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

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Vincent goes very, very still as Tatsuko yells, so much that you could likely swear he were a statue for a moment. But, seeing things work out just fine… He continues on to handcuff the guy anyhow. …He does feel kind of bad, not even knowing what this guy had done or was if he was even really a bad dude, but a handcuffing was nothing compared to the other sorts of things a projection could be wanting them to do, he reasons.

The film after, though…

…What the heck was all that about, anyways? It’s puzzling to see a memory or a… vision or whatever in these things and have NO idea what the context was. Well… maybe he’ll find out later.

The man is Gone after, though, so Vincent looks over the calendar for a minute with a frown, before turning to the others.

“Well… that’s one down, I suppose. Guess we should keep heading car to car or something?”

He does kinda wanna poke in a look at that bird anyways though, if only briefly. Bird…..

Robert McCay

Erin | Vincent Churchwell He does kinda wanna poke in a look at that bird anyways though, if only briefly. Bird…..

The bird underneath the fabric looks to be a wooden toy bluebird rather than an actual animal. Sorry Vincent.

—

The next car you encounter is an empty restaurant car. Towards the end is a small bar with a few stools anchored to the wooden floor. Sitting on top of one of them is a scruffy-looking bandit with a black hat and an orange bandana. He’s got two beer mugs out on the counter…

“So the law’s on our tail, huh? Y’all must be a real tricksy bunch if ya made it past Long Weekend Mike…”

The man grins devilishly.

“Now I realize I’m on the back boot here! But Glass-em George, he doesn’t go down without a fight, or at least a little fun!” He leans over and stage whispers to Luca. “Glass-em George is me.” He sits back up.

“So here’s what I tells ya. I’ll turn myself in all peaceful-like… If! And only if! Ya beat me in a drinkin’ contest. Sound fair?”

He gestures to the seat beside him and pours both mugs full of some indeterminate booze from behind the counter. Who will be his challenger?

Kaoru Naito

Damn there’s memories in here. That’s fine, he’s thinking about it…. In the next traincar, Kaoru grins so big and hits Hikaru on the back really hard and says, “You, youuu, you do it!”

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru wouldn’t need the encouragement to take the offer of a drink. If anything the over-enthusiastic thwack on his back from Kaoru makes him yelp and doubt himself for a moment.

Only a moment, though, because he smirks and sidles up alongside Glass-em George at the bar. “Go on, then. I think you’ll find you’ve met your match.”

Robert McCay

Hikaru glances more closely at the drink in front of him. Its contents are… uh… a sickly green. There’s a white powder dusted all over the inside and edge of the cup. You get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, not everything about this drinking competition is on the up-and-up.

“Gehahaha! Wha’s the matter? Lost yer nerve alla sudden?”

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Vincent not very subtly mouths the word ‘Poison’ at Hikaru……… Be careful dude

Kaoru Naito

Kaoru mouths un-subtly, ‘drink it’ and gives two thumbs ups.

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru glares at Vincent. Does he REALLY think he’s that stupid!! He’s thirsty, not blind… he glares even MORE at Kaoru.

Then he turns the glare on Glass-em George. “Are you kidding? Are you trying to roofie me? I only drink something I’ve poured myself, thanks.”

Robert McCay

The man breaks out in sweat so suddenly he looks like a cartoon.

“Uh… No? That’s, like, poison, right? Why would I do that?! No, haha it’s toooootally not poison. Watch this—”

Glass-em George picks up the suspicious drink and seems to swallow a mouthful… but it’s definitely just spilling down his shirt on the other side.

“Uhhhh… hahaha…”

Realizing his sleight of hand isn’t fooling anyone, he seems to think to himself… just a little won’t hurt, right? His everpresent smile twists a bit as he slowly, shakily, forces the rim of the glass to his lips. Just a little…

At first, nothing seems to happen. The man even manages a short laugh— before his eyes go wide, his body siezes up, and he collapses on the counter with foam dripping from his mouth.

…Guess there’s nothing stopping you from handcuffing him now?

Bow-wow

Luca takes the opportunity and quickly slaps the handcuffs on Ol’ Glass ’em George! His gaze is drawn to the remainder of the drink on the counter, and he… ponders.

If he’s being honest, this group has him feeling antsy- as fun as the outfit is, and catching the bad guys, he’s definitively worried about Joe outside of the projection. That, and he’s not sure he can bear to be in the same place as Kaoru especially any longer with his… general ability to make light of tragic circumstances. He’d be more useful preparing something for Joe and Co. On the outside. Maybe bothering Akemi or Suzune for their assistance.

Picking up the glass, he downs the rest of the very clearly poison with zero explanation or reasoning.

Robert McCay

A surly man with a grizzled jaw and a voice made for the movies snatches a drink off the tray you’re holding. He mutters something about those two-faced bitches at the premiere and how no one knows how to pour a damn whiskey anymore. You nod along silently and retreat through the doorway.

…Almost. You stop on the other side of the door and press your eye to the narrow gap with a sense of grim but eager determination.

The man sits down on a luxurious recliner in front of the fireplace and takes a sip. And another. He doesn’t seem to notice anything wrong as he settles back into the dark brown upholstery… Then there’s that telltale cough, the choking on his spit, and the delicate cling of his glass as it falls from his hands, spilling the tainted liquid across the wooden floor.

He’ll never stand up again.

Satisfied with your work, you start to turn away… but then you hear a voice, from the darkness of the far corner of that room.

“Pa— father? No… John.”

Out of the darkness steps that sweet but troubled son of his, Robert McCay. You want to cry out to stop him, but your voice dries up in fear when you see the glint of his loaded shotgun.

“I think y’know why I’m doin’ what I’m about to do. I’d say I’m sorry it’s come to this, but…” He laughs bitterly. “…You ain’t even listenin’, are ya? Ha… Too fuckin’ drunk off your ass! Or just… not worth it. I know that’s what y’think of me…”

Your only saving grace is he never works up the nerve to look his old man in the eye. He says his piece, with sobs and screams and snarls, entirely from behind that chair, with the barrel of his gun lined up precisely behind the headrest. It’s heartbreaking and invasive, but you have to see it through.

After one last wail for his father to turn around and face him already, you know the end is near. The cold fury in Robert’s voice says it all.

“…This is how y’want it, huh? Alright. See ya in hell.”

There’s an ear-shattering BANG as the recliner erupts with blood and scraps of foam.

Still reeling from the deafening sound, you find your footing in the train again. Glass-em George is gone, as well as the two beer mugs— in his place, you find a whiskey glass lying on its side, mostly empty but still dripping booze onto the bar stool.

Luca… seems to be gone, too. Hopefully he’s alright on the outside.

Nothing left to do but press forward.

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru immediately rolls his eyes at the bandit. His next thought had been to swap their drinks, or fake a sip of his own, but it seems he didn’t even have to try.

Luca’s next action isn’t one he expected at all, though, and he’s about to raise a hand to stop him when the vision starts.

…He realises that he thinks that vision was through someone else’s eyes. Someone had watched Robert kill his father. Or… hm. That reminds him! Is Luca okay?

“…What the hell was that for? Where did he go?” The beer mugs are gone, so he can’t even inspect them - he does take the whiskey glass, though, and gives it a sniff. He has enough self-restraint to not try and drink it himself…

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Despite himself, and despite knowing the side here isn’t actually Real, Vincent feels deep concern as he sees Glass ‘em George take a sip from what’s clearly poison and collapse. He starts to move towards him to check his vitals, perhaps instinctively, before seeing Luca pick up that poisoned glass, and…

No no no no no NO NO NO-

There’s a vision happening- He… recognizes some of it, similarities to what he’s seen before and what Robert’s told him before, but with more parts of it he doesn’t know of Robert even knows about. The shotgun firing again leaves his ears ringing, which certainly doesn’t help his nerves or feeling of panic.

As soon they’re out of the vision again, Vincent soon finds himself on the ground, hyperventilating as he looks frantically around for Luca.

“Where- Where’s Luca. Did he really… just…”

Why why why WHY.

He knows Luca should be fine, should be alive in reality. But the last time something like this had happened…. Ellie had been…

“Please don’t mess with it. Please… stay safe,” he whispers quietly between labored breathing as he squeezes his eyes shut, as if in prayer more than anything as he tries hard to get ahold of himself.

It’s hard not to feel like this is his fault, just like Luca sticking his hand in that void had been. He just really, really hopes there won’t be worse consequences at the end of this projection too.

Robert McCay

Hikaru Suzuki The beer mugs are gone, so he can’t even inspect them - he does take the whiskey glass, though, and gives it a sniff.

He can’t pin down what, exactly, but something definitely smells off.

—

The next car you board appears to be a sleeper car… that’s as much as you can gather before the lights go out.

You’d think there’d be at least a little sunlight from the cracks in the windows, but the entire car is pitch black. The darkness feels so musty and cloying, it almost sticks to your skin. Could one of those bandits really be lurking here? If only you had a little more light…

Hikaru Suzuki

Hikaru wrinkles his nose at the dregs of the whiskey and decides against trying them for himself. Especially when he sees how distressed Vincent looks…

“…We can’t do anything about it now. Let’s just get through this quick and hope he’s okay,” he says simply, but not unsympathetically.

The oppressive atmosphere in here makes him grimace. “…This is probably some kind of metaphor about ‘shedding light on things’,” he says, like a man raised on bad movie one-liners would. He blunders about for a window to open.

Robert McCay

Hikaru Suzuki He blunders about for a window to open.

The light from the now open window fades supernaturally quick, as if you’re trapped in a thick black fog. It barely illuminates the cot in front of you…

…and the pale, foul-smelling skeleton lying underneath its covers. Nothing moves, at least, but the sight is unsettling.

Outside the window, all you see is the desert horizon passing by.

Kaoru Naito

“I just woke up when I disappeared ’fore,” Kaoru mentions to calm anyone down on Bow-wow being evaporated outside. It should be fine as long as he isn’t doing anything tricky (which, Kaoru doubts he is).

If the others open windows, he’ll pitch in and open some. He kind of likes the darkness though, likes how weird it feels.

“Feelin’ like claaaassic Dead Man Doug set up, yeah?”

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

To Kaoru’s reassurance, he gives a couple slow nods as he catches his breath.

“Yeah… yeah, he should be… okay after, at least.” And hopefully he continued being okay. It was alright, it would all be alright. He hopes, anyways.

Eventually… despite being shaky still, Vincent gets himself up from the floor and through the next door. The darkness in here is… nice. He likes the dark.

…The skeleton once Hikaru opens a window is a little less nice, but whatever, at least it’s not bloody. For the smell at least, Vincent raises his bandana over his nose to block it out, and steps forward to the other windows to start opening some up too.

Robert McCay

Working together (except for Hikaru), you open all six windows on the car, struggling not to breathe in the fumes of death. When you do, the entire car brightens just a bit… enough to make out a tall, skinny man in a black suit standing in the center of the corridor. He wasn’t there before, was he?

“…Persistent, aren’t you?”

His voice is dark and frail. The hat and sickly yellow bandana mark him as a member of Rainy Day Jane’s gang…. Yup, classic Dead Man Doug. Only his eyes move as he scans the room.

“If y’all feel this is the right thing t’do… I won’t stand in yer way. But don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

With that, he goes silent as the grave. He doesn’t move to aid or harm you, but to put him in cuffs, you’ll need to reach for him yourself.

Erin | Vincent Churchwell

Vincent doesn’t get spooked by there being a man here now, only offering a nod towards him at first.

“I suppose we are, yes. I… am not sure if this is right, truly, but I’m not sure what else we can really do.” A pause. “…What has your gang done, to be wanted in the first place? And what do you have to do with Joe or Robert…?”

Ignoring the skeletons in the room, of course. That uh… probably happened after whatever wanted business came before.

Vincent is clean out of handcuffs anyways, so he looks to the others in the group for that. It was up to them to make it happen.

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