Round 5!

[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 waking passengers. The air is muggy and thick, the atmosphere deeply tired. 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."

The tram pulls to a stop outside the academy station, and anyone onboard is ushered off and directed to the front lobby of the school. You can't miss it; there are signs up pointing toward the main entrance, reading "New student orientation" in big, bright letters. If anyone should care to move off the path, try exploring somewhere else, a teacher will conveniently appear to shoo them back toward the lobby, assuring them that "all your questions will be answered inside".

The lobby is big and spacious, looking more like a university or perhaps a fancy international hotel than a high school. Stood around are any number of students in the uniform of the school. Some of them even look awake. There are several receptionists at the desk towards the back of the lobby, but for now they seem busy with paperwork.

Anyway, the many screens are far more interesting. Once a good number of students are gathered inside the building, they all activate at once to show a cheerful, almost cavity-inducing woman in the school uniform. She smiles, waves, and launches into her speech without further ado.

"Good afternoon to our new students here at Utopia Academy! Thank you for choosing to enroll with us for this, our first semester of the new year. Our battle system is the best in the world, set up for you, our students! I hope that you all had a fun journey here, and that you've all made some new friends! You're going to need them soon, so keep them close, okay?

"Now, I'm going to explain the rules for you. Make sure to listen carefully, and remember, you can find all of this and more in the Exaclan manual!"

She outlines the battle system for the newbies as she has every round previous, then claps her hands. The screen goes blank, and the following appears:

Players for Round 5

Saber
Huashi Sun
Gaara
Excalibur
Xingke Li
Edgar Roni Figaro
Russel Tringham
Vriska Serket
Mikoto Minagi

((OOC: Also we have out first ever activity check! Here it is!))

Comments

[myblueskies]

Romeo woke up early, he was used to being up with the sun and the habbit had not left him since he found himself in this strange world. He usually woke up at the same time as miss Sora, Sora would go and meet her friends to jog. They ran too fast for Romeo to keep up with and so he went to check on the towers. Since going inside the open tower he had mostly avoided it, he would sneak up on it and peer through the trees to check it wasn't different or on fire or something and then go check on the locked towers.

After all the Tiger lived in the open tower, it was dangerous. Grenn had wondered if there were other monsters in the other towers, Romeo hoped not. But they were locked and so he should be safe for the time being. Usually after checking the towers he would go watch Sora and her friends train, and sometimes train with them, practicing the things Zoro had taught him.

After training he usually managed to grab breakfast unless mister Zoro found him first, and then it was time for more training before class.

Except today there were no classes, it was a rest day and the new players would be announced. He swung out of bed, pulling on his uniform and hunting for his shoes before padding over to Sora's bed.

It was empty. Romeo frowned, he hadn't heard anything, and Sora usually woke him up if he sleapt in. He peared through the almost darkness to see if she was there anyways, but no the bed was perfectly made and on top of the pillow there were...

"No!" Romeo stared at the charm and the ring. It couldn't be... not Sora, she was going to save everyone... she couldn't have...

He reached out to touch the charm and stumbled slightly as a list of names assailed him. All girls, names, a number, sometimes a boys name and some random things like their faverite fruit. Some of the names Romeo recognised as her princesses.

It went on for a while and then as Romeo was touching the charm the memory was just there, in his head.

Tears sprung to Romeo's eyes as he realised it was true, Sora had been fed to the tiger. She was gone, he was crying silently and he slipped out of the room. He had to find Sora's princesses, if any of them were still alive, he had to find miss Utena as well and mister Suzaku, though he knew that he would be in the hospital still and Romeo didn't think he was allowed there.

***

By the time of the round change announcement Romeo had discovered that miss Utena was missing as well. He stood by the back of the hall tear tracks still visable on his face trying to make himself listen. Listen to the mean lady who had hurt him so much the week before, to the mean lady who had fed his friends to the tiger.

He stood huddled trying not to cry, because he was brave and almost a grown up and grown ups didn't cry. He was training to be a swordsman like Zoro and swordsmen didn't cry and he had to keep going, just like when Alfredo had died. He had to keep going and realise Sora and Utena's dreams.

[ergaleomancer]

Theta scanned over the list of players, then made her way to the entrance where the new students arrived. She wasn't a player, nor were any of the people she knew. That was a shame, but that meant that she would meet more people this way. Would any of the new students be players, she wondered. They must have been highly confused. And how had the last round ended, anyway? Did Sherlock wind up with five weapons in the end?

She supposed it didn't matter. Now it was up to her to find a player for this round, so this was the place to be. She stood tall, even though she had to lean on her cane, and looked around. Anyone that even so much as looked in her direction got a cheery smile and a polite tip of her hat, and meeting her eyes would earn one a polite and cheerful greeting. She would even approach anyone who looked interesting--who knew her logic, it might have been anyone!

"Good day to you~," she said. "Are you looking for a weapon~?"

[bitofafiction]

Sherlock scans the player list twice, thoughtfully, from his customary place leaning against a pillar in an out-of-the-way corner of the room.

Some new names, some old. He is not sure, on balance, whether it would be better to go with someone he trusts in hopes of being left alone the way he has every previous round or take a chance on a stranger in hopes of advancing in the system. Unfortunately, he does not believe that any of them share his new goal.

[monkeystail]

The short girl with the tail that trudged into the lobby in time to see the list of players looked pretty miserable. She appeared to not have bothered with taking any baths or changed clothes in the last few days, and anyone who may have paid attention during meal-times to who attended or not, wouldn't have seen here there.

Huashi glared at the screen and slid down against the wall, arms crossed. She didn't want to do this anymore. But she had seen that recording of the little boy get hit for someone else dropping into negative tokens.

"I want to go home."

[shishi_sonson]

Off enjoying a peaceful meal in the cafeteria, Zoro, quite surprisingly, let out a sigh of relief when he learned that he was once again relegated to 'Weapon' status.

"So much easier..." he muttered silently to himself as he tipped a simmering cup of tea up to his lips.

It was an honest sentiment, at the very least. Being a Player, no matter what freedoms it afforded, could be a bit of a pain. Too much competition and not enough reward, Zoro thought to himself, staring quietly out into the courtyard through his window seat. Slouching comfortably down into his chair, an arm draped over the back and his legs stretched out in front of him, he began to muse over just what to do during this Round.

"I'll have to find some kind of Player, I guess," he said quietly, speaking to no one in particular. Whether or not to be picking about who would (or could) use him in upcoming Battles, though, was a point he had not yet decided on.

But what about Romeo? He couldn't hang out with the boy as much during this Round, not with neither of them as Players. They could still train, but if one of them had taken a vow, they'd need to be available.

After taking a sip, Zoro decided that he'd find the boy just as soon as the meal was finished and make sure he was set.