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

[maddeninghatter]

[ No matter how hard he might try, or how much he might drink, Xerxes Break cannot get drunk.



...however, he has this morning discovered to his chagrin, this doesn't mean he can't get hung over. He is in the back, slumped against the right side window; Emily is drooping too. ]

How far...

[ Ugh, even the sound of his own voice is too loud. ]

When's the last time you saw anybody?

[soul_sister]

Bouuut... [She squints at the radio clock and then back at the road.]

Ten minutes.

[senseandcecilbility]

[T-ten minutes.

Kevin is resting his head on Break's lap, enduring his punishment with incredible stoicism. Fortunately, his hangover is not as bad as the others', and would have been completely gone had he abandoned his human form.

Unfortunately, he has all last night's incongruous memories to deal with. Even breathing causes a brand new wave of nauseating mortification. Truthfully, he would much rather erase himself from existence, but for the time being, Break's lap will have to suffice.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ You'd think people would wonder about Kevin deciding to park his head in Break's lap. But the thing about wondering is that people tend to do it just up until something becomes obvious. Therefore the people who would wonder about Break and Kevin have stopped wondering by this time, and have moved on to more important matters like why are we in the middle of the desert and oh my head.

And then there are the people who aren't wondering, and wouldn't, even if provided with labeled diagrams and a flip chart.

Thus Break isn't wondering about anybody wondering, and is instead asking himself do angels puke? and realizing he doesn't want to know the answer. ]

[senseandcecilbility]

[Whether angels do or not puke shall remain a mystery for the time being, and so Break must be truly grateful for small blessings.

It comes to Kevin's notice that Break is paying attention to him, and since he is wallowing in shame, he feels compelled to come up with flimsy excuses.]

...It is darker here.

[He shifts a little to blindly reach for the ice box near the human's foot. It is time to offer Break the "I'm sorry I got drunk, gambled with the mob, and then woke up beside some random blond guy" glass of water. Hydration, he has read in the best Victorian magazines, can work miracles.]

[maddeninghatter]

What are you —

[ Kevin why are you moving?

The car rolls over a particularly vicious bump or perhaps an armadillo. Break has been fairly stoic the whole ride out, but this is reaching even his limit. ]

Urgh.

[ He can't die yet, and more's the pity. ]

[senseandcecilbility]

[Moaning at the sudden bump (or armadillo), he pats Break’s hand in a vain attempt to distract him from his woes.]

I could try to use the ring, but I fear it is only going to make you feel worse.

[ God knows he is still not sober enough to use his powers in a responsible manner. Besides, he has the feeling that hangovers and stabbings do not quite match.]

Meanwhile…please, try this.

[He turns around the hand he was patting and gently presses a glass of ice cold water to its palm.]

[maddeninghatter]

Er, that's ah... that's quite all right.

[ It's too early for stabbings, honestly. He takes the water gratefully, however, and moves to bring it to his lips.... ]

Ah, thanks.

[ ...and sloshes some of it on Kevin's face as they go over yet another unexpected armadillo (or bump). ]

[senseandcecilbility]

[Kevin did not expect to drown this early in the morning. He starts coughing and sneezing on Break’s lap. Apparently, water is still not his element of choice.]

…H-haven't we reached... a safe distance yet?

[He can tell what Break is trying to achieve, but wonders if leaving the road was not a little too extreme.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Part of him is inclined to keep going. Ten minutes isn't very long, after all. The rest of him is very, absolutely definitely in favor of stopping this torture machine instantly.

So clearly the answer is to ask: ]

Are you able to drive off the road here?

[ it's the right answer. Also he's a bit of a masochist, in case anyone hasn't figured this out by now. ]

[soul_sister]

[She eyes the high desert grounds. It's not powdery beach sand so much as hard packed, parched dirt and clay out there.. generally flat. The answer is yes...

but... For once, for once. A rare moment of doubt peeks its way out from under her own throbbing haze.]

...

Yeah...




You sure about this?

[senseandcecilbility]

[The conversation happening way above catches his attention.]

Hm? Sure about what?

[From the dark depths of his endless shame, he has a feeling that something is about to go terribly wrong.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ He's sure he's going to regret this. He strokes Kevin's hair, absently. ]

Drive until you can't see the road anymore.

[ After yesterday's misadventures, and now in the harsh, early.... earliness, he's looking to minimize casualties as well prying eyes. ]

[soul_sister]

[She looks blearily off of the roadside. If it has to be done, it has to be done. She takes a few deep breaths, steeling herself. Fear and pain dull your reflexes after all. One... two... three...

She guns in, turning sharply off of the access road, building speed up the shallow gully and there's a heavy jostling moment, a ripping scrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaappppppppppppppe as the barbed wire fence gives way to the vehicle's sheer force.

It rockets up back up the small arroyo, wheels leaving the ground a moment before slamming back into flat plains.]

HA! Knew it wouldn't hold!

[velveteened]

( oz is, at least, not even remotely hungover; that's only a small blessing at the moment, as the car rips through a barbed wire fence. )

Have you done this before...?

( asked quietly, mind you, but directed to rosette at any rate. he's starting to think that anything is possible with her which adds a certain degree of fun to having her at the wheel! which is something he knows better than to articulate in a car full of people with headaches.

yet, anyway. )

We might not have to go that far, ( with a peek out one of the windows — bright and early as it is here, it's hard to imagine anyone happening out that far, much as he understands wanting to avoid accidental witnesses. )

[soul_sister]

[That. That last bump hurt. BUT SHE IS NOT DEFEATED! A LITTLE HEADACHE WILL NOT STOP HER!! She swerves only slightly to avoid a tall cactus, though a few moments later, a barrel cactus explodes wetly under the passenger side wheel.]

If police barriers and rail road crossings don't hold, I didn't think it had much of a chance.

[senseandcecilbility]

[For the very first time, Kevin is glad that during the apocalypse they will be riding real horses. Or so he hopes. If anyone in heaven gets too creative, he will make sure to smite them personally.]

...Police barriers?

[His head is still on Break's lap. There is no point in looking outside, or so he thinks. He firmly believes that, in this case, too much knowledge will only cause him pain.]

[soul_sister]

There was spirit possessed bear eating people in Times Square... we really didn't have TIME for the checkpoint procedure...

[velveteened]

Is New York one of the states you're banned from?

( JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY )

[soul_sister]

No! That's where the monastery is! [The Church has a really REALLY good hold of the press there.]

[velveteened]

Monastery?

( what is christianity we just don't know )

[retraced]

[He's kept his mouth shut for the entire duration of this trip, wanting to stay as quiet as possible lest Break and his raging headache end up waging war on him later when he'd recovered, but he can't keep his complaints in after the cactus explodes.]

Drive around it next time! Around it!

[And this is why you never let Gilbert ride shotgun.]

[soul_sister]

IT WAS IN THE WAY! IN THE WAY! [Yelling back probably wasn't the wisest choice, but that was an affront to her ... well pride AND head.]

[retraced]

Then slow down! And isn't that what the - [vaguely gestures at the steering wheel] that thing is for? Moving around things that are in the way?!

[soul_sister]

I want to get this ride over with! The pedal isn't coming up from the floor!

[At that, though, she looks a little sheepish.] Actually, if I had turned at this speed, we would have rolled.