Akihiko's flat, the top floor of a Shinkjuku Apartment turned base of operations, had been relatively quiet for the past few days. No notifications meant no missions, which meant there was no need for the different members of the team to converge in Shinjuku to perform operations or otherwise communicate with one another in person. Akihiko didn't mind, the off time meant that he had time to finish up training plans, logistics, and prep work he was otherwise behind on.

Or at least it would've if Mama hen hadn't invited them all out to breakfast. His phone buzzed incessantly on a nearby desk as Akihiko sat in front of a computer, typing away rapidly on one of the multiple terminals in his apartment's "hotbox"- the central location of his apartment where most of his computers, gadgets, and gear populated. It was a dim room, with server stacks and computer monitors taking up the majority of the space, with several seats in front of computers and tables crammed with unfinished gizmos, computer parts, and the spare parts of disassembled firearms. Absentmindedly grabbing at his phone, Akihiko stared at the message for a moment, and was tempted to put it down and continue working, but reluctantly texted a response back to the group, signalling that he would be available for breakfast as well.

At the Cafe, Akihiko remained mostly silent during the group's conversation, opting instead to continue work on his tablet as the group placed their orders. This was nothing out of the ordinary, Akihiko was always regarded as the busy-body, and rarely did much outside of work aside from the occasional trip to the bars with Alyssa or the other older members. They hadn't been able to really have any conversation before the entirety of the group's phones went off in near unison. Casually reading his phone, as though he was too busy to be bothered, Akihiko scanned his phone for only a moment before he shut his tablet off and returned it to his bag. He looked up at the others, some of them sighing as Natazume went to cancel their orders. 

[b]"Time for work."[/b]

Joining the others in the back room of a net-cafe, Akihiko eased himself into a professional looking office chair, a large, black leather chair set on wheels and with back support. Akihiko wasn't too pleased about the situation, normally they had time to prep before immediately jumping into the DgtWrld, usually they were given a brief, set with vital information from the Gvt. This time, no information had been sent to their Cnnt Apps, which meant they were going in blind. Akihiko had no unhidden disdain for moving in unprepared, but at the same time, the team had been through more than one mission with no prior information, and they were all still alive. Breathing out, Akihiko closed his eyes as he connected to the DgtWrld. 

[hr]
When he breathed in, he opened his eyes and took on his new persona. Apex rolled his shoulders, the mechanical joints in his arms whining as they came to life. Before his eyes ran a quick diagnosis of his Avatar and its systems. He had been transferred without issue, his weapon programs were running with no issues, and his new Hoverboard program appeared fine. All around him was the black grid of the DgtWrld, a wide, expansive, almost desert like stretch of digital world.

His armored figure stood with the others as the suited persona of a Gvt Official appeared before them. Apex's eyes narrowed. He watched with suspicion as the following conversation took place. He shot Havok a quick glance as she asked a question. [b]"Something [i]always[/i] seems off."[/b] he grunted as they watched the scene unfold, ending with the official glitching out and disappearing. When the gravity shift hit, even Apex, one of the larger of the avatars, was forced to a knee as the waves of force crashed upon him. Growling angrily, Apex struggled to remain conscious for as long as he could before his eyes were eventually forced close by the overwhelming force. 

[hr]

His eyes snapped open, and then squinted as he adjusted to the sudden white that had suddenly surrounded them. Apex was vaguely aware of the music playing in the background, as he got to his feet. Gone was the ordered black grid of the DgtWrld as they knew, and in its place was a golden city with colorful skies and clouds. A breeze rushed over them, and Apex put a hand to his face, the air felt real. Looking around, Apex quickly noticed that almost the entire team was absent from their current location. Apex frowned, activating the menu on his Cnnt, he could see that the others were all still online, but he couldn't access their location. Likewise, he couldn't utilize the log-out feature of his app, meaning he was trapped here until who knows when. 

Apex quickly looked at the two team members that were still with him. Cypher- the hot-headed, but talented Corrector with a big sword to match her nearly as big mouth. On the other hand, BreGle was considerably more upbeat, talented as well as cooperative. Cypher asked for instructions, she was an impatient one, whereas he was more deliberate; and the two of them had often butt heads on more than one occasion, but she trusted his judgement, as he trusted her intuition. BreGle offered his own suggestions, which Apex took in mind as he formulated their next plan of action.

His eyes easily picked out the tallest point in the city, a large tower with an hourglass on it. Considerably taller than the buildings surrounding it, it would serve as a natural vantage point- something a sniper like Apex valued. Just as well, it being the most prominent building in the city meant the others would- if they were here, would likely gravitate towards it as well. At the same time, any enemies they might face would probably centralize around that location too, but aside from the music, the city was dead silent. 

Looking at the others, Apex stretched out a hand and pointed at the hourglass tower. [b]"That's the tallest piece of real estate in this city."[/b] he explained. [b]"It'll give us the best vantage point, and the best chance at finding the others- if they're here."[/b]

[b]"I want it."[/b] With that, the armored mask appeared around his face, and sealed the lower half away. At the same time, a rifle virtualized in the air, solidifying as his hand grasped it.  

[b]"We don't have time to poke around every building,"[/b] he added, [b]"But sticking to the buildings and the sides of the road would be a much safer route than walking down the middle of the street."[/b]