notagain | WEEK ZERO: ARRIVAL

ARRIVAL

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PASSENGERS: 41

You know how the story goes by now. One minute you’re somewhere familiar, and the next you’re suddenly somewhere else. Unlike previous times before, the source of your rude awakening isn’t a mystery. A harsh jostle causes your body to lunge forward as a tire jumps over a pot hole in the road. Try as you might, it’s hard to ignore the steady thrumming of an engine and the gentle sway beneath you. The faint scent of gasoline seems to waft from the outside, but as you look around you’ll notice that the windows are locked, tinted, and impossible to see through. Likewise, the door ahead of you appears to be locked as well.

Perhaps the scent is your imagination…?

Regardless, though the lighting is a tad dim, it becomes apparent that you’re inside a large bus dotted with the occasional seat and amid a jumble of other bodies. The people you were last with may be among your fellow passengers. Perhaps they are not. But worry not; there’s plenty of time to look around and get to know one another on this long, strange trip. It may even be wise to examine the staircase at the other end of the bus. Who knows what awaits you on the other floors?

Ah, but before you move too far it may be best to assess the situation. On the bright side, any injuries you incurred have been healed! Isn't it nice to have your limbs in place again? Miracles happen. But...what happened to your clothes? You’re fairly certain you weren't wearing this t-shirt before...and what's with the denim shorts? Maybe you were fortunate enough to get the knee-length version, but for those of you waking up in bootyshorts...well, we're sure you look great! And what better way to tie the whole look together than white socks and tan sandals? At least you'll be comfortable for the ride.

Lucky for you, your new threads aren't the only gift you'll receive upon waking up. Attached to your waist is a high-quality bag filled with some fun goodies for every passenger! For those of you who unzip your bag to check its contents, you will find:

-Dry shampoo
-Wet wipes
-Deodorant
-Travel pack of toilet paper
-Travel toothbrush + toothpaste
-Poncho
-A stylish travel guide

No other items are on your person at this time, even if you were holding onto it as you began your previous departure. That's a bit troublesome, isn't it? Not really; it's still a bus. Be grateful for the extra elbow room, alright?

Oh, and one last thing...on the wrist of every passenger is a small, equally fashionable white scrunchie. Not your style? Perhaps it's a good idea to give the travel guide another read.

Searching the bus from top to bottom will net zero results in the way of an escape. All of the windows are similarly tinted and locked, and the only exit door appears to be the one on the first level that can't be opened at this time.

But hey. You're all old pros at this, right? You know what to do next! Get to know the people around you, trade stories with your fellow passengers, and...well. Buckle up for the bumpy ride ahead.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It wasn't anything like this. It was just me and another guy who got kidnapped, swapped places, and had our memories tampered with to "help" with a war we're fighting. [You know. NBD.] But all of that got cleared up not long before I woke up somewhere else and was told we had to kill everyone we were with.

So the more regular kind of kidnapping. [ he says. sarcastically. ] So you've had a long couple of months that I'd say are just about to get even longer. From what I've gathered, it's pretty likely we were all brought here under similar kill or be killed scenario.

Dude, I haven't been home for like a year at this point. [He's just going to have to accept this.] I almost wish this was surprising but I should've known this wasn't the end of it.

[And since he was around he'll gesture toward Natalie.] She told you a bit about our game, but I can fill in other details she might've missed if you have questions.

Unless you've got more details on the kind of "offers" you guys got to make you kill one another, I think she had most of it covered. How many others do you recognize from that place?

[ see he says "most of it" and then asks questions, like an asshole ]

Besides Natalie? Two. Jason, Damian and Natalie were all in the same game with me. [He's more forthcoming with details than Natalie is, oops.] The way Hal explained it was that if the Bandits didn't kill one victim a week, the Bounty would go after them and kill them themselves.

And then some of us were threatened to behave to protect other people. [There's a light frown.] One of those things where if you want to keep someone safe, you had to follow the orders.

[ ah. he's distracted from plot-- ]

You were in the same place Jason was? [ he should also ask about damian because he knows that's baby robin but timeline says it's before his thread with him and he has a jason todd shaped bias in his heart, rip ]

Yeah. We were friends, he...was coming home with me and some of my friends. [Awkwardly, but he's not shying away from the question.]

[ dick is from a game where that was absolutely not an option, so: ]

Home as in ... your world?

Yeah. He, Natalie, and a girl named Xion were going back to Manhattan to my mom and stepdad's apartment to wait for me.

[ if he didn't know what potentially awaited jason back in his own world, he'd be a lot more upset about that. instead he's keeping himself detached and curious ]

I can't say we had a mix and match option for coming back on my end of things. [ he wonders if he should say how he knows jason, but decides against it; ] And three out of four of you wound up here instead. Hopefully things went better for that Xion girl.

[ whoever she is ]

Pretty sure it was only an option because I asked at the end. We were all on a train, so as long as we knew what stop to get off, we could go wherever we wanted. [It seems like he doesn't mind answering the questions either.]

Hopefully. She's not the only person we're missing. Those three were supposed to get off at my mom's place, and I had somewhere else to be with someone else.

Makes sense. Nathalie also mentioned it took at least a month, so... [ dimensional travel? ] Where were you going?

[ this is less about the plot and more about curiosity now ]

She'd keep track better than I would've. [Sound less fond, idiot. But the question is one he isn't sure how to answer so he shrugs lightly.]

I had something I needed to do somewhere else. I was in the middle of something important when we were taken the first time.

Sounds like you keep busy. [ he won't press for details, especially since he's dodging some himself ] Let's hope we can manage to keep this abduction both short and the last one on your list, then.

What can I say? I like being active. [The tone's a little flat though so they can continue to dodge together.]

Any ideas so far? If we're all from a similar situation there's probably a similar outcome waiting for us, isn't there?

It's looking likely, unfortunately. The one thing we all had in common was that everyone was made into killing one another, one way or another.

So the next question is what do we think the method's gonna be this time? Everyone's game was a little different, wasn't it? [Tell him theories, Dick, he was only half-listening.]

There have been two options so far. Possession-- at least four different kinds-- and coercion, whether via threats or promises. I think it's fair to guess we might end up somewhere in that spectrum... but it's a pretty broad one.

Yeah that doesn't really give us a lot of information or options to prepare for. Maybe we'll get lucky and the possession will be the threat. At least we'd know how to prepare.

You really think we'd be that lucky?

Of course not, but a guy can dream, can't he?

Then shouldn't you be dreaming just a little bigger?

I'm more of a doer than a dreamer, you know? I'm working my way up to some bigger plans.

WEEK ZERO: ARRIVAL - OVERFLOW

dick

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