[b]Tokyo, Japan
Saturday December 17'th 2022
11:39 AM[/b]

[center]Chapter_One//Unauthorized.Download.Undetected[/center]

Winter had just closed its grasp upon the busy city of Tokyo and people were scurrying to secure themselves safely indoors where the icy winds would be unable to pester the hard working folks. These days shopping hardly occurred on the streets or in the mall, instead the buildings were converted into apartments to help house people. With poverty and other plights abolished, the world had finally corrected its lens and had finally focused on the well being of society, as opposed to the selfish wants of the few in power. Over the past couple of years, mankind has made wonderful discoveries in medicine, technology and space exploration. And rather than fight wars, Gvns banned together to combat the glaring gap between the rich and poor. Now, there was peace in the world and resources could now be spent on worthwhile endeavors. Now people's lives had been converted to digital data and energy, prompting age expectancy to skyrocket thanks to the invention of the MChip.

Among the new and astonishing inventions, was the DgtWld. Unlike the Internet from say, 2011, people are now able to fully lose themselves in the online life. To be safe however, people have security precautions which prevented them from being hurt inside by viruses and hackers. Of course people can find a way around such petty tricks. There is a danger lurking inside the DgtWld and as such, Gvns have had to enlist the help of secret helpers. These helpers would be compensated generously for their time and effort to defend everyone else from the fallacious dangers. These helpers are known, or unknown, as Correctors. Hired not for their intelligence in computers, but for their high moral standing and ability to multitask with carrying two lives, these people are humanity's final line of defense between criminals and people who want to enjoy the prefect life that has finally been crafted after centuries of strife.

And rather than find herself outside on the windy rainy streets, Natazume Meadows 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. 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 brunch 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 that needed to be dealt with immediately. 

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 by someone. Another odd bright red flag. 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 with 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, his gold colored shades preventing any trace of recognition for the group of five.

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 man dematerialized into a million shreds of data and Crystal stepped forward to take his place. Turning on her heel, she faced the other four and pressed her lips together. The information felt more like a warning and she didn't feel right about it. Of course it was their duty to charge into danger and to not worry about themselves, but for the good of everyone else who couldn't enter such a risky area, known as the DgtWld.

"Alright, usually we'd have coordinates to help us find where to go so I think 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. Someone somewhere was messing with the gravity, making it impossible for her to move. As the density in the air continued to fluctuate, she found her body growing weak as she struggled to stay in place.

With another jerk, she smacked into the ground and let out a grunt of pain.

The others were struggling as well and when Crystal opened her eyes, she no longer saw the usual grid around them, but a city bathed in gold. She happened to be laid on her back, sprawled out above a baby blue sky with light music playing in the background. 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. 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, not comfortable with the knowledge that she had been briefly defenseless.

"This is surely the cause of Hackers. It's hard to imagine they would go to such lengths to pull us here unless they wanted something." She said and looked around them. The city had running water pouring down below. At present, she was on a long golden bridge and could see lush green mixed the the lavish buildings and tapestry. In the background to her left, she noted mountains but didn't think they mattered. It then dawned on her that not everyone was present. With her, was Atomik and BreGle. 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 lurking in the shadows, unseen. "The sun, the breeze...it almost feels...safe." 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 security 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, the large pointed building reaching into the sparse clouds.

"That's our goal." She nodded slightly. "If you two aren't hurt, let's get moving." She encouraged and began to walk down the empty walkway. It wasn't far at all but Crystal knew that getting to the top wouldn't be a simple task whatsoever. "The others are surely close by but for now, let's try to be quiet."