Rakuen Moderators (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
utopiamods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
rakuen2011-01-24 01:48 pm
utopiamods) wrote in rakuen2011-01-24 01:48 pm
Entry tags:
[Round Zero: part 1]
At noon on the rest day, every screen in the campus lights up. It's the girl from the introduction again! She's grinning fit to burst, and her voice is bright and excited.
"Good morning, everyone! Round Minus-One is now officially over, so we'd like you to all report to the lobby for a special announcement, immediately! It starts in ten minutes, so don't be late."
The screens all go blank, before simply displaying the flashing text ALL STUDENTS REPORT TO THE LOBBY FOR 12:10.
Reaching the lobby, you find it empty of the usual staff. However, the doors to the tramstation are blocked by a large stage, spanning the entire south wall. In the centre stands the girl, in the flesh and just as sickeningly cheerful as her broadcast.
"Hi, everyone!" She waves, tilting sideways as she does so, and then clasps her hands together. "Wow, it's really great to see you all in person at last! You've all tried a lot harder this week, and it shows! We're really, really impressed with everyone. Ah, even though there was a bit of cheating..." she pouts, and shakes her head lightly, "But that's okay. We forgive you! You all know better now.
"But what we've called you here to say is this! We've been working extra hard too, and we've gotten a lot done with your help. So much that we're nearly ready for Round One!
"However..."
She's still smiling. It's a little unnerving, "We have to do some maintenance first, okay? And I'm afraid it would be a problem if you were all alive for that... you could cause us a lot of problems. So we're going to get rid of you for a little while. Think of this as a final test!"
She snaps her fingers, and your shadows disappear. No, not disappear. That's the wrong word. It's more like... they're abandoning you. Nearly forty pools of darkness flow up onto the stage, and suddenly explode upwards in tendrils and globs of black. The girl laughs as they finish changing, as they take on your shapes. As they reach into themselves and pull out inky replicas of your own weapons. They all laugh with her, in the emotionless tones of the Voice from your dreams.
"You can all draw your own weapons now, okay? Fight hard!"
"Good morning, everyone! Round Minus-One is now officially over, so we'd like you to all report to the lobby for a special announcement, immediately! It starts in ten minutes, so don't be late."
The screens all go blank, before simply displaying the flashing text ALL STUDENTS REPORT TO THE LOBBY FOR 12:10.
Reaching the lobby, you find it empty of the usual staff. However, the doors to the tramstation are blocked by a large stage, spanning the entire south wall. In the centre stands the girl, in the flesh and just as sickeningly cheerful as her broadcast.
"Hi, everyone!" She waves, tilting sideways as she does so, and then clasps her hands together. "Wow, it's really great to see you all in person at last! You've all tried a lot harder this week, and it shows! We're really, really impressed with everyone. Ah, even though there was a bit of cheating..." she pouts, and shakes her head lightly, "But that's okay. We forgive you! You all know better now.
"But what we've called you here to say is this! We've been working extra hard too, and we've gotten a lot done with your help. So much that we're nearly ready for Round One!
"However..."
She's still smiling. It's a little unnerving, "We have to do some maintenance first, okay? And I'm afraid it would be a problem if you were all alive for that... you could cause us a lot of problems. So we're going to get rid of you for a little while. Think of this as a final test!"
She snaps her fingers, and your shadows disappear. No, not disappear. That's the wrong word. It's more like... they're abandoning you. Nearly forty pools of darkness flow up onto the stage, and suddenly explode upwards in tendrils and globs of black. The girl laughs as they finish changing, as they take on your shapes. As they reach into themselves and pull out inky replicas of your own weapons. They all laugh with her, in the emotionless tones of the Voice from your dreams.
"You can all draw your own weapons now, okay? Fight hard!"
[mod notice: NOW EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS OOC POST BEFORE THEY REPLY.]
no subject
But she was shaken from her thoughts as she heard Koharu's shadow speak. Her gaze turned to Sora, still frozen in place and unable to react. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Tsuki realized how this would play out; the only way it could play out. Could Sora ever raise a hand against those she's sworn to protect, even if they were nothing but crude dopplegangers of them? She was far too trusting, and far too simple. It would take something drastic to push her into doing what she had to...
But whether that factored into Tsuki's calculations at all as her body began to move was questionable. It was more instinct than anything else; the inevitable consequence of how events had played out. She had no regrets as she dove into Sora, pushing her away, even as she felt the painful sting of a bullet hitting her in the chest.
A knight of justice who protects princesses... How idiotic, their positions were completely reversed this time.
no subject
Sora's scream was more terrible than her shadow could ever have hoped to achieve. Tsuki's theory was sound, the knight was no longer conflicted. Her mind filled with ringing denial, she rose from where Tsuki had pushed her and brought her sword up in a slice so fast there was no chance to block; the glowing edge tore through uniform and shadow, almost bisecting Dark Koharu. It vanished with a wail, and Sora dropped back onto her knees just in time to catch her first princess before she hit the floor.
"Tsuki! Tsuki!"
no subject
"So dependent on Sora Himoto," the shadow observed, smirking. "I thought you were going to save everyone yourself. You can't..."
It swung Dark Belial straight in Reiko's direction; the only thing the girl could do was duck for cover. "-- save anyone!"
no subject
"What are you making that face for?" she asked, through pained breaths as she glanced up at the other girl. She forced herself to smile despite the pain; or perhaps because of it. She could feel her energy leaving her quickly as she began to feel light headed from the blood loss. "You don't have time to grieve right now, you idiot. You have to protect the others, don't you...?"
Her smile began to fade as she soon fell limp, bringing an end to her rather strange form of encouragement.
Miss Sora's friend died! These shadow monsters are going DOWN!
Then she died! It was so quick and so horrible and there were more shadows coming and Miss Sora was kneeling there. She would be so hurt and so sad, Romeo remembered when Alfredo had died and how it had felt like his heart had been torn out.
But they didn't have time to cry! Remembering what Nikita had taught him and the rest of the black brothers he grabbed Sora's shoulders. "Miss Sora! I'm sorry about your friend," he was, there were tears in his eyes but they had to keep going. "We couldn't save everybody," and it hurt so much that they had failed in their vow, "But there's still people, some of your friends are still here and we need to protect them!"
"You need to fight!"
no subject
"No one else is going to die," she promised him - promised her dead friend, promised the other girls around her - before laying Tsuki gently back onto the floor and picking up her sword once more.
Reiko was being attacked. Their second mistake. The chain of the flail tangled around her sword as she lunged; she wrenched the blade away from them both, ducked under the mace as it swung with the force of the move, and sent Reiko's shadow flying with a spinning kick to the stomach whilst she was off-balance. It exploded into black smoke against the column it slammed into; Sora was already moving for the next shadow.