voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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A New Platform [Intro Post February]

On the Train

Three days after the Voidtreckers return to the void after their adventures on the biosphere world, they are awoken by a familiar announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day Sixteen of the month of Jelly. Points have been updated on the system."

They have indeed, and everyone can spend the morning shopping. Those who have been on the train for a while will also be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." A lurch and a jolt and the windows fill with the fog that means they are at a platform. The fog seems thicker than usual and as they step out onto the platform they will find it is cold, very cold. Icy fog sticks to their clothing, makes it hard to see very far; the atmosphere is dark and gloomy.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Alexis Rhodes, Elfnein, Itsuki Myoudouin, Ken Ichijouji, MT, Neku Sakuraba, Nike Lemercier, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Rainbow Dash, Rei Saotome, Taichi Yagami, Tsubomi Hanasaki, Yuri Tsukikage and Zechs Merquise all pass through the platform, not looking back before they disappear through the barriers and into the fog beyond.

But on the platform itself there are new faces. Wearing hoodies in all four colours, in various states of confusion.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam, billowing around them as they come to their senses. As their eyes adjust, they will see they are on a platform, glass and dark stone rising in sturdy arches around them. Behind them is a set of barriers, and in front of them is a single track extending both ways into thick fog.

They are standing, in clothes that are not their own and a style they might not even recognise. They are carrying a rucksack on their back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze; then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large with sixteen figures scattered around, all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. To both the left and right, tracks disappear into the mist. Then there is a roaring sound and out of the fog arrives a train. Jet black with gold writing on the side. The Voidtrecker Express. There is a hiss as the doors slide open and out step a strange assortment of people. Some are human, some are less so. Most are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple, though some are sporting different clothes in a variety of styles.

The Train

After a short time, the doors hiss open again. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there's anywhere else to go and even if there was, you feel a pull. A need to board, a feeling that staying on the platform would lead to something terrible. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

Each ICP shows the same message and next to the screens there are stacks of leaflets written by those on the train, with further information (see
'Publications'). The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, including several crates of avocados, the ingredient of the month of Jelly, as well as all sundries.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags.

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

Room is tight but there are storage cubbies at the head of each bed, beds fold up and the bottom bunks double as benches for the small table. There is storage under those benches full of spare blankets and pillows.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers braving the freezing fog, and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, but they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view again as it picks up speed.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express." A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. "Please take the time to read the passenger information displayed on the Information and Communication points and familiarise yourself with the layout and emergency exits."

The train begins to tilt, leaving the ground and rising up into the fog-filled sky.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated. Entry into Voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

A shudder, a jolt, a lurch to the left. A flash of light, colourful and blinding. As quick as it happens it is done. The train seems to steady itself. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever-changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

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The snarl is absolutely not what Prisoner was expecting and he took a step back in surprise as she jabbed his dead chest. It's times like these Prisoner wish he had a face so that she could see the pure confusion: he hadn't meant to left and he had no recollection of doing so. When he arrived it was she who had left... But he knew she was being honest and she had the right of it.

He tried to sign that he didn't mean to leave, he didn't even remember it, but he was swallowed up in a hug - barely having time for his flame to nearly extinguish to prevent her from catching on fire. The flame ignited as again as she pushed him back and pointed, and he simply nodded at at the threat.

He loves you too, Renee.

The flame nearly extinguished again and he hugged her back this time, less surprised. It's a tight hug, the kind where your friend grips the back of your shirt and doesn't want to let go. He'd missed her, holy shit. He'd made a new friend but they weren't the same.

When they eventually did let go, he started to sign at her excitedly, the motions rapid but with a precision that made it legible. He explained that he hadn't realized he'd gone, that he was on platform and she was gone, and he hated it, and he was glad she was back, and he asked where she'd gone, and if she had a good trip, and why she was so grumpy?? She wasn't normally so grumpy! And.... he forced himself to stop so she could respond, but he's got this tension to him that illustrates he's just excited and happy for her to be back.

"I don't know," she replies to most of Prisoner's questions. "Last thing I remember is walking off the train and that's hazy...and then waking up here again. So if I had a trip, I hope it was good." But for some reason, Renee doubts it.

As for why she was grumpy...she shook her head a little. "I'll tell you later." Probably. Maybe. Things were fine now, so she wasn't gonna wreck their happy reunion with junk like that. Screw that guy anyway!

"Do you remember where you went? 'Cause it was you and Spinel who left first...she hasn't been back, though. Not that I remember. Neither were you."

Not that she's really sure of all the old faces who were gone now. Some? Their absence was a relief. Others? She's sort of sad about that. Maybe more than a little, but she won't let on. She just reaches out to pat his shoulder in an attempt to encourage him. Keep talking, buddy.

"So you've been back a bit? What happened?"

The fact that Renee remembered leaving was more than Prisoner remembered about his own departure, but not knowing the rest? That seemed about on par. He hoped that wherever they went when they left the train was somewhere at least not bad, since they apparently weren't allowed to go home. Or maybe they did go home and just didn't remember it? That didn't really reassure him much either.

"I don't even remember leaving. I was standing on the platform and it was like just a few hours before I was with you and Spinel doing chores." There's a hesitation. "It was a huge shock to find out five months had passed and I'd somehow simply lost that time, coupled with you and Spinel and Tony all gone."

The last questions get him going with renewed vigor.

"I came on last platform, so two weeks. In that time..." And he signs about the people he's met that's new, as well as some of the people he already knew. He explains some of the things the passengers had learned about the train and how, for example, it seems to add things based on request, as well as some details about the Void Ministry. He signs briefly about the mission but doesn't go into much depth, but he ultimately stops mid-sentence and grows very excited, clasping one of her hands for just a second, then signing eagerly:

"You'll be proud of me: I made another friend."

Wait. She'd seen Prisoner sign, but at first the words didn't gel in her head. He...made a friend?

Well, that wasn't exactly the first time he'd made a friend besides her--there was a reason that Team Fandango had existed, and she wasn't the only part of it--he'd come after her and made sure she was okay when Renee had chased Spinel down that day.

"You did?" she asked, after a few moments. "Frickin' sweet, you need to introduce me to them! Did you meet them on platform or something? What're they like?"

It's true: this wasn't the first time he made a friend. He made friends with Renee and with Spinel - had a squad and everything - but outside of Renee herself this was the first friend he'd made all on his own. He and Renee only really meshed because they were both very similar people. Prisoner started to excitedly sign.

"Met them on platform day! They were staring out the window and warned them not to do that, then talked about how I guess someone like them were here once, and then we fought! They're really good." He really emphasizes the really part. "Their name is Soldat." He finger spells the name slowly. He still hasn't quite come up with a name sign for them yet.

"Come on, let's find them and I'll introduce you." He takes her hand and starts pulling her in a direction down the train. At some point he starts walking backwards and starts to excitedly talk about the fight between them, explaining that it had pushed Prisoner to the point he had to use his powers because of how skilled they were. This is kind of an intermittent conversation as they make their way down the train, with Prisoner occasionally spinning around to make sure he's not about to walk into someone (even though he knows that Renee would warn him).

Eventually: "Will you translate for me? Writing is tedious."

They eventually find Soldat in a place on the train and Prisoner would get their attention - be it from waving or from summoning his spear to tap the ground behind Soldat to get their attention. Yes, he's noticed you aren't a fan of being touched.

Prisoner looks to Renee, then points to Soldat. That's his explanation that this is the guy.

Someone like them was here once? She's not sure she gets that part, but Renee allows herself to be dragged. Prisoner is also 100% right; if he were about to bump into another train denizen, she would warn him--or grab him, because they're close like that. Mostly she just listens with a smile on her face--it's doubtful that Renee has ever seen him this excited, outside of when they were on a mission and kicking butt together. It's both kind of cute, and really nice. No wonder Prisoner was so proud!

She snorts when he asks if she'll translate for him--she knows he's not always thrilled with how long writing takes. "Duh," she tells him with an accompanying snort. As if he really had to ask--maybe just to clue her in.

When they come into view, it all makes sense. Ooh. That's what Prisoner meant. She knew the former version, but they were only passingly friends, so Renee gives the big man an upnod. "Soldat, is it?" She does offer a hand only because it's polite, but if he doesn't accept, she'll make fingerguns at him. She's only a year or so out of teenagerhood, and it shows. "I'm Renee Corbin."

Soldat is, predictably, in the kitchen car mixing up some cookie dough in the hopes of offering something sweet to the newbies. (And ourselves. Because we've had a long fucking day already and we deserve it. ~~Yum.~~)

They're very rarely unobservant enough of their surroundings not to notice someone new coming into their car, though, so they note Prisoner, and look up at his wave, and offer a little smile. Compared to the previous Bucky, their hair is longer, they almost never make eye contact, and their expression somewhat more restrained. There's also an old WW2-style lantern sitting on the counter, and next to it a little glowing ghost figurine. That floats. Yes, it is probably haunted.

They set the mixing spoon down, wipe their hands on a kitchen towel, and do in fact take Renee's hand for a single, careful shake before stepping back again. "Hi. Yeah, Soldat." They look between Prisoner and Renee with some vague polite curiosity visible in their expression. Prisoner looks all but bouncy and Renee knew their name already, so. "Am I right in guessing. You two know each other?"

(OOC: Given the kind of complexity of the communication in this thread anything that's in dialogue will be automatically translated by Renee for Soldat, whereas things that are described and marked as for Renee I'll leave to Renee to choose if she tells Soldat.)

The ghost figurine is definitely new and Prisoner is, for a moment, distracted by it. It's cute, it's a little unsettling, but if it's Soldat's it's probably okay. He wondered if it was one of the spirits that were at least not aggressive that they had talked about prior.

But, yes, that's what he meant. Prisoner nodded to Soldat's question, confirming that Prisoner knew Renee. He started signing, with Renee translating.

"Yes, Renee was my first friend here. Not sure why she puts up with me, but she does." A pause in the signs, then he continues. "We both seem to have the ability to pick good company." A compliment to everyone involved.

When Prisoner gets to "I don't know why she puts up with me, but she does," Renee snickers and decides to respond to that with song.

"I like that you're broken, broken like me," she sings for a moment, in a surprisingly decent voice, but then she just shrugs and speaks normally. "That's about it, really. That, and I guess I've seen weirder in my time." Because yeah, Prisoner is kind of weird, but he's okay despite all that in Renee's book.

"He's not my first friend here, but right now, he's got the title of Best Friend Here. And he was super proud when he said he'd made a new friend, so I had to meet the new guy." But she laughs at that, so it's all in fun.

Soldat perks up, and sings the second line after her, "Maybe that makes me a fool." Their own voice is pleasant, practiced, but in an amateur "sings along with the radio all the damn time" kind of way. "I know that song."

Frankly, Soldat has had weirder friends, too. The one with the owl head, the floating purple cat person, the one who kind of looked like a hairless horse... spirits in Beacon are weird. They look... kind of bashful, a little bit, at the description of Prisoner's insistence in meeting his "new friend", but pleased. "Good. I get the feeling the guy needs more friends. We gotta teach you more things to do for fun than fighting, buddy."

Prisoner doesn't know any song these two could possibly reference, but it always tickled him whenever Renee sang. It was one of his favorite things - that she was comfortable enough to do it, and that she didn't have a bad voice was a bonus. Soldat joining in was also a pleasant surprise. He thought they might get along and, well, things seemed okay, at least.

At the mention of needing more friends Prisoner let his body sag as if Soldat were chastising a teenager. It doesn't last long as he signs to Renee with an excited cheeriness.

"Who needs more friends when the best company's right here?" And to Renee he made a small heart with his hands before he continued to sign. "Fighting's the perfect fun! It's a good workout, uses energy, something to do, very engaging..." He sort of threw his hands up in an almost shrug, turning to Soldat as if to ask: what else is there?

Back home, Renee had a friend who was a floating brain. Hey, Martha couldn't help that people literally cut her out of her body and sold it to people who wanted mutant parts. At least she was still alive...

Though she has to snort at Prisoner again, a little. "I guess you guys better give me pointers, then. You know I'm not much for finesse." Yeah, Prisoner sure does! He's had to deal with that in the past.

"I'm used to dealing more with my powers," she explains to Soldat, a bit sheepishly. She doesn't expect them to just know, even if they came from similar worlds. "I'm what they call a mutant, I have an extra piece of genetic code or something, I guess, and I'm stronger than your average person and I can do stuff with kinetic energy." Stuff. It wasn't a very good explanation, but it was probably easier to show them, than tell them. At least not without taking a detour to the gym.

Prisoner you're a floating fiery crystal on a dead body, you really shouldn't be so cute. Soldat is kind of looking at him like he's cute, though. "Yeah? I'm enhanced, though I don't know the details." They're not even going to question the idea of mutants. They're a supersoldier assassin who used to know a floating cat person and a wide array of spirits. Each world is different. "No powers. Just strength, speed, and healing factor. But my favorite person in my last place was a witch, so you don't need to worry that I'll have a problem with it." She sounds kind of apologetic, which means they have to reassure her.

For Prisoner they add, "And you. There's other things besides fighting." There's only one that they think Prisoner would immediately enjoy, based on those traits: "Dancing is better than fighting, I'd say."

To Renee's comment about finesse Prisoner seems to almost vibrate out of amusement, quickly signing to her something along the lines of him having shit all for finesse as well. Prisoner was clumsy at best, haphazard. He was able to do what he needed but Soldat had certainly humbled him.

He had nothing to really add on the conversation of powers and both knew at least some of his own truth, so he felt no need to particularly interject for everyone to know, but to Renee in response to her sheepishness he gently nudged her. It was an encouraging nudge, as if she had nothing to to be apologetic for. She was great the way she was.

"Dancing's for people who are first of all: alive, second of all: attached to a head and not a fireball." There's a pause, then he continues. "Two left feet, body's a corpse and gross, all that."

"Might do something for dexterity though," Renee mused. "I mean Soldat's offering, sounds like. And you know I don't really give a shit about the rest." At least in regards to the 'body's a corpse and gross' stuff regarding Prisoner. Wasn't like he could help that--if he could, he would.

"I dunno, if you're offering teaching, I probably would accept. Not like you'd be out to embarrass me or anything. You don't seem like the type." She'd had the type before, and Renee wanted little to nothing to do with those.

"Prisoner. I'm dead, too. Remember?" Soldat says dryly. "And I've got this hunk of junk hanging off my shoulder. If I can manage, you can manage, I promise." Anyone who can fight, can dance, of this they are sure. Anyone who can make such complex signs with their hands can dance. He just needs to be taught the steps. "If you're that worried about being gross, we'll just feed you up a little first, but you know I don't care." They're still working on trying to find some kind of food or fuel that will actually be interesting for Prisoner to consume, and have frankly probably made him eat a variety of weird food experiments by now.

They hadn't immediately considered teaching despite bringing it up, but you know what, now they are. "I will absolutely figure out a good place to teach people dancing around here. And you're both invited."

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A New Platform [Intro Post February]

apparently jack ruins all relationships

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