Chapter_One

Winter had just closed its grasp upon the busy city of Tokyo and people were still transitioning from autumn's coy warmth and playful breeze, to the bitter rain, sleet and snow that was winter's agenda. It was mid-November, and if the country was the USA, people may be planning for their annual Thanksgiving feast by shopping, making travel arrangements and cleaning their homes. But Culture Day had just passed a week ago, making it Thursday the 10'th of November. JPN did celebrate their own version of Thanksgiving on the 23'd but it was for labor and to give thanks to all those who worked hard, mainly those in the Gvn and those who work on farms. Many towns and cities all across the island nation would hold festivals in honor of those servants who dedicated their time and energy to providing sustenance to the country, be it food, protection or careers. 

Rather than find herself outside on the windy rainy streets, Natazume Corey was safe inside one of the numerous internet cafes.

She wasn't alone either, her fellow Correctors were all with her, except they weren't.

Their morning had started off ordinary as ever, Natazume rallied the group together to grab some breakfast together. For the past two days, no notifications had torn them away from their normal day-to-day lives and it was a little strange. So much so, that the leader of the TKY Sector insisted everyone meet up for breakfast to catch up and see how things were with everyone. It was easy to stay in touch due to constantly being on-call for work but it being nearly 50 hours of dead silence, the leader still wanted everyone to touch base. Just as their orders had been placed however, their phones went off with various noises and degrees of urgent vibration. It seemed Hackers could tell when they were most comfortable since the Gvn had just alerted them to trouble online.

The group had to cancel their orders and hurry to the nearest cafe to sync up with their mobile application. Once they rented a private room for four hours, to be safe and give themselves plenty of time just in case, they settled down and logged in. Natazume had picked a neon blue beanbag chair and had gotten comfortable before she connected to the DgtWld. When she and the others materialized in the dark lifeless grid, they were greeted with someone. That was never a good sign. Usually as Correctors, they were given a brief overview of their mission through their Cnnt application but nothing had been given and now a man in a black suit stood before them, sunglasses covering his eyes as he looked over their hired help. Gvn officials all looked the same, dressed the same and as far as the public was concerned, acted the same: in the best interests of the country, even if that entailed keeping secrets and hiring help to fight in an online world of numbers and letters.

"This mission is very different." The man began to speak.

Just as he did, static surrounded the area, blurring the images of everyone for a brief moment.

"This anomaly has appeared out of nowhere and yet it expands for miles. We cannot run a scan for who or what is taking up space but we have reason to believe-" More static followed by small fuzzy tangents of data to somehow leak from the man speaking to them. "th-that Hackers are using this as a base to stage a large sc-scale atta-ack-k over the upcoming holidaysss." Suddenly the image was gone and Crystal stepped forward and stood where the man once was. She tapped her weapon beside her and turned around to face the group, her face clearly showing her worry. This was weird enough but if what the higher up had to say had any weight, they had greater cause to worry. 

"Alright, usually we'd have coordinates to help us find where to go but we should wait and see if he comes back." She suggested but as soon as she did a loud screeching noise filled the space around them. Cringing, Crystal took a knee and ducked her head. A sharp pain assaulted her head as she felt her upper body seize up. Her normal, cautious patient approach wouldn't work in this situation. Every alarm inside was going off, telling her to log off and regroup offline where it was safe but she couldn't access that part of their program. If she couldn't, then it was certain the others couldn't either. That sent panic throughout her veins as she struggled to break free from the static's down-force. She couldn't even move her mouth to speak as another shift in gravity moved left and then right, rather rapidly.

So much so, that the knight completely fell to the ground.

The others were struggling as well and when Crystal opened her eyes, she no longer saw the usual grid around them, but a [url=http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c260/Genkai001/Settings/14196787_m.jpg]city[/url] bathed in gold. She happened to by layed on her back, sprawled out above a colorful sky and jovial music was [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vYnbnvXXps]playing[/url]. Something hard was under her and she moved to place a palm beside her to help push her into a sitting position. "Guys?" She asked, just amazed she could move, let alone speak finally. Her back was killing her and she still needed to figure out where they even were. "Something tells me that agent was just a trap to lure us here...wherever we are." Crystal spoke softly and got to her feet. Much to her surprise, her weapon wasn't far from her and she quickly grabbed it, almost as means of security.

"This is surely the cause of Hackers. It's hard to imagine they would go to such lengths to pull us here." She said and looked around them. The city's alleys and streets seemed to stretch far into eternity and she knew the lack of communication back to the Gvn server was by design as well. She was worried, anxious despite the lively music on loop in the background. She needed to keep those close to her, safe. It then dawned on her that not everyone was present. With her, was Glitch and Deddoai. But where were the others? "It seems we've been separated, most likely on purpose." She said, mostly to herself though it wasn't helpful to consider that multiple enemies were in the brick maze of fanciful colors and light. "I can't believe it feels warm...the sun isn't real and yet..." Crystal stopped herself as she outstretched her palm upwards, as if able to take a solid piece of the sun hidden behind the feathery clouds and hot air balloons, and actually feel solidarity.

Inside the DgtWld, things were cold and painful and yet this display of artwork reminded the woman that positivity could also be generated. They could feel injuries and battle wounds carried over offline, and yet as she tried to quell her anxiety, she also found complicated feelings of delight and wonder. How could such a world have so much artificial life and hospitality, when outside winter was getting under everyone's skin? "We need to start looking for the others but let's be careful, we have no idea what is lurking in here." She advised the other two, still determined to stay in control of the situation they were in. The armored warrior took a deep breath and tried to push all distracting thoughts out of her head. This was work to them, they needed to stay focused and alert. "We should try and find a place that will serve as higher ground, that way we can have a better vantage point. I also believe the others may do the same." She said and glanced toward the largest point in the city, a large hourglass atop a building.

"That's our goal." She nodded slightly. "If you two aren't hurt, let's get moving."