[Voice, locked to residents] --EMERGENCY--EMERGENCY--EMERGENCY--EMERGENCY--

[malnosso]

[At 2:15AM, the journals suddenly blare out an alarm, followed by this message.]

EMERGENCY. EMERGENCY. This is an emergency.

The following occupants of the Luceti enclosure must report to the teleporters in twenty minutes. You are required as reinforcements in Region 13. Bring all necessary armaments with you. You will be teleported directly into combat.

Anyone who fails to comply will be forcibly escorted to the teleporters by droids.

This is not a drill. I repeat: this is not a drill. You have twenty minutes.

[The message repeats twice more, the alarm continuing until the twenty minutes has elapsed. No questions will be answered.]

Comments

[ahappylie]

[The news came when he was at the Welcome Center, like he was so many nights. It'd been quiet lately and so he'd taken to painting rocks again. The sudden blaring announcement and the limited time had Souji shooting out of his chair immediately and running for the door.

His friends had been drafted - nearly everyone he knew well - and he wasn't about to let them go without him being prepared. As he ran to the house, he opened his journal and shot off a quick note to Cliff, Fayt and even Albel in case he was up.]

I'll meet you at the tunnels - look for white mountains on sky blue.

[aerialassault]

[White mountains on blue sky-- it was a distinct image, one that his mind easily grasped in the chaos. Wakefulness came quick with the sounding alarm, and Cliff was already dressed and snapping on his gauntlets with familiar ease when the message came.

He tossed the journal in with the rest of his gear instead of wasting time with a reply. They would find eachother, like always.

He found Fayt instead. Recollections of their last bout of unorganized combat together had the clarity of an icy wind in his mind.

His priorities were clear.]

How're you holding up?

[He asked, in a tone firm tone that was for once devoid of humor.]

[etherealblast]

Well, I'm awake. [Fayt had jerked awake to the alarm, nearly falling out of his bed before the emergency broadcast cleared all sleepiness from his mind with it's urgency.

He'd jumped out of bed, throwing on clothes and strapping on his armor in record time, and Cliff will find him shoving things into a knapsack for the field, hair still a rumpled mess from the impromptu wake up call and clothes askew.] That's something, right? I think I have some granola bars stuffed in the cupboards somewhere, if we want breakfast on the go. [No time for anything more now. They should probably grab stuff they can carry easily for food, really... Who knew what food they'd find on the field.]

[aerialassault]

[Cliff glanced at the uppershelves and, finding the box in question, brought it down to take inventory.]

Here. Looks like there's enough for Souji too, if he wants it.

[Wasting no time, Cliff shoved it into his own bag, along with a few bottles of water and whatever emergency supplies they had in their storage. Thankfully they had kept things fairly neat-- it streamlined things for when they had an emergency like this.]

...We need to get going, [he added, in a tone that betrayed his distaste for the whole set up. Running a hand through his own messed up hair, he shook his head and threw some more materials into his bag.]

Souji's waiting for us at the location. We don't wanna lose him.

[etherealblast]

Good. [Who knew when they'd have time to eat next.]

I'm ready if you are. [He finished checking the small first aid kit he kept tucked in the knapsack for precisely this kind of emergency, satisfied that it was fully stocked before he buckled it closed and tossed it over his shoulder. He'd made a habit of keeping the bag in the back of his closet after their first draft.]

We don't want to end up getting dragged there, either.

[aerialassault]

No-- I doubt we'd be able to put up a decent fight with 'em this time.

[He yanked a couple of granola bars from the box and tossed one at Fayt before he hefted his bag over his shoulder, as confident and comfortable with his own preparations as he was going to get for this round. Tearing the packaging that contained the bar he still held, Cliff unwrapped it and bit into the crunchy snack.]

Let's go. Time's a wasting.

[etherealblast]

Right. [Fayt makes a quick pace exiting his room, following Cliff down the hall as he peels open the packaging on his own bar, biting off a corner with a thinlipped look.]

This is going to be messy, isn't it?

[The lack of time, the early hour.... They wanted them out there fast, reinforcements to try to turn the tide of a bad situation, no dout.]

[aerialassault]

[Cliff didn't answer with more than a thoughtful hum immediately, and he filled the silence with the crunch of the granola and the echoing step of his boots down the hall toward the elevators that had been installed in every building. His brows furrowing in concern as he made the bend and punched in the command gave away the sinking feeling he had in his gut about what they would encounter.]

Probably, [he said, sighing heavily. There was no point in lying.] Words is that we're one of their more combat oriented bubble. I don't think they'd call us in like that unless they were really desperate for our help.

[Tapping his foot impatiently while they waited for the elevator, he tried to summon up his own calm, for Fayt's sake.]

Just remember everything that you've been working on, and you should be alright.

[etherealblast]

[Cliff's words just confirmed what Fayt already knew, and he nods, taking the short ride down as a good opportunity to down half his granola bar before responding, mind flying over the possibilities as he does.]

Once we get out there, let's try to stick together until we get a read on things. If it's as messy as it sounds, getting separated without knowing what's going on could be bad.

[Because who knew when they'd run into each other in a more chaotic battle.] As for my training... I'm not ready with that, but otherwise....

[Otherwise, he was doing pretty good.]

[aerialassault]

[A soft chuckle rumbled from his chest despite the seriousness of the situation. Grinning now, Cliff reached out and clapped a large hand on Fayt's shoulder.]

No one's asking you to go that far, kid. Just try to keep your head, and we'll avoid the mess that we had at the Aire Hills.

[etherealblast]

[As usual, Fayt's pushed forward a bit by the larger man's strength, but he tosses up a look that says he's not amused by the joke.] Hey, now that's not going to happen. [He knew the risks now, he wasn't going to let himself get carried away by anything.]

[aerialassault]

[Cliff sobered, understanding plainly understanding the point.]

I know-- and I've got faith in you. [The elevator pinged when it reached their floor, and the doors opened to welcome them. Cliff released his friend's shoulder and strode in.

We'll pull through, alright? Just keep your head and don't get caught up everything.

[etherealblast]

Don't worry, I know. [He nods. He didn't want to be reminded of that event, right now. Not when they were heading out into what was likely to be a mess of a battle. He follows Cliff in, punching the button for the ground floor.]

[aerialassault]

[Cliff nodded as well, acknowledging Fayt's understanding, and ate some more of his snack on the ride down.]

...White mountains on a blue sky, [Cliff said when they reached the ground level and the door hissed open.] Souji said to look for that-- I think it's his uniform.

[etherealblast]

[Fayt finished off his granola bar during the short ride, shoving the wrapper into a pocket before stepping out on the ground floor.] His uniform.....?

[Fayt thinks back, remembering blue...white... oh. Those were mountains.] Yeah, sounds like it. We'll spot him easily in that.

[halflived]

[And as soon as that door slides open, Cliff and Fayt will find two objects being launched at their heads in quick succession and with surprising accuracy—small traveler’s packs, easy to carry and attach to whatever else they might be carrying. They’re a bit tightly packed with whatever foods he could find that wouldn’t spoil on the battlefield, and a roll or two of bandages in each.

It wasn’t much, but it was the most he could do as he steps back to his apartment before the two can try to question him. There was enough to worry about without stopping to ask.]

[aerialassault]

Yeah, def--

[He broke off his sentence when he caught motion on the edge of his vision, and he caught the package before it had a chance to smack him in the head. Cliff glanced up at Aleos' retreating form curiously and, after quickly checking the bag, smiled gratefully.]

Yo, Aleos! [He called out to the young man.] Thanks! I'll owe ya!

[etherealblast]

[Fayt manages to catch his as well, and stares at their packaged for a moment before glancing at the door they'd been thrown from with a growing smile.]

Ha. Geez, that guy....

[It was his own way of wishing them well, and it was much appreciated.]

Thanks!

[aerialassault]

Let's move, [Cliff said, still smiling as he tucked the package into his own supplies.] Don't wanna keep anyone waiting, do we?

[ahappylie]

[He didn't like it. He didn't like the rushed nature of the announcement, the way that people were scrambling all over the village, and the fact that they'd be dropped directly into the battle. It meant that something on their overseers' parts had gone terribly wrong and Luceti was either their last ditch attempt at crowd control, or it had simply become the only option left available to them.

Souji had run home, gotten dressed in his battle gear - armor for his chest and arms, his metal forehead protector, the wraps for his legs to keep his hakama from catching, and on top of it all, his sky blue haori with the distinctive white triangles - and grabbed a few quick supplies. He had no time to feed or keep the animals, so after letting Saizou outside, he opened a feed bag for his pets and left them. Saizou wasn't happy, but neither was his owner.

Pickled foods, water, a change of black clothes in case they were needed, and a thicker cloth to tie them all together was all he could gather before he noticed time was running short. He took one last look at the house, wishing he could see Kohaku before he left, and then ran out the door, making a beeline through the trees to the entrance of the tunnel. He didn't know if Cliff and the others had arrived before him, but he hoped he hadn't missed them.

Now the hard part was putting on a smile so the others didn't see how much the situation bothered him. As he slowed by the meeting place, he took a deep breath and forced an easy smile on his face, relaxing his posture by resting his wrist guard against the hilt of his dual katanas that stuck from the ties of his hakama at his waist. It wasn't hard to look nonchalant for him, it was just hard to feel it.]