in his coat and his boots and his blackheart machine

[realitymods]

[Every girl's crazy about a sharp-dressed man, and this man is dressed sharply indeed. How can you not like a guy with a top hat and a cravat? Tall, blond, and smiling, he catches a note that appears in the air in front of him. He is smiling even as he reads it and murmurs,] You monster.

[And then the note burns away in his fingertips, and the man turns to the Plane at large, showman-like.]

Ladies, gentleman: I am here to invite you all to an event two days hence at the Coliseum, where four of your fellows will battle to their deaths. The food is free; the sport is costly. These will be the first of fights but not the last, and we hope you enjoy the entertainment we offer in these next few weeks. A fair few of you will have your chance to live or die, whether or not you wish to.

[He fixes the angle of his hat.] And someone should try to keep the children from it. Small mercies.

[ooc: IC announcement for this!]

Comments

[realitymods]

I don't get to say everything I know. I'd be speaking here for a thousand and one days. In the fight, you can decide how you face your death.

[oliverplus]

But that's it? We can't...I don't know, make a last request to the Plane before it kills us or anything?

[realitymods]

You could, if you wanted, though I'm always very careful about making wishes, and we have no obligation to answer your request. This isn't an execution; it's a gladiator's fight. You aren't the condemned.

[oliverplus]

[scowls] I doubt you know much about gladiatorial matches if that's what you think.

[realitymods]

[something in his smile changes] I know a little bit of them. But you're right. It was poorly borrowed for my metaphor. Still, you're not condemned, so there's no last meal and no last request. No trial, either, of peers or otherwise.

[oliverplus]

[unfortunately, his frustration is starting to get the better of him] No, you don't get it. I don't want any of that! I just want a way to make this stop. Look, I'll...I'll be in your match. I'll even give you a morituri te salutamus or whatever else you want. But you said there'll be more matches. So what can I give you that'll stop other people from dying, too? Please!

[realitymods]

You don't have anything we want, dear.

[oliverplus]

[oh, that hurts. even his life itself doesn't mean a thing, does it?]

Then what do you want?

[realitymods]

I want a lot of things I'll never get, but we want freedom, and the man above me wants power.

[oliverplus]

[frowns] Then how does this get you freedom? Or power?

[realitymods]

Oh, it doesn't get me freedom. I just want it. But it may give it to him, with the power. What did Shay tell you when you spoke to him?

[oliverplus]

[makes a face] Is Shay who's above you, then? [darkly] He said the black hole will grow if people die.

[realitymods]

[with a snort] I'd rather shoot him than let him get over me. But yes, that seems to be what's being passed around. I'm just a traveller, so I only know what I'm told of it.

[oliverplus]

[oh, he doesn't believe a word of that] So who is? And why does everyone want the black hole to grow? If you're not working together, how do you know who'll get power from it?

[realitymods]

So many questions, I'm starting to get dizzy. Please, I'm a blond. One at a time.

[oliverplus]

[makes a face, but he knows this conversation isn't going to go anywhere if he just gets mad at the bloke. he's seen the Doctor make that mistake enough times to know better] Okay, so...who is above you, if it's not Shay? Are you on different- [stops himself, pursing his lips. one at a time, right]

[realitymods]

[a slight shift in the smile, and he draws his hands together, linking the fingers] Can't say. If he wanted you to know, a mouthpiece wouldn't be needed to do the showman bit of it.

[oliverplus]

[scowls, but he keeps himself calm] All right, so...is he on a different side from Shay, then?

[realitymods]

No, not in the slightest, though he hates Shay more than you can know.

[oliverplus]

[frowns. he's relieved that he got a straight answer for once, but that wasn't the one he was expecting] So who gets power if the black hole grows? Both of them?

[realitymods]

Both? No.

[oliverplus]

Then why do they both want it to grow?

[realitymods]

What did he say would happen when it grew?

[oliverplus]

[not quite sure if he should be sharing this, but he has a feeling this bloke already knows anyway] He said someone could go in it then--take control of the Machine.

[realitymods]

[with a showman's opening of his arms - 'Well there you are'] A machine of that much power is something anyone would want to control.