Arena 12 - The Spaceport

[etcircenses]

As usual the Tributes are woken up early for the start of the arena, leaving the Tribute Centre before dawn. A few hours ride in a hovercraft delivers them to their destination where their excited prep teams will outfit them in skintight suits that are colour coordinated by District (D1 is White, D2 is Red, D3 is Orange, D4 is Aqua, D5 is Purple, D6 is Pink, D7 is Light Green, D8 is Blue, D9 is Yellow, D10 is Dark Green, D11 is Lavender, and D12 is Black) over which they will be put into what is instantly identifiable as a spacesuit, complete with oxygen tank and helmet before being loaded into the tubes.

They rise up into what appears to be outer space and immediately upon emerging from the tubes Tributes will find themselves floating upwards with a length of rope the only thing holding them to their podiums. The countdown crackles out from speakers built into each Tributes helmet.

20

19

18…

The Cornucopia sits in the middle of a dusty crater with buildings surrounding it, made up of a number of chained down cases and cubes in limited numbers. Cubes which sharp-eyed Tributes will note look like they fit into the slots beside the doors that lead into the spaceport.

8

7

6…

The mirrored visors of the uniformly white spacesuits make it impossible to tell friend from foe. Tributes fighting for goods will have to risk harming their friends but the alternative, floating off into space or suffocating when their oxygen runs out, leaves them little choice.

3

2

1…

The gong rings out and the countdown’s voice announces, “the Arena is now open” before the line goes dead. The Games have begun.

Comments

[samson]

Brock is still waiting when he comes back, growing more on edge every second. He heard his feet pounding as he ran away, which was a good and proper response, but... he was expecting him to come back. And he did. Which was... a thing? It wasn't great, because this is clearly a teenager, so Brock doesn't get to horrifically murder him. It's also not bad, because... he's a teenager and Brock doesn't get to horrifically murder him.

It is a little embarrassing, though. Clearing his throat, Brock tucks the little makeshift weapons back in his belt, though he's still wary. Just because he wouldn't kill this kid didn't mean that the kid wouldn't kill him.

"You should probably be a little more careful. I could kill you super easy," he says, frowning, then notices his arm. "Broken?"

[a_minute_younger]

Gary pales slightly. Yes, he's aware that Brock could kill him, along with pretty much anyone else here that he isn't friends with (along with those that he is friends with, but he doesn't consider that). The less he thinks about how true that is, or the more he can convince himself that it isn't true, the better.

"A little bit, yeah." It's fine, though! Totally fine. Gary seems to act like it is--he doesn't appear to be in any pain, though he moves and breathes rather stiffly. It, and the swelling of several fractured ribs, are only somewhat inconvenient. "But you wouldn't kill me, because I'm offering to help! Who does that?"

[samson]

"A... lot of people, actually," Brock says, squinting, because holy shit, this kid is gonna get so super murdered. Brock almost feels bad for him.

But anyway, more importantly, his arm that is a little bit broken is maybe a problem. This kid might be a really good actor, but Brock is running under the assumption that it's not an act and that he really is that genuinely nice. Or naïve? Maybe both.

"How are you gonna help me with a busted arm? C'mon, maybe we can find something to splint it," he says, looking around for a door. The halls are littered with science labs, so it shouldn't be hard to find something to use.

[a_minute_younger]

Gary gives a nervous sort of laugh. Hah! It's funny, because...because it's true...damn, this is depressing. Gary is more than happy to change the subject to something that doesn't involve strangers killing him for sport.

"I don't need both arms to show you where food is!" The teen flashes a chipper smile. "I found some cake! It's good, I promise, I've already had some that was lying around in another room. I just can't, uh. Get to this one."

Because of his arm? Because of other things? Gary doesn't say, and his twitching poker face says that maybe there is more to this situation than he would like to admit.

[samson]

Yeah, that is... suspicious. A little bit. Brock squints and slowly turns back to look this kid over. If he's trying to lure him into some kind of death trap, he's doing a very bad job of it. He ought to be flailing around about his broken arm and crying about his dying sibling trapped in the other room or something...

But maybe Brock is being paranoid. That is a possibility.

Still, he'd like to know what he's getting into before he's knee-deep in it. "What... why."

[a_minute_younger]

Brock isn't too far off the mark. Gary bites his lip and stares at the ceiling. With some thought and delicate wording, he could probably make this sound less dangerous than it might be. It has, however, never been in Gary's nature to think too critically about things, so instead he lies.

"Well there was someone else hanging around, and I couldn't get past him. Big, big guy. Uh." Shit, who can he pin this on? The first person that comes to his mind, obviously. "Long blonde hair, red spacesuit. Thor, I think? Yeah, that guy." That sounds convincing enough for Gary, so he keeps going. "Anyway, there's not a lot of food around and I thought maybe I could take him on if I found someone to partner up with, you know? One of us distracts, the other grabs the cake, that kind of thing?"

[samson]

Brock has met Thor all of once, and he seemed like a pretty cool bro. That said, Brock also has absolutely no issues with just straight-up murdering him, especially in a place where dying apparently isn't permanent. That's, like, the perfect excuse to just kill some guys, even if you like them.

Something about this story isn't adding up, but it's not like Brock has any concrete reason to disbelieve him, except maybe for the healthy dose of paranoia he always keeps on his person.

"Okay... show me where it is and we'll see. But no promises."

[a_minute_younger]

Gary might be mildly unnerved to hear about how completely okay Brock is with killing people, but at the same time, it appears that Brock is on his side. So everything's fine. Right? Of course it is, because Gary chooses it to be that way. He grins and pumps his fist, once, a brief show of victory before they get down to business.

"Great! It's this way," he says and, with a wide wave of his good arm, starts walking down the hall from whence he came. Or jogs. With his abilities up and adrenaline flowing, Gary's world runs almost comically slow around him; what is a casual walk to him is more like a slow run to anyone else. Assuming Brock can keep up, they'll get where they need to be very soon.