It's funny to think with everything going on... Normally we'd all be making plans for Halloween about now. I even had a costume and everything. Guess it'll have to wait for next year, assuming we can get out of all of this in one piece.

So, in my time here, I've been doing a lot to increase my physical strength and fighting abilities. I realized just how far I had left to go to achieve my full potential! And now, I found a great new way to work out that will help me get way, way stronger. It's not only about lifting ridiculously heavy stuff but you have to do it FAST. And you get to run and do a bunch of other stuff too, all in the same training session and it's all timed. Sound hard? It is! And it's great!

It's called Crossfit.

Why aren't more people doing this? How come I'm only hearin' about it now? Feel like I'm behind the times, here.

Hey so, things've been gettin' kinda weird, yeah?

Well I know I ain't been talkin' much about it but that don't mean I don't know it. Everyone's been doin' their own things, gettin' investigations together and all.

Someone said somethin' 'bout the water risin'? Obviously we got earthquakes and stuff but the janitor guy said somethin' 'bout gettin' a boat for the ocean?

I dunno what that's all about but I kinda offered to help pay the thing, he seemed pretty serious 'bout it. Helpin' 'im with whatever else too.

I just wanna help, that's all. Dunno what much else I can do but...gosh.

[The video feed turns on and centers on a yellow and white fox sitting in a chair, wearing a red scarf, with maybe something underneath it resembling a necklace. He waves to the camera and grins.]

Hey, Smash Academy! It's been a long time... four and a half years since I've been here, to be exact! Only about two and a half for me personally, but... it's still a blast from the past being here again.

I've already been enrolled and should be getting my classes shortly...

...ah, but for those of you who've never met me before, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Tails! I come from the same place Sonic, Knuckles and Blaze do, if you've met them. [And Eggman. Sigh.] And like I said before, I used to attend the school a few years ago, but I'm back.

Hope to see you guys around sometime. I think I'm gonna go visit the stadium again for a little bit.

[And the video cuts off.]

[Recording from her fancy doo hickey that's like a whole computer in a thin pad that she could break by sitting on.]

Did you all enjoy your winter break? I'm sure the mistletoe was just what you needed to complete the year.

I'd like to remind students that while many of you are fully capable of making your own decisions and your own errors, that it is necessary for you to take responsibility and preventative measures for your activities behind closed doors. That also extends to robotics and their non-robotic counterparts.

To further support the freedoms, I will be providing to my students personally any protection methods they may require. If you are going to give into carnal desires, then do so safely.

[Ziio pauses, as if she wants to say something more. "DON'T BE LIKE MY SOOOOOONNNNNNN" After a moment, she clears her throat and continues.]

And as always, your class schedule can be modified by visiting my office during day hours, if you feel you are in a class that does not suit your prerogative.

---

[Action Notes:
Ziio's office is open and unlocked to all visitors, students and staff alike, during the day. Come for career advice, classroom advice, issues with other students or faculty, etc., etc., and so on, and so on. Ziio will be your Clan Mother.]

[A very shaky video feed from a cell phone camera pops up showing one incredibly excited young woman]

Ciao! How is everyone today? I hope the winter break has been treating you well?

[It takes a moment for Mona to realize that the crowd of people listening in on the network are likely not her usual fair. Habit of popping up randomly to address her fellow employees seems to have gotten the better of her.]

Oh! How silly of me, you're probably wondering why the heck a strange lady is babbling on, and on. Well, maybe I'm not so much of a stranger to most, perhaps there might be a few at the academy who might recognize my face? I mean, you never know, I might have delivered pizza to your door in the past, or maybe you know me from that huge video game company? It is a small world after all.

[Mona makes a sharp waving motion with her hand]

Anyhow, before I go flying off on a completely unrelated tangent, the name's Mona! I'm what you could consider to be the 'newbie' at school. Though mind you, back home in Diamond City I'm a senior student, so not incredibly new to the whole school thing. As of now, I'll be attending classes at Smash Academy as a transfer student. Sounds fun, huh?

[Only then does she realize how long she's been on the road and how late it's suddenly gotten. Time sure flies when you're having fun.]

If I keep standing out here talking I'm never going to get unpacked at this rate ha ha! Until next time, can't wait to meet you all in class!

...I hope this is on.

[The video can't begin without Ike puzzling at the lens of the webcam while he tries to figure out if it's recording or not. That's just how we do things when we're from time periods without such technologies.]

Um, hey there. If you don't know me, I'm Ike. I'm a mercenary back where I'm from, which means I do jobs based on what my client needs. The holidays reminded me how I don't have a source of income while I'm here at Smash Academy, so I got to thinking about it and decided I might try to do things the same way I do back home.

If you need somebody to do work for you, I'll do the job for a price. My strong suits are in combat - I'm good with a sword - but I'm used to doing plenty of manual labor. I'll do many sorts of things, so don't be shy if you want to ask about it. I'm used to seeing all sorts of odd requests. No matter how big or small the job, I'm willing to give it a chance if you have a need.

This isn't much of a flashy pitch, but I hope you'll consider me if you need something. Just let me know what you need of me, and we'll discuss the terms. Thanks for listening.

[He reaches over to shut off the feed, buuuut he forgot something.]

Oh-! Right. You can also reach me on my phone. [Ike reads off his phone number and certainly won't regret it later.] I'm still getting the hang of this phone business, so just keep that in mind if you decide to call.

[[ aaaand even if your character doesn't have disposable income and needs help with something, HE'LL PROBABLY DO THAT THING YOU NEED DONE FOR FREE. just watch. this could be a good way for your dude to get stuff taken care of while they're sick with the poisons! ]]

[Oh look, it's angel face over there on your screen. Whatever he's about to say, he seems pretty intent on saying it. Must be pretty important.]

So, I think it's pretty safe to say everyone here knows about that floating island that's been looming over our heads for a while. I know you're probably sick of hearing about it or even looking at it, but this is kind of a big deal. Me and Pyrrhon did a bit of exploring up there to see what we could find, and guess what? We found the secret to closing the rift where all the shadow bugs and stuff are coming from!

There was this document inside an evil lab in the mountain with a bunch of notes on it. It's a shame we didn't have time to look through them all, since... the lab blew up before we could do some serious reading. And a lot of the data was corrupted. But the most important thing we learned was that in order to close the rift, you need an explosion with an equal mag... magma... magnetude... to do it! And since this school blows up on a regular basis, I'm pretty sure we have more than enough bomb power combined to blow that rift right back to the dimension it belongs.

...Unfortunately, we still don't know where that rift is. So even if we had an explosion that big, where would we even put it? Anyone have any good leads yet? Let's talk about this!

Soooo. Anyone else think it's kind of odd that people have just been going right back to school and not really worrying about the huge island floating in the sky full of killer monsters ready to descend and slaughter us all on a moment's notice???

Because I'm having kind of a hard time focusing on classes when I keep looking out the window to make sure there's nothing coming down from it.

( And lo, a little red guy with clown shoes descended from the heavens... )


[There's a new video on the Network.

The first twenty five seconds of it are some kind of black, triangular nose on the end of a peachy colored snout. It moves around and the microphone stutters and wheezes and whoever this nose belongs to can be heard muttering something unintelligible.

Then, a violet eye stares into the feed, blinks several times with a big, red eyelid. Then he draws back so you can see his Echidna-ey face in its full glory.]

First off, I ain't wearing this uniform thing. I was hatched with fur. It's good enough for me, it should be good enough for you.

Uh... anyway. I'm Knuckles. Knuckles the Echidna.

Hmmm...

[He's sort of run out of things to say. He has questions, but he's not really used to talking to a computer. He's used to smashing them to gain extra lives and shields and stuff.]

Anyone know anythin' about the Floating Island above this school? It's kinda important. If you've got info on it, I'd like to know.

So. Thanks in advance.

[You are now treated to over a minute of closeup footage of his white-swooshed chest as he tries to figure out how to turn the computer off.]

[An excited Mac goes up on the screen, but really, he's chipper a lot so how does this surprise anyone?]

Alright guys, now that the new school year's started, that means we can really get to work in the boxin' club!

I know this past summer's been rough...real rough, but it looks like things' kinda evened out so while we get back into the old grind, it's time I opened up the club for new membership!

New year means some new faces, and I'm sure ya'll got a lotta homework. Heck, I do. But you need the stress relief and get that heart pumpin'!

I've been tryin' to rack in some stuff we could do later in the year, so it oughta been fun.

[HELLO, it is Ike. Long time no see.]

Well, I'm back. I know I've never been much good at keeping up with the network, but I figured I'd make a post to say so. I haven't been gone for long, but it still feels like it's been a while. It's been... Two months, more or less. But now that I'm back...

[Ike's not as keyed up as when he arrived the first time. He's calm, if not a tad exhausted. After that, a new emotion worms its way onto his face, one of mild irritation. He sighs.]

The headmasters re-enrolled me as a senior again. To be honest, the past year feels like a dream to me somehow. ...That doesn't make much sense, does it? You all saw me graduate, right? I don't know what went wrong with the headmasters, but there was no getting through to them. It's like they couldn't remember it at all. So this is where I'm at.

It's... not so bad. I came to terms with a few things that have been bothering me when I went back home. Now, I feel like I can focus on what I'm doing while I'm here much better than before.

[He cuts narrating his thoughts short by dragging his eyes back to the lens of the camera quite deliberately, then focusing back on his computer screen.]

...Right. Anyway, I'm back, and I'm ready to start the year. Again. That's all I really have to say. [Time to... shut this off. Yeah.]

[Video, to students taking his class]

Greetings. To the newbies in the school, my name is Dr. Gordon Freeman and I'm the physics teacher here. Now, much as no one wants to admit it, the school year is coming up on us fast. Enclosed with this transmission is a list of supplies and books you'll need for my class this fall.

[Private, to Mac]

Hey kid, are you ready for another year?

[To faculty, plus Ishimaru]

Hey, has anyone learned anything new on this shadow bug situation? Best I can figure is that it's all coming from the world on the other side of those rifts up above us. Those clones might be part of their life-cycle, a sort of parasitic larva-to-adult transition... I wish I could say that it's the first time I've seen something like that. If anyone has any information, I want to know.

In case you see a blonde guy with four arms walkin' around don't worry it's just me. Max.

I guess I turned into a Machamp overnight? I woke up with four arms. And blond hair. And I can turn into a Machamp.

Slowpoke says he could take me, but I think I could put up a pretty good fight.

I gotta think more carefully about how I grab for stuff and type. That'll take some gettin' used to.

So anyway. I got four arms now. Just felt I should tell you guys. I'll be fine.

I bet I can shoulder press like, a whole snorlax. I wonder if I can blacksmith better. Probably lots of advantages to havin' more arms.

Don't worry, I'm still gonna do everything I normally do. Blacksmith in the morning and weight trainin' for anybody that needs it, me included. So, yeah. Just, you know. Like regular.

It's like Christmas and my birthday and winning a war all rolled up into one.

[What audio feed doesn't show is his unamused expression, and one that's probably been seen many times before. (So it means no one would be missing anything.) He hasn't forgotten the past or how he's spoken to the network previously. At the same time, the developments in his life aren't ones he wants to fully share. There are some things he wants to keep to himself. At least for the time being.

And even when he's ready to start sharing that kind of information, he wants it to only be for certain people. So he settles for speaking only. What a surprise it will be for his students. Provided they even knew him before.]

I will be occupying the fencing class as its instructor once your summer comes to its end. Students who choose to enroll are expected to show up punctually. If you choose to be tardy, I choose to dismiss you by force.

[Yet it's summer now, which means mostly classes are likely a moot point.]

In spite of your momentary reprieve from your tutelage, the fencing floor will remain open for training. You will also find my personal quarters for tutoring in TD-18. Prior notice would be appreciated, rather than your visit going unannounced.

This is probably going to sound ignorant to all of you, but what's prom? I figured I'd ask where somebody who knows for sure could tell me, but I feel like I'm in the dark on all this.

[He gestures with an open palm as he continues to explain what he knows.]

What I've gathered is that it's some sort of event that follows graduation, so I'm thinking it's a tournament of some kind where you pick a sparring partner. If anyone's still looking for someone, I'd be up for it. Just tell me what I need to know.

[AND THERE'S HIS PITCH. HIS ILL-INFORMED PITCH. Somebody help this poor young man.]

You all are no doubt aware that this is finals week. For those of you in my class, you'll find the exam schedule and a nice, detailed outline to study by in your mailbox. I'd also like to add that my office is open should any of you who think you need extra help in covering all the topics.

...On a related note, with the semester ending and graduation and prom upon us, I'd like to stress that those of you of legal drinking age... [and those of you that are't, for that matter] celebrate but do it WISELY. This goes for alcohol, health and stamina potions and anything else that can affect your system if not used in moderation. And as always, if you students need any sort of help or advice, don't hesitate to talk to a teacher or faculty member; that's what we're here for, after all.

[Action]

As promised, Gordon is in his office during scheduled hours. Studious or inquisitive students will happen upon him while reading, or playing a game on his COMP, or sticking pencils in the ceiling...

Hey, gang. You probably already saw Goombella's thing about her leavin'. Sorry to say, but I'm goin' too.

Her Professor is sending a team to an Archaeological dig out in some place called Skyrim. So, there's plenty of treasure for me to hunt. Also? Dragons keep attacking towns in the area we're going to be researching. Like... huge dragons. REALLY huge Dragons. So, I'm going to go and fight them! Y'know. Keep the villagers safe and stuff.

[If you think you can hear barely contained excitement in his voice, you aren't dreaming.]

Anyhow, I'm gonna be around campus fixing up my affairs and stuff, and also packing at the apartment getting ready to move. So... uh. Heh. I suck at goodbyes but there's a bunch'a folks I need to say 'em to.

I'll catch you around.

[[OOC: So, if you think your character is someone Knuckles would want to say 'See Ya' to before he leaves, feel free to either set up an action post (I'm super flexible. Anywhere any time is fine.) or just reply to the video and we can go from there! If you would sooner not, then we can just assume they did their thing offscreen!]]