ARENA 11-PaneMall

[etcircenses]

It’s pre-dawn when the Tributes are roused from their beds and sent to their tubes. Those who’d been imprisoned for the past few weeks had their heads covered before transport to the staging area, and there’s an air of confusion surrounding just about everything that’s happening until the stylists and managers arrive on the scene and try to calm everyone down. The reunions may be happy, but they're sadly very temporary.

The first clue that something strange is happening comes from their clothing: figure skating costumes with bright colors and sequins and ice skates strapped to their feet. Some may even find it difficult to stand with the blades on their feet, but as they're placed into the arena, all becomes clear. The mall skating rink seems quiet and quaint, especially after weeks of uncertainty and stress. Too bad the peace and quiet can’t last.

20

19

18...

Above the ice rink (which houses all 100+ Tributes) there are floors with shops looking over them. Large, bright fluorescent lights dot the multi-storied ceiling and create a warm, nostalgic glow to the place. Benign music is piped in from various hidden speakers to compliment the intended mood of fun and commerce.

17

16

15…

The countdown continues and the Tributes, some of whom haven’t seen each other in weeks, stare at one another helplessly. That is, until one of them boldly decides to speak.

"We're expected to fight here today," Steve's voice suddenly cuts through the tension in the room. It commands attention without demanding it, a conviction of truth in his tone.

14

13

12...


"To turn on each other through fear and self preservation. And we could give them what they want. A bloodbath," here he pauses longer, lets the reality of his statements sink in. Let people realize what he's saying, that this is a choice.

"Or we can choose not to fight. To instead work together," an option so many seem not to even realize they have. "No one here has to die by our hands today," he knows his speaking won't be without consequence, but he does want to believe he'll be the only one to pay for this.

"This is a risk. One many of you are hesitant to trust, let alone take. But everything we do here is a risk to ourselves and those around us," nothing in the arena comes without putting your life on the line.

"I, for one, am willing to take this risk, to choose not to fight," Steve looks around the room, making eye contact with a few people as he does. He's not telling anyone what to do, this is for them to decides for themselves; their freedom of choice.

But he's got faith in the his fellow tributes. "And I've got a feeling I'm not alone.”

… 3

2

1…

After the countdown ends, there’s a moment of utter still and silence. Then...

BOOOOOOOOOOOM

The room seems to erupt with noise and concussive force. The explosions are so violent that the muzak is paused in its tracks and shakes some of the Tributes off of their pedestals, and after the ice fog and smoke clears, it becomes apparent that fifteen of the Tribute pedestals and exploded there on the ice rink. Fifteen corpses lie mangled on the bloody ice: Deanna Winchester, Danny Fenton, Fili, Kili, Kain Highwind, Perry Kelvin, Julian Bashir, Clint Barton, Karkat Vantas, Sirius Black, Rahm Kota, Cinderella, Bunnymund, Robin, Rock Lee, and Rokk Krin.

The center of the ice rink remains completely intact and stocked with a few dozen keys of varying shapes and sizes. This is the Cornucopia and the Gamemakers are compelling the Tributes to skate for it.

The gong rings out, and the countdown's voice announces “The Arena is now open.” The Games have begun.

Comments

[gothen]

Jake holds out valiantly as he's hugged, actually glad that the touch didn't seem to be a thing here. He doesn't think he even wants to know why they're crying- what kind of horrible thing could make the both of them cry? He wraps his arms around Roland and when all three of them are hugging he's reminded of their brief moment of victory after their fight at Devar-Toi and he starts crying too. He doesn't stop hugging Roland when Susannah lets go of him and starts talking- just turns his head to look at her. His face is still wet, but he seems to have gotten a hold of himself well enough to listen.

And he does find it a bit hard to believe that they could have been here for months- even when she explains that they take people from different points in time. There was a short story he'd read once about a guy that went into the past and killed a butterfly, completely changing history. It seems to him like something would have changed if any one of them had unexpectedly been removed, and that they would have been split like he had been after his two deaths/not deaths. He considers voicing this thought, but he is just a dumb kid so he keeps it to himself. It isn't even something he wants to think about.

"I've only been told anything by the person that kept trying to me in weird clothes, but I think I have some idea of what goes on from what they kept showing on the tvs." He says, not aware at all that there were supposed to be Mentors or anything like that as the only one from his District has sort of been absent.

"We'd just left to go save King after Eddie was shot. Only instead of the Keystone world I ended up here, without Oy." He doesn't want to say that Eddie had died, partially because he doesn't want her to know the Eddie was going to die if she's from before him (even if it made him somewhat of a hypocrite) and also because he'd been trying not to think of Eddie, Pere Callahan or Benny Slightman being dead at all. There was just too much time to grieve here.

[ka_sera_sera]

That was close, the timing of his 'travel' from that world to this one. It was very close. And with what Roland knows about this place he could answer Jake's unvoiced question about the timelines, though he probably wouldn't. Not until he's surer of how Jake would react. For now it's enough that Roland knows Jake is here, and that Jake is not going back.

Unfortunately that also means that Jake is here, and Roland had seen how two deaths had effected him. In the best case scenario he is about to face many, many more, and they will be the least of his troubles. Roland would rather think only on the feeling of the hair under his hand, the look of his son alive and well, but he is not built for quite that level of self-deception.

As Susannah had begun to speak he'd pulled away, quieted, gradually calmed himself. He keeps his hands where they were, though, on Jake who is solid and here and alive, and can not seem to look away from him for more than a second at a time. "Jake. This isn't going to be quite so bad as- as that, ah, the city we traveled through, where we usually met the train, but it'll be similar.

"Keep a good watch on your surroundings at all times," he gestures with two fingers in each direction as he speaks it, "in front, behind, all sides, including above. Try to note any hiding spots before you reach them, and be careful who you trust. Not all here are eager to fight - as you saw - but plenty enough are. Susannah and I will tell you our allies, and you can tell them- Susannah? Do you think it wise to hide the fact that he's my son? May not last long, but will it make a difference?"

[dividedgirlofmine]

Susannah shakes her head. "Well, if you meant to keep it a secret from the Gamemakers, honey, you probably oughtn't to have said it out loud like that. We can't be sure they don't have a hidden camera in this store. It's best to presume they do. From the other tributes... I don't know if it will. Most of the people I'd call allies would help him whether he was your son or just a friend of ours--and enough would do it just because he's young."

She frowns. "Actually, I don't know if he ought to be more cautious about the other kids his age and the teenagers. Those that play the game to win won't hesitate to fight another kid like an adult might--though you shouldn't necessarily trust adults either, Jake. Or anyone we haven't vouched for, unless they prove themselves."

I'm so sorry I'm holding stuff up, I'm super sick atm.

[gothen]

He hopes this won't be anything like Lud had been- killing and being killed was a lot simpler than dealing with the volatile, disease-riddled Grays. He considers asking if there are people here that are as unhinged as Gasher and Tick-Tock Man had been, but decides against it just as quickly as the thought came to him- he didn't want to look like he was afraid and it was probably something he didn't want to know anyway.

Jake nods mutely as he's instructed to pay attention to his surroundings. Though he does give the ceiling a curious glance because he can't say he's sure that he knows how someone could stage an ambush from up there. Better safe than sorry, though.

He hadn't planned on rushing into any alliances or make friends with anyone his age here. In fact, it was disturbing that there were kids his age here at all. But more importantly...

"I'll be careful, but if most of your allies would help me anyway, shouldn't we just keep quiet about me?" He doesn't come out and say he doesn't want anyone to use him against what was left of their tet. He wasn't confident of his ability to survive without Oy's help and it wasn't like he hadn't been used against Roland more than once.

no problem <3

[ka_sera_sera]

"Of course they know," he says to Susannah, dismissive. "Why else would they have brought him? There's no showmanship in bringing just any child from our world to this one."

"I'd like to introduce you to Clementine first," he says to Jake, turning back toward him. "She's nearly your age, brave, fights fairly well. She'll make a good ally. But I'd also like you to stay near one of us at all times, aye? Or at least as often as possible. You'll do alright, so long as you take care." He runs his hand over Jake's head again, knowing one - or more likely, all - of them are going to die before this thing is done, and that in the best possible scenario Jake is still going to end up witnessing it. Remembering it.

But even now, he can't be angry at those who brought Jake here. He ought to be. The need to speak of that, to cry Jake's pardon for it, is powerful and persistent. Roland is selfish, he always has been, that the need to soothe his own ills is so strong even as he knows well what it'd do to Jake to speak of it. Perhaps Susannah, later, will listen, might even understand, but for now Roland only clenches his jaw, hopes he'll be able to distract himself with other matters until that time can come. "And your allies, Susannah? I'm afraid I still haven't been keeping track as I ought to. Who are they?"

yeah don't worry

[dividedgirlofmine]

Susannah rolls her eyes at him while he's looking at Jake. They could have just brought him because he'd been part of their tet. The Gamemakers didn't necessarily need to know that Roland thought of Jake as his son to find reasons to bring him. But she doesn't bring this up, instead she quickly mentally goes over everyone she's been friendly with since coming to Panem, sorting through them for the people she'd consider actual true allies here in Panem. There's a sad amount of them (Cuthbert, Guy, Some) who never came back from the last full arena. And she has no idea what to categorize Harley as.

But as it happens, she has three names: "Carlos, Donatello, and Mindy--although I don't know if Mindy's in the arena or not. She was arrested when I was and they might try to punish her by sending her back, but I won't know until I see her. Carlos is a bit older than me and he's not much of a fighter, but he's from a very dangerous place--or anyhow, everything he's said about it makes it sound like it's dangerous--and he's good at surviving. And he's very smart. If you see a man with perfect hair in a lab coat that's him."

She rakes her fingers through her halo of hair. "Donatello's... he's probably no older than twenty. He's clever, a good fighter... and he's a man-sized turtle. Not a taheen with a turtle head, an actual turtle. And a ninja. He's a teenaged ninja turtle and yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds but it's true. You... ought to be able to find him easily, he's the only turtle around."

She looks to the gunslinger, then. "Mindy's someone I've been meaning to introduce to you, actually, Roland. She's Jake's age, though she acts older, and she's very good at fighting, especially if you can get her a gun."

I return from the dead! -spooky noises-

[gothen]

Jake is obviously less than convinced that he will do just fine- he could be as careful as humanly possible and him versus a grown ass adult would still hardly be the deathmatch of the year. Much less with the cyborgs, trolls and various other not-quite-human tributes he didn't know about yet.

"I will." He answers, not quite truthfully. He is a lot smaller and more mobile than either of them, and he is more than willing to take risks if that means keeping Roland and Susannah alive longer.

He silently absorbs the information about their allies- it is kind of hard to accept the man-sized turtle, though (and the image that his brain makes for this concept is not like a teenage mutant ninja turtle at all). Way harder to believe than Ronald Regan as president, Suze. Jake isn't exactly the best judge of perfect hair (or hair at all really to be honest) either, so he's just going to keep an eye out for an older guy in a lab coat. And two girls around his age...yeah, the two of them had gotten awfully vague since being abducted.

"What should I do if I run into one of them alone? No one here will just take my word that I know you guys, right?"

[ooc: I am back from having a really serious infection! I am so sorry I just disappeared like an industrial-sized butthole. I'm definitely not 100% yet but I am at least functional now. I hope I didn't hold either of you up >: ]

[ka_sera_sera]

"They might." But they might not, and he thinks on it a moment. "But if they don't, that would probably be my fault. I haven't-" He hasn't spoken of Jake. To anyone. He probably should have, if nothing else because Jake was - is - important, and he'd deserved to be remembered. But it was too close. It's still too close. Speaking of the dead returning alive and well is too painful, makes him hope.

Roland pushes aside that hope, hope tangled all up in thoughts of Cuthbert who, though here once, is not going to come back and perhaps never should have been trapped in Panem in the first place. He's mostly used to doing that, pushing those thoughts back, and after a moment picks up his sentence where he'd left it. "I haven't made as many allies as I should have. Signless should be safest - he's a, ah... Does your world have a word for it, Susannah? Someone who doesn't fight. Not offensively, anyway. There are a few who look similar to anything I'd describe, but I'll try later on. For now we ought to..."

And there he loses steam. "We ought to do something. Choose, um, choose a place to stay for the night. Gather certain things." There must be something. Something that needs to be done before Roland has to finally face sitting and thinking about all this. He looks to Susannah, eyebrows raised, hoping she'll be able to pick up his slack.


((ooc: Health definitely comes first. I hope you feel better soon!))

[dividedgirlofmine]

Well, at least Susannah's mentioned Jake a couple times to people, although probably most of them aren't expecting him to be eleven.

"A pacifist?" Susannah suggests. "I know who you're talking about, he's one of those trolls. Trolls are a kind of space alien," she explains to Jake, "with grey skin and orange-striped horns and there's a few of 'em here, but most of the ones I've seen in a long time have been teenagers. Roland's friend is one of the few that isn't."

She runs a hand through her hair. "So far this place doesn't look too bad for tonight, at least if we attempt to hide behind the counter or a large display. We'll want food and better clothes and some sort of weaponry to start with. I can handle clothes at the department store--I should be able to find Roland a purse there too or at least a handbag--and you two could check the toyshop like Jake suggested and maybe scout out the rest of the lay of the land."