[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

[house 16 and onward]

[frost_jewel]

[Mia wakes in seconds, heart already pounding. The last time there was an alarm like this, the last one she remembers with any real clarity, it ended in Vaskoth. Even now it feels like someone sending nails of ice into her chest; after a moment of panic and listening, she realizes she's fighting herself to breathe.

She gets up, gets dressed - in her uniform, of all things - and heads for the kitchen to pack her bag once she sees her name on the list. Directly into combat means trying to be prepared for everything. For anything. She does all she can to hide a growing sense of unease from her housemates...

...and anyone else she encounters on the way to the teleporter.]

[onward]

[cajunspice]

Ah chere, don't say they got ya forced 'long as well. [The voice came from the general darkness of the paths as both made their way towards the teleporter area.]

Suppose good to know got a bon healer 'tleast. Hopefully won't need ya for that though, hein?

[onward]

[frost_jewel]

I would rather be able to help people than stay here and worry for them. [Which is true. She still feels like she's going to be sick.]

[cajunspice]

[A valid point, and Remy offered a half shrug to her comment. He would be the same, no doubt, even if he wasn't looking forward to what was waiting for them... whatever it was.]

Too true, petite. Ya been through these before?

[frost_jewel]

Yes, several times. [Significantly fewer begin this way, with no notice and wee-hour alarms.] Usually everything is more organized. More...contained.

[cajunspice]

That so... [That didn't sound good. A sudden draft for random people screamed trouble.] So we be headin' into a hell of a situation.

[frost_jewel]

Probably.

[She's packed her bag with just about everything she could think might be useful. And a handful of plastic straws.]

I don't even know where to begin in telling you what we might face.

[accepted]

[Getting ready in twenty minutes he could manage. Getting ready and getting over to the teleporters from house four within the time limit was a little difficult though. He ends up running to make sure he gets there in time.

He's a little out of breath when he spots Mia heading in the same direction he is. Nonetheless, he still jogs over so he can check up on her before they're sent off to fight.]

Hey, morning. You doing okay?

[frost_jewel]

[There's pain in her eyes when she turns to him, but it's dark enough to mask it until she can compose her features again.]

I don't think I can call this morning. [She's carrying a staff, not a mace, choosing versatility over damage despite the urgency and the warning; it's good for leaning on as her steps bring her closer to the teleporter, too.]

[accepted]

I guess so. [It's much too dark to be anything like morning, but still.] I think this is the earliest they've ever called us, huh.

[He's got his arm guard on, sword at his side and ready to go. Outside of that he's got his transformation to rely on if things turn rough. While he walks with her he notices her choice in weapon, different from the last draft they were on, and also picks up on how she's walking with it.]

Do you need a second before we go in? We've got the time. [Not really. Emergency and all. But if Mia is feeling too hot then he's sure they can spare a minute or two.]

[frost_jewel]

No. Taking extra time won't make me feel any better about this. [Drafts always come with a sense of foreboding; it's the alarm that got to her, continues to get to her because she remembers a city full of struggling people and death and the sad sunken eyes of friends - this friend in front of her, even - as they wasted away.

Mia remembers to breathe.]

Thank you for asking.

[accepted]

It's nothing. [...] If you're worried then it's fine, I am too.

[Which is an odd thing for him to say, especially given his track record of claiming he'll be fine or some such variant prior to every other draft he's been on. Maybe it's finally sunk in that no matter how much he prepares there's going to be something out there he isn't ready for. The thought leaves him feeling apprehensive, perhaps not visibly so but enough that he can't deny that right now he's on edge.]

[frost_jewel]

I am worried. This is so unusual and sudden that I can't help it.

[They both know she worries anyway. Even if things are routine.]

You'll be careful, won't you?

[wildbluevagner]

[Kurt winds up arriving by the teleporters with only minutes to spare, nervously rubbing at his bed-head. He has swords sheathed at his side, and it's hard for him to hide how anxious he's feeling.]

Mia! [It's a concerned greeting.]

[frost_jewel]

[As he wasn't in the chaos of the house's preparations, Mia is surprised to see Kurt appear before her.]

What's- [Armed. Oh. The sentence dies with the rest of her exhale.]

[wildbluevagner]

[Kurt's surprised too, having not seen the list. And he frowns.]

A draft... that's what. [He hesitates, just in case he's misunderstanding. Maybe she's here to see people off? Maybe that's a thing people are willing to do at 2 in the morning?] You too?

[frost_jewel]

Me, too. [But where was he when she and Rogue were in the kitchen telling fleeting dark reminiscing jokes about straws?] The droids didn't drag you here, did they?

[wildbluevagner]

[Sleeping too heavily is where he was, until Laura woke him up, and still met Rogue anyway because timelines are weird. But his cloud of denial is burst - another person drafted.]

No, I managed to get here fine. The upside of sleeping in is that I have an express route to wherever I'm going. [He just can't demonstrate right now, because yeah. Tunnels.]

[frost_jewel]

[Something painful works its way through Mia so quickly she doesn't feel it in and of itself; she shudders from its aftershocks.]

I'm worried, Kurt. [Someone ought to know.]

[Transporters!]

[lostinmyway]

Good morning, Mia!

[Grune may not be on the list, but that doesn't mean she can't say goodbye to everyone and send along her best wishes.]

[Transporters!]

[frost_jewel]

[Leave it to Grune to be bright and sunny even at two in the morning in the face of an emergency.]

Good morning, Grune. Are you coming with us?

[Transporters!]

[lostinmyway]

[She shakes her head.]

Oh, no. I'm staying here to look after the village, and to welcome everyone home.

[Transporters!]

[frost_jewel]

Welcome us...home? [None of them even know how long they'll be gone. Something in Mia is touched by the gesture, anyway.] That's kind of you.

[Transporters!]

[lostinmyway]

Thank you. [She smiles.] It's kind of you to go away to protect the village for all of us.

[Transporters!]

[frost_jewel]

It would be, if I had a choice. We're forced to do this.