Intrigue

"We are just facing an unavoidable situation."

- Ovan

Intrigue is the seventh episode of .hack//Roots.

Story
In a far corner of The World R:2's system, a strange character appears. The outline of a Twin Blade appears in silhouette surrounded by warp rings resembling those from The World.

Elswhere, Tawaraya meets with Sakisaka in a field. Sakisaka returns the Virus Core he was given earlier, saying he doesn't want to have anything to do with TaN anymore. Tawaraya says that he'll regret turning against TaN, but Sakisaka ignores him and returns to town. Tawaraya's words soon ring true, as the Twilight Brigade finds themselves virtual prisoners in their own @home. In the field's they are relentlessly stalked by Ender and other agents of TaN, and even in town they are unable to escape the rumors spread by TaN about the Brigade. Realizing they need to work together Shino begins planning out a strategy for their future actions. But without Ovan's help the Brigade is lacking most of its power.

Shino travels to the Arche Koeln Waterfall where she meets with Ovan. She asks Ovan if provoking TaN was really a wise choice, as their aggression has been hard on all of the Brigade's members, especially Tabby and Haseo. Ovan replies that TaN would have done this anyway, and now that they've acted, the Brigade can now plan out their next move. He orders Sakisaka, Tabby, and Haseo to search the Lost Grounds for Virus Cores, saying they'll be needed soon.

Unknown to Ovan, another character has taken up the hunt for Virus Cores. Gord, with a little help from Nasubi finally succeeds in locating a player with a Virus Core. That player winds up being none other than Phyllo. Desperate for the Virus Core Gord tries attacking Phyllo, but is easily defeated by the experienced Harvest Cleric. Phyllo informs Gord that he doesn't even have the core anymore, he gave it away to Shino. Continuing he says that there appears to be six Virus cores in total, one for each of the discovered Lost Grounds. Gord rushes off, eager to find whatever Virus cores remain.

Off in a field Tabby fights monsters with Sakisaka. She wonders if the strange star creature they encountered earlier was somehow related to Virus Cores or the Key of the Twilight. Sakisaka says it probably wasn't, and admits that the creature had an almost sinister feeling to it.

Traveling by himself Haseo explores the Battlefield of Coite-Bodher. Heading to the A-shaped sign Shino found earlier he notices that it's surrounded by six pillars, each marked with a different colored jewel. As he begins to investigate further the field suddenly turns staticy and loud sounds begin to blare. Haseo sinks to his knees as strange shapes appear around his character. Disturbed, Haseo travels to Mac Anu where he visits Phyllo. He tells Phyllo about his experience and asks if any bugs have been reported in the game. Phyllo says that The World R:2 has lots of bugs, and he's not the first character to experience something like that. Changing the topic he asks Haseo how the Twilight Brigade's been doing. But Haseo receives a mail from Shino, and leaves without giving Phyllo an answer. As he walks away Phyllo tells him he can visit him any time he likes.

Returning to the Brigade's @home Haseo receives his order to search the Lost Grounds with Tabby and Sakisaka. Their first target is the Arche Koeln Waterfall. As they search the area Tabby teases Haseo about having a crush on Shino. Looking around Haseo notices another A-shaped sign on one of the area's bridges. In TaN's @home Naobi meets with Tawaraya. He stresses that it's crucial TaN obtains the Key of the Twilight before the Brigade. Ender soon arrives with her own report, she says that while the Brigade appears calm on the outside, they're actually moving quickly to secure the remaining Virus Cores. Tawaraya begins to formulate a plan, but Naobi asks him to leave the room, saying he has to discuss a confidential matter with Ender. After he leaves Naobi tells Ender that their plan is quickly coming together. Ender asks if Ovan will actually act the way Naobi thinks he will. Naobi responds that with the Key of the Twilight as bait, Ovan has no choice but the move. Satisfied, Ender returns to her observation of the Brigade.

Haseo and his party travel to the Battlefield of Coite-Bodher next. Examining the sign located there, Haseo realizes that it's the same sign that they found in the Arche Koeln Waterfall. The sign suddenly begins to glow, and Tabby, Sakisaka, and Haseo are all teleported to an unknown destination.

Trivia

 * This episode marks the first appearance of Azure Kite.