[Round Zero: part 1]

[utopiamods]

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.]

Comments

[forthward]

Nunnally had wondered if she'd be able to reach the lobby in 10 minutes in her wheelchair, but it was lucky she'd been just outside. It was with wide eyes she listened to what the girl told them though. Dying... for real? That had to be a joke. It was a joke, wasn't it?

...or not, it seemed, when she saw her own shadow suddenly form in front of her. She didn't want to fight!

[bitofafiction]

Sherlock, leaning against a wall by the door with his hands tucked into the pockets of Tony's leather jacket, straightens.

"Well," he says, "that is more than a little disquieting."

He doesn't look good. His hair is in a permanent state of disarray, his eyes are framed by the dark smudges of an insomniac, and throughout the announcement he's been quietly shivering. But his tremors are beginning to subside as he scans the crowd for potential allies, keeping an eye on his own double's movements in particular.

The girl in the wheelchair nearby catches his attention almost immediately.

[forthward]

Well, it's not like she was going to even think of doing anything, other than have the wheelchair roll backwards a bit, away from this. Looking around for her family, brother... sister-- everyone else she knew were practically counted into her family as well, she fervently hoped everyone would be safe. That this was just something of a terrible prank.

EASY PICKINGS RIGHT HERE KIDS. TAKING ANY AND ALL COMERS

[veepofchess]

Like hell.

Like hell it was going to end this way. After all this, a massacre? How utterly pointless.

"Suzaku! Kallen!" Lelouch shouted as he ran as best he could to one side. He was making for the stage. Defensive high ground as well as tactical advantage of being able to see what's going on. He searched the crowd for his comrades, sisters, and brother as he went, intending to bring them with him.

[allurprincess]

What.

Sora stares, brain turning over and over with the effort to understand why or how; she can't tear her eyes away from her shadow, standing tall on the stage surrounded by the doubles of her princesses. Then the shadows have started to move, and she immediately presses her hand to her own chest, hoping beyond her entire being that the others are behind her.

"Utopia is here!"

[queenscheckmate]

This was just like that time... It was just like that time--

"Lelouch!" Kallen snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the male call her name. She saw him run past and she instantly followed. The teenager eyed what he was going for and smirked. Lelouch was the brains and Kallen followed his orders. This was the time to put aside his betrayal. They were fighting on the same side... once again.

His ace and his knight, if Suzaku were to join them. What a perfect combination.

[bitofafiction]

"Excuse me, miss."

On stage, Sherlock's shadow rises into the air, rapier in hand. Well of course it bloody does. He sighs and takes his hands out of his pockets; one of them is already holding his Exaclan glove.

"What's your weapon, if you don't mind my asking?"

[forthward]

"What..." Nunnally looked around to the stranger. Was it something inevitable now? But she was already bound to Suzaku-san... wasn't she? "It's a Key to a control panel... to Damocles," and it was something she didn't want to remind herself of. That she... had a weapon similar to Damocles. The very thing she had controlled for a period of time to kill people with.

[isur2ndprincess]

Yuki's eyes widened at the announcement, she was expected to fight with her own weapon? Sure, she could defend herself but she wasn't sure if she could protect herself. Sora was already in motion and Yuki knew that she couldn't fight all of the shadows by herself.

"Utopia is here!" She called out as she drew the katana out of her chest and stood next to Sora, ready to help her.

[bitofafiction]

He draws his own weapon with an abstracted look in his eyes, staring neither at her nor at the shadow accelerating toward them but off into the distance.

"As far as I can tell, you are about to be facing it."

If he has anything more to say, he doesn't have time to say it, because that is when his shadow finds him. Sherlock manages to dodge its first attack and parry the second. He is very fast, but his shadow is faster; its sword is a thin black blur in the air. The only clear advantage he has, Sherlock quickly discovers, is that he can anticipate its moves better than it can anticipate his.

[tenwholeryou]

Kotarou had started backing away before she'd even finished speaking, and by the time the shadows had begun to advance, he was beside Huashi and looking completely terrified.

"No way," he looked up at her, then back to the shadow version of himself. It had started to toss the pendant from hand to hand, expression still blank. "Why is this happening?!"

[monkeystail]

Huashi scowled at the shadowy form of the fake!Kotarou and laid an arm around his shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her own appear, but that one didn't slide over to Kotarou's shadow, but rather twirled the monochrome staff, then mockingly pointed it at them... or her, rather.

"Dunno. But I think it's like daddy told me... Sometimes, the deities just wants to see you dance." Huashi shook her head and doesn't even pay attention as she slid the staff out of her chest and then turned to face Kotarou.

"Do you want to find somewhere safe? There must be somewhere..." Huashi looked around, and swept her staff behind her as it collided with her double's. The double jumped away for the moment, but started to circle them.
"Kotarou..." She wasn't sure what she was gonna say, but Huashi suddenly pushed him to the side and around her, blocking another hit. Her double jumped back again and started circling. Where was Kotarou's shadow?

[tenwholeryou]

"Wah-" Kotarou stumbled back as she shoved him out of the way, and collided with something hard.

The 'something' promptly disappeared with a dull scream and a wisp of black smoke.

Huh, he'd found his shadow. Which was apparently about as threatening as the person it had originated from. He jumped back from the spot it had been standing on, and pulled out his pendant without another thought. Huashi needed help; he ducked a sweep of her staff, barely, and held it out. "Take it!"

[forthward]

"Face it...?" Oh my god that was... worse than she could imagine. She knew what kind of powers her weapon had. Darting her eyes back to her own shadow she saw it had Damocles in its hand. "No! Don't--!"

She had to stop it, to get the key away from her counterpart. This couldn't happen, it was too dangerous.

[monkeystail]

She'd almost hit him! She needed better awareness of her surroundings! Then Kotarou's call made her snap around, and she swept the staff behind her again, making her shadow jump back. It was quick, but, bah, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle (though she had a bruise forming on a cheek).

"Kotarou!" She can't help the squeal, because while they trust each other, with what happened when his pendant broke... But there's really no choice to wait right now, is it? So she took it, and suddenly stuff around her seemed slower... The bruise also stopped hurting. Oh yes.

Whirling around, the two staves met in a crack, and she could feel something like vertigo sneaking on... (Which way was up? But she dropped down (or up, sideways, didn't matter, she could see her stupid double anyway), and, this time, just kicked out. Her double got a really funny expression as she hit it in the crotch and then it disappeared.

"Come on, Kotarou, we're going up!" Huashi pulled loose the string holding one of her tails together and tied it around Kotarou's pendant, then pulled the impromptu necklace over her head. She needed her other hand.

[myownfuture]

Reiko was just behind them, drawing the morning star from her own chest while shouting those words that she had never imagined she herself would say; she's more on edge than either Yuki or Sora. She's never fought even once in her life.

Briefly, she recalls the conversation from the day before and laughs a little wryly. Maybe the others had been right after all.

[themouthofhell]

Oichi has already drawn her weapon-- the naginata's weight is familiar and a comfort in her hands, and she wields it with a practiced ease. Her thoughts turn first to Kotarou and then to the other girls who had been so kind to her; Kotarou is small, a child, and so he needs someone to protect him. Yes. She spots the girl with the red hair standing there with others and that feels okay. She'll be okay. But Kotarou...

She feels the despair creeping up on her, the feeling of loneliness. And as she ducks a high swing of her shadow's blade, she catches sight of him and that girl who didn't like her. She flees and follows them, coming closer.

"Kotarou," she says once she's close enough, voice clear amidst the chaos. "Don't die. Ichi... will miss you..."

[bitofafiction]

The tip of his shadow's sword scores his cheek, drawing blood. A little higher and he'd be missing an eye, or dead. He ducks to one side; the shadow easily avoids his counterattack.

[monkeystail]

"He won't die! I promise, okay!" Huashi doesn't sound offended that Ichi was concentrating on Kotarou, this was more important after all. Then her eyes widened and she jumped forward quickly, blocking a swipe from a shadowy-naginata.

"Look out and defend yourself!" Huashi shouted as she jumped back and grabbed Kotarou's hand. They needed a better vantage point, where they had a wall behind their back!

[themerryway]

Euphemia doesn't know what to do. This entire thing feels unreal; her body heavy, she sees her sister, and her stomach sinks. She'd hoped her family had somehow managed not to come, but that hope is shattered. Euphemia manages to weave through the crowd, narrowly avoiding the swing of a sword, the heftiness of an axe.

She comes to Nunnally and Sherlock and grasps the push handle of her wheelchair. "Nunnally," she manages, breathing hard. She wants to help Sherlock, but she can't get in the way; what if he were to slip up because of her? "Are you okay?"

[swordofzero]

"Lelouch!" This place had got from weird and twisted to... well he didn't have a clue what to call this.

It was a massacre, after everything after kidnapping them and forcing them to fight... they were just going to slaughter them...he caught up to Lelouch and the pilot drawing out his weapon as he ran. Just having a weapon in his hand made him feel a bit better, he needed to protect Lelouch, and Nunnally and Euphemia when he found them.

They had to stop this! This couldn't turn into a massacre... They had to save people.

[tenwholeryou]

"I won't die!" He agreed. If he said it, maybe it would come true. With the both of them between him and the milling, murderous shadows, Kotarou was free to look for a path they could take. His head turned this way and that, until--

"Huashi, Ichi!" He pointed to a section of wall behind them, the way to it safe between two large groups of armed students. "There!"

[imperceptible]

The minute the announcer had said "alive," Kevin had gotten this sinking feeling in his gut. The same feeling he would always get when his father had at the bottle, though for the love of him he couldn't remember why. As his shadow went up to join the others and he realized the kind of danger they were now in- that they had always been in- Kevin's hand inched towards his neck where his memory charm lay. Despite only having one, the return of the memory had been important... and absurd.

He shouldn't have to fight for what was rightfully his, memories or life, and now these assholes were going to try and take both? "Screw that." He hissed, moving to draw his own weapon and-

Pain. As a gunshot rang out through the air over the sounds of battle, Kevin felt an agonizing burn in his side and nearly crumpled on the spot. He'd been shot? When had he been shot? And who the hell-!?

Wrenching his gaze upwards to try and find his shadow, Kevin was utterly surprised when he found himself staring down at the ground. Why the fuck was he so disorientated? Was he losing blood? Or was it the effects of his copy's weapon? But that shouldn't be possible, not when he hadn't unlocked any- when is life ever fair?- his mind reminded him in a scathing voice.

"You gotta be kidding me...!"

[myblueskies]

Romeo had been stood a little away from Sora, she was the only person he properly knew so he had found her when they gathered but he hadn't wanted to go up to her when she was with her adult friends. But now, the lady had said they were all going to die!

What had they done wrong, he reached up to his chest like he had seen the students doing on each other earlier in the week and pulled out his weapon. He blinked, it was a chimney sweep brush- not much of a weapon especially since they were getting attacked by monsters. Romeo was so scared but he concentrated on getting to Sora. Alfredo, if he were here, would tell him they all had to work together to fight these monsters.

At least if they killed him he would be able to see Alfredo again. "Miss Sora! Why are they doing this!"

[womenwouldgrieve]

A child. There were children here, and this one had just been...

Edgar wasted no time pulling out his own weapon. There wasn't much he could do for the boy bleeding out -- if only this place, whatever it was, weren't sealing his magic -- but he could protect everyone else.

A spear. He had a spear, he realized once he was holding it in his hands. Well, that would make things easier... With a shout, he lunged at the shadow holding the rifle.