Chapter 7: The Firewall Zone:
The very next day, at 4:00am in the morning, both Void and SNT were sleeping in the dormitories one room apart from each other.
In SNT's dorm room, she woke up in the morning. As she sat up and stretched her arms to the side and yawned, Void was waiting for her as he brought her breakfast in bed while saying, "Good morning SNT, are you ready for your first day of training? I made your favorite coffee!"
Void places the tray of food carefully in front of SNT. She slowly grabbed the coffee and took a sip. She then smiled at Void blushing, indicating that she loves it.
SNT and Void were then training together in a familiar training room where SNT once trained with Sonic and her friends on Angel Island. With Tails at the helm, he pressed a button on his control panel revealing a special stage.
SPECIAL STAGE, GET TO THE END OF THE STAGE IN ONE MINUTE
Void stood in the sidelines with a yellow flag in his hand. He waived it down towards SNT indicating that the race against time had begun. SNT grabbed onto the monkey bars and made it to the other side, thus completing the obstacle course in only 15 seconds.
SNT then jumped onto a stairwell where she slid down and began to collect rings. The more rings she collected, the faster she would speed up.
SNT then boosted past a couple of sandbags and made it to the finish line as Sonic was waiting for her while holding the checkered flag.
Special stage – cleared.
Happy and excited, Void, Sonic and Tails gathered around SNT and picked her up as they cheered for her, "Three cheers for SNT, hip hip hooray!!! Hip hip...!!!" They shouted in unison.
Suddenly, reality came back in the form of SNT hitting the floor. It was all a dream.
"...Oww." Murmured SNT.
As she slowly got up to her feet, she was hearing the sounds of horns coming from outside the dorm room.
Meanwhile at the same time. In the dorm room next door to SNT, Void ranger was unfortunately tossing and turning while constantly repeating, "No, no, stay away from me. NO!" It was clear that he was having a nightmare.
In Void's dream, he was dreaming about the night when he and his stepfather watched his mother die from the virus payloads.
"NOOOOOO!!! YOU LET THE U.A.V INTO OUR SON'S LIFE?!!!" Shouted the Dragon looking robot who stood up from the sofa and threw a glass of water to the floor.
"Dragon, honey, I'm sorry. It was that b*h ClamWin, she's been riding my a* ever since we bought Void from that Optical Illusions place." Responded Jinx as she tried to apologize to her husband.
As the couple sat down at the dinner table arguing, Void slowly approached the kitchen to sit at the table and watched to find out why his family were fighting.
As all this was happening, an older Void ranger suddenly walked in and was observing the commotion within his dream. "Dragon... Jinx..." Void whispered as he felt concerned for his family.
"Honey, what do you have against the U.A.V anyway?!!!" Shouted Jinx,
"Everything, they ruined my f*ng life!!!" Shouted Dragon, "Maybe you think, it's the U.A.V's fault we live in this f*ng sh*t hole of a city. Maybe you think it's the U.A.V's fault our families took off and left us with nothing!!!"
Suddenly, Dragon flipped the dinner table over and approached his wife with anger and fury in his eyes. "It's the U.A.V's fault, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THE U.A.V'S FAULT!!!" Shouted Dragon as he smacked her face so hard that she fell to the floor.
Injured, Jinx slowly got back to her feet and slowly crawled up the stairs towards the bedroom where she eventually locked the doors from the inside.
The older Void attempted to run and give his stepmother a hug, but she passed right through him as if the older Void was a ghost.
Dragon still wasn't finished with her. "Get back here. GET BACK HERE!!! COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!!" Shouted Dragon as he ran to the bedroom door and banged his fist onto the door, he even attempted to break it down multiple times.
Older Void tried his best to grab Dragon and pull him back from the door, but again; Void was like a ghost to the family, he couldn't touch, he couldn't grab, or worse... he couldn't feel.
All of a sudden, when Dragon finally broke the door open to confront his wife, the bedroom exploded causing the entire second floor to be engulfed in flames. Terrified, Void hid behind the flipped dining table and held on for dear life.
Void suddenly woke up from his nightmare and yelled out loud,
"AHHHHHHH Commander!!!" Void shouted just as a programmer from outside the dorms was playing an army wake up song called reveille on his audio player towards the intercom.
As the reveille song was playing, Minister AVG entered the dorms with his megaphone and began shouting for all the students to wake up,
"Reveille!!! Reveille, get your uniforms on!!! All hands on deck!!! This is a roll call, get your uniforms on and head downstairs!!!" Yelled Minister AVG as he was barking his orders.
Void and SNT quickly got dressed and opened the doors to run downstairs to the auditorium as quickly as possible.
When they opened the auditorium doors, they saw Mistress ClamWin and Minister Norton waiting for them on stage.
"Well, now that we're all here!" Shouted Norton as he was getting ready to address the briefing to the students.
He takes out his remote as a giant screen slowly descends behind him. When the screen finished moving. Norton presses a button on his remote, revealing an audio waveform file of a voice that was very familiar to everyone.
Norton presses the play button, and a terrifying message begins to play,
"My fellow ministers of the U.A.V, after a successful data leak last night at 3:23am, the firewalls are now under my control." Total AV's voice announced.
"We have sent an army of spyware to eliminate as many programmers and ministers of the U.A.V. Unless the U.A.V agrees to return the blueberry boy and his dev codes to me... We will exterminate every student, programmer and minister within this very academy, and we shall begin with your Vindock awful firewalls." Minister Total AV threatened.
"You all have 24 hours to comply with my demands, this is Optical Illusions... signing off." Total AV concluded before the audio file stopped playing.
Norton pressed the stop button on the remote and approached the students.
"Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages... welcome to your very first exam of virus culture. Please take this exam with a grain of salt as much as possible, as only 15% of students have been able to successfully pass this exam." Said Norton as he began to pace left and right on stage while the students stood in attention.
Void looked up towards Norton and began to swallow his saliva. :"Gulp."
"Now listen up. For this exam of virus culture, we will be deploying you to the firewalls of this very academy. From there, you will meet up with my colleagues Minister Avira and Minister Kaspersky where they will supervise you and evaluate you during this exam.
When the exam begins, you'll have only 4 hours to defend these walls from oncoming intrusion attacks. How you choose to defend the firewalls is completely up to you. However, the end goal is that all firewalls must stay intact during the entire duration of the exam.
Now, if ever a firewall should be destroyed or if a single hole is present... or if a student dies during this exam. They will be immediately disqualified and will automatically receive a failing grade. Do I make myself clear?" Shouted Norton.
"Sir, yes sir!!!" Responded the students as a small UFO looking spaceship suddenly slowly landed behind them and opened it's doors.
The students turned around to face the opened spaceship as Hacker; a pink armored ranger with a yellow visor emerged from the ship and pointed the students towards the door. Prompting the students to enter the ship as their exam was about to begin.
Every student began to walk inside the spaceship as Hacker took out his tablet and began to type his attendance spreadsheet on who was participating in the first exam.
Void and SNT were the last students to board the ship. As the ship was preparing to leave, Void hopped onto the ship first and held out his hand for SNT to grab.
SNT quickly held his hand as he pulled her up while the doors of the spaceship slowly began to close.
Just as the UFO spaceship began to transport the students into the firewalls, Norton gave the spaceship a soldier salute,
"Fellow students of the U.A.V academy... Live long... prosper... and may the firewalls protect you." Norton said as he then lowered his hand to conclude his soldier salute. He and mistress ClamWin then watched the spaceship take off into the air.
Meanwhile, inside the spaceship, Void and SNT were looking out the window once again.
Void was looking very nervous as he had no idea what the U.A.V were about to throw at them and the students.
SNT approached Void and held his hand,
"Is everything okay?" SNT asked worryingly,
"No SNT, I'm afraid... I'm afraid I'm gonna fail this exam." Void confessed while looking down on the floor in sorrow. "I honestly don't know how i'm gonna protect these firewalls, how many viruses we'll have to face together, or even how many of us will lose our lives during our attempts to pass. And also... i'm scared of fire." Void confessed.
"Having second thoughts about the exam I see?" SNT guessed as she took Void's hands and looked into his eyes. "Void, Look at me."
Void slowly stared at SNT while trying not to get sad,
"Years ago, I faced an evil jackal named Infinite. I was very scared of him at first. But I eventually mustered up my courage and faced my fear. Now, he's nothing more than a memory." SNT explained,
"You don't understand SNT. My stepmother died in a fire. I almost died in a fire. My entire house was destroyed in a fire. I think by now you're starting to realize the connection between me and fires." Void said as his stomach began to turn.
He then took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.
"But you know... I'm now starting to understand you more SNT." Void responded, "And it's true, I have to face my fear. After all, I was the only student ever to survive the seek test treatment in the medical bay when I was recovering. You and I were the only students who were able to escape the tech alps..."
"Maybe you're right SNT," Void said as he began to smile, "Maybe I should face my fears."
SNT smiled and gave Void a quick hug, "For luck, my blue little robot."
Void blushed as he and SNT then looked out the windows where they suddenly saw many rows of firewalls burning with orange fire and black smoke.
"There it is SNT... the firewalls." Said Void as his face shifted from happy to angry instantly.
Suddenly, when the spaceship doors finally opened up to let the students disembark, gun fire immediately erupted as an army of spyware stormed the spaceship.
Realizing what was happening, Hacker opened the cockpit doors and shouted, "Void and SNT, this way!!!"
Void and SNT followed Hacker into the cockpit where he locked the doors to prevent any viruses from entering.
Hacker then ran towards the emergency exit and kicked the door open and gestured for the pair to leave immediately. They were all leaving by the front door which at the moment was unattended by the invading spyware.
When the trio finally got away from the spaceship, they all stopped near the gates of the firewalls to catch their breath.
Hacker bowed his head in silence and began to pray for the fallen children who didn't survive the spyware invasion, "Bless me Vindock for I have sinned. I have sent these children to their death, and for that, I am sorry." Hacker whispered.
Void walked towards Hacker and placed his hand onto his shoulder in an attempt to console him. "Hacker. Look at me. This isn't your fault!! We had no idea that this was going to happen. Do you understand me?"
SNT then approached Hacker and placed her hands onto his cheek, "The least you can do is let minister Norton know of the what happened to the students. Their families need to be told!!!" SNT shouted.
With a serious look on his face, Hacker looked towards the pair and responded, "...You're right. Norton must be informed." Hacker then took out his notepad and began to cross off the names of all the students who didn't survive the exam.
Void and SNT then slowly approached a nearby gate and pointed towards it, "So this is where the first exam will take place?" Void asked,
Hacker stopped taking notes, "Yes Void, welcome to the firewalls. This is where you shall begin your exam."
Hacker then approached a security panel by the gate and began typing an administrator password for both Void and SNT to enter.
Once Hacker finished typing in the password, Void walked inside with SNT by his side where they saw hundreds of programmers lying dead in pools of binary coded blood.
"What in the hell happened here?!!!" Void asked as he was shocked to discover what he was witnessing?
Hacker slowly walked over towards the dead programmers and began to assess the situation. "Hmm, there must have been a shoot-out that occurred hours ago, between UAV personnel and a couple of spyware."
Hacker then bent down towards one programmer and placed his hand onto the wounds of a deceased programmer. "Yes. Just as I suspected. Gunshot wound. The spyware must be nearby."
Hacker then looked up to the pair and began to bark out their orders. "Void and SNT, we need to check the area to see if there are any survivors. If we find any, let me know as soon as possible. Are we clear?"
Void and SNT nodded as they began to search around the firewalls for survivors, this gave Void and SNT the perfect opportunity to observe their surroundings.
As the pair searched for survivors, SNT tapped Void's side prompting him to look at her. When Void turned his head towards SNT, she pointed out to find Minister Kaspersky approaching them as fast as he could.
"Ahh, Void Ranger and miss SNT, tis wonderful to see you again." Shouted Kaspersky as he bowed before the students while trying to catch his breath.
"It's great to see you again minister." SNT responded as she and Void bowed before the minister.
Void slowly placed his hand over Kaspersky's shoulder looking concerned, "Minister. Deep breaths... deep breaths. Okay minister?"
After a brief minute of taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Kaspersky once again bowed before the students.
"I must thank you Void for purchasing us those RCH-1 guided proton cannons, they were very useful for us when we fought Optical Illusions last year." Kaspersky remarked.
"Always happy to help." Void responded as he and Kaspersky shook hands.
Kaspersky's smile suddenly shifted to sorrow as he gestured for the students to follow him, "Void and SNT. I must warn you both in advance that what you're about to see might disturb you. Please follow me."
Void and SNT looked at each other and hesitated to follow the minister. But eventually, they both held hands and slowly began to follow the minister.
Minister Kaspersky led both Void and SNT into the firewalls where they saw hundreds of dead programmers in each area. Both Void and SNT were terrified that they held onto each other as they walked deeper within the firewalls.
Suddenly, in a surprising turn of events, 2 programmers; alive and well ran towards Minister Kaspersky to deliver him the terrible news.
"Minister Kaspersky, bad news! We have enemy forces surrounding the firewalls. The situation is critical and programmers are dying!" Shouted one programmer as he grabbed onto Kaspersky's chest.
The programmer then let go while the other programmer then grabbed the minister's chest, "Help us!!!" Shouted the other programmer,
"Programmers, listen to me. Send in as many of the remaining ground forces as we can. Meanwhile, I have brought with me some allies from the academy who might be able to assist us." Said Kaspersky as he waved his hand to introduce Void and SNT to the programmers.
"Very well minister, we shall send in more ground forces as ordered sir." Said the 2nd programmer as both programmers bowed before minister Kaspersky.
The programmers then turned to the pair and began to introduce themselves. "Mister Void, my name is Caseem. Level 2 programmer for the United Anti-Virus movement."
The second programmer then approached SNT and bowed before her. "My name is Abdil. Also a level 2 programmer for the UAV."
Both Void and SNT bowed in unison to greet the 2 programmers.
But suddenly, Void started to remember, "Wait a minute... I remember you!!!"
After the gauntlet was over, all the employees and ministers gathered around Void and SNT.
Relieved that the virus invasion is finally over, all the employees and ministers got down on their knees and bowed before them. SNT and Void blushed as they saw what was happening.
Void and SNT suddenly heard the same male robotic voice once again that they heard hours before entering the building. "Well done my new friends, well done." Said Virus as he and his masked men entered the establishment while clapping.
"I honestly thought you didn't have it in you, but I was wrong." Said Virus as he approached Void and SNT.
"You got guts kid, you got guts." Said one of the masked men who bowed before Void.
"No doubt about that, you can definitely kick some a*." Said the other masked man who was complimenting SNT.
Virus, the masked men and all employees of the U.A.V then joined together and applauded for the 2 heroes who were praised for everything they have done for the company at this point.
"I remember now. You are the masked men we met back at Virus' gauntlet last year!!!" Void shouted as he concluded his revelation.
"Guilty as charged." Caseem said as he bowed before Void.
"We've been members of the U.A.V ever since Virus gave you the gruel worm last year." Abdil chimed in, "By the way, what ever happened to the gruel worm?"
Void responded by taking out his smaller sword which had an electro shock stick attached to it. "The gruel worm has been programmed to this. It's called the network tap. It lets me disable either hardware and software, and reverse engineers it's code to do damage to our favor."
Both Caseem and Abdil both looked at Void impressed. They then looked up at Kaspersky who was waiting for them to lead the students towards the firewalls.
The programmers then led the trio even deeper within the firewalls where they found a group of programmers recovering and seeking shelter from the spyware attacks nearby.
Frustrated, Kaspersky stood in front of all the remaining programmers and began to shout possibly the worst war speech ever spoken.
"Fellow programmers of the U.A.V, where are the rest of the programmers when we needed them? Are they cowering in fear? Are they afraid to do what's right? I stand before you all with hope that one day, every last virus syndicate will bend to our will." Kaspersky shouted.
"For years, we of the U.A.V have been destined to die in order to protect our computers. We've blue screened ourselves since the MS-Dos era and we've risked our lives every hour and every minute of every day.
And if ever we should blue screen to our death on this very day?... Then so be it!!!" Kaspersky shouted as he concluded his speech, only to realize that he made the situation even worse as more programmers held onto each other for dear life and were also terrified of leaving or returning to their feet.
Fearing for their lives, both Caseem and Abdil looked at each other and have agreed to leave the firewalls and never return.
"Shall we high tail it out of here?!!!" Caseem asked while looking terrified.
"I thought you never asked." Abdil responded as they quietly ran for the hills.
Minister Kaspersky face palmed himself as he realized his mistake. He wasn't impressed with the speech he gave the programmers. Then again, he wasn't good at giving inspiration war speeches either.
Losing hope, Kaspersky then turned to Void and SNT to explain them about their exam.
"Mister Void, Miss SNT, it appears that the United Anti-Virus movement have issued authorization for you both to take the first exam." Kaspersky said as Hacker entered the firewalls to give him the documents.
"That is correct minister." Hacker responded as he bowed before Kaspersky.
"In that case, welcome to your first exam of virus culture. Tis here where viruses will try to break through and destroy the firewalls of this very academy. As a result, in this exam... You will help me fight off every virus that attempts to harm the firewalls as well as accompany me to the control panel. From there, we shall strengthen the firewalls in hopes to prevent any virus from entering the academy, do you understand?" Kaspersky explained.
"Loud and clear!" Shouted SNT who was excited and feeling confident about the exam.
"Minister Kaspersky, whenever you're ready." Void responded while looking nervous as ever.
Kaspersky stopped barking orders and looked down towards Void. He knew something was wrong. The minister then got down on his knees and began to console the student. "Something troubling you mister Void?"
Void looked up at Kaspersky and responded. "Yes sir. I'm very scared."
Kaspersky looked deep into Void's eyes with a stern look, "Tell me Void, what are you scared about?"
Void took a deep breath and began to explain his history he had with fire. "I despise fire. The very fire that killed my mother, the very fire that almost destroyed me. The very fire that burnt my house down..."
As Void continued, Kaspersky placed his hand onto Void's shoulder. "Listen kid. Not many robots like fires or firewalls. Believe me, I've had hundreds of students before you, who also had a fear of fire upon entering this exam. Yet of the many students that took this exam, exactly 15% of those students who passed the exam overcame their fear and was able to complete their mission. Do you understand?"
Void looked up towards Kaspersky and took a deep breath, as he slowly calmed himself down before beginning the exam.
SNT then reached for his hand and smiled at him to reassure him that everything was gonna be fine.
But before Kaspersky can lead the pair deeper into the firewalls, a programmer suddenly stepped forward and gave Kaspersky an anti-virus shield.
"Also, before we even begin the exam, here. A present from Minister Norton." Kaspersky said as he handed Void the anti-virus shield that he was carrying. "It's yours now."
Void held onto the shield to weigh it for how heavy the shield was.
"Wow, Norton gave this to me?" Void asked.
"Indeed. He thought it could be useful for you during the exam." Kaspersky explained.
Void held onto the shield and began to practice taking cover with it. But as he was taking cover, his stomach slowly began to turn once again, as he was still feeling uneasy after what happened days ago with the seek test back at the academy. He held onto his stomach and began to feel unwell.
"Is everything okay?" SNT asked as she walked up to Void to check up on him,
Void looked down towards his stomach before looking back at SNT. "...Yeah, I'm fine..." He responded. Both Void and SNT then looked up towards the minister.
"Now once we reach the administrator's towers, we must search and destroy every virus present in memory. If there are no survivors... We're gonna have a problem." Kaspersky frowned as Void and SNT nodded yes; understanding the risks they were about to take.
Kaspersky then led Void and SNT towards the admin towers where they found every programmer laying in a pool of blood.
"Void, do you see any survivors?!" SNT shouted,
"Not that i'm aware of." Void responded.
Void and SNT then noticed a couple of spyware approaching them with their guns drawn and ready to fire.
Not taking any chances, SNT quickly spin dashed through half the spyware while Void drew his sword and began to slash and hack away on the other half.
Kaspersky ran by the pair and placed his hand on a damaged firewall, he was checking the nearby firewalls for holes or possible signs of damage.
"Okay good, the firewalls are cracked but not a single hole is present. And these cracks should be filled up by the time this exam is over and done with." Kaspersky sighed in relief.
As Void and SNT approached the minister, he turned around and said,
"Void and SNT, follow me. We're heading to the control panel. Minister Avira is waiting for us there."
Just as the trio was prepared to leave, another group of spyware attempted to gun down our heroes.
Kaspersky, Void and SNT took cover and hid behind one of the firewalls, as Void and SNT waited for the spyware to run out of bullets, Kaspersky grabbed a briefcase; conveniently placed nearby and began to assemble a weapon that the pair have seen before.
Kaspersky was assembling the RCH-1. A guided proton cannon capable of firing and remote controlling solar beams that contained the payloads of the infamous CIH virus, which was responsible for blue screening and bricking thousands of computers worldwide.
He then loaded a thermal cartridge in the back of the cannon and opened up an infra-red laser scope where he began to set his sights on his target.
Kaspersky opened up a computer with a joystick positioned in front of the red screen and the computer began to speak with a female robot voice similar to Miss OS but more human-like.
"Danger! Malware reloaded and ready, evacuate immediately!" Said the cannon's computer voice.
Kaspersky took aim to the group of spyware and fired a solar beam. Terrified, the spyware ran for their lives to get away from the beam. But because the beams were guided and computer controlled, the spyware were no match for the RCH-1.
Finally, Kaspersky used the joystick to direct the beams to hit straight for the spyware. Not only was it a direct hit but the spyware were immediately deleted from existence.
"That should take care of them." Kaspersky said as Void and SNT emerged from the firewalls and went to asses the damage.
"Wow, now this is definitely a virus coded blood bath." Void said as he looked terrified at the binary coded blood surrounding his feet.
"We should evacuate the area immediately!" SNT shouted as she was horrified in seeing the amount of binary coded blood on the ground. "The firewalls, while their still intact, we have to strengthen them! It's the only way we can pass this exam!!!" Shouted SNT.
Understanding that they wanted to keep the survivors safe while still determined to pass the first exam, Kaspersky bowed his head and closed his eyes. "Very well children, lets head inside the administrator's tower."
The trio quickly ran into the administrator's tower where Kaspersky pressed a button to enter the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened and the trio entered, Void pressed the top floor and some elevator music began to play as they waited while the doors were closing.
The trio waited exactly 5 minutes just to reach the top floor of the admin's tower. SNT even checked her watch on her wrist to time how long they were gonna be trapped inside the elevator.
When the elevator doors finally opened, they saw a blue room with hundreds of computers and one large server cabinet in the middle of the room.
In front of the server stood a muscular figure with red armor and a maroon cape. It was minister Avira, and he was attempting to send a distress signal to the U.A.V.
But luckily for Avira, right when he was ready to hit send, he decided to press delete instead as he then turned around to see Void and SNT who were right behind him.
"Minister Avira, report! Talk to me!" Shouted Kaspersky as they walked closer towards Avira.
"Minister Kaspersky, about time you showed up. An army of spyware have surrounded the area, I hope you took care of those viruses on your way here. All the programmers patrolling these firewalls have abandoned us and are in hiding within these firewalls." Complained Avira,
"I was just moments away from launching a distress signal to Minister Norton himself. And then you children show up." Avira said as he looked down towards SNT and Void who were both waving hello to him.
"No need to worry minister Avira, we're here to help." Said Void as he bowed down before the red minister.
"So, what's with all the commotion?" SNT asked,
"Void and SNT, tis wonderful to see you both again. Unfortunately, now isn't a good time for reunions. We already lost thousands of programmers in order to defend these firewalls, and we have no intention of losing you both either." Avira said in anger.
Avira then began to type onto the keyboard the same audio file that Norton previously shared with the students before the spaceship sent most of the students to their death.
"Void Ranger and SNT, we need your assistance to improve our firewalls, we just received this message forwarded to us from Minister Norton himself." Said Avira, "From what I understand, this must be Total AV's master plan."
Avira pressed the enter button and an extended version of the audio began to play,
"My fellow ministers of the U.A.V, after a successful data leak last night at 3:23am, the firewalls are now under my control." Total AV's voice announced.
"We have sent an army of spyware to eliminate as many programmers and ministers of the U.A.V. Unless the U.A.V agrees to return the blueberry boy and his dev codes to me... We will exterminate every student, programmer and minister within this very academy, and we shall begin with your Vindock awful firewalls." Minister Total AV threatened.
"I hereby propose to put an end to all the control panels of Macrosoft doors operating systems. In doing so, the united anti-virus movement will tremble before a rising power.
From there, we will have complete control over admin privileges from every computer around the world and we will control which software or malware is to be installed on a user's PC. Plus we can finally test drive our newest piece of malware ever created which we like to call... Elite." Total AV continued.
"Tis a virus that can attack computers and mobile phones by wiping out all data from a user's computer and formatting all data found on SD cards. It then executes SMS (short message service) payloads to drain money from the user's credit cards.
Elite also contains deep learning capabilities which allow the virus to learn from victims and the apps previously used. It then attempts to apply stealth techniques which will make it difficult for all anti-viruses to detect and destroy my greatest creation.
You all have 24 hours to comply with my demands, this is Optical Illusions... signing off." Total AV concluded before the audio file stopped playing.
Kaspersky and Avira then turned to Void and SNT,
"I don't get it, how can Total AV attack the control panel?" Void wondered,
"Disabled control panels are caused by corruption, you can run SFC (system file checker) scans to fix this problem. But in doing so, you leave yourself open and vulnerable to attacks as malware will attempt to reverse engineer your admin privileges.
And that's how Total AV intends to install Elite onto any computer, and it will be even worse if a mobile phone is plugged into the USB slots."
"So how do we stop that from happening?" SNT asked as she approached the server cabinet.
Avira and Kaspersky smirked and turned their heads towards SNT, "We were just about to ask you the same question. This is an exam after all." Kaspersky responded.
SNT stood by the keyboard looking air-headed and confused.
"Ummm, uhhh, I don't know what to do..." SNT confessed, she never operated a computer before.
Void then approached the keyboard. He then looked around and became distracted by the firewalls that were burning from the outside. His heart began to sink as he nearly collapsed towards the keyboard.
"VOID!!!" SNT shouted as she quickly grabbed him and slowly held him back to his feet.
Void looked directly into SNT's eyes and said, "But SNT, i'm scared!!!"
SNT smacked Void's cheek and gave him a reality check. "I know you're scared! And that's why i'm here with you!!"
Void slowly looked back down at the keyboard before looking back at SNT, "SNT, I don't want to die the same way as my stepmother did many years ago." Void said as he began to tear up.
SNT placed her hands on his cheek. "Listen Void, do not be afraid! Because I believe in you! Remember when Kaspersky told you hours ago before the exam?"
Void's eyes began to widen as he remembered everything that Kaspersky told him hours ago.
Void took a deep breath and began to explain his history he had with fire. "I despise fire. The very fire that killed my mother, the very fire that almost destroyed me. The very fire that burnt my house down..."
As Void continued, Kaspersky placed his hand onto Void's shoulder. "Listen kid. Not many robots like fires or firewalls. Believe me, I've had hundreds of students before you, who also had a fear of fire upon entering this exam. Yet of the many students that took this exam, exactly 15% of those students who passed the exam overcame their fear and was able to complete their mission. Do you understand?"
Void looked up towards Kaspersky and took a deep breath, as he slowly calmed himself down before beginning the exam.
Feeling confident, Void approached the keyboard as SNT stepped aside, allowing Void to type in and configure the firewalls.
"Now lets see. To strengthen the firewalls, if I click new rule, then I import an existing rule from an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file. I can then copy and modify it, right click and duplicate it. Then, I must apply the changes, select the new rule and click properties. From there, I can set up all the behaviors and protocols, add it to the duplicate rule... and done." Said Void as he finished typing and configuring the firewalls.
Void then turned around towards SNT and the ministers who were shocked to see what Void had done.
"Ministers, I hope this should buy us some time." Void contemplated.
Kaspersky and Avira's jaws dropped, "Holy shamoo!!! Void ranger, how in the hell did you strengthen those firewalls so easily. Usually, 25% of students would fail this portion of the exam because they forgot a single step to properly configure the firewalls!" Avira asked while looking shocked.
Void smiled innocently and explained, "I won't lie ministers, I stayed up after hours to study about firewalls and how to control them. And despite breaking the rules and regulations of the U.A.V academy, I did everything in my power to prepare for the first exam. We did pass the exam... Did we?" Void asked as he was unsure what was gonna happen next.
Ministers Avira and Kaspersky huddled together to quietly discussed what would happen to Void and SNT now that the firewalls have been strengthened to prevent any viruses from entering the academy.
After their secret discussion, Avira and Kaspersky turned around and ordered Void and SNT,
"Children, please step forward!" Kaspersky shouted.
Void and SNT obeyed and bowed before the ministers as they awaited their fate which now rests in the minister's hands.
"Mister Void and miss SNT. After a careful discussion and much deliberation... It is our highest honor to announce, congratulations to you both, for you have simultaneously completed and passed the first exam of virus culture." Announced Kaspersky.
"And with that said, we hereby promote you both to C-tier anti-viruses. Well done children. Congratulations" Said Avira as both ministers bowed before Void and SNT.
"Thank you ministers!" Shouted SNT as she ran to hug the ministers.
"You're most welcome miss SNT. Now I won't lie. I am very surprised with you both, especially you Void ranger. Only a fool would fail such an exam at this caliber." Avira confessed.
Void bowed before the ministers,
"Thank you ministers, and thank you for giving us the opportunity." Void responded.
"The honor is ours Void, now let us return to the academy so we can deliver the news to Minister Norton himself." Said Kaspersky as he placed his hands on Void and SNT's shoulders as he led them back to the UFO spaceship where Hacker was waiting for them.
Hacker clapped for Void and SNT's return and gestured them to enter the spaceship to which the doors were already open and waiting for everyone to board.
Hacker once again took out his tablet and began to type his attendance spreadsheet on who passed the first exam.
Inside the spaceship, Void and SNT were greeted by the last of the programmers who have survived the firewall invasion, they all stood on their feet and gave a standing ovation to our heroes.
SNT and Void held hands and smiled at each other as the doors of the spaceship slowly began to close.
The UFO spaceship once again took off and began to transport the survivors and the 2 ministers back to the U.A.V academy.