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

[senseandcecilbility]

[Kevin's eyebrows go up and up as he realizes what has been bothering Break all this time. Has the United Earth experimented on their prisoners? His eyes move between Oz and Gilbert. Familiars. Just like the creature they call Mad Hatter.

No, no, that is not quite right. Oz's soul is strange to start with.

He takes a step towards Break, his expression softening as he stares into his blind eye. That was too much to deal with on one's own. What a silly and stubborn man. But now that he has been told the truth, Kevin will do his best to support them all.

Hopefully, his best will not involve revealing what he is.]

[velveteened]

( oz frowns, but stays put. mad hatter needing to be sealed in the first place isn't a development of which he was aware, but it's not — altogether surprising, is it, if he thinks about it. there's plenty that could be asked or said, but for the moment he's simply still and quiet, finds himself wishing rosette and kevin and even the others didn't have to be here for this at all. )

[retraced]

Wait - wait a second!

[This isn't what he'd expected at all, and from the look of it, Oz isn't surprised with the instruction. They must have both had this planned out in advance, but Gilbert is still wary to release either of them. If the fight gets out of control, if Mad Hatter is summoned to the surface again and B Rabbit is forced into a real fight...

Gilbert isn't sure at all if Raven would be strong enough to negate and seal either of them, especially since they don't know exactly what the UE has done to Oz's contract.]

Are you sure...you both know what you're doing? [He hisses under his breath.]

[bunnivore]

Don't use too much of the power, Oz.

[ with an unhappy expression, alice mumbles this and follows rosette as she is told. she didn't like following orders, but she knew better than to argue at a time like this.

as gilbert is currently asking, the decision is theirs to make. ]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Break flashes a grin towards Alice; he is, quite frankly, amazed that she took instruction without protest or kicking.

He is about to command Gilbert to release the seals once more, but... he thinks again about Oz's coming-of-age party at Isla Yura's, and even that night at the opera house. What had hiding things from Gilbert ever accomplished? There is the Big Secret that, even now, he is not telling. But there is no reason he can fathom for withholding this explanation, at least. ]

I'd rather find out now, in a controlled situation, than find out later in an uncontrolled one. Paris comes to mind.

[ He still doesn't know all the details about that incident; but Oz's incuse moved, meaning he must have invoked B. Rabbit. ]

[velveteened]

( he nods at alice's instruction — it's a familiar one, if one he's completely flouted in the past — knowing what it is she's worried about; and what a horrible way that'd be to lose one more hour in the aftermath of what the ue did. not that she knows the particulars, of course, and not that he'd want her to find out, but just the same. )

I'm sure, ( to gil, and he is — it's not the first time he's invoked since then, not that he's done so much of it, but he at least has an idea of what to expect, if nothing's changed.

and if wanting less of a sense of there being an audience is a part of why he's not protested rosette and alice keeping some distance, well. )

[retraced]

[He trusts Break, and Oz too, but that worry that something beyond their power will go wrong can't be shaken even as they both encourage him to go on. And he's right, Gilbert had seen Paris as well. If the same thing happened in their own world, even a tragedy like Sablier wouldn't hold a candle to the type of destruction that the UE would bring to it.

Gilbert wraps his fingers of his right hand around his left wrist, stares down at the palm that carries his contract. Slowly, his fingers close down into an angry fist, and with a frustrated, "tch!" he steps over to Break and places his hand on top of the man's head, the other bracing against his shoulder, summoning his Chain.]

It'll be a pain to drag you out of this desert...

[He grumbles loud enough for both of them to hear. Once he's sure that Raven has undone the seal, he then steps up behind Oz and gives him the same treatment, hand draping across his forehead, but he gives his master the additional support of wrapping an arm around his chest, holding him upright until he's sure that he can stand on his own with the extra weight of the contract upon him.]

- so whatever you do, make sure you're both standing by the end of this!

[Insert dramatic shounen wind, OST and black feathers littering the landscape.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Mad Hatter emerges immediately, with dramatics that are more surrealist than shounen, its single red eye winking open and glaring balefully at the landscape, flanked by a cape and topped by a ridiculously decorated hat. Break's expression, however, remains clear, and his voice is steady. ]

For my part, I believe I can pass on the piggy-back ride.

1/2

[velveteened]

( he feels the seal lift, glad for the support; it's less a matter of needing the help to stand than appreciating its presence anyway. it's that instinct of a hand before a fire more than anything else, of getting burnt once and being loath to risk it again immediately.

surprising though it may be that even oz of all people has that instinct. )

[velveteened]

( but it's familiar to invoke b rabbit, easy as falling, and natural after all this time — the length of time being contracted, he might say, even unknowing precisely how long that really is — and so there's only a slight hesitation before he does, maybe unnoticeable.

(maybe the held breath is unnoticeable, too.)

but, of course, the chain doesn't fail to surface — there's the characteristic jangle of physical chains, floating impossibly and circling oz in lazy arcs, and the scythe materializes in turn, massive and the color of blood, just like his newly slitted eyes. and if the power swells for a moment, it's only because it's been a long time since b rabbit has been so unencumbered. they did something, he's said more than once since september, but there's no sign of it now. )

[soul_sister]

[There is a certain pressure and power to the Chains unleashed into the air. The kind you feel on the back of your neck and deep in your chest, behind the ribs.

They were different, very different from anything in her own world.... and finally really SEEING ONE, brought it into stark relief that this isn't what she's used to at all. They might not even HAVE another form. But then... who and what is Alice?

But one thing was certain... Even with them being wielded by friends, for the first time, she felt particularly small without Chrono here.]

Oh.

[retraced]

[Gilbert knows better than to get in the way of either of them; with the power of their Chains unleashed, he steps back as quickly as the sand will let his feet move without stumbling. When he's far enough away, he drops down to one knee and remains sitting there, crouched down and prepared to rush back forward in case interference ends up being necessary.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ He stands, just like that, listening to Mad Hatter's cape flapping behind him, as if it were in a stiff breeze, though the air is calm. The clink of chains, the heavy atmosphere of rejection. But there is no power flowing, beyond that minimum necessary to manifest his Chain. He can maintain this indefinitely. ]

Oz. You'll see some lovely rocks nearby. Cleave one of them in two. Gently, if you please.

[ Controlling small amounts of vast power is the most difficult task of all. ]

1/

[velveteened]

( he doesn't please, not at all, because b. rabbit wasn't born to be gentle; and after keeping the power so restrained for so long a simple rapping of a single stone isn't exactly satisfying. the distance of a few months doesn't mean anything to a chain, and b. rabbit is still palpably angry. )

[velveteened]

( it'd be )

[velveteened]

( so easy )

[velveteened]

( to — )

[velveteened]

6/6

[velveteened]

( the indicated rocks are near enough to be within range of his scythe, so it's that he uses. a simple flick is all it takes to crack one in half and — also another, purely accidentally. )

— oh. That was a little too much.

( doesn't quite sound sorry about it, though, or perhaps just in a more distant sort of way. )

[senseandcecilbility]

[From what could be considered a hazardous distance for a human, Kevin watches the performance with wide eyes, gloved hand covering his mouth. Standing in the middle of the desert, between the misused car and the dreamlike giants, he seems small and vulnerable, an unremarkable man in a dark suit.

Without further ado, he unlocks the fine silver chain around his neck, releasing the crystal ring once more. He clutches it in his gloved hand and raises his arm in a long fluid motion towards the sky. Like in a trick of prestidigitation, the ring turns into a long crystal spear.

Oz has changed, as Break changed not a long time ago. Not familiars, no. More like possessing spirits, though that is not quite right either. Regardless, Kevin tilts his head in a slightly avian fashion and takes a cautious step forward, ready to react if Oz shows any sign of losing control over the vast amount of power he is currently reining.]