robowest | [ DEPARTURE ]

DEPARTURE

It's time to go.

Most people are on the train by now. Settled into their cabins and among friends and loved ones. There are only three new arrivals left to board and once they do, Hal pulls a conductor's hat out from underneath the bar, tugs it on, and steps around it to the middle of the train. He opens his mouth to talk, voice filling the train.

"It's time to go. Stops happen once a day until everyone's departed and I already have your stopped listed. If you'd like to be prioritized, let me know, otherwise we'll go in order of death. Settle in and enjoy the ride. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask, folks."

This, of course, means that those who died earliest (Manfred, Higekiri) will depart first while those who died latest (Barnham, Damian, Percy) will depart last. There's a stop for everyone, though those who want to get off together are more than welcome to. Hal pulls a notepad and pen out of his pocket later and people will notice that he goes around the train confirming stops with everyone. Whatever feeling Hal may have had to a character back in town isn't noticeable here -- he is simply a robot assigned with a job.

After that, it's all a matter of settling in and enjoying the ride. If that's possible for you, at least.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Not really. End result would've been the same whether or not he lived longer, evidently.

[A shrug.]

You're allowed to be pissed it had to come down to what it did, you know.

[He sighs, shaking his head.]

Perhaps it would have. Perhaps not. I fear to think what the outcome would have been had Doctor Lecter won the game.

[So... really, he was relieved for Natalie's actions.

He has the right to be pissed...? Yeah, maybe. His lips quirk for a moment, wryly.]

I believe I am too tired to be angry, though I certainly was angry at first. I wished to find another way, but...the Sheriff did not lie. And that we could not allow for a group ending was... another entirely unfair rule, but I--

[Ugh. The worst.]

... Perhaps I am a little angry over it still. [Shocker!!]

With all due respect to Dr. Lecter, which isn't much... If he couldn't take a sixteen year old with one arm while he had a weapon, he probably wouldn't have made it to the end no matter what.

[just saying!!]

Just a little, huh?

I feel you underestimate your importance, Natalie.

[Is this a thing with you...]

... But yes, I fear I am rather angry after all. This entire situation, it was...

[...rigged against them from the start. He presses a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes for a moment.]

We could never have known....how useless our attempts were. Not until the true end result was known.

I didn't say anything about my importance. I said I was a sixteen year old with one arm, which was accurate until like a week ago.

[she shrugs]

...Yeah. Pretty fucked up, right?

[Well yeah, but you still took out hannibal, natalie....

But he'll let that go with a sigh.]

... Indeed.

And yet, even so...we are still here. [they sort of survived, kind of] We are of sound mind and body. [Sort of.]

That is not something to be underestimated.

Sound mind and body might be a bit of an overestimation, but...

[A pause, and then a nod.]

Yeah. At least we're all going home. Could have ended a lot worse, I think.

... Indeed. There were worse outcomes than this.

[He knows about a lot of them so he'll take this one!!!]

May I ask you a question, Natalie? Have you decided...what you would like to do with your life when you arrive at your new home?

[She nods.]

Yeah. I knew that even before coming here.

[No matter what world she's in, there's been one thing that always drives her.]

I'm a musician. I got my arm back, so... I can play again.

[There's something...uplifting about that. Something warm and relieving, after everything, to hear Natalie sounding so confident. She can do this. She's a musician, and she knows precisely what she wants to do when she gets out of here.

He smiles a little, despite himself.]

I see.

In that case, with such certainty, I have no doubts you shall be successful.

[And...even if their lives are worlds apart, he has to admit--]

I find...that gives me hope.

[For the future, no matter what it might be, and his own attempts to find a place in it now.]

Yeah. It'll be nice to get to a piano again.

[but when he starts talking about hope, she raises her eyebrows, her expression and voice growing confused and skeptical.]

...Wait, why?

[gently ruins the moment by not knowing how to deal with sincerity. sorry barnham!!]

[Sorry, Natalie, stupidly sincere is like one of his few settings.]

Perhaps it sounds strange to you--but I have found myself at a bit of a loss since stepping on this train.

[He hadn't really thought beyond "end the game", but killing a lot of people doesn't really fall under a knight's purview.]

As to what I should do from here... it seemed a near insurmountable problem. But I find it seems less daunting, now.

Well... It probably helped that I knew before this, I guess. It's what I want to do more than anything, even a ridiculous murder competition isn't going to stop that.

[it does make her curious, though.]

What are you planning on doing, then?

"A ridiculous murder competition" has stopped a great deal of things--it is good to see that shall not be one of them.

[As for him, well...]

I have not yet decided.

[Oh.]

But... I believe I shall find an option for myself in the days to come.

I think most of those things can be restarted, probably.

[Or so she hopes.]

Yeah. I mean, if we're going one stop a day in order of death, you've got over a month, right?

... I suppose I do.

[So much time to think about this!!]

It is strange to think of so much down time, but...perhaps that is what we all require at this point.

Yeah. I feel like I could sleep for two weeks straight, honestly, and I'm betting I'm not the only one.

[ DEPARTURE ]

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