Next stop: Utopia Academy

[utopiamods]

You're falling, and you can't remember why. It's a sickening feeling that makes your insides lurch; the darkness and the vertigo combine, and all you can think of is a story you heard once, somewhere.

-I remember now. It's a simple story that everyone knows. A legend of a Princess, the Demon Lord who kidnapped her, and the Knight who fought to save her.

The Demon Lord had kidnapped the Princess countless times, but every time the Knight bested his challenges and rescued the Princess.

No matter what tricks and ploys the Demon Lord used, the Knight would always triumph in the end. This was because--

The world tilts on its axis one last time, and the dream slips from your mind as easily as it arrived. A new voice intrudes on your sleep.

"Next stop: Academy Main Entrance. This tramline terminates here; all change. Next stop: Academy Main Entrance. All change."

Sunlight streams through the windows of the long carriage, making the seats almost uncomfortably warm beneath its sleeping passengers. The air is muggy and thick, the atmosphere relaxing. Almost too relaxing; the warmth and the silence make it difficult to immediately muster any kind of reaction or thought. Your nausea settles, slowly. The last of the dream fades.

"We have arrived at Utopia. Repeat, we have arrived at Utopia Academy. Could all passengers please leave the tram, as it is terminating here."

Comments

[trollofthree]

"Must be nice to stretch your legs, right?" His tone was light as he sauntered up beside her, careful as to test the waters. Weird things were going on with people's memories, from what he could gather. Weird things were going on with his memories. Who knew what she knew that he didn't? Or vice versa. The last he remembered, they'd been squaring off in their Knightmares, alongside... the Knight of Seven. Still couldn't remember his name, but it'd come to him. It was, he mused, a good thing they had titles.

He stopped as she did, and shielded his eyes so he could get a better look at what must have been the main entrance further down the path. He had to admit, it was pleasant to talk to her without the prison wall in the way. Even if he was absently ready to dodge or grab if she tried anything. "Sitting down for so long really takes it out of you."

[queenscheckmate]

"Gino." Kallen turned slightly to look up at him. Thankfully he was tall and blocked the sunlight. She wasn't that excited to see him, but a familiar face was better than none.

"Yeah I guess. I just...something doesn't seem right." Nothing at the moment triggered lost memories yet...

[trollofthree]

Well, okay. That was a surprising lack of hostility of any kind, right there. He didn't even particularly mind the lukewarm response; what was he expecting, a hug? They were still enemies. He smiled back anyway, in case she wasn't expecting it.

"Really," he murmured. "I've noticed plenty of 'not right' already. Feel like sharing?"

[queenscheckmate]

"For starters, this is not Ashford Academy. And I don't fall asleep on trains or miss stops. What about you?"

[trollofthree]

He nodded, with an amused kind of approval. "Right, that's two. I'll raise you on the Ashford Academy one: this isn't Area 11. They don't even recognise the name."

[queenscheckmate]

Kallen cast a small glare at Gino. "Are you trying to tick me off?"

[trollofthree]

"Trying to-? No." It was half the truth. Technically he was always partly trying to annoy her, because ... he couldn't recall why. It was just fun. "You'd know if I was trying to tick you off. What'd I do this time?"

[queenscheckmate]

"I know I would know, and you're doing it now. You know how much calling Japan..." Kallen stopped her words for a moment before speaking up again. "...'Area 11' bothers me." Well he was expected to know that. She didn't fight for them to keep the name. The name that bore the hate and resent.

[trollofthree]

"Ah, sorry. But you know that's what it's called, Kallen." He frowned down at her for a moment, then shifted to the side to clear a way off the platform for the other passengers. "And anyway, what I'm saying is, this isn't it."

[queenscheckmate]

"What's with you?" Kallen questioned. Seriously because this was staring to weird her out. "I know what it's called and it's not Area 11 anymore."

She stopped walking and turned to face him. "I know what I fought for Gino and I know this isn't it. But don't insult me, my land, and what I have stood for all this time."

[trollofthree]

What was with him? There were about five different alarm bells going off in his head, and he couldn't work out what any of them were for or where they came from. Maybe this entire thing was some kind of terrorist plot, wishful thinking on their part, but he didn't see how Lelouch fit into that... Nothing made enough sense that he was willing to risk getting into a fight over it. He stopped again, and raised his hands in a brief gesture of surrender.

"Sure, sure." He could play along for now. "So, this isn't Japan."

[queenscheckmate]

Under his 'surrender' sign, Kallen walked on, not dare looking at him again. "We agreed on that. Now tell me something that I don't know."

[trollofthree]

"Man, that's harsh. Let's see..." He looked back at the tram, quickly, then grinned, "There's one. Would you like to know where Lelouch is?"

[queenscheckmate]

Kallen stopped again, her gaze turning hard... until it softened. "I know where he is..."

[veepofchess]

"Doubtful," was Lelouch's only response to the possibility that it was terrorists. The Black Knights would be in very poor shape indeed if they had put this together. He expected that there would be something a bit more obvious. Something like this would require Geass, and to his knowlege, there was no one left alive that possessed one this strong.

He pulled away from Gino's grip, and stretched his legs by pacing a bit, considering the options at a lightning-pace.

[chainedbyred]

"Looks like...." he muttered, still scrabbling at his scalp with his fingers. After a few minutes, it got to something resembling normal, but it wasn't quite right. "Dammit... what's next, is Ed going to be tall?" he muttered under his breath. "Come on, let's get off and find out what's going on here."

[frozen_desires]

As dreams went, he could honestly say this wasn't the worst he'd ever experienced but it was definitely the only one that had ever made his stomach churn. So when the voice interrupted the sequence, just as the world began to spin again, he was grateful.

Opening his eyes slowly, Tougyu lifted his head slowly and ignored the protesting stab of pain from his neck as he looked up and out at the train. ... wait.

Why am I on a...?

Something definitely wasn't right. Getting to his feet, Tougyu put one hand on the back of the seat in front of him to steady himself before looking out at the brightly lit carriage with a look of blank curiosity.

[greennotgold]

Sure enough, the train was slowing to a stop. The conductor repeated her message one more time and the doors opened up. "O-okay... Um, if this is an academy, maybe there're professors who know what's going on."

Fletcher stood up and clutched onto Russel's sleeve again. He frowned as he looked up at his brother's hair. It looked... wrong.

[myownfuture]

Reiko was making her way down the aisle to see if there was anyone else here she recognized. When she caught sight of Tougyu, though, she froze in place.

Why was he here? What were the people in charge doing? "Y-you!"

[frozen_desires]

Being perfectly honest with himself, Reiko was definitely not the first person he had expected to see on a strange train that was apparently stopping at Utopia, and it showed. Giving her a mildly puzzled glance, his shoulders slouched by default, giving him a lazy, almost slovenly appearance as he appeared to look her over.

"Oh. You're my old toy." The remark was made quietly, in an almost bemused fashion as he gave her a searching glance that seemed a little too invasive to be proper. "What are you doing here?"

[myownfuture]

"I'm not anyone's toy!" she practically shrieked, before composing herself. Stay calm. Figure out what's going on. "I don't know. I woke up here. What did the Student Council do? What is this?!"

Kind of stupid, really. Tougyu wouldn't have any answers; he's supposed to be in a coma right now, isn't he?

[frozen_desires]

Logic was hardly a part of their daily lives, seriously.

At Reiko's outburst, Tougyu's head tilted just a touch, making his look seem even more detached and perversely wrong. She seemed to be telling the truth, but then again, he was hardly a good judge of that. After a moment he finally spoke again, this time in a slightly more offended tone. Her demanding voice was starting to grate on his nerves.

"Nothing." And that was the honest truth. He didn't know anything and he doubted El would have done anything either. Not by doing it to him too without the faintest of hints. When it came to El dealing with Tougyu, the mastermind generally took the more direct route.

After all, simple tools required simple orders.

[chainedbyred]

"If they're a part of this, they're probably not particularly trustworthy," he pointed out as he strode out onto the platform. The fresh air was nice, that car as getting a bit stuffy. He mussed his brother's hair, forcing his voice into something a bit more upbeat. "Maybe we can get the military police to do something other than arrest us this time."

[greennotgold]

Oh, that was a good point. Fletcher frowned. He didn't like the police, but even they would have to do something about a trainload of people being kidnapped. "O-okay..."

The conductor was instructing them to head to the main entrance of the school. Fletcher looked up at Russel curiously. "Should we...?"

[myownfuture]

She stared at him, eyes narrowed, for a moment, before turning in a huff and starting back down the aisle. "I'll go talk to someone who does know, then."

Someone who wasn't Tougyu. She didn't really want to talk to Tougyu.