.hack//Outbreak
.hack//Outbreak is the third in a series of four games titled .hack//Infection, .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak and .hack//Quarantine. It is a "game within a game," a fictional massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) called The World, for which the player does not need an Internet connection. Players can transfer their characters and data between games in the series. Each game comes with a DVD containing an episode of .hack//Liminality, the accompanying original video animation series that describes fictional events that take place simultaneously with the games. The games are part of a multimedia series called Project .hack, which explores the mysterious origins of The World. The games, set after the events of the anime series .hack//Sign, center on a player named Kite who wants to find out why some users have fallen into comas as a result of playing The World. The quest evolves into a deeper investigation of The World and its impact on the stability of the Internet.
Story
After emptying the third phase, Kite and BlackRose are shocked to find that the Lambda server is damaged. Kite meets Mia, who is not acting like her normal self. Mia does not have her usual energy and is not in the mood to join Kite. At Mac Anu, Mistral reveals that she is a pregnant housewife and therefore cannot help Kite any further, although she wants to see the adventure through to the end. Since these events happen around the same time, Kite begins to doubt whether he is doing the right thing, much to BlackRose's chagrin. Nevertheless, Kite continues to follow the clues wherever he finds them. In Σ Chatting Snaring Twins, Kite travels alone through the dungeon, collecting the data Harald left behind. At the bottom, Balmung fights a data beetle alone. After Kite helps him defeat the anomaly, the two talk and eventually decide to team up since they need each other's power. Balmung leads Kite deeper and into another white room where there are hundreds of butterflies.