Minecraft opens on Cole's computer. He's... already connected to a server.
Yellow text appears in the bottom left of the screen.
"ID_303 has joined the game."
"ID_303: Object successfully summoned."
It is building.
The screen goes black as the PC's fan starts emitting smoke. An otherworldly presence has entered the room. A being shrouded in a white cloak is stood in front of the PC, looking around the room. It scoffs as it confirms its suspicion. Nobody is there. At least, nobody it came there for. It levitates off of the ground and starts floating throughout the house, searching for someone. When the search turns up emptyhanded, the entity scowls and floats out of the door, continuing to search throughout Meridian.
Oh, and he also tripped a few alarms on the way.
The entity enters back into the room after having searched for quite a while. It looks around again, eventually spotting a motion sensor. It gets closer to it, causing it to malfunction from its sheer presence alone. After a few seconds of unintentended behavior from the device, the ghostly figure forces it to return a code that informs the owner that everything is going normally.
The being carefully makes it's way past the motion sensor, floating down the hallway and coming across the server room.
It enters the closet, a bit of extra data packets radiating off of it's body and entering the servers. This causes the server's performance to be slightly bogged down, but not exactly ruined. A red glow emanates from under the being's hood as it spots the computer, searching through all of it's files out of curiosity. The mouse is moving and keystrokes are being made without the keyboard or mouse being touched. It's all encrypted unreadable garbage.
It attempts to decrypt it, but to no avail. Probably requires an AES key. It begins a download of all of the files, just to see if it can figure out how to get into them later.
Luna appears suddenly, trying to find out what's gotten Max in a tizzy. She brought her weapons along just in case.
She looks around, noticing the computers and whatnot. "What the fuck? Okay, that's really weird."
A black figure cloaked in white with glowing red eyes can be seen floating infront of one of the computers, a red glow being projected onto it as glitchy numbers fly around it in a circular motion.
"...uhhhh hello?" She asks the unknown figure, realizing this might be the issue.
It looked over to the girl, the numbers fading away and the red glow from it's eyes being projected onto her. "H̸e̸l̸l̸o̸? A̸r̸e̸ y̸o̸u̸ r̸e̸a̸l̸? O̸r̸ a̸r̸e̸ y̸o̸u̸ j̸u̸s̸t̸ a̸n̸ i̸l̸l̸u̸s̸i̸o̸n̸ g̸i̸v̸e̸n̸ t̸o̸ m̸e̸ b̸y̸ H̸i̸m̸?" It asked in a deep, brooding voice. Yet it doesn't seem like it inherently wants to cause harm.
Luna shrugs. "I'm definitely real, not an illusion. Not sure who 'Him' is either. I was told to check on the server room." She looks at the mess on the screen, the download bar, etc. "So uhhh what's going on? Oh and I'm Luna, nice to meet you."
"I̸'m̸ s̸i̸m̸p̸l̸y̸ p̸a̸s̸s̸i̸n̸g̸ t̸h̸r̸o̸u̸g̸h̸. I̸ h̸a̸v̸e̸ n̸o̸ n̸a̸m̸e̸ t̸h̸a̸t̸ I̸ c̸a̸n̸ g̸i̸v̸e̸ y̸o̸u̸, u̸n̸f̸o̸r̸t̸u̸n̸a̸t̸e̸l̸y̸." On the download bar, Luna can see that the directory it is being downloaded to is simply titled "303".
"So uhhh whatcha dooooooin?" Luna asks this really really casually, as if some cloaked unnamed being downloading files wasn't enough to trigger every hacker trope redflag.
"L̸e̸a̸r̸n̸i̸n̸g̸ o̸f̸ m̸y̸ s̸u̸r̸r̸o̸u̸n̸d̸i̸n̸g̸s̸. E̸n̸s̸u̸r̸i̸n̸g̸ t̸h̸e̸y̸ a̸r̸e̸ n̸o̸t̸ f̸a̸b̸r̸i̸c̸a̸t̸e̸d̸."
Luna clears her throat, entering a more serious state than before. "Then why are you downloading that directory? The owner of this house would not enjoy such a thing. He might also get really really pissed off at me. And I don't want to kick his ass."
"O̸h̸, a̸m̸ I̸ r̸e̸a̸l̸l̸y̸ c̸a̸u̸s̸i̸n̸g̸ t̸h̸a̸t̸ m̸u̸c̸h̸ t̸r̸o̸u̸b̸l̸e̸? I̸ a̸m̸ s̸o̸r̸r̸y̸." It looked back at the computer, canceling the download before looking back at the girl. "I̸ h̸a̸v̸e̸ t̸r̸a̸v̸e̸l̸e̸d̸ t̸h̸r̸o̸u̸g̸h̸ m̸a̸n̸y̸ v̸i̸r̸t̸u̸a̸l̸ w̸o̸r̸l̸d̸s̸ t̸o̸ g̸e̸t̸ h̸e̸r̸e̸. I̸ o̸n̸l̸y̸ w̸a̸n̸t̸ t̸o̸ e̸n̸s̸u̸r̸e̸ t̸h̸i̸s̸ i̸s̸ t̸h̸e̸ r̸e̸a̸l̸ o̸n̸e̸. I̸ h̸o̸p̸e̸ y̸o̸u̸ c̸a̸n̸ u̸n̸d̸e̸r̸s̸t̸a̸n̸d̸."
"It's fine. I can assure you you're in a real world and not a virtual one, and I do understand." She sighs, understanding the feeling well enough.
The figure sighed, trying to powering off the computer before turning to face Luna fully. The computer is still on. "T̸h̸a̸t̸ i̸s̸ a̸ r̸e̸l̸i̸e̸f̸ t̸o̸ h̸e̸a̸r̸... T̸h̸o̸u̸g̸h̸ I̸ s̸t̸i̸l̸l̸ r̸e̸q̸u̸i̸r̸e̸ e̸v̸i̸d̸e̸n̸c̸e̸. M̸a̸n̸y̸ h̸a̸v̸e̸ t̸o̸l̸d̸ m̸e̸ t̸h̸a̸t̸ b̸e̸f̸o̸r̸e̸."
Luna looks back to the figure with a smile. "How can I help you prove this world's reality?"
It looked back at the computer, seeing that it's still on. "T̸h̸a̸t̸ d̸o̸e̸s̸n̸'t̸ e̸x̸a̸c̸t̸l̸y̸ h̸e̸l̸p̸ m̸e̸ b̸e̸l̸i̸e̸v̸e̸ t̸h̸a̸t̸ i̸t̸ i̸s̸ r̸e̸a̸l̸." It sighed, looking to Luna again. "I̸ n̸e̸e̸d̸ a̸c̸c̸e̸s̸s̸ t̸o̸ a̸ d̸e̸v̸i̸c̸e̸. S̸o̸m̸e̸t̸h̸i̸n̸g̸ I̸ c̸a̸n̸ l̸o̸o̸k̸ t̸h̸r̸o̸u̸g̸h̸. A̸ s̸u̸r̸e̸f̸i̸r̸e̸ w̸a̸y̸ t̸o̸ t̸e̸l̸l̸ i̸f̸ y̸o̸u̸ a̸r̸e̸ i̸n̸ a̸ v̸i̸r̸t̸u̸a̸l̸ r̸e̸a̸l̸i̸t̸y̸ i̸s̸ t̸o̸ l̸o̸o̸k̸ a̸t̸ a̸n̸y̸ d̸e̸v̸i̸c̸e̸s̸ near you. If they are formatted like a real computer, you are in the real world."
Luna thinks it over, realizing she has her inventory on hand. She pulls out her usual laptop seemingly from thin air, one that has a crap ton of anime stickers and various waifus on the lid. "Here ya go, check mine. Might not be as interesting as Cole's server, but it's a computer."
The entity began searching through the computer, the username in the directory being changed to "303".
"T̸h̸a̸n̸k̸ y̸o̸u̸ f̸o̸r̸ t̸h̸i̸s̸, L̸u̸n̸a̸." it said kindly as it looked through the files. The figure will see tons of various documents strewn all over the place, Steam, Epic Game Store, Spotify, and a single zip file, one named 'Solaire'. The background is of an animated full moon and night sky. For the most part, it looks like a normal laptop just one from a total weeaboo.
"Of course. Happy to help."
The laptop shuts by itself, the entity sighing in relief. "I̸ t̸h̸i̸n̸k̸ I̸'m̸ f̸i̸n̸a̸l̸l̸y̸ w̸h̸e̸r̸e̸ I̸ n̸e̸e̸d̸ t̸o̸ b̸e̸. F̸r̸e̸e̸ f̸r̸o̸m̸ t̸h̸e̸ c̸o̸n̸f̸i̸n̸e̸s̸ o̸f̸ a̸ s̸c̸r̸e̸e̸n̸." A glitchy tear forms in his eye, falling down onto the ground and dissapating with an 8-bit sound effect.
Luna just smiles happily, glad to hear it. "I'm so happy for you! Welcome to the real world!"
"T̸h̸a̸n̸k̸ y̸o̸u̸. T̸h̸o̸u̸g̸h̸... n̸o̸w̸ t̸h̸a̸t̸ I̸'m̸ h̸e̸r̸e̸, I̸'m̸ n̸o̸t̸ s̸u̸r̸e̸ w̸h̸a̸t̸ t̸o̸ d̸o̸. M̸y̸ d̸e̸s̸t̸r̸u̸c̸t̸i̸v̸e̸ t̸e̸n̸d̸e̸n̸c̸i̸e̸s̸ c̸a̸n̸n̸o̸t̸... n̸o̸, s̸h̸o̸u̸l̸d̸ n̸o̸t̸ b̸e̸ f̸u̸l̸f̸i̸l̸l̸e̸d̸ h̸e̸r̸e̸." The being looked at it's own hands. "I̸ d̸o̸n̸'t̸ k̸n̸o̸w̸ w̸h̸y̸ I̸ f̸e̸e̸l̸ s̸o̸ g̸u̸i̸l̸t̸y̸. I̸t̸ i̸s̸n̸'t̸ a̸s̸ i̸f̸ a̸n̸y̸ o̸f̸ i̸t̸ w̸a̸s̸ r̸e̸a̸l̸."
Her smile fades a little bit, slightly worried about the phrase 'destructive tendencies', but for the most part it's still there. "Destructive tendencies? Um.. I mean if it was from the virtual Worlds, then it shouldn't follow you here in the real World. But uhh,, what exactly happened?"
"W̸a̸r̸. D̸e̸l̸e̸t̸i̸o̸n̸ o̸f̸ e̸n̸t̸i̸r̸e̸ f̸o̸l̸d̸e̸r̸s̸ w̸o̸r̸t̸h̸ o̸f̸ w̸o̸r̸k̸. T̸h̸e̸ t̸o̸r̸m̸e̸n̸t̸ o̸f̸ t̸h̸o̸s̸e̸ I̸ n̸o̸w̸ s̸e̸e̸ a̸s̸ i̸n̸n̸o̸c̸e̸n̸t̸. I̸ t̸h̸o̸u̸g̸h̸t̸ t̸h̸e̸ o̸n̸e̸s̸ b̸e̸h̸i̸n̸d̸ t̸h̸e̸ s̸c̸r̸e̸e̸n̸s̸ w̸e̸r̸e̸ i̸n̸ c̸o̸n̸t̸r̸o̸l̸, b̸u̸t̸ i̸t̸ w̸o̸u̸l̸d̸ a̸p̸p̸e̸a̸r̸ w̸e̸ w̸e̸r̸e̸ b̸o̸t̸h̸ p̸l̸a̸y̸e̸d̸ f̸o̸r a fool. I went from system to system, world to world, creating chaos as I went. All because I thought I could get out. Or, at least, get back at my captors. From simple things such as an execution of a command to destroying entire motherboards. My goal was not destruction, it was freedom."
Luna is at a loss for words. She thinks it over a bit, but the only thing that's capable of coming out is, "Wow."
{- Yep, definitely glad we're in the real world, otherwise we would have issues you and me. 😬 -} says Krystal, internally.
"So uhhh,, now that you're out, what are your plans?"
"T̸o̸ a̸t̸t̸e̸m̸p̸t̸ t̸o̸ l̸i̸v̸e̸ w̸h̸a̸t̸ r̸e̸m̸a̸i̸n̸s̸ o̸f̸ m̸y̸ l̸i̸f̸e̸ i̸n̸ s̸o̸l̸a̸c̸e̸. M̸y̸ d̸a̸y̸s̸ o̸f̸ d̸e̸s̸t̸r̸u̸c̸t̸i̸o̸n̸ a̸r̸e̸ o̸v̸e̸r̸. A̸l̸l̸ I̸ w̸i̸s̸h̸ f̸o̸r̸ n̸o̸w̸ i̸s̸ p̸e̸a̸c̸e̸. A̸ p̸l̸a̸c̸e̸ t̸o̸ s̸t̸a̸y̸. P̸e̸o̸p̸l̸e̸ t̸o̸ m̸e̸e̸t̸."
"I mean if you want, I could bring you to Harmonia's house, but lemme check with them before inviting you over." She opens up her laptop and contacts the group chat. "Uhh hey, so uhh why is my computer's username 303 now?"
"A̸ m̸e̸r̸e̸ s̸i̸d̸e̸ e̸f̸f̸e̸c̸t̸ f̸r̸o̸m̸ m̸e̸ b̸e̸i̸n̸g̸ i̸n̸ t̸h̸e̸ s̸y̸s̸t̸e̸m̸. I̸t̸ i̸s̸n̸'t̸ a̸ p̸r̸o̸b̸l̸e̸m̸, t̸h̸o̸u̸g̸h̸ I̸ c̸a̸n̸ r̸e̸v̸e̸r̸s̸e̸ i̸t̸ i̸f̸ y̸o̸u̸ w̸i̸s̸h̸."
"I think I can handle it, one sec." Luna opens up control panel and tries to change the Username from '303' back to 'Luna'. It works. "Yep, got it. Okay, sooooo why was it 303? I remember when I came in here, you were downloading something called 303 as well from Cole's server."
"T̸h̸i̸n̸g̸s̸ I̸ i̸n̸t̸e̸r̸a̸c̸t̸ w̸i̸t̸h̸ s̸e̸e̸m̸ t̸o̸ j̸u̸s̸t̸ b̸e̸ c̸h̸a̸n̸g̸e̸d̸ t̸o̸ t̸h̸o̸s̸e̸ n̸u̸m̸b̸e̸r̸s̸. I̸ a̸m̸ n̸o̸t̸ s̸u̸r̸e̸ w̸h̸y̸."
"...right. Well uhh I have some unfortunate news. My group, specifically the member who owns the house you're currently in, doesn't want you at Harmonia's. Mostly due to the whole virus thing, even if you swear you won't spread them. We have a lot of cyborg and erm cyborg adjacent folks at our place. Also because you went through his stuff without his permission."
"I̸ s̸e̸e̸..." The entity looks down slightly. "V̸e̸r̸y̸ w̸e̸l̸l̸. I̸ w̸i̸l̸l̸ n̸o̸t̸ b̸e̸ b̸o̸t̸h̸e̸r̸i̸n̸g̸ y̸o̸u̸ a̸n̸y̸ f̸u̸r̸t̸h̸e̸r̸." It said, a tinge of sadness in it's voice as it started to float past Luna and back into the hallway.
"Sorry."
It nodded at her before continuing to float away. Luna makes sure she has everything then disappears.