Jeff was so fine, he made it a point to get up and go about his business like he would any other day. Britta was gone, but he wasn't going to sit and mope about it - refused to. If anything, he thought he ought to be pissed at her for leaving him behind to deal with this place by himself.
Stalking into the kitchen after finding himself too restless to sit around in the rec room, he went and got a mug to pour some coffee in. Knocking into it while making the coffee he was putting together, all he could do was watch it fall and break into three large pieces.
"Damn it," he swore, glaring at the shattered remains like it'd personally broke to piss him off. Gathering what was left of it a few moments later, he went over to the nearest garbage, too distracted to notice it seemed strangely out of place and even a little familiar. In fact, he was barely looking at it at all as he went to swing the top open (perhaps with a little more force than was needed) enough to throw away the remains.
Troy cried out as the trash can lid smacked him right on the forehead.
Okay, so... pain in his face? That was definitely not the signal.
Unless they'd changed it without telling him and formed some kind of alliance within an alliance and were trying to catch him off-guard. Maybe getting him to hide in the trash can had been some kind of trick so that everyone could all ambush him at once.
...paintball was really, really, complicated.
Either way, it was enough of a signal for Troy, and pushed the lid of the trash can away, taking a large, gulping breath of old egg salad sandwich-free air as he readied both of his pistols, pointing them directly at...
One normal day. That was all Jeff wanted. One normal day that didn't involve people he knew disappearing and other people popping randomly out of trash cans.
"Holy crap!" he exclaimed immediately, almost dropping the already broken mug again in surprise. When the shock wore off a moment later, he looked from the guns pointed at him to the person doing the pointing.
A very familiar person.
Confusion immediately crossed his expression. "Troy?"
Abed had been filming the trash can for three and a half minutes.
It had appeared, phased into their reality in no more than a blink of an eye, right in the middle of the bumper car rink. Something brought him to that part of the island, just in time to see it appear, and while, to anyone else, that might have seemed a coincidence, Abed knew it couldn't have been anything but fate.
He stood perfectly still, by the purple bumper car, camera in hand, his face blank, save for a slight narrowing of his eyes.
That wasn't just any trash can.
Turning off the camera and calmly returning it to the bag hanging at his side, Abed walked over to the trashcan and lifted the lid.
His cover was blown. And Troy had been convinced that this was the perfect spot to guard the hallway from-- at least, before the egg salad sandwich.
"There's no one in here! Pay no attention to that voice inside the trash can!" Troy called at first, really hoping that it might work. Except... he knew that voice.
Troy pushed the trash can lid off of the bin, and it landed with a thump on the ground as he took in a gasp of fresh air.
"Abed! I thought you were dead!" he said, before realizing that this wasn't the hallway anymore, "Why... are we in a bumper car rink? Am I dead?"
"No, you're not dead. And I'm not dead," he said, gesturing first to Troy, then to himself. "We've crossed over into an alternate universe. Kind of like Lost. Or Fringe. Or the X-Files. Or Star Trek."
He took a step back from the trash can.
"I think there's a rotten egg sandwich, in there. You should probably get out."
"Yeah, there wasn't a lot of air in there, either," Troy admitted, stepping out of the trash can with some difficulty. It'd been a whole lot easier climbing in.
An alternate universe.
He looked around the bumper car rink for a moment, then back at Abed, frowning.
One thing a body got used to, especially after being on the island, was people and objects appearing out of nowhere. That wasn't to say it wasn't surprising when it happened, but it wasn't exactly unusual. Saffron still started, though, when what looked to be a trash can appeared out of nowhere to the side of the path in front of her as she was walking down to the club.
She stopped in front of it and raised an eyebrow, wondering if it was one of those things where someone was getting something from home. "A trash can. Well, that's a new one," she remarked to the air.
Did somebody know he was in there? Troy had been convinced that this was a good place to hide to guard the hallway, but maybe not, if people were just going to walk up to it and know he was in there.
Still, he had to make sure he got the jump on whoever it was. He was a deputy of the hallway, after all.
"How's this for a new one?" Troy said, pushing the lid off of the trashcan so that he could aim his paintball pistols at the intruder. An intruder who Troy did not expect to see at Greendale. Or... a forest. Or wherever this was.
Something really weird was going on.
For a long moment, he just stared at her, eyes wide.
And then someone jumped out of the trashcan. That was new, too. Saffron's eyes widened in surprise, before her expression settled into one of resigned amusement as the guy simply stared at her. Being gaped at was definitely not new.
"Hi there," she said, a smirk tugging at her lips. "You hang out in trash cans often?"
Troy steadied his pistols, aiming them right at her. This had to be some kind of a trick, right? Some kind of crazy paintball trick where she'd talk to him about the Bible and then kiss him with her poisoned lipstick...
...which might not actually be so bad, if he wasn't really set on winning the giant ice cream cone's money.
"Only about as often as you do," he said. "Don't move. Who are you loyal to? Are you from Fort Hawthrone? Why... is this a forest?"
It was a rather odd thing to come across, sitting beside the path. It wasn't that a rubbish bin wasn't a rather useful thing to have, given that it was good to keep the island clean, but Annie supposed that it would have been made of metal instead of plastic. Perhaps it just looked like plastic. Oh that was absurd.
Walking up to trashcan, she went to flip the lid to see if it did anything special. Half of the things that people came up with around here seemed to do more than one would think.
"How funny." Maybe it lead to a secret passage or something exciting like that. "Where did you come from?"
Maybe it wasn't the signal, but it was good enough for Troy. He half-emerged from the trash can, tossing the lid away so that it landed on the ground with a soft thud, and readied his pistols. It was his duty as a deputy to guard the hallway, even without Shirley's stupid signal that was taking forever.
"From hell! Or maybe that's where you're supposed to see me? Or... I'll see you there later? Either way, you're under arrest." He looked around then, aware that something wasn't quite right. Something beyond his screwing up what should have been a really cool line.
"But first... what... what happened to the hallway?"
Letting out a squeak of surprise, Annie rapidly took a few steps backward. A look of utter surprise was on her face as she stared at the guy who had just popped out of the rubbish bin as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"How long have you been in there?" she asked, unable to stop herself. "And how can I be under arrest? I haven't done anything. I haven't even littered!"
Why she was defending herself to a stranger, she couldn't fathom. It just seemed liked the thing to do when someone was pointing a gun at her. "There's no hallway. You're outside."
"It feels like it was a really, really long time," Troy replied, because he'd obviously passed out or fallen asleep or something. He doesn't think that anyone could be sneaky enough to move his trash can otherwise.
Except for maybe a ninja. This woman didn't look like a ninja, though.
"And you would be under arrest, if this was the hallway. Which it's not. Why is this not the hallway again? Are you a ninja?"
I know there's some sense of an attempt at scenic preservation here, especially around the more heavily populated parts of the island, but finding a grey recycling bin in the middle of the jungle seems a bit off. I pause on the path when I spot it. Really, I have no reason to go over and examine it- it's a trash can.
Still, I deviate from the path, frowning a little. I consider taking it back to the compound, but if someone left it out here purposefully-
Is anyone even using it? Still frowning curiously, I absently pull the lid off with one hand.
Troy's cover was blown. Maybe, in looking for a good spot to guard the hallway from, he'd forgotten that somebody might eventually need to throw something away.
Though, there was paint everywhere and stuff on the ground anyway, so... why?
Still, when the lid came off of the trash can, he sprung into action, pointing his paintball pistols at the intruder. He had a hallway to guard.
"Freeze! You're under a-- why are you Johnny Storm...?" Troy said, trailing off.
"I'm afraid you're confused, son," I tell him, taking in the paintball pistols and vaguely accurate, in a Hollywood studio picture kind of way, western costume. Very confused.
"I'll ask the questions here," Troy replied, keeping his pistols steady. It was really awkward, considering he was still in the trash can. "Do you even go to this school?"
He didn't look armed for a paintball battle. Then again, this didn't look like the hallway either. Something really weird was going on.
Comments 64
Jeff was so fine, he made it a point to get up and go about his business like he would any other day. Britta was gone, but he wasn't going to sit and mope about it - refused to. If anything, he thought he ought to be pissed at her for leaving him behind to deal with this place by himself.
Stalking into the kitchen after finding himself too restless to sit around in the rec room, he went and got a mug to pour some coffee in. Knocking into it while making the coffee he was putting together, all he could do was watch it fall and break into three large pieces.
"Damn it," he swore, glaring at the shattered remains like it'd personally broke to piss him off. Gathering what was left of it a few moments later, he went over to the nearest garbage, too distracted to notice it seemed strangely out of place and even a little familiar. In fact, he was barely looking at it at all as he went to swing the top open (perhaps with a little more force than was needed) enough to throw away the remains.
Reply
Okay, so... pain in his face? That was definitely not the signal.
Unless they'd changed it without telling him and formed some kind of alliance within an alliance and were trying to catch him off-guard. Maybe getting him to hide in the trash can had been some kind of trick so that everyone could all ambush him at once.
...paintball was really, really, complicated.
Either way, it was enough of a signal for Troy, and pushed the lid of the trash can away, taking a large, gulping breath of old egg salad sandwich-free air as he readied both of his pistols, pointing them directly at...
"Jeff?"
Reply
"Holy crap!" he exclaimed immediately, almost dropping the already broken mug again in surprise. When the shock wore off a moment later, he looked from the guns pointed at him to the person doing the pointing.
A very familiar person.
Confusion immediately crossed his expression. "Troy?"
Reply
"Something really weird is going on here."
First of all, someone had moved his trashcan to somewhere not the hallway, and secondly, Jeff wasn't wearing his hat anymore.
Troy wondered what he'd done with it.
Reply
It had appeared, phased into their reality in no more than a blink of an eye, right in the middle of the bumper car rink. Something brought him to that part of the island, just in time to see it appear, and while, to anyone else, that might have seemed a coincidence, Abed knew it couldn't have been anything but fate.
He stood perfectly still, by the purple bumper car, camera in hand, his face blank, save for a slight narrowing of his eyes.
That wasn't just any trash can.
Turning off the camera and calmly returning it to the bag hanging at his side, Abed walked over to the trashcan and lifted the lid.
"Hey, Troy. You can come out, now."
Reply
"There's no one in here! Pay no attention to that voice inside the trash can!" Troy called at first, really hoping that it might work. Except... he knew that voice.
Troy pushed the trash can lid off of the bin, and it landed with a thump on the ground as he took in a gasp of fresh air.
"Abed! I thought you were dead!" he said, before realizing that this wasn't the hallway anymore, "Why... are we in a bumper car rink? Am I dead?"
Reply
He took a step back from the trash can.
"I think there's a rotten egg sandwich, in there. You should probably get out."
Reply
An alternate universe.
He looked around the bumper car rink for a moment, then back at Abed, frowning.
"Paintball is really complicated this year."
Reply
She stopped in front of it and raised an eyebrow, wondering if it was one of those things where someone was getting something from home. "A trash can. Well, that's a new one," she remarked to the air.
Reply
Still, he had to make sure he got the jump on whoever it was. He was a deputy of the hallway, after all.
"How's this for a new one?" Troy said, pushing the lid off of the trashcan so that he could aim his paintball pistols at the intruder. An intruder who Troy did not expect to see at Greendale. Or... a forest. Or wherever this was.
Something really weird was going on.
For a long moment, he just stared at her, eyes wide.
Reply
"Hi there," she said, a smirk tugging at her lips. "You hang out in trash cans often?"
Reply
...which might not actually be so bad, if he wasn't really set on winning the giant ice cream cone's money.
"Only about as often as you do," he said. "Don't move. Who are you loyal to? Are you from Fort Hawthrone? Why... is this a forest?"
Reply
Walking up to trashcan, she went to flip the lid to see if it did anything special. Half of the things that people came up with around here seemed to do more than one would think.
"How funny." Maybe it lead to a secret passage or something exciting like that. "Where did you come from?"
Reply
"From hell! Or maybe that's where you're supposed to see me? Or... I'll see you there later? Either way, you're under arrest." He looked around then, aware that something wasn't quite right. Something beyond his screwing up what should have been a really cool line.
"But first... what... what happened to the hallway?"
Reply
"How long have you been in there?" she asked, unable to stop herself. "And how can I be under arrest? I haven't done anything. I haven't even littered!"
Why she was defending herself to a stranger, she couldn't fathom. It just seemed liked the thing to do when someone was pointing a gun at her. "There's no hallway. You're outside."
Reply
Except for maybe a ninja. This woman didn't look like a ninja, though.
"And you would be under arrest, if this was the hallway. Which it's not. Why is this not the hallway again? Are you a ninja?"
Reply
Still, I deviate from the path, frowning a little. I consider taking it back to the compound, but if someone left it out here purposefully-
Is anyone even using it? Still frowning curiously, I absently pull the lid off with one hand.
Reply
Though, there was paint everywhere and stuff on the ground anyway, so... why?
Still, when the lid came off of the trash can, he sprung into action, pointing his paintball pistols at the intruder. He had a hallway to guard.
"Freeze! You're under a-- why are you Johnny Storm...?" Troy said, trailing off.
Reply
"I'm Steve Rogers. And you're in a trash can."
Reply
He didn't look armed for a paintball battle. Then again, this didn't look like the hallway either. Something really weird was going on.
Reply
Leave a comment