Corrected & Connected in Cyber Space Interface

[Genkai]

A soft playful melody of a girl singing entered Sasha's unconscious, urging her awake.

That's how people woke in the year 2021. If she were back in the year 2009 or 2011 for example, she would be waking up to the sound of an alarm clock or one of her parents banging on her door. Both of those ways now seemed quite barbaric and utterly ancient, lost in the new world of technology and limitless boundaries. The time was 9 AM on a Sunday morning. Sasha finally surrendered to the music, a song entitled Mimiru had been playing as a mental alarm clock she had set herself using her microchip and account online. The girl of twenty sat up and the music died down, having gotten the girl to wake up, it had severed its purpose and was no longer needed. Sasha glanced around her room. White walls, four of them. How plain could one be? Sasha was quite the opposite though. The only reason her room looked so drab and impersonal was because the one time her parents had allowed her any customization of her room, she ended up making it bright pink with white polka dots and lime green horizontal stripes.

So now of course she was confined to live in white unfashionable room.

Sometimes the girl swore it sapped her of her spirits. She got out of bed and grabbed her cell phone and checked her texts, the news, her e mail, the weather, and the other things one needed to maintain a dependable social life. She of course was also checking the ads online for people who had a room for rent. Though the only income she had was being a Corrector. She didn't have time for a real job which in her opinion sucked because when she wouldn't be a Corrector, she wouldn't have much experience and no one would hire her. But those worries weren't on her mind at the moment. She had to great ready for the day which luckily didn't take long in the present time.

With a few clicks of her phone, she was out of her cotton PJs and now standing in dark blue jeans, a light pastel yellow tank top and brown ankle high leather boots. The girl looked put together and clicked again on her phone and now she had around her wrists were silver bangles. And around her neck she had a silver chain necklace with a pink heart pendant. She brushed out her hair and clicked a button on her cell phone and a cute yellow lace headband was in her short brown hair. "Perfect." Sasha said as she looked at herself in her cell phone. It may be small but it was pink and cute and she loved it. Having no need for her cell, she pocketed it and made her bed.

Though it was more of just tossing the top layer over everything and calling it complete. In her mind, she had other things to do. She grabbed her laptop from her desk and sat on her bed. Deciding that since the usual scent of bacon hadn't reached her door, she had time to go online and enjoy the morning elsewhere. Sasha quickly grabbed her cell phone and sent a mass text to all of her friends: Devon, Nathan, Rey, Sheela and Nicholas though Sasha had a tendency to give everyone nicknames whether they wanted them or not. So in her Directory and on her phone, they showed up as DevDev, Natie, Reeeya, Shell and Nicka. Of course these changed every once in a while when she felt like it. [Hey guys! Good morning! Don't sleep in too late k? <3 Sasha] After that, she coded it to blink and sparkle with pink colors and then sent it off to her gang of Correctors. Of course no one knew who they were.

And that made the girl feel like a super secret agent. One whose mission was to protect the weak and fend off the evil hackers and other icky online buggies. Sasha then picked up her shiny light blue laptop and turned it on. Once she had done that, she slipped on her virtual goggles which were by her bedside table and accessed the DgtWld. Once in it, she started to play a song to carry her up beat attitude along. Credens Justitiam was the name which meant believing in justice. It was an old song from an anime that Sasha used to be in love with. It always got her into the fighting and saving mood that came with being a heroic Corrector. Her mind drifted to another place where it was just her. There were swirling lights of gold around her. As she was enjoying the energy of the music, she heard a beep beep beep.

In the corner of her vision, she saw the words [1 Urgent Notification] blinking in red bold letters. She knew what it meant. The Gvn was sending another mission their way via Cnnt. Sasha turned off her music grabbed her cell phone and set her laptop aside so it wouldn't get harmed. She then looked up and looked at her door. It was locked so that meant she could just go into the DgtWld. The girl hated keeping her second life a secret from her parents which was the main reason why she wanted to move out. "I guess maybe I can try begging DevDev or Natie or maybe Reeeya." She muttered as she laid back in bed and got comfortable. With a click of her phone, she logged into Cnnt and her body materialized along with her goggles and cell phone.

Materialization was one of the new advances Sasha had enjoyed. You'd think teleportation would be the next thing unveiled but it would be a while before masses could use it all at one for commuting per say. Though materialization was how you programmed clothes to appear on your body thanks to the McCp in the back of your neck. Openly her eyes, she was now dressed in different clothing. And she was physically in the DgtWld. She walked out into the long distant blue colored plane of data and numbers. Everything was crisp and clean. She heard the typical humming of data being processed all around her and put her hands on her hips. It seemed she would have to wait for the others in her group before the Admin of Cnnt would give his orders.

The blond haired mecha-looking girl put her hands on her hips and awaited the others' arrival. She held out her hand and her pink mini phone appeared. 'I suppose I can play a game while I wait.' She thought as she clicked two buttons and a tetris game appeared in front of her. she used her fingers to point and rotate the shapes as they fell down from nothing. One of the perks of being able to be in the DgtWld like this is better interaction. Tee-hee!'

Meanwhile on the other side Tokyo, in the real world, a male was already wide awake and sitting at a kitchen table. Devon was just enjoying his coffee in his rather high tech loft in the heart of the city while Sasha lived on the outskirts of it. Devon was dressed in his usual all black attire. He was reading some news on his phone when he had gotten the text from Sasha. He smiled slightly at her usual antics and sipped his coffee. He had not been caffeinated, he would still be in bed. He got up and refilled his cup and leaned against the black granite counter-top and sent her a reply back. [Hey Sasha, I've been awake long before you as usual, I'm sure. But good morning at any rate, right? - Devon] And with that, he blackened his text and sent it back her way.

Then he took his silver coffee mug and brought it back to his lips while his cell phone remained safely around his wrist. The boy was old enough to live on his own. He still attended the local well known school, Tokyo U. He was taking digital classes and even TA'ing for a few. He was tempted to take up a side job as a tutor or teacher but with the way things were going in thr DgtWld, that might be near impossible. Lately there had been more frequent sightings of one of the most wanted entities. They were calling the girl Vypr. Whether she was real or a conjured up virus was unknown, even to their Gvn. That was unsettling for the boy. He wanted to put a stop to her because she was clearly up to not good.

When he finished his drink, he set it in the sink and walked back down the hall to his room. He passed a large mounted red snapper which was 3 feet. It was a fish he and his father had caught on his 18'th birthday and it was the first thing to be put on the wall of the loft his parents had bought for him that year as well. They accepted his independence and encouraged it. They knew if they tried to keep him caged, he would just distance himself even more. For that, Devon was even more grateful to his parents. The boy kept walking though and sat down at his desk and was about to access the DgtWld when his phone beeped three times. The boy glanced down and saw the usual red blinking and tapped the phone and then logged in, knowing the longer he wasted, the worse things could get.

Once the materialization was finished he appeared next to a young looking blond who seemed wrapped up in a game of tetris. His own appearance was rather youthful compared to his own age. Devon now had on a blue shirt, a white jacket with blue orbs on either side and then he had on light colored jeans and simple sneakers. In hand he had his cell phone and a long silver fishing pole with a hook on it already. "Hey." He just greeted Sasha as he looked around. Things seemed calm but then again they always did. It wasn't like the Gvn would transport them to anywhere dangerous without briefing them before hand.

Devon was now Aqualo.

Just as Sasha was now Rush. Much to his annoyance however, she liked to call him Fish Boy or Fishie or Aquaman. Devon often just let them slide because yelling at her was like yelling at a book. It was pointless and he'd be losing fast. The boy simply wished the items in his hands away for the time being and they did just that: materialized into white tiny particles and vanished into nothingness. Even though he was very well versed in the DgtWld to the point of being able to navigate it blind, it still struck a small nerve to see what humankind had done in such a short time. The advance in technology was something to draw out the long forgotten awe and amazement of the male.

That was where his passion was and where it always would be it seemed. Devon clenched and unclenched his fists. He was very tempted to listen to some music while he waited but he didn't think Sasha would enjoy his techo much compared to her boppy anime crap. The male would have hoped that by the time his friend hit age 20, that she would have grown out of her phase. He was wrong to hope such things it seemed. But at least Sasha stuck by her guns and didn't care what he thought on the subject. Devon also had an inkling that if he put on some techno, that she would start dancing to it and he didn't need to see that bottle of crazy juice open and spew all over the DgtWld.

Usually when the others would show up, their Admin of the Cnnt App would speak from somewhere with their orders and show some diagrams if needed. Then they'd be taken to the action and asked to rid the DgtWld of whatever didn't belong in it. And things were real. That was something on his mind every time he logged in. This job was more real than anything else. If they got hurt, they'd feel it and the injury would stay with them once back in the real world. If they got killed...well that was it as well. Game over. For real. Devon valued his life a great deal and would have to put his life on the line to save countless others. It was an occupational hazard.

"Move that one to the far left." He couldn't help but utter advice to Sasha who seemed to be about done with the same since her box was almost filled to the top.

Sasha frowned as her game ended and it vanished and she looked to Devon with a pout. "Awww DevDev. I lost! You couldn't have helped sooner?" She whined playfully. It seemed she was a bit nosy and whiny when she was worried. And of course being called in by Cnnt so early in the day would make any Connector nervous. It likely meant something was bad. "I wish these damn hackers would take Sundays off or soooomething!" Sasha told him.

"I would agree with you there but wishes aren't really realistic, are they?" He just replied.

[Reialgo]

A soft song filled his dreams, distorting them as his mind started to register reality and the dream. Gradually his own consciousness figured out that the sound was of an eternal source and brought him to his senses. He slowly opened his eyes seeing a dark room devoid of almost any kind of light, those curtains were pretty heavy after all. He lay in bed as he let the song run it's course, he had picked it specifically because of the change in beat from the intro though he would have to change it before he used it too many times. In another time, he would have reached for his ears, or shot a hand towards the closest table when he wished the song to end. Now he had a microchip somewhere in the back of his neck that did what he wanted when he wanted. It cut out a lot of effort in most normal day activities, though the concept made him smile for his own reasons. His hand slid from his bed sheets and down the side of the wooden frame, searching around the floor until it settled just beneath his bed. He pulled his cell phone from under there, pulling the two parts open and watching as the screen flicked onto the main menu. The concept of loading was just about a thing of the past save for massive files and even they took only minutes at worst. He tapped the screen a few times as he moved through the menu, meanwhile the second half of the screen was showing a broadcast of the resent news highlights. "No new texts..." he muttered. Finally he decided he should stop wasting away the day under some covers.

Pushing them away carelessly he hopped up onto his feet, currently dressed in monochromatic dark blue pyjamas but only wearing the lower half of the set. He set about the phone's menu again, opening up the 'wardrobe'. The screen half became blank, and when he tapped on a specific piece of clothing that he liked, which he had store in neat folders, a preview of the clothing item appeared. A second tap materialised the clothes on him, starting with a white button-less shirt that was slightly to big for him but hardly noticeable, a light, black top, dark blue trousers that replaced his pyjamas and simple trainers, black again to go with the overall look but also had stripes of white within the design. He paused for a moment before saying, "Oh yeah" a few more taps and a pair of circular chains appeared attached to the right side of the trousers. Satisfied he made for his kitchen. He liked that he could call it that, it just made life a whole lot easier. Walking over to one of the several miniature and pulling it open to reveal a cardboard box. One thing that hadn't completely changed yet, humans still needed there own hands to feed themselves. Pouring out the box's content's of circular shaped wheat cereal into a nearby bowl, he then made for the fridge. Cereal would probably be looked down upon as a pretty childish thing to be having in the morning, but he had long since added it to the long list of things he couldn't care less about. Speaking of childish, his phone began to vibrate, a text. He poured the milk with one hand while prying the phone open with the other, letting the actual opening mechanism do it's job for once. Immediately he was looked at a new screen again, the long menu had been replaced by three simple options, open, leave, ignore. The top of the screen read [ Incoming Message] and the screen that was free displayed a girl showing off an incredibly cheerful smile. Setting the phone down momentarily, he moved the bowl over to a small table in the equally small kitchen before turning his attention to the message at hand, naturally pressing open. Grinning at the usual morning response he moved the phone to the table as well before typing back, a holographic keyboard popping out from the screen as he began to do so. It was an app that he downloaded and he frankly found it rather useful[Morning to you to, guess your at it already-Nathan] ensuring to colour code it in his usual colour before sending it and watching the envelope 'fly away'

As he finished on his simple bowl, Nathan messed around on his phone once again, expanding the menu to full size, covering the transponder screen for ease of navigation. He cycled through a mega-list of songs before stopping at the desired one RPG by a band that was too old to be around, like most of the bands he listened to which saddened him somewhat. He got up as the sound played away in his head, putting away the bowl and spoon used as he nodded his head softly to the beat, mouthing some of the words at random moments. He left the song playing as he returned to his cell phone's main menu, wondering what his next move should be. As usual he was free, so either anime or the DgtWld were the two options that he saw in his mind. Considering that he liked to have a thorough look around the DgtWld even when 'off-duty' he relocated again, to the living room where he had last left the virtual goggles. He was about to set them on when the song was abruptly cancelled and a flashing warning red phrase popped on the screen [Urgent Message inbound] there was no option B or C, but he didn't need to open it to know what was coming next. The only thing to bypass everything on his phone, especially when music was playing, was a gvn notification. Looked like it was time to save the world again, well the digital one anyway. "But this one is pretty early" he muttered again to himself. He moved a finger to point at the screen, "go" was heard before he tapped it. Materialisation, close enough to teleporting and was almost as cool as it. Nathan took a new breath, this time in another plane. It was blue and heavily populated with not just many people but numbers and other bits of data that he could not recognise not matter how many times he tried. He straightened the colour of his coat, a habit he had developed upon every entry to this world, and looked to see if he could see any other correctors around. Two caught his eye, but no Admin in sight, he must have been waiting for a larger gathering. "Hey guys!" he called waving towards them, it seemed Devon had kicked up something with Sasha, not that it was a rare occurance in-fact it was rare to not get the girl to pout over something. He grinned as he stepped close to the group, giving his surroundings another glance over, "Oh man where the admin, the sooner we get this done the sooner we have time for a proper sunday." He wondered what this was all about, while it wasn't rare to gather all many of the correctors, it was often not truly needed and briefing would be told individually. Nathan remembered something from the highlights earlier, something about an internet 'fad' called Vypr. call it a fad all they want, the fact that it even managed to come from the mouths of the reporter in the first place meant that it had attracted some serious interest, and often that was for the wrong reasons, maybe it was something to do with it?

[Snowflying]

If I lay here, If I just lay here,
Would you lie with me and just forget the world...

The soft melody of Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars echoed in the mind of Resa Talon as she materialized back into reality. Last night had been another of little sleep, and she had spent the majority of it patrolling around the DgtWld. She found the song relaxing and often listened to it when she was alone. She also liked how it related to her, as the DgtWld was often where she went to 'forget the world'. But now she stood in her small apartment, humming the melody to the song as it lingered in her mind.

And the apartment was indeed small, consisting only of her bedroom, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. But Rey didn’t mind; it’s not like she spent much time here, anyway. Her bedroom – the room she was currently in – was rather sparse in furniture. Off in the corner was a twin-sized bed that was neatly made with un-wrinkled covers, looking as if she rarely used it. But what was demanding Rey’s attention right now was the wall off to her left. All the other walls in her room were a plain white, but this one was covered in photos, bulletin boards, and notes. Rey walked up to it now, tracing with her finger a line of yarn that she had tacked up to the wall. This wall was where she spent most of her time, doing most of her thinking – it was here that she tried to track down hackers. Pieces of paper labeled with names of various Viruses dotted the wall, all attached to a piece of yarn that connected some of the Viruses together, or even with a hacker. Life as a Corrector had allowed her to watch and even participate in the apprehending of more hackers than she could have tracked down on her own, and she was pleased whenever she came across a piece of paper with a big red ‘X’ on it. These contained the names of hackers, sometimes the name given to them by the Gvn, sometimes their real name, and sometimes even a picture – these were the hackers that they had managed to stop.

But it wasn't enough.

There would always be more hackers out there, more viruses poisoning the DgtWld. Resa let out a sigh as she stepped back for a moment, taking in the wall as a whole. The pieces of paper with question marks on them far outweighed those with red Xs. And in the middle of the mass of notes was the largest piece of paper, one that had recently moved to top priority. It drew Rey’s attention now, and she read the single world scrawled onto the sheet – Vypr. It, too, had a piece of yarn tacked onto it, leading to another piece with a big ‘?’ on it. Who are you? Resa thought, reaching out to touch the question mark.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft beeping that echoed through her mind. Someone had sent her a text. Taking her cell phone off of her wrist, she folded it into its standard position and opened the message. It was Sasha, and Rey could hardly say that she was surprised. As she read the pink, sparkly text, a slight grin played at the corners of her mouth. It was nice to get a text every now and then from a friend, even if it was from someone as silly and bubbly as Sasha. The girl got on Rey's nerves from time to time, but right now she was grateful for the simple 'Good morning' message. Now the trouble was coming up with something to respond with.

Resa had never been very good with social interaction, concerning herself mostly with her brother. After his death things had gotten even worse. A sort of mad revenge had entered her mind, and she had cut herself off from the rest of the world. She had even dropped out of school for a few years, which she regretted now. Becoming a Corrector had allowed her to get her life back together, and had even given her the chance to make some friends. She felt like she was a part of something now, which was the best feeling in the world. She was still working on this whole 'friendly interaction' thing, though, and was often at a loss around Sasha. Devon was all right, she supposed, though a bit arrogant at times. As for the others...

Her thoughts were interrupted again by some more beeping, except this time is was louder and more urgent. Rey's attention immediately turned to her cell phone - it was a message from the Gvn. A moment later she had the Cnnt app open as she prepared to log into the DgtWld. It must be something important if they were contacting her so early....but there was still the problem of the unanswered text message. Quickly flipping open her phone, Rey typed [Good morning. See you in the usual place. -Rey] and pressed send. She would've said 'see you in the DgtWld', but she didn't trust that the message would only be read by friendly eyes. Since her brother's death she had become extremely cautious with technology. Even when she used Cnnt to materialize in the DgtWld she had to check all of her firewalls and security settings beforehand. She did so now, and as she turned away from her laptop she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror by her bed. She was still wearing shorts and a simple tank-top, which served as her pajamas. Normally she would've changed by now, but there wasn't time. It didn't matter what you were wearing once you materialized in the DgtWld, anyway - you looked completely different.

As she logged in and prepared to materialize, she opened up her phone, extended it, and placed it over her ears as if it were headphones. The need for such devices had long passed, and by now headphones were outdated and old-fashioned...but Rey liked them. Not only did she like the way they looked, but they also sent a message to others - I'm listening to music, don't talk to me, I don't want to deal with you right now. Of course, her friends knew that she could hear things perfectly well while wearing the headphones. Around them, it was more of a habit than anything else.

A moment later she was surrounded by blue streams of data, the crisp cleanness of the DgtWld a comforting sight to her. This place had become more of a home to her than reality was, even though she was aware of its dangers. But then again, that wasn't much different from the real world.

As the materialization process finished, Resa looked down to see that she was still holding her twin swords. She felt more comfortable having them around, but she saw three of her friends a little off in the distance. Her weapons would be unnecessary when talking to them. The swords disappeared, and instead Resa put on some music to play through her headphones. Her taste in music was invested in Alternative and Classic Rock, artists and bands that often had lived a generation or two before her. It was what she had listened to as a kid, and it wasn't until she had gotten her first phone that she realized how old the songs were. But she didn't mind. And while she didn't dislike Nathan and Sasha's anime music or Devon's more current techno songs, she liked the 'oldies' better.

Walking along the streams of data, Rey silently came up to her group of friends. They were all being gathered together at once for some reason...Rey's face immediately took on an expression of seriousness. What was going on in the Digital World?

[Frenetic Raptor]

Contemplation was never too far away with music always a common thrill to Nicholas’ senses. For without such a freedom of expression, what would be left? Maybe a world living in a disturbing silence was all that would remain, unable to encourage another with its influential beats? Some consider it necessary therapy to one’s ears, uplifting to the spirit. Take that only source of hope and the likelihood of losing it all is almost a given, for the most desperate of cases. For a majority, the opportunity to share a story with the world was a common link; a safe outlet for release, unlike the violent tendencies that lurked about the DgtWld. No matter what form one chooses to express themselves, the stories would always be told. The only decision is how one desired to be remembered, through intent.

For Nicholas, his only desire as a Corrector was the desire to protect. Even now, as he stared at the computer screen before him, glowing in the dark, his mind raced at the thoughts of what was next. There was never a moment of silence from within his expressive mind. Some would say he was too serious, and needed to lighten up. Unfortunately for them, he had no intentions of changing who he was, fully committed to the present with no regrets. File after file would be searched, opened, and examined. One after the other until either him or all resources were exhausted. There were times where one wondered when enough was enough. How much more could Nicholas push himself, and who was he trying to impress? No one could tell, and the only one who could wasn’t speaking a word about it.

Losing track of time, he closed all of his computers programs and leaned back in his chair, arms and legs stretched apart. The moment was near as a message from Sasha was successfully received. He reached for his phone and flipped it open, bright sparkling pink harsh on the eyes. Sasha sure does go all out on these messages, doesn’t she? He chuckled, paused, and watched the clock, ticking its way until a mandatory wakeup call was necessary. Nicholas' little reminder started playing along, always at the exact time Sheela’s alarm went off. This gave him a moment to regroup his thoughts before getting the whip cracking. No need for someone to sleep in as much as she did; excessive to say the least. No one should be that tired. Upon the songs completion, he picked up his phone and gave her a sarcastic up an at ‘em. A little sense of urgency was all the push she would need. Unlike her, he didn’t need to spend his entire morning getting ready, spending forever doing what she had to do.

Getting up early had its advantages; being able to eat, get dressed, and do a little research. Maybe a bit of game play to loosen up that coordination would be involved. Whatever motivated him was fair game. To not have to deal with that daily rush out the door, or to the DgtWld, he simply eased into the day. The morning was the key to starting the day off right, in his mind. Sheela just didn’t seem to get it, but so far she had kept up rather well. Lost in thought, his peculiar ringtone sounded off. “Just the message I’ve always wanted.” His words toyed about. He read the message for kicks and giggles before securing his phone.

A shift in his seat, a few types and clicks later, and the DgtWld appeared before Nicholas; the streams of data flowing by, slowing down until he fully materialized. That certainly took long enough. He always seemed to be in a rush to hear what was on the “all important agenda” from the big Gvn officials. He looked around, weapon not in hand, searching for Sheela. What a surprise. He shook his head, knowing she would never get the point. Not that it bothered him; it just didn’t put her in the best of lights as far as reliability. He closed in on the group and greeted them, “Hey everyone.” Nicholas was as curious as the next to discover what was really going on, needing a group such as this, but he wouldn’t make much of this just yet. He kept himself in check, waiting for Sheela to decide to show up, whenever that was actually to happen.

*~*~*~*~*

An enchanting melody beckoned from beyond, fluttering across the sky, flying harmoniously in a dreamscape of sounds. Familiarity accompanied its mesmerizingly feminine beauty. To get lost in the delicate phrases was overwhelmingly captivating and to awaken from such a peaceful slumber wasn’t likely. Only a single curious eye would open, desiring only a captured glimpse of reality. It wasn’t like Sheela had anything better to do. This was the weekend; a time to enjoy herself, away from the DgtWld. It wasn’t as if she disliked the place; far from it, but the job wasn’t the easiest, and very demanding at times. Feeling exhausted even still, from a rough night out, she grabbed the pillow, squeezing it closer and pulled the blanket over her head.

Besides, the time remained early. A few more minutes of rest wouldn’t hurt anything. The sun wasn’t even out yet as far as she could tell. Not even a single ray of light was capable to getting to her now. Sheela smiled and closed her eyes once more; knowing her deep violet curtains were the likely culprit, convincing her into thinking it was still dark outside when in fact it was well past time. Time doesn’t lie, especially when the world’s digital clock was never wrong, unless someone went and hacked into that specific database. She didn’t care the least, but her brother would have no part in letting her get off that easy. Sheela had a hunch she was mere moments away from getting yet another personalized wake up call. If for anything, this would only prove that Nicholas had way too much time on his hands; she wondered if he actually ever slept.

“Sheela, it’s time to wake up! You wouldn’t want to disappoint Sasha, would you?” Her brother’s voice could be heard through her phone, sarcastically teasing. Why did he always sound so convincing? “Why would you say that? Did she leave a message?” She received only silence. You would make me do that wouldn’t you? She extended an arm from out of the covers and snatched her cell phone from the wooden table beside the bed. Immediately pulling it to her side, she looked through her messages, discovering one addressed to her, from Sasha. Reading it word for word, two times through, Sheela got the point. “Looks like my nap time is over.” Didn’t even get a good night’s sleep to say the least.

Temporarily disappointed, she scrolled through an endless track list of motivational songs, some more inspirational than others. Not really pleased with any of her choices, she selected random and let her phone do all the complicated work necessary to pick all but a single song. She slipped the phone over her left arm, near her wrist and let the animated music do all the happy motivating. The song brought back memories, none in any way bad. This specific track was from a personal favorite anime of hers, always getting a kick out of playing the opening song on repeat. Some day she would rewatch the entire show when she had the chance, but time wasn’t so forgiving as of late.

Not wanting to prolong her sleep deprived mind, she slung the blanket and sheets off her bed, sending them skirting the corner, almost completely falling onto the floor. That didn’t matter, everything else wound up on the floor at some point. She would eventually gather up the accumulated mess into one big pile and decide to do something with it at a later date. Wasting no further time she propped herself up and shifted off the bed, jumping to her bare feet. She quickly used her phone to change into something a bit more reasonable. Her pajamas were exchanged for her usual attire, uniformed and ready to go. At least that is what she thought, until the Gvn called, her cell phone’s customized ringtone alerting her of a new message. There was no doubt they meant business, her phone setting the serious mood. If that didn’t get anybody thinking twice, she didn’t know what would. She could only thank her brother for that one.

Taking the opportunity to grab a quick bite instead of opening the message, she snatched a few packaged breakfast items lying about and choked them down. Not the most nutritious of sources, but whatever worked in Sheela’s mind. Attempting to gather herself, she hastily prepared herself, brushing off all of her distractions and plopped down upon the computer chair, anxious to get a move on. If the past was any indication, she would no doubt be the last one to arrive in the DgtWld. What they must have thought about her, always the last each and every time. Someday there was a chance she would get lucky, but she didn’t see that happening any time soon. The DgtWld greeted her while a motivating melody transported her within.

Appearing with a new outfit, and a cheerful mood, she anxiously looked around to find all five of them already waiting. I hope they weren’t waiting for little ole me. If so, there would go her happy mood for the day, throwing off what little dignity she was able to scrounge up beforehand. Realizing that time was ticking along, she hurried herself closer to the group, apologizing on the way. “Sorry guys, was a little slow getting up today. I am sure I can make it up in some way, if I was the reason for any hold up.” How many times would she need to feel sorry for herself? No one could ever possibly know. Better to leave things as they stood.

[Genkai]

"You need to lighten up!" Sasha said.

"How many times have I heard that?" Devon asked sarcastically and before Sasha could answer, he spoke up again. "Too many." He answered for her just as Nathan appeared. "Yo Sear." He said casually with a raised hand in a rather cool greeting. Sasha turned around to see Nathan and for a moment she almost blurted out his real nickname but she caught herself and gave her friend a wide grin.

"Hey Seeear." Sasha laughed and looked at her phone which she had just summoned forth in her hand. She saw the text messages and the phone materialized away once more. Just then she saw Rey with them now. "Oh hello Shade!" She greeted cheerfully. She ran over to the quiet girl and swung her arms around the other, trying to get the serious expression off her face. In Sasha's mind, if you had to work and be serious, you should be happy. If she died, she would do it with a smile on her face! "We just gotta wait for the other two and we can have some fun!" Sasha said and let go to Rey and Devon gave Rey a rather sympathetic look.

"Hey Pessimism." Devon greeted the first of the two Borelli siblings to arrive. To him, the username seemed okay, almost a bit amusing to the blond with the fishing rod but he knew Sasha didn't approve of such a depressing code name. "Optimism lagging again?" He asked. In his mind having two siblings with relational usernames was a bit dangerous but he wasn't going to step in and voice his concern. It wasn't his place. And it didn't really endanger him so he kept quiet. When the last of the group did arrive, he smirked a bit as Sasha ran over and threw her arms around the third female of the bunch. "Guess that answers that." He said.

"Heeey you!" Sasha said. "You're so late!" She teased and let go of her friend and looked to the others. Just then there was some static and the girl looked up to see a semi translucent thin green show up in the air. It widened and showed three blinking Vs.

"Good morning Correctors." The Admin's voice called to them from above. They didn't apologize for calling them out on a Sunday, it was a job right? "There have been sightings of three Viruses in the nearby vicinity. These have been scanned and analyzed." He told them as the screen then made a grid and showed Cs where they were and the Vs in proximity to the group, which was about six blocks away. It was a great distance. But still close in the sense of the DgtWld itself. "You are to go where they have been detected and delete them." He paused. "Their type is known to attach to people's hardware and steal information."

"Like a mosquito? Ew." Sasha muttered.

"And illegal." Devon muttered and folded his arms.

"It goes without saying but don't let them attach to you. I'll be teleporting you now." And the voice cut out and the green sleek screen faded. Suddenly the group was materializing into thin air. Sasha could only blink once and they were now standing five feet from three Vs. They did look like virtual mosquitoes as Sasha had compared them to. Their bodies were dark brown and dripping with slime which was eating away at the plane under which they were standing. Their wings were beating too fast to even see. They had a long nose and fangs. Their eyes were a simple black and turned in unison to the Correctors.

"Alright, time to get to work!" Sasha cheered and used her right hand to grab a metal disc which materialized from her left shoulder blade. "Go!" She yelled and aimed it at the middle V in the front. It simple flew up and the disc missed the target. "Eheh. Or not..." She laughed nervously and looked to the others. Devon shook his head. "Um any ideas guys haha?"

"Long range attackers like you and Optimism won't work well in this battle." Devon said. "It's up to them for the most part, I can help out some but it might be best if I stayed out of their way since they're better trained for crap like this." Devon said as he materialized his spear in his other hand. "I can use my line to attack as well as my spear, in fact it might be best if I lure them into your range to attack." He told Shade, Sear and Pessimism. Luckily when they were in such a battle mode, it was possible for them all to listen to their own music without imposing on the other Correctors. In Devon's head, a piano track started to play at will in the back of his mind. It was calming but also encouraging.

For Sasha, her own track played in her mind when she thought about it. It was from an old anime, as most of the new ones out now couldn't hold a candle to anything before the new digital age. It was Japanese and of course upbeat and tough and made her want to fight until they were the winners. Which they had to be of course. "Oh sounds like a plan!" Sasha raised her fist into the air. Even though she knew she couldn't do much to help, she would do her best in any was possible.

[Reialgo]

"Yo" Nathan said almost as simply in response to Devon himself, adding a sort of casual salute as he said so. He glanced to Sasha when her lack of talking became noticeable, which only took a second, and looked directly into a massive grin. Oh how a sweatdrop would have been appropriat right now, she was about to say my name again wasn't she? he concealed his disbelief with a slight narrowing of his eyes before returning her grin with his own, though it sounded like she had to think a little to say his username! He turned around towards the direction of Sasha's next greeting, the chatterbox had very keen eyes so it seemed, and saw Rey. The poor girl was trying to look serious in-front of the human form of enthusiasm, she wasn't going to last.

Nathan just shook his head with a playful smirk and gave the other girl a wave to acknowledge her arrival, "looks like they're having fun" he said aloud, not directly to Devon but nevertheless, and with more than a touch of sarcasm at that. Next to arrive were the Borelli duo, it had always...intrigued him that one of them had decided to use a depressing username. He wasn't an expert on the human but he at least though being known as a pessimist openly didn't do well to raise moral. It was, however, an issue he had brushed aside a long time ago, what mattered was the here and now and how they all acted, and he had good reason to put his trust in the people before him. Now the group had all gathered, they all knew one another for at least a couple of years now, yet each day heralded something new for them to tackle, sure was one hell of a job.

"I wonder where the admin is, he doe- god damn it" he cut himself off as the said person'd voice boomed from above, much like a god's. He stared silently at the bright green map, the closest word he could think of to describe it, noting the points of the blinking V's. He proceeded to watched as the Cs representing themselves shown as well. "Six blocks? good thing we have this guy on our side" he said looking upwards into nothing. Sasha expressed her dislike of there opponent's possible forms, making Nathan smirk and replying to her, "All the more reason to finish 'em off quickly right?" though he had to admit he himself felt a level of disgust, not at the bugs, but at the though off letting one get attached to you, it didn't sound pleasant that was for sure. The next second he was standing very near the three targets, teleportation having occurred so briefly that his mind lagged somewhat to catch up. "Oh, lovely..." he noted on the appearance of the Vs, if they were trying to intimidate attacks on looks alone, they might have succeeded. They all noticed the correctors almost instantly and all turned on them at the same time, making Nathan wonder if they were linked in thought processing somehow. If they really were digital mosquitoes then they probably possesed the speed of the bastards in real life.

Sure enough Sahsa's sudden disc attack confirmed this, the virus zipping effortlessly out of the attack's range and leaving the girl undamaged, save maybe for her pride. "Well it looks like the best Idea is to let them come into our range" he was in reference to shade a pessimism as he spoke, as the other corrector's range meant drawing them in close was a pretty bad idea. He threw his hand out to the side in a somewhat over dramatic fashion and the double bladed sword materialised in the hand. He spun it around a few times as he heard Devon talk. "yeah sure we'll go with that too, whatever the case these things'll just avoid us if we go on the offensive." an irritating foe, the worst in his mind, slightly below turtling styled opponents, at least they could be hit. Since battle mode was official, he activated a track in his head. Usually he might have aimed for something cheesier, but since these things didn't look like much something like the track would do. Besides it kicked ass regardless, something they were about to dish out soon enough

[Frenetic Raptor]

“Hey.” Nicholas answered back, giving off a subtle wave. Of course she is running late. I would expect nothing less of my sister. Keeping his sarcastic thoughts to himself, Sheela finally arrived, overly apologetic once again. Events would never change, and it didn’t seem like she had any desire, or the complete focus of doing so. At least Sasha didn’t seem to take matters too seriously, anxiously running over to give her a playful hug, letting Sheela have it, taking advantage of the easy opportunity to tease her. This joyous reunion almost made Nicholas smile, if not for the fact of a foreboding interruption.

First there was the typical, primitive visuals; next came the usual, mundane mission briefing. At times, he wished that they would just get on with it and get the show on the road. The Gvn sure knew how to take their sweet time, over dramaticizing everything; stating the obvious with little regard to their actual safety. Don’t get him wrong, Nicholas was very grateful for what they were able to provide, but being sympathetic in any way shape of form just seemed so forced, at least to him. From his pessimistic perspective, they were there only to give out orders. He was, along with every other Corrector in existence, the ones dictated to do their bidding. But to each their own. All of this certainly had no effect on him whatsoever, feeding off the desire to fight back.

The moment was at hand; termination led to teleportation, the little buggers swarming directly ahead. “Well, now. That’s more like it.” He intently stared into their beady black eyes, doing his own searching and analyzing. If there was any weakness he would certainly love to find it. Desiring not to get involved with trouble too soon, he stepped back and watched as Sasha struck first, taking initiative. Nicholas smirked mischievously. Not bad, but you unwanted pests could do so much better. His mind challenged the intelligence of these digital drones. There was no way possible he was ever going to let an insignificant mosquito get the best of him, displaying no physical signs of intimidation.

Overhearing the warning from Devon, Nicholas’ wondered what Sheela thought about her “ineffective” attacks. “Do what you need to; I will try and do what I can, the best way possible.” Preparing for the worst and awaiting the word, he extended an arm to his side, flipping out his wrist, palm open. His weapon of choice, and his personal favorite materialized. He closed his hand, fingers tightening the grip around his scythe. To let a ruthless data sucker infiltrate me… not likely. He would no doubt delete their very digital existence from reality before that were to ever happen. He pointed his scythe forward, issuing out his one and only warning. It was a delete or be deleted kind of world, where there was only room for the strongest to survive.

*~*~*~*~*

Upon arrival, and an apology given, Sheela was charged; a bear hug ambushing her. That sneaky little Sasha got to her again, taking full advantage. “Yeah, I know, right?” She happily played along. Upon release, Sheela let out a deep sigh of relief, realizing she had done no wrong. Not yet anyway. Caught up, a surprise from the Admin caught her off guard. Her heart skipped a beat and an impulsive growl almost escaped her lips. Keeping her emotions in check wasn’t the easiest to control, but she couldn’t just let out an outburst whenever she felt like it. The Admins frowned upon such irresponsible behavior. Why can’t they give me just a little insy winsy advanced warning? She was left in disappointment, knowing very well they would never be so generous.

That would defeat the whole element of surprise. There was no doubt the Admins got some kind of thrill out of all of this at her expense. If that wasn’t enough, the mention of three Vs didn’t make Sheela feel much better. You all have to go and complicate matters, don’t you? Unsure of how much of a reassurance having scanned and analyzed these potent Vs would be, she looked away, distracting herself. Not like that made the situation any better, compliments of Sasha, bringing up the disgusting and repulsive thoughts of an oversized mosquito. Thanks for that last bit of info there, Sasha. Sheela would get over it, but all of these undesired visuals weren’t necessary. Save it for the real deal, ok?

Sheela looked back at the visual before the entire group. “So much for waiting.” She cringed, unprepared. Sure, they were a little intimidating, but that wasn’t enough for her to turn tail and run. I’ll save that option for the biggest of baddies. Rethinking over her reality, she thought better of the circumstances. I’m just kidding. Running away was not in her job description. If for anything at all, she would rather take to squishing them into submission for causing her distress; giving them what they had coming. They were nothing but nuisances in the real world and were perceived likewise in the DgtWld. Certain things just didn’t change wherever she was. Lost within herself, the visuals disappeared and she instantly stood face to face with the enemy itself, whether she liked it or not.

Ever had that bugging feeling? Feeling uncomfortable, Sheela hesitated as she heard a confident cheer from Sasha. Maybe the situation wasn’t as bad as she assumed. These Vs didn’t look overwhelmingly powerful. First impressions proved otherwise, appearances deceiving; she witnessed the failed attack of Sasha’s flying disc. Sheela frowned, silently rooting for a successful strike that never happened. That’s the last time I get my hopes up. She should have known by now what every mission entailed. There was no such thing as an easy victory. Can’t they just go and delete themselves for once. Irrational thoughts would get her nowhere.

Devon added insult to injury, discouraging her ability to fight. What is wrong with me using my bow? My aim isn’t that bad is it? Pride getting the better of her, she reached out her hands, searching for something that wasn’t there. Pulling back, her bow materialized in her grasp. No, she would not shoot, despite her lingering, uncooperative persistence, but she would at least keep her guard up. If she was required to shoot, she would do so without reluctance. Just give me the signal and I will do it. Anxiety crept up her limbs, racing up her spine. Keeping her bow lowered, she anticipated her next move.

[Snowflying]

"Oh hello Shade!" Rey was snapped out of her silent contemplation when Sasha came running up to her, throwing her arms around her in a sudden and unexpected hug. Well...it wasn't that unexpected. Rey understood that Sasha was an inexplicably bubbly person. Rey just wasn't completely used to it yet, even after a few years of knowing the girl. "We just gotta wait for the other two and we can have some fun!"

Fun? Rey shook her head. Sasha obviously didn't understand the gravity of the situation. The fight for the Digital World was a fierce one, and it was indeed a fight. Not play time, or a fun excursion, as Sasha seemed to think. Thankfully, the girl soon let go, and Rey caught Devon giving her a sympathetic look. At least he understands how serious this is, she thought. Just as that thought finished running through her mind, her vision wandered over to Nathan. He had arrived before her as well, and was now smirking and waving at her. Rey just rolled her eyes, turning her gaze away from her distracting teammates. She did so just in time to hide the slight smirk that had crept its way onto her face.

Pessimism arrived shortly after - without his sister, unsurprisingly. To Rey, she didn't seem much different than Sasha - bubbly, flighty, and with no sense of time. Her lateness attested to that this particular morning. Optimism, as she was known in the DgtWld, was nearly the opposite of her brother, Pessimism. How fitting that they should choose their particular code names, though, like Devon, Rey didn't approve. She remembered a time when she was new to the Correctors and new to the concept of having to work as team. That was when she had called the two siblings out. She had been rude and brash back then, with no concern for their feelings. She had told them that it was stupid to have related aliases, and that they would certainly be dead within a month...

Rey shook her head, trying to shake off the bad memory. She had been a different person back then, and that incident only added to her pile of regrets. She had since apologized to the siblings, as awkward and vulnerable as it had made her feel. But that was in the past, and right now she had to focus on the mission at hand. Soon Optimism arrived and completed their group of six.

"I wonder where the admin is, he doe- god damn it" Rey had just turned to look at Nathan when the admin appeared - or rather, a screen that projected the admin's voice. The mission was simple: Track down the Vs and delete them. As Rey prepared to be teleported to the location of the Vs she put on some music to get her into the mood for battle. It was a tune that struck her as stately and inspiring, and though it probably wasn't as upbeat and peppy as the music the others were surely listening to, it was a good motivator. She took a few deep breaths to the rhythm of the song, calming herself before she faced the Vs. She had been known in the past as easily provoked and angered and had to work to remain calm while battling the evil pests created by hackers. She closed her eyes for a split second, and when she opened them three bug-like Vs were hovering a ways in front of her.

"It's up to them for the most part, I can help out some but it might be best if I stayed out of their way since they're better trained for crap like this." Devon was talking, putting forth his idea for their strategy. "I can use my line to attack as well as my spear, in fact it might be best if I lure them into your range to attack." Rey - or Shade, as she was known at the moment - nodded firmly. She extended her arms sideways and two red and black blades materialized, looking sleek and sharp. She glared at the Vs ominously, holding the swords out in front of her. The music swelled in her mind, and she got into a fighting stance. "Do your best to lure them closer," she said in firm response. "Then I can finish them off."

[Genkai]

Sasha was just so happy to see her companions again, sure it had only been a day or two since their last interaction. Their breaks were just as random as their summons from the Gvn via Cnnt. She looked to her friends as Devon had explained a suitable ideas as to how to get rid of the Vs fast. 'Darn...I really wish I could help.' She thought and pouted. Her eyes trailed over to Sheela. 'What is this?! We can still help somehow!' Sasha giggled a little and perked back up as they had seemingly continued to discuss strategy, something that could be so boring, especially if Devon had deemed her useless. "Well I may not be able to help much but I will still try!"

Devon ignored Sasha's random burst of annoyance as he turned to the useful people for today's battle. "I also think it might be best to utilize each other and all go after the same one. If we do this, it's unlikely we'll be attacked. These guys don't strike me as the offensive bugs and since there's only so much of us who can do decent damage, if we all team up, things will go much faster than one person going against a bug all at once, we're likely to make a mistake there I think." Devon spoke evenly. "And if these bugs do go after us while we're attacking one of em, I am sure Rush and Optimism can keep them at bay if the need arises."

"You're so smart Devon." Sasha ooh'ed. She looked to see the Vs standing still. She frowned and wondered if they weren't trying to find data to latch onto because they had suddenly shown up. 'I wonder if they think we're possible targets for them.' Sasha thought as a shiver ran down her spine. 'Well they picked a prize but there's no way that would ever happen.' She smiled. It was rare for her mind to dwell on anything sad or serious for long. It just felt like she was drowning when she spent too much time worrying about things. "Hey Optie! We got their backs right!?" Sasha retrieved a disc and looked to her friend.

Devon made his fishing rod vanish so he just had his spear. If he needed his line for any reason like to rope around the Vs, he could summon it quickly. "Shade, Sear, and Pessimism, we'll attack the one...Rush seemed to have targeted." He said. The piano's melody continued to play in his mind's background as he eye'd the monster. When they fought Vs and other things, the battles would tend to go by easily or difficultly. There was no in-between. They would know when they were close to deleting them when they Vs would flicker in appearance, it showed that their data was failing them. And finally when it was time to end the fight, they would materialize into the air. Luckily the Cnnt staff would take care of them after that. The final process was one the Corrects didn't take part in.

Now the music had changed but kept the same sort of feeling. It was a song that reminded him of the past. It kept him on his toes and in fluid motion. Devon decided now was the time to strike and the others could follow suit. The thing about ending battles like this was when the Vs would flicker, it was harder to attack them but it was the most important time to strike because some Vs could recover in the state of being vulnerable. Data could be tricky after all. Devon knew this. "You two stay out of our way." He said as he ran forward with his spear and landed two hits on the V which let out a pained screech and retracted its long sticky nose and blew out an acidic snot which Devon dodged. "Ew...that was too close for comfort..."

"Yay! Way to go Fish Boy! You almost had him!" Sasha cheered happily.

'What is she talking about? I almost had him?' Devon thought, annoyed.

[Frenetic Raptor]

There was no doubt about it; Sheela would certainly try her best to cover the backs of their frontline attackers. Completely focused, she nodded her head in agreement, temporarily diverting her attention to Sasha. “Right! You bet we do!” Confidence was beginning to brush aside anxiety, her muscles loosening up to the fight. She wasn’t the one being challenged as of this very moment, but to be fully prepared was the only option on her mind. Pulling her bow closer to her body, she glanced around, catching glimpses of each of the three Vs hovering in midair, in their erratic formation. They seemed to lack a high intelligence level, but this battle had yet to heat up. Sheela stood her ground, overhearing Devon’s confident orders; the assumed leader for this round.

Unlike Sheela, Nicholas obtained a free pass to do whatever was within his means to successfully lead his fellow Correctors in the permanent deletion of these undesired Vs. With no choice of letting Devon take the first crack at his opponent, Nicholas held his ground, waiting for his opportunity to strike next. First blood was at hand, originating from one of the Vs; a swift double hit connected right on target. If not for the little bugger’s quick retaliation, the whole thing would have begun without a single hitch. Give it time, they would more than likely learn and adapt. One good reason why I should attack now. Nicholas lifted his scythe, his intentions revealed.

Fully aware of his surroundings, he sidestepped around what remained of the corrosive bile that lingered. Do not want to go there. Taking advantage of the Vs quick counterattack, he charged ahead; hesitance was spotted, glaringly obvious. “Gotcha now.” Caught up in the thrill of the fight, he twisted himself, pulling the scythe around, gaining momentum; ultimately piercing through digital flesh as did Devon’s previous attack. In a dashed extension, he flung himself back up, the scythe forcefully twisting into a backslash. Unfortunately, grazing the surface was not what Nicholas’ had in mind. He cursed at himself from within. Going one for two, not the best way to get things started.

Aware of his mishap, he wondered whether this was the cruelty of the averages evening themselves out, or maybe he finally lost his digital touch. No way! That wasn’t even possible. Nicholas jumped back, uncertain of what the Vs intentions actually were, watching as the little bugger appeared to flicker. Call him paranoid, but there was not a single chance he was going to allow them to get a hit on him. Only familiar wailings closely followed; an annoying sound of misery to his ears. “Please finish it off, someone?” Growing aggravated, he called for next in line. Mosquito’s were annoying as it was, latching onto whatever they felt like it, but the awful sounds that accompanied such a creature just made matters worse.

“You know I would brother, but Devon doesn’t think I have a chance against them!” She relished in her current situation, rubbing it in. To tell the truth though, one could take the chance, but sometimes her natural skills made Nicholas’ one for two look good. I can get better. Unfortunately for her, there was never much of an opportunity for her to get better. Not with Devon running the show all the time. Maybe Sheela would just have to hang out with Sasha some more and get a little more experience. That sounds like a good idea. Letting all of the distractful thoughts go to her head, one could only wonder if she had an ounce of fight in her.