rakuen | [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!"

[mod notice: NOW EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS OOC POST BEFORE THEY REPLY.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

As Suzaku reached Kallen's side his shadow version approached her other side and gave her a small twisted grin before standing to attention, even shadow Suzaku managed to look formal. "Do you want me to take him out Kallen?" And it might be assumed he was talking to the shadow of Kallen, but no he was looking at the real thing.

"You know, save you the trouble of killing him for the second time," he chuckled darkly and moved to stand by the shadowy Kallen, his sword ready.

Kallen closed her eyes and mentally cursed. This was bad, real bad and she didn't want to admit defeat here. And hearing the other shadow's words meant that Suzaku was near by.

"You should have left me," the teenager said to Suzaku, opening her eyes, the male finally in her line of sight. There was no way she was getting out this situation... not without her dying first.

"Now, that wouldn't be any fun at all Kallen." The shadow taunted the other girl before looking over at Dark Suzaku. "He's all yours. I wouldn't want to dirty my hands again."

Suzaku shook his head slightly; he might be a murdering, traitorous, failure but he would not leave an aly in danger. "We're taking them down," he muttered, sounding much more confident then he was feeling. But it didn't matter they would fight; they were on the same side for once. They would defeat their shadows, or more likely be killed by them. But he would never think of leaving her.

"You're both pathetic." The shadow of Suzaku told them before sweeping over towards Suzaku, sword up and ready to strike.

"Failed again Suzaku? There all dead, Lelouch, Euphy, Nunnally, Rolo," he grinned back at Kallen, "Sulu, and it's because you both are failures."

More dark chuckling, a twisted version of the laugh that Suzaku so rarely gave anymore. "But don't worry, you aren't going to live long enough to feel too guilty!" He went to strike.

So that confirmed it. Lelouch was dead. "I'm weaponless," Kallen said to Suzaku, eying her gun on the floor. She was a fighter, but she wasn't insane. There was no way she could fight off a machine gun at close range...

Or could she...?

"Sulu... his death and his blood is on my hands cause I should have saved him. But I won't let his death blind me in rage and regret." She closed her eyes and sighed. She whipsered out Sulu's name. Once she gathered herself, she opened her eyes once more.

"Suzaku..." she started, "I'm going to tell you this and you and you're going to have to trust me on this. You know we can't take down our own shadows. But you and I... we're each other worst enemies. I'm sure you know what that means."

Kallen was going to have to make this count. She ducked down to slide in between her double's legs, grabbing her gun on the way, quick to aim and shoot at Dark Suzaku. Although Dark Kallen's gun fired, missing Kallen, now bullets were going towards both Suzakus.

Unfortunately for the shadow of Suzaku his momentum was going towards his real life double and so he couldn't dodge. He did however manage to grin at Kallen as he began to disparate, You got me! Again, dark laughter and he was gone.

Suzaku nodded grimly. He did indeed know exactly what she meant. Gripping his sword he dashed out of the way of the bullets coming towards him and ran forwards swinging his sword above his head to bring down at the shadow of Kallen.

That was easier than expected. The shadow went down as Suzaku came from hers. In case the shadow moved out the way, Kallen aimed her gun to have the shadow at gun point from behind. There was no way out of this.

"And to think... to have the traitor take me down." A bitter ,laugh came from her double as the sword went through her.

It was over... Kallen sighed and dropped her gun to the side of her, head placing itself against the floor below. That was definitely a rush and the adrenaline was gone and sucked the life out of her. Her breathing was heavy as she closed her eyes.

Then the shadows were gone, Suzaku stumbled the words of the shadow Kallen ringing in his ears; but then saw Kallen fall. He was at her side in a moment. "Kallen," he put his hand on his shoulder, she had to get up. There were still people... Lelouch was dead... Euphemia and Nunnally were dead... but there were others still alive. They had to protect them, even if it would be easier just to let themselves die.

"Suzaku! Kallen!" His head turned at the sound and saw Kotarou stood with Huashi and Oichi.

"Kallen!" Suzaku shook her, "There's Kotarou... he's still alive... come on!"

"How much longer do we have to do this?" There was no answer to question. She just wanted all of this to be over. She got up when Suzaku helped her to do so. The teenager willed herself to stand.

Instatly she grabbed her injured arm from her fight with Dark Sulu. The damn cut reopened and she was bleeding again.

"Until we win, or die," he saw her blood and reached out to help her, to support her. His mind was working the same as Kallen. Why should he live when so many had died, so many had died who he had promised to protect had died. He did not deserve to live.

He deserved to die, probably brutally. He had deserved to die most of his life but today, today he had failed again.

But others... Kotarou, Huashi, they were innocent and did not deserve to die. They especially did not deserve to die like this, in this bloodbath of horror. Then he could die, after all what was the point in living in a world where everyone you loved was dead.

No... Kotarou, they had to get there and protect him.

<link=http://rakuen.dreamwidth.org/17302.html?thread=942486#cmt942486>here is where they are going

"I don't know about you," a bitter laugh, "but I don't plan on dying. I just... don't know how many more of ours allies or friends I can gun down. It's... starting to wear on me."

With his help, she sat up, eyes tired and lifeless.

"No," they couldn't think like that, that way would only lead to more horror and pain, and there was far too much of that already. "They are not our friends... they are shadow monsters that have chosen to wear the faces of our friends to hurt us..." He helped to pull Kallen to her feet, "Come on..."

"Yeah..." Kallen winced when Suzaku helped her up. The grazed blade mark on her shoulder was starting to irritate her, not to mention the blood seeping from the fabric she tied around her arm. "We'll make it through."

[Round Zero: part 1]

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