Season 3 / Robert McCay - "The Great Train Robbery" [The Third Trial Projection]

MILGRAM

Robert McCay is generally a polite, agreeable guy, but as Sie and the other wardens approach to guide him to his final projection, he’s almost acting a little too compliant. He did get voted forgiven last time around, so maybe he’s just trying to butter them up… But isn’t he also terrified of this machine? Hmm.. maybe that’s why he’s stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring aimlessly at the Jackalope’s door.

“Mr. McCay, are you alright?” Sie asks, tapping his shoulder. Robert flinches.

“Hm? Y-yes, I’m fine, did something happen?”

“You just looked— er, spaced out for a moment. Do I need to repeat the question?”

Robert sighs. “I guess so. Sorry.”

“It’s okay… just, is there anything else you’d like to tell us before we start the projection?”

“What else is there t’say? Y’saw what happened. I took no pleasure in it, a’course, but I did what I did t’save my family from the monster that ruined our lives. That’s… that’s all there is to it.”

Right? Right…

…Wait. His vision started to shift. A headache in just the right spot, he’d learned by now, to know exactly what was happening. No, no no no, not now— god, not now—

…

Joe snaps to the forefront with a panicked expression, mentally scrabbling to get his bearings. The three wardens stand around him in the hallway, clipboards in hand. The door to the projection chamber looms before him.

He’d made it just in time.

“Listen— I know y’all bastard wardens vote however the hell y’want. This ain’t fer you! This is fer me an’ Muse, an’ Tony an’ everybody Robert cares about, a-an’ Robert too, ’cause…” His breath shudders. “…'cause he’s lyin’ to himself, he’s hidin’ somethin’ from us, and that ain’t right… It just ain’t right! So if y’all care about the truth, even a lil’…”

His voice is trembling, but his gaze is piercing as he briefly locks eyes with each of them in turn.

“…Put me in that chair, before Robert gets back! Right now! Hurry!”

With that, the boy in Robert’s body sprints through the door for the chair in the center of the projection room, the wardens hot on his heels. Anyone interested in Robert’s— now Joe’s— projection, or just wondering what the commotion’s all about, only has a precious few seconds to make it into the room before the machine activates.

Will it even work on someone who isn’t technically a prisoner…?

Kaoru Naito

A sprinting McCay is a great inventive to follow. Kaoru skulks after him, curious… Maybe he’s a completionist, he needs the McCay bingo for his board. He tries to lay low though, he’s gotten the weird, unfounded feeling he’s been on edge around him.

Hikaru Suzuki

Well, Robert had offered the opportunity for Hikaru to return his prying after he’d seen his own third projection, so of course Hikaru won’t turn down that sort of opportunity. So when he hears the man’s voice down the corridor, he perks up and follows him along to the projection room. He’s still not entirely privy to Robert’s situation when it comes to the DID, so the following conversation doesn’t really make any sense to him… it’s fine, though, he’ll figure it out later. That’s what these things are all about, figuring people out!

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Joe had told him, him in particular, that he wanted Vincent to go to Robert’s next projection. He’s not really sure if Robert would feel the same way about things, but… he still wants to try just in case. For Joe, if not for Robert himself too.

So as soon as Vincent actually catches sight of Robert being let by the wardens, he stops what he’s doing to at least try to follow, before…

Oh, God. Joe????

Looking a little more stressed upon overhearing Joe is insisting he be put in the chair, Vincent still follows quickly after, and once in the room… offers a sharp nod to the kid. Whatever he had in mind, he had to have a reason for this all. He just… hopes the outcome is far better than what happened the last time, with Ellie.

“I’m here. And if… anything goes wrong, I’m not leaving you. Alright, Joe?”

Please let everything be alright. PLEASE let everything be alright. No matter who else slips into the room right now, Vincent tries to ignore that, focusing on what’s about to happen instead.

Tatsuko Onizuka

Nobody asked Tatsuko to be here. Nobody probably even wanted Tatsuko to be here. And therefore Tatsuko must come. Spirit of rebellion.

Either way, Tatsuko’s been bored out of her mind, and very, very irritated lately. At least in the projections she can maybe get away with some more property damage. Is that not the point of these.

Robert McCay

This time, instead of a void of black, you’re greeted with the blinding white light of high noon.

The sun, the centerpiece of the grand blue sky, beats down on the desert hills and plateaus below. Reds and oranges, blacks and browns, slightly fuzzy and oversaturated— like memories of TV movies on an old hulk of a CRT. As your eyes lower and focus, you find yourself standing in the town square of a tiny whistle-stop in nowhere, Texas. The place is strangely quiet and empty; no sound of townsfolk chattering or horseshoes thumping against the wellworn trail.

You look around and find your fellow prisoners and the wardens all dressed in stereotypical cowboy gear— ponchos, vests, jeans, bandanas, wide-brimmed hats and boots of course. Nobody has weapons, but each of you bears a shiny sheriff’s badge on your chest and a set of handcuffs clipped to your belt.

All the buildings here seem to be boarded up with their windows covered… preparing for some kind of threat? The only movement that catches your eye leads you to the only open business in town— the swaying wooden gates of the local saloon.

Kaoru Naito

Kaoru feels the sun and sees his fit and lets out a hearty ‘yeee-haw’ with a few more chirps after it.

“Dog we got a saloon, fuck yeeess, th’ old man’s psyche is cowboy coded!”

He will of course twirl the handcuff on his finger and walk to the saloon, doing the wide cowboy saunter and all. He’s seen the movies…

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru squints immediately - even with months in the even lighting of the prison, he’s assuredly a man of the night. Bright daylight is not his environment at all! And then he looks at the outfits of everyone in attendance - oh, god, does that mean he’s in cheesy cowboy attire, too…?!

…Thankfully(?), his clothes seem tailored to his style well, with daisy dukes and a shirt tied to show off his midriff. It’s definitely not practical wear, but unless they actually have to ride horses or something in here, he’ll probably be okay… He raises his eyebrows at the handcuffs on his hip. Are they for decoration, or are they going to come into use, he wonders?

For now, he’ll trail after Kaoru, glad to walk in the middle of this group that has a lot more heavy hitters than himself. Even if two of them are complete wildcards.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

…Yeah, this makes perfect sense given the ‘Sheriff’ character that Joe had been putting on until recently, Vincent thinks. It’s probably good(?) that the machine actually seems to work on Joe, too, instead of… he’s not sure what, but exactly, but general Disaster occurring instead, he supposes.

As soon as Vincent notices that the others here are looking western themed, he looks down at himself, immediately relieved that it seems his preferred goth ascetic is returned to him, even if in cowboy fashion. That was fine, he’s just glad to be wearing nearly all black again. The occasional white and black feather details and silver dangly bits much like his ear are neat too, though the handcuffs in particular stand out as probably of note. Anything to gain by looking at them?

As soon as he hears Kaoru give a little yee-haw and some other Kaoru noises, though, he looks up with a fond smile.

“Yeah, you would enjoy this, wouldn’t you. You don’t look half bad as a punk cowboy either,” he comments as he starts to follow after Kaoru too, not doing that cowboy walk himself but certainly amused by Kaoru’s. He does tip his hat a little though, covering the sun from his eyes as much as he can. “Feels like something of a ghost town right now, though I guess we’ll have to see.”

Robert McCay

Hikaru Suzuki He raises his eyebrows at the handcuffs on his hip. Are they for decoration, or are they going to come into use, he wonders?

Erin | Vincent Churchwell Anything to gain by looking at them?

Each pair of simple metal handcuffs comes with a little key in its lock. Nothing’s stopping you from handcuffing each other, but nothing particularly special happens.

Bow-wow

Luca had gone into this with an intense sense of over-protectiveness of Joe- that was his little brother figure- and a sourness that Vincent had stepped up to talk to him first about it.

He definitely both suits and doesn’t suit the outfit- it’s a little like some kid pretending to be sheriff with his dad’s clothes. He has got a very nice poncho on!

He looks down at the handcuffs, and really considers if he can get the others on board with handcuffing at least Kaoru. Due to the group that has assembled in the projection, he’s decided to linger closer to Hikaru than anyone else, simply trotting on behind the group.

Tatsuko Onizuka

Aw hell yeah. This is definitely something up Tatsuko’s alley. It’s certainly a nice change of pace to see everyone dressed up as cowboys, especially since she finds their appearances incredibly hilarious. Yeehaw. She is quite disappointed that she didn’t get a gun, but the handcuffs will have to do. If it comes to it, she can probably do some damage if she throws them hard enough.

As for her outfit, it is a cowboy, albeit one that looks like it’s been in a few too many scuffles, ripped and torn and singed. Not that she particularly minds that, of course. She thinks she looks cool.

While everyone else seems to be fine to take their time, Tatsuko doesn’t have that kind of patience. She runs straight to the saloon and kicks the door open.

“IT’S HIGH NOON, FUCKERS!”

Who invited her again?

Robert McCay

The gates swing open wide dramatically as you walk into the saloon, just like in the movies. There’s no wary regulars turning to stare at the intruders, though. The tables are empty— the only people inside this building are the bartender and the saloon singer.

The only other remarkable feature in this place is a wall of wanted posters.

Robert McCay

The bartender waves the prisoners and wardens over frantically. He’s dressed in a snappy vest and bolo tie, and his mustache looks oddly familiar…

“H-hey! Hey guys, it’s me, but— it feels— weird, like—”

A cooing, sing-song voice interrupts him.

“Like you’re made of cardboard, trapped in your role, a bystander in your own head… Ahaha! That’s just how these projections are, you’ll get used to it, Robbie~”

“Projection?! But if I’m here and you’re here, that means… Joe is…”

“…Yes, for better or for worse, the kiddo beat you to the chair. I’m not happy about it either, for the record! He shouldn’t have to put himself through something like that.”

“Goddammit, it’s not like I asked him to! What the hell was he thinking?!”

“Hmm, I wonder…”

Bow-wow

Luca seems surprised to see Robert and the Muse, but he eagerly trots to the bar and waves at them both. “Hi, Mr. Robert, Hi, Muse!” He wilts a little as they talk about Joe, 'We couldn’t have stopped him if we tried… he was too fast."

“I think he wants to see for himself… somehow, what’s going on, maybe that’s why he did it?” He suggests, a little awkwardly with a tilt of his head.

Hikaru Suzuki

Walking into a drinking establishment of any kind immediately draws Hikaru’s eyes to the bar - and he can’t conceal his surprise when he sees Robert there. He wouldn’t last a day if this was for real, he thinks to himself, without even the benefit of Robert’s experience in his own projection for evidence.

Still, there’s a clear objective on his mind here, and he only eyes up the saloon singer for a little bit as he makes his way over to the bar.

“Hey~ Any chance of a glass of whiskey?” he asks. That’s what they drink in Westerns, right? He thinks so. “Anything interesting going on in this little town?”

He’s not sure how much they have to play along with the narrative here, so he’s starting out with “as much as possible”.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Ah! Despite his surprise at seeing exactly who is in here, after a moment it starts to make sense to Vincent too. If Joe is in the chair… just like in the first Robert projection, that means the other two could be conscious (…unconscious…?) in here with them too.

“…Hello, Robert, and Robert’s Muse,” Vincent says with a little nod to them both. HIs eyes do linger on the Muse’s saloon singer look for a moment, somewhat interested in the getup they have going on this time. Woah. “Huh. I like the change of outfit, for you. It’s- I mean, it’s fitting obviously for where we are, but you look good??”

…Anyways…….. Vincent clears his throat to look more pointedly at the bartender (Robert) next.

“Uh, for the record, Joe told me he wanted me to come to your next projection, but I didn’t know he was planning on stepping in for it. I know you didn’t ask him to, but he… wanted to, and I heard him saying something right before this started about… wanting to find the truth for himself and both of you, plus everybody you care about, Robert. Because he thinks you’re hiding something from yourself, most of all. I’m not here to judge anything, but… I do wanna help y’all if I can.”

…Maybe being dressed like a cowboy is bringing his southern out a little more.

What that was being hidden tho!!!! Vincent isn’t quite sure, even if he has a loose idea of what topic it’d be related to. But as per usual, he’s trying very hard not to jump to horrid conclusions.

Kaoru Naito

Kaoru fucks with Tatsuko and double finger pistols with arms extended like he’s shooting action movie guns at Vincent. This is so his vibe.

“O-M-G, Robbie-bobby, they plugged ya into th’ Matrix, bro’s part a’ th’ machine! Funny ya recognize us.”

He also two finger salutes the muse. There’s some brain weird occurring for sure. This guy can’t have a normal projection.

Robert McCay

Bow-wow “I think he wants to see for himself… somehow, what’s going on, maybe that’s why he did it?”

“L-Luca… sorry, I know he’s just a kid, but he doesn’t…”

“Doesn’t what?”

“It– it’s complicated, okay?”

Hikaru Suzuki “Hey~ Any chance of a glass of whiskey?” he asks. That’s what they drink in Westerns, right? He thinks so. “Anything interesting going on in this little town?”

“I– I mean probably, but y’might have t’point it out t’me. I don’t drink! As far as stuff happenin’ in town, uh… Take a look at the wall back there, I guess?”

Robert’s a bit too confused right now to be a convincing actor. He gestures to the posters on the wall, though.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell “Huh. I like the change of outfit, for you. It’s- I mean, it’s fitting obviously for where we are, but you look good??”

“Thanks doll~ I didn’t think this green would be my color but it’s growing on me!”

The Muse grins at Vincent and throws a wink Hikaru’s way too. You can’t see it because of the wings, but the energy is there.

Kaoru Naito “O-M-G, Robbie-bobby, they plugged ya into th’ Matrix, bro’s part a’ th’ machine! Funny ya recognize us.”

“Hey Kaoru, uh… yeah, everything feels normal, ‘cept fer not bein’ able t’move much…”

Erin | Vincent Churchwell “Uh, for the record, Joe told me he wanted me to come to your next projection, but I didn’t know he was planning on stepping in for it. I know you didn’t ask him to, but he… wanted to, and I heard him saying something right before this started about… wanting to find the truth for himself and both of you, plus everybody you care about, Robert. Because he thinks you’re hiding something from yourself, most of all. I’m not here to judge anything, but… I do wanna help y’all if I can.”

Robert sighs defeatedly.

“…I dunno how much y’all can do now that it’s gone this far… but thanks, I guess.”

“…”

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru rolls his eyes at Robert. “Half of them probably have ‘whiskey’ written on them, come on… I’ll save you the trouble.” He’s a little too grouchy about being denied his instant gratification to be totally playful, so he just swans over behind the bar like he owns the place and takes a bottle off the shelf.

He takes a swig and screws the cap back on before waving at everyone else, “I’ll take this along for now! Never know when it might be helpful.” Even Tatsuko would be appreciative of that, right? Given how flammable alcohol is?

Now he has his prize, he sits down by the Muse and squints at the posters on the wall - seems like he’s more interested in making small-talk with the singer, though. Kaoru, Vincent and Luca all seem to be kind of familiar with the fact there’s multiple Roberts, so he’s sussing out it’s an established thing…