deernet | Video, UN: Kassandra

[Kassandra had spent the better part of a day figuring out just how to use the Omni before doing this. She's not technologically inclined, but once she had certain things pinpointed it wasn't difficult to work out some of the basic functions. Including ill-advised videos introducing herself, though she clearly hasn't mastered the Art of the Selfie.

The video feed opens at an odd angle showing a tanned woman, thankfully right-side up, staring at it with furrowed brows. Deep in concentration for a moment more, she simply stares at the camera in silence until she seems to come to a conclusion. Nodding, the woman exhales, and finally speaks up.]

...Hello. If other people are able to hear me, please say something so I don't keep talking to a rock and wondering if it really is magic or if I am crazy.

[Her voice has a heavy Greek accent, and if her attire is any indication she is not of the modern era.]

If I am talking to a magic rock, then know that my name is Kassandra, and I am looking for my family and my crew. Men named Alexios, Nikolaos, Barnabas and Stentor...and women named Myrinne, Roxana, and Odessa. I have hope that I am not alone in being reborn in this strange land, yet I have seen no sign of them.

[There's a pause as she fiddles with the Omni one more time.]

Aletheia, if you can hear this, show yourself.

[And then the feed drops.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A monster?

[Wait. Wait, she remembers this. She and Yoshizawa had dealt with it together.]

Did it look like an emaciated little girl, perhaps?

Yes. Oh no, that definitely means more people are running into her...!

[ Is he at fault for not having defeated her? Of course not. Does he feel responsible anyway? Yes. ]

Don't worry about it. I sealed her inside a well.

[She'd...hammered that down pretty tight and actually welded the damn thing shut.]

She won't be a problem any more.

[ Lifting that stone slab with his super strength isn't the problem. That's the easy part. ]

...Except to anyone who finds themselves in the connecting sewers. Safe to say those sewers should be off-limits to anyone who doesn't know what they're doing.

Probably. Sewers are rarely pleasant.

[She looks away, off in that direction.]

I could go back and finish the job I suppose, but if the creature is staying down there, then I'd just as soon leave it alone.

[ He settles down. ]

Yeah. That's the other thing that's bothering me. I'm not even sure what counts as a monster, or if that distinction even really matters. She attacked us without warning, and she definitely meant to kill us, but, well... Animals do that too. It doesn't mean I have to hunt them down.

[ She was person-shaped, but acted unlike a person. Can he really make that call with something beast-shaped, when it could very well be a person? The line is blurry. ]

A human that wasn't a monster wouldn't have bitten me and tried to take off a pound of flesh. I would say that counts.

[Cannibal monsters or whatever she was...]

[ He winces in sympathy, but he gathers Kassandra is way more experienced than him and knows her way around wounds. ]

Not that I wouldn't fight back either way, but... I've seen humans do worse.

[ It's not his style to look truly haunted or jaded. He's not experienced enough. But he does look sad. ]

Unfortunately, so have I.

[she looks down, not...really sure she wants to get into that with someone as young as him.]

...If I see her again, I'm not going to let her get away, because that means she got out of the well. But for now, she can stay down there.

I'll bet. You must be an experienced hero.

[ Or something adjacent to his world's definition of hero, perhaps with less spandex jumpsuits. He's closer than he thinks, considering the origins of the word. ]

What did you specialize in, back home?

Hero I'm not sure many people would agree with. But I am experienced.

[She is, actually, technically a hero. She just wouldn't...really say it herself.]

My specialty is in warfare. I am Spartan, and I am the granddaughter of Leonidas. War is in our blood.

Wait--You're from--

[ Hang on. When his own friend broke the news to him that he was several months off along their timeline, it was a shock. He can't imagine being several centuries off. No need to hit this person from the past over the head with it if she doesn't already know. It's best to break these things gently. ]

Ah... I mean... I've heard of Sparta, a little. But I'm from very, very far away, a place called Japan. It might as well be a different world... Sort of like how this place is a different world...

Sumire explained to me about Japan. So, I know that name at least, and that it's from the future.

[No need to tiptoe, Midoriya. She gets this.]

I'm from at least two thousand years before most people, it seems like. My friends Socrates and Hippocrates seem to be names that many people know.

[ The relief on his face is obvious. He hates seeing anyone troubled, particularly if he has to be the one to break the bad news. ]

Yes, they're very famous. They're in textbooks--required reading at most schools. I can't believe you're friends with them, that's amazing. Actual Socrates...

[ He needs a moment to process that. ]

I've met Yoshizawa-san! We talked when I was stuck on the beach. My legs weren't working well at the time.

If he arrives, I'll thank you to never, ever tell Socrates he's made it into books. He's already insufferable.

[For real, he's the kind of man who'd preen a little but also say he knows nothing.]

Your legs...you mean from the squid?

Got it. Secret's safe with me.

[ A conversation he never imagined having: promising an ancient adventurer not to tell actual Socrates he's required reading. ]

Yeah. I had a dream about being a squid. When I woke up, my legs, uh, forgot how to be legs.

That...sounds really unfortunate. Are they better now?

[...Are you a squid-kid?]

[ He straightens up like he's been called on in class. ]

Yes, of course. I wouldn't be on patrol otherwise.

[ Midoriya feels that the theory that they're all squids is a bit much to just drop on someone, so he keeps it to himself. ]

How is Yoshizawa-san? She wasn't with you when you saw the monster, was she?

[She won't call him on it further.]

She was. She and I were in the well with her. But she's a good climber. She got out without anything more than a few scrapes.

[Kassandra sounds...almost proud. She's fond of Sumire.]

[ He grins. ]

She would be. She told me she's a gymnast. I'm glad. Uh, glad that you both escaped, not glad that you ran into a monster.

[ Midoriya feels like he's hearing a teacher talk about a student she's proud of. ]

Is climbing is part of your training too?

[Its' close enough. She's got a Coach's pride.]

Oh, definitely. Climbing is essential.

[All part of being an Assassin's Creed protag?]

[ UA High's Hero Course doesn't have a normal physical education class or sports teams. It's all combat and rescue training instead. The same Pro Hero could be teaching them math in the morning and sparring in the afternoon. ]

We have some in our basic training. It's pretty tough. I actually couldn't do much without wrecking my hands until I upped my strength.

[ It's more complicated than that, due to his superpower, but that's basically it... ]

Video, UN: Kassandra

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