard a scream. A girl... about his age. Something was familiar about the voice, but he couldn't place it.
Wheeling, Zean turned down an alleyway close to the direction of the scream. Sure enough, the girl was there. Some kind of trap held her in place, almost as if she was numb. An older man, perhaps in his early 20's, was nearby, reaching out as if to grab her. His grin was purely evil; it was the grin that the Navi had worn the other night, patrolling outside of the hideout. It was a look so sinister, so vile that it rendered Zean totally breathless. The exact same smile. It couldn't be.
"But it is, Zean, it is." The deep, sadistic voice rang out again. Zean's PET had been switched on the whole time. "You see what I mean? NetCrime hasn't ceased to exist. Far from it. And the authorities are blind to it. You, my friend, have to be the one to open your eyes. That's why I'm here. To awaken you."
Another scream broke Zean of his stupor. The villain had begun to unzip the front of the girl's leather jacket. Right, that tears it. Zean leapt forward, whirling his pack out in front of him and pulling a small circular device out.
The man had only time to look up and blurt his surprise before he was knocked off his feet by a gust of wind from underneath him. Underneath him, a small boy hesitated for a moment. What was he doing...?
Zean pulled a small bar from his bag. So, all those lessons hadn't been totally worthless. The pole extended at both ends, forming into a thin but powerful quarterstaff. Another press of a button, and it began to emit a small pulsating noise, as if there was a current running through it. This, he thought, was not going to be pretty.
Five minutes later, Zean stood over the man, who had finally stopped convulsing. Again, something inside of him had been satisfied. It wasn't a feeling of revenge; no, it wasn't even a feeling. It was something more primal, embedded deep within him. Was this it? Was this... Justice?
"Is he...?" The girl's voice had been reduced to a squeak.
"No. Probably just unconscious. Probably."
"Th... thank you... I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't shown up. He just came out of no where and..." stammered the girl, on the verge of tears.
"It's nothing, really. No one should have to be terrorized like that." Maybe Yan was right, he thought. Maybe everyone was suffering, and he was the only one to stop it. Whatever it was, he had to take action. Zean turned to walk away.
"Wait!" the girl yelled from behind him, "What's your name?
"My name-" Zean started, then paused for a moment before finishing, "My name is Zero."
