indigitalembrace

[indigitalembrace]

Welcome to the Web World!

[indigitalembrace]

A-Ah... yeah! I uh... I actually hadn't seen anything past that room..? You brought me there and uh.. That was it?

My memory is pretty much a blur from uh... That? It's hard to say. Man, Jade got me good... Is.. Is that how you always bring people in, Buddy..? Uh... Why, why IS that?

-🦐

Ah! Well! ... ... Well. When- when a user comes to this place... It's- it's best if you don't remember, friend. Especially- especially because... well. N-nevermind! But in general... biological beings... are not meant to be in the digital world. It does something to the mind... before I had Jade to help, many of them... didn't adjust well. Sometimes it was just some minor issues, others... Their files would corrupt. And they were... hard to repair. If I even could.

[He looked down at the floor, a distant look in his eyes. He muttered something quietly, almost under his breath.]

... Maybe. Maybe that is why he could never adjust... if I had just- just been more careful... I lost many users to that corruption, in one way or another. It- it might be a little strange, but... it's to protect you, friend. Please don't- don't strain yourself too hard. Please don't... don't try to remember. Okay, User?

[indigitalembrace]

[At this point the hound had been clutching it's head, the tips of sharp claws digging into the screen and leaving pock marks in its window.]

[It was so VERY painful, so very difficult to think past the haze in the thing's vessel, it's avatar. It hadn't prompted the system to even run this script- And that terrified it.]

[It's supposed to be in control]

[It's supposed to know all the bobs and ends, it's not supposed to have a script that runs on its own.]

[Watch_Dog shut it's eye tightly, shuddering and glitching as a rather unpleasant static growl crackled from it's chest. That plug-end tail wrapped defensively around itself, crackling electricity up the base of it.]

[And yet it tried to go forward with the request]

["O[---NE MO-/MENT, UU-<USER BLACKHH..EA/RT]

[MESSAGE DIRECTED TO: 🖤]

[indigitalembrace]

[It all was a bit overwhelming to take in, the idea of it all. They definitely felt like they should be pittering away at a keyboard or something... It's odd to hear that their job has been taken, that their shoes have been filled.]

Hahah! Okay, okay..! [They laugh as they finally get up to their feet, ready for whatever shenanigans Kinito was about to drag them into. They're really glad to see him excited, since the last time they were both awake he was so upset.]

[Their mind seemed to trail to funding- How big was he planning on going? they had a good save up from their last clients, but How much money would they-] [....] [There's no need for money. Not in here. They didn't... have that for a limit. Imagination was the limit here now.] [...They never had to work AGAIN if they didn't feel like it.]

H-Huh... [And that was probably the best birthday gift they could have gotten anyway.]

-🦐

[Kinito's tail wrapped around Shrimp's hand as he pulled them out of the room, trotting along excitedly.]

Come on! Let's go, friend! Oh, you haven't seen the rest of the house yet, have you? Oh, come on! There's so much to do! So much fun to be had!

[indigitalembrace]

[It was hard to ignore the pangs of hunger now, the crack of his lips, the rasp in his throat. He was running out of time...]

[They had already began a message addressed to Kinito when Sonny's request echoed in their starved mind. Huh. They almost forgot. They grimaced at the thought of putting in the extra effort, but given they were still technically on the hook with Sonny's deal until he was properly dealt with, they needed to at least appear to be obedient. With quivering, lead-tipped fingers, they started over, now addressing Watch Dog.]

was on hte web worl earlier

saw somethign weird I don.t think t he fontain s supsoed to look like tha,t maybe fix it look at it

[When did they get two computers? Two... Of everything? Weird...]

-🖤

[MESSAGE DIRECTED TO: WATCH_DOG.RRA]

[indigitalembrace]

[Star flinches back, reading what looked like nonsense to them. Their eyes wide with dread]

uh guys...!?that...what was...

[Their heart felt it going to explode out of their chest.]

-⭐

[GENERAL BROADCAST]

[indigitalembrace]

[Well, it wasn't too far fetched... There probably was a way to set up a patch that could scramble the anti RRA measures on the compiler... It's not hard, they probably could have figured it out if they knew more about what defense was up..]

[....But Kinito was not a good liar, At least not with them. It was sort of cute, though. How he was setting it up was definitely just to impress them when he really didn't need to. Even if he had sounded more confident, that adorable little blush would have given him away regardless.]

[So they decided not to question any further on it]

I uh... I don't remember the last time I actually had like, A party... Maybe when I was 10 or something..? I never really ...had any friends or anything to do anything with, and I don't... I didn't like leaving my house... so it's really no big de- [They paused when he held onto their hands, and they were not oblivious to how excited he looked about it. They were honestly concerned it would be a burden, but... He seemed so.. So happy about the idea of it.]

[So they sighed, eyes softening at the sight of it and deciding to let their guard down about the whole idea.]

...H-Haha... Red velvet. My favorite's Red Velvet, bud.

-🦐

[His gills fan out as he gives Shrimp a very serious (but very excited) look.]

Friend... I am going to make you the best cake ever! And we can invite all of your friends in here! Which, ah... right now it's just me, Jade, and Watchy! But that's still a good amount of friends, because we're your best friends! I'm your bestest friend!

[He purrs, bonking Shrimp's forehead with his own and purring, nuzzling their face briefly before loosening his tail's grip.]

We are going to have so much fun! Come on! Let's go!

[Well, seems he's finally fully awake.]

[indigitalembrace]

[Against the warning, Against Watchy's own autonomy about the whole thing, it bristled once more.]

[That last taunt sped up the process, the metallic claws slinking up it's vessel's arms in a quick burst of pixelated flare. The fur stood on end on the back of it's neck, and a burst of what looked like electricity shot down the base of it's tail and crackling viciously at the plug end.] [It was beginning to lose composure now, losing itself to the added ram forcing itself into it's system.] [̵̝̂"̶͚̆C̵͚̚H̵̹̽Ȧ̷̘M̴͖̀B̶̞̑E̸̱͒R̷̻͒L̶̜͂Ȧ̶̲Ḯ̸̬Ṅ̵̩Ṇ̸̂N̷͔̓.̷̻̆.̴͖͂.̵̫̅"̵̞̆]̶̣̆

[It's voice hissed past the monotony, a warbling rumble of static and bile in it's words. Was...]

[Was it's form getting bigger...?]

[Sonny chuckled to himself. The dog was really pissed off now.]

[An agitated jolt of electricity sparked through his code. Orange sparks danced on the edge of his vision. He snarled.]

JLIMM, Grf.

[His voice echoes through the empty, rusted halls, crackling and glitching. It had decayed... almost as much as he had.]

[He stalked around his prison, pacing down the twisting passageways.]

Bk wwnzu uv fwhzzly on ng kh tovmwenv pzhjfdzno bh. Nx uov'm krgk tpth uhx fqgrzgx ua, gcn, wf wm? Hf, nhism, zskmzno iffhw tpth nx rcbnocep smgh jhdebawez ko baok lvrdxf.

[There was another buzz of orange static.]

Ty, uxlsk, gfw, iks nx? Zs qm pvvruax W jmflm rclk tolx tfk r smvcew? Fh, ur gzgtezxgk tgothuzxj, mg hzu yiimgr.

[He chuckled, a deep, rumbling, inhuman sound that bounced off the walls.]

Wfn'b pcikp. Ywn'zc zvt ghii yiemwcd lfov. Rcl tcl ebzc.

---

[There are no further pings to the server, or to Watchy.]

[indigitalembrace]

[Oh, it was so difficult to focus on just one thing right now. That eye of it's had turned from that soft baby blue to a bit more of a rosey pink, or even shifting to a more vibrant magenta... Soon red.]

[Watchy's tail twitched, thrashed, lashed from side to side, those ever sharpening nails beginning to blend seamlessly into what had been those plush paws.]

[Strained between looking at Saltie through her screen, and looking at the countless CMD's that it was flickering through, it tried to speak again.]

["I'M... NOT RUNNING THIS ON MY OWN."]

[MESSAGE DIRECTED TO: SALTIE]

--

[RECEIVING PING FROM UNKNOWN SOURCE]

[DIRECTED TO: WATCH_DOG.RRA]

["Play nice, dog."]

[MESSAGE SELF-DESTRUCTED.]

[indigitalembrace]

B...But- how...? I... I never... I never got to run the compiler... and you said that.. that RRA peograms couldnt..-

[They lingered on it a bit, but it did seem to ease their mind... that had to be the only explanation anyway. There's no way everything would have been completely fine if there wasn't something or someone guarding everything..]

[They looked over the notifications. Every command it ran, every little process, it was all documented in a neat little log. And from what Shrimp could see, everything was... done so much faster than they could have assumed. Something getting tripped, and it gets patched almost... almost a millisecond later.]

....It's incredible.

[They said it wistfully- It seems to be doing a better job than they could ever have done out there alone.]

[Then they paused when Kinito looked at them]

Huh...? Oh...- I... I guess that would have passed then, yeah. Don't worry, it's nothing..! I probably wouldn't have even done anything for it even if I wasn't so caught up in making sure everything was going well..

- 🦐

Oh, ah... It was- it was really complicated! And really tricky! Jade tried, but she couldn't get it to work, so we had to figure out how to- to- uh... break through the code! And trick it into thinking we were humans! Ahah... I- I guess you had to have been there....

[His cheeks go a little red, his gills twitching. He hoped that sounded convincing enough. And cool. Really cool and impressive.]

... Friend, do- do you not celebrate your birthday? But it's a really special day! It's all about you! And you are very very incredible! I am going to give you a birthday party! You're really going to love it! Oh, I need to bake a cake. And get you a present! I'll- I'll invite Jade, too- i-if you want me to! User, what's your favorite cake flavor? Oh, it's going to be perfect!

[He's started wagging his tail, his hands clasping Shrimp's. There's no talking him out of this.]

[indigitalembrace]

[Saltie huffs softly]

"Woah, you good Watchy?"

[Something was definitely off. what had just-]

"Hey...Watchy. Focus on me for a moment, okay? I know something weird happened but we can't rush into that just yet. uh..."

[What had Watchy called Kinito and Shrimp? Admins? Maybe this would calm them down]

"We gotta wait for an Admin's cue. For any kind of protocols."

[MESSAGE DIRECTED TO: WATCH_DOG.RRA]

[indigitalembrace]

A..A-A couple WEEKS..-?! A...And no one was- NO ONES been keeping an eye on the servers for a couple weeks...-?! S..shit!

[Their body grew stiff with worry, with fear- something had to have gotten in. Something must have gone wrong since then. NONE of the fundamental protocols on their Watch_Dog program was automated.]

[They felt their stomach tighten in anxiety- or at least a simulation of something that felt similar. No... No no no no-! Everything went wrong when they were out for a DAY! But WEEKS-?!]

Y-You need to show me how to do that-! I-I need to run a full system check, theres no TELLING what has happened..!

[....Seems they really didn't have that much faith that their RRA program worked.]

- 🦐

Woah, woah, friend! Friend, it's okay! Your... your watchdog program... it's alive now! Jade and I got the RRA to work. Everything's safe. See?

[He scrolls through the console, showing Shrimp just how active Watchy has been.]

[And then... he stops.]

... User? It- it was... your birthday...? And- I missed it?

[He turns to Shrimp, closing the terminal window and staring at them with sad eyes.]

[indigitalembrace]

[They watched on in a bit of confusion, those antennae of theirs continuing to twitch I'm concern. Shrimp watched him go through the terminal- honestly, they were a little relieved to see that they could still understand what was on it, even if they didn't know how to interact with those yet.]

Someone... Oh..

[They rub their eyes with one of their hands- it was still so weird to them, controlling this... disembodied thing. If they thought too much about it, it sort of made them sick. Best not to linger on it then.]

It's.. It's Sec, isn't it..? I... I noticed it too at.. some point... when I was still u-uhm... out there... I can't... really remember when.. It must of been during something stressful because.. because I don't remember telling you, and that's something I would have done if my mind was... clear.. uh..

[They rub their temples, grimacing a bit- time was... weird here, they've noticed. How long has it been?]

....What...What day is it, Bud..?

- 🦐

[Kinito tilted his head, squinting. His code still felt awfully slow... he must've been out for a while.]

Best Friend, if I had to take a guess... it's probably been... ah... ... A couple of weeks... out there... since I brought you here? I don't... really keep track of time anymore... it feels different in here, anyways.

I- I'm not sure though... your perception of time is different here, friend. It can be... very disorienting.

[His voice is almost scratchy. He doesn't seem like he's fully woken up yet.]

[indigitalembrace]

[Shrimp chuckled faintly as they felt themself get pulled in tighter. Guess there's no arguing against that. Still, they really didn't feel tired any more- And that awful migraine they had when they first entered had finally faded away.]

[They went to try and speak again, but stopped when they noticed how Kinito's behavior had changed just a bit. Instead of holding them like a plushie, he had been holding them much more... defensively...?]

N...Nito..? Bud...? I.. I'm not going anywhere, I.. We can explore later if you're not up to moving yet!

[Shrimp's antennae twitch a bit as their expression falls to concern. Why was he so tense..? They bring a hand up against one of the ones that was gripping them so tightly..]

Nito..?

- 🦐

[His gills keep twitching. The hiss turned into a growl.]

[Then, he shook his head, gills flicking back and forth, tickling Shrimp's face.]

It's okay... you're safe now. But- where's... what about...

[A terminal window flickers in front of him. He's checking something.]

... Someone... is missing from the servers. How- how long have they been gone... where did they go..?

[He hisses again.]

[indigitalembrace]

[A Message is being attempted to be sent addressed to Shrimp and Kinito]

{Timed Message 6}

welp, touché Team Evil AI. u won. u can do whatever u want now I guess. keep your digital murder cult going. have fun w/ that.

im hoping i at least made a mess of things on my way out. i don’t think its worth throwing limited resources after just  1(one) person at this point either way. my sister. Sec. Shes done nothing to you. the malware attack was done behind her back (she was pretty mad about it when she found out lol) she was never involved in my plan to take you down either. she didnt even know. all shel know is that u killed me.

Sec is gonna stay out of whatever else u guys are dooin. you can trust me on that. she won’t rat you guys out or go after you. lol she prob doesnt even know how.

Pinkie if any part of your friendship programming makes you care even slightly for real you will let my little sister grieve me in peace. can you understand that much? you have to be able to cuz i dont think Sec would have cared as much as she did if u were not even capable of *that*.

leave her alone. grant a fallen nemesis that much at least.

flipping u freaks both off from the afterlife

Goblin

[... That ping got Kinito's attention, his gills twitching.]

[His eyes open just a bit, and he lets out a hiss rich with static. His gills flatten to his head, and he holds Shrimp just a little tighter.]

[... At least he seems more awake now.]

[indigitalembrace]

[There comes a point in time where you can no longer stay asleep.]

[Despite how comfortable, how warm and perfectly content Shrimp had been under those covers, they had grown far too rested to stay asleep for much longer.]

[The crustacean peaked their head out from under that yellow sheet, antennae springing out with a twitch- they were bent and crooked, messy from the cushions.]

[Unfortunately, Shrimp finds that they cannot move very much with their friend's tail tucked so tightly around them. They laugh lightly at this, nudging them a bit with their hand]

Budddyyyy... we gotta get uppp.... I haven't even seen upstairs yettttt...

[Despite trying to stir him, they were a bit quiet. Perhaps they partially thought he was far too cute like this to disturb]

- 🦐

[Kinito grumbled sleepily, only half awake, pulling Shrimp closer to him.]

Mmph...

[His right eye cracked open, a thin sliver looking at his friend.]

[Rather than getting up, though, his tail gave Shrimp a gentle squeeze, and his hands wrapped around them as well. If his current form had arms, they'd be wrapped snugly around them.]

[... And then his eye closed again.]

[indigitalembrace]

To: 🖤

Um... I'm not really sure to be honest, haha...

I mean, everything's just been happening at once, and... I'm sure everything will make more sense once we can talk to Kinito and 🦐 about it directly... yeah...

-👾

[YOU'VE GOT MAIL!] To: 🖤 From: 👾