Disclaimer: I do own the 3-volume set, .hack/legend of the twilight, on which much of this story is based, and I am watching the anime, .hack/SIGN. I don't own the 4 .hack PS2 games (they're almost impossible to buy right now); but, I did rent and play some of the third one. This story is simply my imagination taking a small journey...

.hack/DAWN

by: theoaktree

The next day, when Mike logged on, there were half a dozen different threads on the message board discussing the new character class. He found it funny when he read the one about why CC Corp might have created it. He had more mail from Zephyr with another quest. Already? he thought. What's going on? The message explained that he would get the cookie arrows from the first monster he defeated at the target field. He wondered how he'd be able to tell them apart from his regular arrows.

Once he was in, he PM'd Freddy, explaining where he was going, and headed over to the Gate to get to the right server. He found the field he'd been assigned was a regular one; so, he selected it and proceeded to the first spinning display to start battling and get his special arrows. Five minutes later, he finally defeated the monsters, having discovered that aiming an arrow in battle conditions was really hard, and he'd had to use several Hanged Man cards that paralyzed the monsters to keep them still while he got experience. The cookie arrows proved to be sufficiently different to present no big problem in battle. They were gold-coloured, heavier and shorter than the regular ones.

"Hey Mike!" Freddy came running down a nearby hill. "Finally found you!"

"This bow and arrows is a lot harder to use than the other stuff. I gotta aim."

"Heh. I guess you'll get the hang of it, though."

"Yeah. Let's go find the virus."

They finished clearing out the open field, and, during the last battle, Mike's finger slipped on his controller, causing him to discover that he could lock onto his target. As they were emptying the treasure chests that had appeared after the battle, he said, "I just figured out how to lock on with this thing." He held up the bow.

"Cool. I guess that'll make it a lot easier from now on." Freddy looked around. "Time for the dungeon."

"Yeah. I wonder what the virus'll look like this time."

"It was the treasure chest the last time."

They cautiously entered. "No way!" exclaimed Mike. "Where'd everything go?" The walls, floors and ceilings were all a uniform, featureless grey. There was only one level, devoid of monsters, treasure chests or anything, even grunty food.

"This is creeping me out, Mike. This is all wrong."

"No kidding. What am I supposed to do now?" He idly aimed his bow around. "Hey, I got a lock on something!"

"Then shoot! It's gotta be the virus!"

Mike quickly notched a cookie arrow and let it loose. It shot up and then disappeared. They waited uncertainly.

"Leave! Now!" It was a girl's voice.

"Zephyr?" called Mike.

"Forget that!" shouted Freddy. "Run!"

Mike immediately saw what the problem was as he turned to flee; the walls were closing in on them. Once outside, they watched in shock as the dungeon entrance collapsed in on itself and disappeared.

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Freddy. "That was way too close!" He sat down, and Mike joined him. "You mean the dungeon was the virus?"

"I don' know," responded Mike uncertainly. "Maybe the virus had taken it over or something."

"I have seen them do that."

The boys spun around at the unexpected voice, which had come from a tall female warrior of long-arms class, and she was holding a Spear of Voltan. She was accompanied by several knights and another woman, a wavemaster, holding a book.

"Magi," said the warrior to the woman with the book, "is the virus still present?"

Magi studied a floating data screen briefly. "No, Kamui. No sign of it now."

Kamui returned her hard, steely gaze to the boys, her eyes resting on Freddy. "You were at that other virus incident. How did you come to be here as well?"

Freddy swallowed. "Um... Mike here... you see... he got this quest, uh, to hunt viruses..." Kamui's eyebrows shot up at that, and he stopped completely.

"Where did you get such a quest?" she asked Mike.

"Excuse me, sir," interrupted Magi. "For a class that has just been released, Mike127 there is on a remarkably high level."

Kamui stepped over and examined the screen briefly before turning back to Mike. "Are you a hacker to get yourself to such a level?"

"No, ma'am. You see, Aura..."

"Aura's involved! Knights! Take these two into custody. I must question them further. Magi, order a repair team here immediately for reconstruction, and seal off the field from further access until it's finished."

"Right away, sir!"

"Man, is this ever lame!" Mike kicked his feet while he sat, waiting for he-didn't-know-what, dreading the unknown. They had been taken to a small office in Carmina Gadelica on the Lambda server and told to wait.

"No kidding," responded Freddy. "At least they didn't put us in jail or anything."

"Yeah. I didn't know being a hero could be so crazy."

"'Hero', huh?" Kamui entered the room and sat down behind the desk that was off to one side. "Didn't you know that heroes are supposed to deal with difficulties?"

Mike fiddled with his bow. "Yeah; but, I guess I didn't know how much."

"Are we in trouble?" asked Freddy.

"Oh, not at all," responded Kamui dismissively. Magi came in and sat down at the left end of the desk, resting her book on it. "I just need to ask some questions, to see where you two fit into what's going on right now. Have either of you read the 'It looks like war' thread on the message board?" The two boys shook their heads. "Hm, you should. It seems that some one, or a group, is systematically attacking the World, and," she glanced at Freddy, "I've found you at the two latest incidents."

"Actually," said Freddy, pointing at Mike, "he was at the first one too."

"But," continued Mike, "Aura pulled me out after I touched the item-master's chest to save me from the virus."

"So, you just happened to find that virus?"

"No," said Mike. "I'd asked Zephyr for a quest and she sent me there to find it, 'cause the Cobalt Knights didn't know it was there yet."

"No, we didn't. It seems you activated it. Any idea why she accepted to give you these 'quests'?"

"Zephyr said Aura wanted me to be her hero and her servant, and to hunt the viruses and stuff."

"Why do you think she would choose you and bypass the Cobalt Knights, who are experienced debuggers?"

"Cause I looked for her teddy bear."

Kamui stared at him blankly for a moment, then turned and looked at Magi, who shrugged and shook her head. Finally, she said, "What on earth does that have to do with anything!"

"Um, when I first logged on about three months ago as a newbie, Zephyr talked to me and asked me to look for it. When I saw her the next time, I told her I wanted to be like a hero, and she sent me on the quest. After I got attacked by the virus, she saved me, uh, Aura did. She said that me looking for the teddy meant I was a trustworthy servant. When I asked why the Cobalt Knights couldn't do the quest, she, Zephyr, said they were servants of CC Corp and Aura wanted a servant of her own."

Kamui winced at the remark about CC Corp, but pressed on. "Just you? What about your companion here?"

"Freddy? I asked him along because he's my friend. Zephyr said it was okay."

"Ah. How old are you two, outside the World?"

"Twelve," said Mike. Freddy nodded.

"Kids then."

"Yeah, but Zephyr said that was irrelevant."

"Irrelevant, eh? Do you know anything about hacking or debugging?"

"No." Mike shook his head.

"Then how does Aura expect you to deal with the viruses?"

"I'm supposed to shoot special arrows at them. That's what I did today and the dungeon shrank and disappeared."

"'Special arrows'? How are they special?"

"She, uh, Zephyr told me they have cookies in them."

Magi looked up at that. "What do you think Aura's up to, sir?"

Kamui sat back. "I've got my suspicions." Turning to Mike, she said, "Would you contact me when Zephyr gives you your next quest? I'd like to join your party, along with Magi here, if that's alright."

Mike shrugged. "Sure."

"Excellent; thank you. You two may go."

Once the boys had left, Magi looked at Kamui, eyebrows raised.

"In answer to your question, Magi, I think Aura's finally learning to defend herself." She leaned back again thoughtfully.