It seemed like a good idea at the time...

[maddeninghatter]

Date & Time: 2698, fin-de-millenium, just prior to the formation of the United Earth
Location: Las Vegas
Characters: Break, Kevin, Gilbert, Oz, Elliot, Alice, Allen, Lenalee, Rosette, Chrono, Chrysos
Summary: Fear and loathing
Warnings: Showgirls and Gilbert weeping.

The statement “Let’s go to Vegas” exists as the multiverse’s quintessential definition of, “well it seemed like a good idea at the time.” Even in this case, it really had, between zombies, insurrection, and the day to day tedium of life on the moon. Besides which, Xerxes Break has a new sentient (sentient-er) weapon, which in a stunning show of good judgement is too dangerous to test on the moonbase, nor in any concentration of people. Las Vegas, set against the backdrop of the vast, desolate Mojave desert, seemed to be a perfect choice.

When our heroes wink into existence, squinting against the early-morning desert sunshine, they’ll find themselves duly welcomed. Come play in the casino. When you feel a bit peckish, indulge in all you can eat. Take your winnings and go shopping; at night, take in a show. And if you’ve done really well gambling, unwind in a ridiculously luxurious suite.

…or is this how you’re spending the night?

Thirty-six hours in Vegas, what could possibly go wrong?

(ooc: feel free to start threads willy-nilly, name your time and place, threadjack and mingle)

Comments

[velveteened]

( oz is totally not sneaking up on him to see if he's failed to quit smoking for the tenth time. he just happens to approach quietly, not hard to do with all the noise from the slot machines and bars and clubs and music, and more or less pop out abruptly in front of gil )

— there you are!

[retraced]

[He's refrained! Even though there's drinking and smoking and all forms of debauchery going on all around them, he's managed to keep himself from buying a pack of cigarettes from - well, pretty much any vending machine. Vegas probably has changed that much.

But he's still startled to hear Oz sneak up behind him. Nicotine cravings under control or not, there's still a lot going on around them.]

Huh-?! [Groan.]

Where have you been?

[velveteened]

( he spreads his arms as he moves over to sit next to gil, as though walking on a tightrope the whole way. )

I've been here! There's a lot to see, you know.

[retraced]

Too much...

[Another small sigh and he turns to look back across the casino floor. Everything in here is loud, one sound attempting to overpower all of the other ones around it. Things ringing, people cheering, glasses clinking together, ice rattling in a cup. The brightness of the room only makes things worse, the glow of machines, and of tall lights atop vibrant, ornate chandeliers.]

What did Break need to do here anyhow? [He'd agreed to go at the last minute, but he has no idea what role he's supposed to play in all of this madness.]

[velveteened]

( what, gil says, and he's wondered the same. it's not exactly a small city, las vegas, crowded and busy and difficult to keep track of anyone; so it might not mean anything that he's not seen kevin or break for some time now.

then again, it very well might.

oz flops down into a sprawl, casting a look about the casino around them. )

Aah, maybe he heard about this place and got curious!

[retraced]

Even this place is too ridiculous for him to be curious about!

[No, Gil is sure at this point he's suggested it just to make his useless subordinate anxious and upset.]

[velveteened]

Ahaha, do you think so?

( nearby, someone wins a prize at one of the slots machines — not a jackpot, with as carefully calibrated as they are to keep money in the casino — but it's enough to set off a new round of lights and whistles. )

[retraced]

[Break can't see any of it, and certainly all of the noise would be dizzying to someone like him. There's no other explanation!

Well, that and Gilbert has had his fair share of terrible bad luck lately, so this really would be the icing on that cake.]

I'm going to get some fresh air. [He grumbles as he pushes himself up and starts for wherever the closest door is. Which might be a ways away since they're in the middle of a large casino.]

[velveteened]

( oz blithely hops to his feet behind gil — honestly, and he'd only just sat down! — and follows in the direction of the elusive doorway. )

Do you want to eat or drink something?

( HEY LOOK THERE'S A DRINKS STAND NEARBY FOR...daquiris, those aren't alcoholic right )

[retraced]

Are you hungry?

[Answering a question with a question like a winner. AND OZ NO.]

[velveteened]

That's right!

( or is he saying that so he can con gil into getting something itisamystery.jpg. AND DAQUIRI IS A NON-ALCOHOLIC SOUNDING NAME )

[retraced]

[Oscar Vessalius' nephew, everyone.

Well, he can't deny Oz food no matter how badly he wants to not be inside this building. So he agrees and lets Oz lead the way to wherever it is he wants to eat. There are a few choices, but apparently he's got his sights set on the one place he isn't allowed to be.]

It feels like a waste to spend money on food here...

[velveteened]

( he leads gil outside, actually, where the environmental noise becomes more heavily visual than heard, at least, and the desert air washes over them as the doors swing shut behind them, blocking out the last wisps of air conditioning. )

We should eat at one of the other hotels!

( "casinos." same thing. )

[retraced]

[He's run through a couple of them in his search for - well, everyone, but there are still a few that Gilbert hasn't been in yet. And honestly, he hadn't really stopped to look at anything on his mad dash down the strip. So this time he stands outside and actually looks up and down the street, across the way towards the oddly shaped trees and tall buildings built at impossible angles.

He tugs at his collar to try and loosen it against the heat.]

All right. But we shouldn't be gone too long.

[velveteened]

We won't! I'm sure everything will be fine.

( SETTING ON DOWN THE SIDEWALK THEN...the streets are a bit busy, sunlight glinting off the cars. )

[retraced]

If you say it like that, then something bad is sure to happen...

[He says it quietly enough to himself that more than likely Oz won't overhear it, and then quickly follows to catch back up to him.]

[velveteened]

( he doesn't, really, not over the sound of traffic and muffled music and everything else. )

Any preferences?

( it's still a ways down the sidewalk, but he gestures at all the mismatched buildings. )

[retraced]

Something cold.

[Or at least, something not hot. It's too hot out here for soup or stew or warm coffee, even with the air conditioning inside of the buildings.]

[velveteened]

( too innocently — )

Ice cream it is!

[retraced]

--We can't eat nothing but ice cream!

[HE SEES RIGHT THROUGH THIS.]

[velveteened]

( HE JUST LAUGHS, turning back around to keep on down the sidewalk. )

[retraced]

Oz!

[He hurries along just behind him. Oh, there's a lecture being prepared as you laugh.]

Just because we're taking a break doesn't mean that we can ignore eating real food! You'll make yourself sick for the rest of the trip!

[velveteened]

( and he pauses at the end of that. maybe he was listening and took that to heart...? )

What about here?

( ...or not.

new york new york looms in front of them, complete with a miniature bridge they could cross if they so fancied; oz isn't aware of the promise of pizza that awaits, but it looks interesting. )

[retraced]

[Well, it's at least a little nicer looking than some of the other buildings on this "strip". Gilbert looks it over, glances up at the sky. For as hot as he is, he would have expected the sky to be bright blue, but there's a dull fog that covers much of it instead. Maybe that's what traps the heat in, he wonders.]

Mm. We can go here if you want.

[He scratches his arm through his shirt where the nicotine patch resides. This place has been testing his resolve, but so far he's done his best.]

[velveteened]

( the action doesn't go unnoticed, but it does go unmentioned for now. oz casts a (perhaps somewhat longing) look in the bridge's direction, but they are here for a Purpose, after all, and the purpose — Purpose — is to eat. so turning towards that entrance it is, the chatter of a crowd starting to bubble up around them even before they reach the doors. )