Mini Arena 2

[etcircenses]

Tributes are woken early, and the hovercraft ride is a long one. Not the longest some have experienced, but they are clearly going far.

25 - 24 - 23

They land on the deck of the boat, and are ushered underneath, to the lower levels, quickly. Their stylists go from cabin to cabin, decking them out in over the top finery, before loading them into the pods installed into the corners of the rooms.

20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16

The platforms lift them up, and they are all ringed around a grand buffet table, loaded with a grand feast looking ready to sag down from the weight. Among the food are supplies, plenty of them, all for the taking.

11- 10 - 9 - 8

They've all been warned, don't step off your pedestal early. They have also been warned to put on a good show. That's all this is about, a good show. None of them have been told that there can be multiple winners this time around.

5 - 4

3

2

The sound of the gong plays crystal clear across the opening. The games have begun.

Comments

[polyturtle]

"...All right then!"

Nothing better to do. Don motioned with his hand to follow.

[youbarium]

And Carlos followed: perhaps not quite as fast, but once he'd walked off the worst of the bruising, he could keep up fairly well with Donatello.

"So what's your plan?" asked Carlos, a little short of breath. "I'm trying to get to the bow. It sounded like that explosion happened near the stern, so that end is going to fill with water much faster."

[polyturtle]

"That's my plan," Don replied, still going. "If this is anything what I think its like, getting to the bow on the top deck is our best chance for survival!"

[youbarium]

"Did you ever see Titanic?" Carlos asked as he loped along, arms wrapped around his makeshift sack of supplies.

[polyturtle]

"Yeah," came the response from Don, after a moment. "Several times, even."

[youbarium]

"I suspect," said Carlos, through quick breaths, "that the Capitol has, too. Maybe it survived the cataclysm. I don't know. All this -- the sinking ship, the formal wear, the cold water -- it's a little too much to call coincidence."

[polyturtle]

"Well--" Don stopped and held the side of a doorway carefully, as the ship groaned and shuddered. "If the legend itself survived, the ship itself isn't going to be as lucky!"

Once the groan passed, he was on his way again.

[youbarium]

"But if the ship sinks," Carlos argues, "then there is a very real chance that every Tribute in this Arena will die. If that's the case, what are the winning conditions? Is the last one to freeze to death the winner?"

[polyturtle]

"They won't let that happen." Don shook his head. "If I'm remembering my Titanic right, there's enough room for several people to stay on the top of the bow until the very end. Besides, if that cook could survive the original sinking, they probably are counting on at least one person getting through it. They might end up with hypothermia if they hit the water, but they can survive for awhile yet."

[youbarium]

"Then they must be allowing for multiple winners," said Carlos, breaths coming hard, as they hit a staircase. "Just like last time. Scientifically, if the people on the bow are the last ones to hit the water, then they will last roughly the same amount of time in the ocean. Therefore, determining one winner could be difficult."

[polyturtle]

"Not entirely." Don began to hope up the stairs. "Age, physical condition, clothing insulation...warm-bloodedness...those things could factor who can survive longer in the water!"

Yeah, Don had reason to be worried about the cold water.

[youbarium]

"Oh." Carlos realized, a little belatedly, just what being in the water would mean for Donatello. "...I'm sorry. Have you come across anything in the ship you could use to keep warm?" he asked, but not with much hope.

[polyturtle]

"Unfortunately not," Don replied, face grim. "And the tuxedo won't do much good."

[youbarium]

Carlos's eyebrows furrowed. "I would lend you this," he said, waving the wetsuit-full-of-supplies, "but even if it fit you, I don't think it would help much. The cold would still get through."