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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Taiki was also wearing his black coat, the one Lea had bought him, it was good against the cold and today it was sorely needed. He had watched the people leave silently, remembering their names, hopefully he would be able to paint some later.

The hope was different, unusual from Xion but the terror made him move towards her, looking around for the threat. But Xion wasn't running away, wasn't hiding. Instead she was running towards someone...

Someone in a black coat. Taiki moved through the crowd until he was at her side. She was terrified. Absolutely terrified but she stood between the person and... everyone else.

He stepped next to her, watching warily. Unsure of what was happening here.

He started at the sudden arrival of someone in a black coat, barring his path. The height immediately narrowed the list of possibilities, none of them people he felt immediately threatened by, but a more focused look was all he needed for positive identification. He would know one of his Replicas anywhere, and he couldn't sense Xehanort's cloying darkness within her. Xion, his dear creation...no, his dear child that he had never gotten to meet, now properly in control of herself.

In control of herself and, from her posture, furious with him. Well, he could hardly blame her. He had created her to be a tool, then left her in Xemnas' care without a thought as to what might happen to her as a result. She had been his prized creation, yes, but ultimately nothing more than an experiment. A prototype to be put through its paces. Would he have changed that opinion, on learning she'd developed a will of her own? He wasn't sure. He doubted it, and surely anyone she asked would have told her he wouldn't have.

He took a step back, hands held low in a gesture of passivity. He didn't meet her gaze, though it would still be clear that his eyes were the same yellow-gold as Saix, Xigbar, and Xemnas himself.

"Xion, dear child...you have undeniably suffered for my negligence, but I am afraid I cannot allow you to bar me from seeking answers as to what is going on here."

She registered Taiki's arrival, sliding slightly between him and Vexen. Not that she knew who exactly Vexen was. But at his words her shoulders went back, and since that sounded like a threat, out came the Keyblade as she braced for a fight.

She was TERRIFIED. None of it showed, but Taiki would feel it. "I will not let you hurt anyone here," she said, keeping her Keyblade steady, eyes alert under her hood and ready - she hoped - for whatever attack he might throw.

"Xion!"

He had no idea what was happening, but the man, whoever he was, was not acting violently, his hands were low and his voice was not angry. But Xion... She drew her weapon regardless.

She would feel a flood of fear, of sorrow, of nervousness, of extreme discomfort of being so close to a weapon.

"Please... Let's listen to him first." His eyes flickered to the man, nervous but determined. "He is not armed."

He stepped back at the sight of the Keyblade, shoulders tilted and one arm forward as though braced to catch an attack on it. He didn't want to draw Frozen Pride on the girl, and might well have allowed her a barehanded strike if she needed to take her anger out on him, but he wasn't fool enough to let her attack him with that weapon. If she moved to swing, he might well have to manifest his shield.

"Please, child, do as he advises. I have no wish to fight, you of all people!"

The emotions that hit her - not that she knew that was what they were - staggered her, but she fought to hold her ground. "We can make our weapons appear," she told Taiki, watching Vexen warily, shaking from all the odd... whatever it was.. in with her terror.

But he had said her of all people. Why? Her shoulders tensed as she watched him. "Why do you call me that?" she asked, fighting to keep her Keyblade steady.

Oh he was like Xion and Lea, held a weapon that could not be seen. Still, he had not drawn it. He was not the one brandishing a keyblade. That was Xion.

Taiki stepped forward, stepping around Xion to stand between her and the man. Outwardly he is perfectly calm, though Xion can probably feel his fear, perhaps if she is aware enough she may realise it is as much towards her as it is towards the man.

"Is this someone who has hurt you, Xion?"

Having someone between him and Xion was something of a relief, but he knew full well how easily she could get around someone if she wanted to. He didn't shift from his defensive stance, eyes still fixed on Xion.

"Because regardless of your power, you are still a child."

One hand left her Keyblade to grab Taiki's sleeve, trying to pull him behind her. "He's from the Organization," she said to Taiki, which should explain it all. Her fear spiking when she said the final word. Then she spoke to Vexen though her eyes and never left him. "Not that," she snapped.

It did explain a lot, he tensed slightly but he didn't move... Alright he stumbled slightly when she first pulled at him, he is much lighter than a human after all. But he stood his ground, between them both.

His eyes stayed on the man as Xion spoke. He understood what she was asking and if he was from the organisation...

"What are you-" Oh. Oh. If he'd had blood, it would have been boiling. Even with a pale shade of a heart, the anger that flooded through him was blinding. He had known Xion couldn't have been treated well, but of course she, as a Replica, had been subject to even more gaslighting and manipulation than the rest of them.

His hands balled into fists, and he forced himself to take a deep breath to calm down. Even so, a cold draft radiated from him in the already chill air, and the fear in his posture melted away as he stood to his full height.

"I am a traitor to the Organization." He spat the name, unable to contain his loathing for the group. "Though now I wonder if I was too merciful in merely aiding their enemies."

She kept trying to get Taiki behind her, especially as he suddenly looked ready to attack for sure.

At his words she stilled, confusion clamoring through her with the fear. "Y...you left? Why?" She knew Axel had been sent against some traitors, and they would want to hurt Axel maybe. But she turned against them too, the only way she could. By ceasing to be so that Sora could wake and fight them. But if he was a traitor, what did he want? And how could she protect Axel? And... why was he so ready to attack now?

He looked angry, but he did not seem angry towards Xion. Indeed all his words up to this point had sounded like he was sympathetic towards Xion. He still did, especially when he spoke up again.

A traitor? To the people who had hurt Xion?

He reached his hand up to place it on Xion's own, to comfort her.

"I left because...I remembered what's truly important to me."

He took a deep breath, trying to push the anger down. There was no target to lash out at here, no way to vent save verbally. Well. He didn't need his cover anymore, so why not say exactly how he felt about their so-called 'superior'?

"Because Xemnas is a manipulative, self-serving waste of Nothingness, whose promises are every bit as empty as his chest. He took advantage of me...of all of us! Encouraged us to forget whatever noble aspirations we may have had as humans, in favor of twisted versions that served his ends only."

As his voice rose, he started pacing, gesturing angrily at the air as though addressing his lecture to some invisible person he was trailing behind.

"Because he took everything from me! My mentor, my family, my home, even my heart! I didn't care at the time, obsessed as I had become with the pursuit of knowledge, but he was feeding the worst in us, leading us to cause irreparable harm. When I came to my senses after awaking as my whole self, I was appalled by my behavior. Behavior that he shoulders a large portion of the blame for, but will never feel a millilitre of remorse for, even if he acquired the heart for it. Even prior to losing his heart, he was a blight upon all that existed, and many things that did not, and it was clearly evident that a vital aspect of atoning for my own crimes would be to assist those whose mission was to erase the blight upon all worlds that is his existence and non-existence both.

"I could go on, quite easily, but I trust you have a suitable idea of the picture by now?"

Edited 2021-02-06 13:31 (UTC)

She hardly noticed Taiki's hand in the face of all that Vexen had to say, and she rocked back slightly. Taiki would feel some of the fear ease off from her, though she was still wary and concerned and... there was a different fear now. Quieter but deeper as she watched and listened.

She took a deep breath. "Are you one of the ones who fought with Axel in Castle Oblivion?" she asked softly, but there was steel in that quiet. The answer mattered. It mattered a great deal, it would seem. And Taiki would feel the tension in her as she waited for that answer.

She didn't put away the Keyblade, but it was no longer menacing. Couldn't be, with Taiki between them.

There's tension and fear and concern that are not his, that grow inside Xion as the man speaks, rants and gives voice to his anger and his pain.

But from him there is just compasion. Sadness that this would happen to a person, that this would lead to Xion being hurt. Potentially Lea being hurt.

He doesn't understand their world at all but he understands people being controlled, people being forced to do terrible things. He understands the pain of knowing you have hurt others and he understands loss.

This man may have once been Xion's enemy and he may have once done terrible things. Nothing would change that. But there is no doubt that he has been hurt, he has been manipulated and that he had fought against those that had done that to him and done that to Xion.

There is still a weapon drawn, still anger in the air and yet Taiki steps closer to him, reaching out to put a hand on his.

"I'm sorry that happened to you. I think..." He glances at Xion. "We should get out of this cold, I think you both need to talk."

Without weapons.

He sucked in a breath to start off on a new rant about Oblivion, but Taiki's approach causes him to pause. His hand flinched away from the touch on reflex, he'd always been particular about who he allowed in his personal space, but he exhaled heavily and rubbed his face with one hand.

"Yes, if we're to speak of Castle Oblivion, we ought to at least be sitting. That confounded place is a story and a half unto itself."

"I need to know this first. Before you get on the train. Because I won't let anyone hurt Axel or Roxas," she said sliding back into a defensive posture. "If you want to go after Axel you have to go through me," she said firmly, though Taiki could feel fear along with the rush of adrenaline prepping for a battle washed through her. Ir was easier for her to not realize she was affected by Taiki's emotions just because she didn't know what they were. But he was close enough to hear her whisper "It is my turn to protect them..."

Taiki didn't peruse his hand but nor did he move from his place in between them, as much protecting Vexen from Xion as Xion from Vexen.

He looked at Xion, sorrowfully, he understands her protectiveness. He knows the urge to want to protect another. Still his face turned stern as he looked at them both.

"No one shall harm anyone."

"What happened between me and Axel...I would hardly call it a fight." That cruel, taunting smile still haunted him, from time to time. The way Axel had caught him while he was already wounded, gloated before finishing him off. The abject terror he'd felt would have stuck with him even if it wasn't glaring in its supposed impossibility. "But while it would be untruthful of me to claim I harbor no resentment toward him, I do understand the complications of the situation. I am willing to work things out civilly with him, if he is willing to offer me the apology I am due."

"And if he isn't? I still won't let you hurt him. Him or anyone else here," she said firmly, her voice sounding angrier than she was because the highest part of the terror was gone and she was, oddly enough, afraid of losing the fear. Because what if she needed to protect them, if he did attack Axel and she wasn't ready?

Yet at the same time... If he didn't actually attack anyone. If he was like Demyx, just there... could she go back to what she had gotten used to herE? Being less afraid all the time? Or would she have to constantly be ready, like she had been back at the Castle, always sure than anyone other than Axel or Roxas could be under orders to turn her into a dusk? She would know what to expect with some members of the Organization. It was hard to be scared of Demyx here, even for her, because he wouldn't do anything unless he was ordered to, and sometimes not even then. But where was this one's standing in the Organization? Could he order Demyx to go after her or Axel? She wasn't sure, but... this fear was different than the fear when she first saw him. This was the longer fear, the fear that stayed with her, that she hadn't even realized wasn't with her constantly anymore until now, until it was back.

He turned, reaching out to Xion, a hand on her arm, very aware of the weapon so close to him.

But he can ignore that fear, ignore how the weapon makes him feel.

"No one will hurt anyone. Please Xion, let's go inside."

If anything the warmth and a seat might de-escalate the situation.

"Unless someone like Marluxia or Xemnas is present, I can't think of any reason why I would wish to harm anyone else. My goal is to help people, not to inflict yet more suffering upon innocent victims."

Though, he couldn't deny the possibility that some more manipulative sorts might play at being innocent victims. If he cold play the part of a monster so well that even Luxord hadn't called his bluff, surely actual monsters could do the reverse.

"As for Axel, if he refuses to acknowledge wrongdoing, I will do what is necessary so that I feel safe. Seeing as he has a distinct advantage over me..." One of his hands unconsciously drifted to his other arm, rubbing a spot just above the wrist. "Picking a fight hardly seems like the smartest course of action."

She almost said that if Xemnas were here she'd be the first to attack. She didn't, but Taiki would feel a massive spike of anger and fear at his name. Confusion at Marluxia's name, but then, Xion hardly remembered him... if she remembered him at all outside of what Axel had told her.

"I won't let you or anyone else hurt him," she said, firmly, though she finally acceded to Taiki's request and nodded at him, vanishing the Keyblade. She was willing to go inside, but she was keeping her eyes on Vexen. Just in case.

"Right... No one is hurting anyone..."

He hoped. The blade was gone, Vexen was agreeing a fight would not be a wise course of action.

He wished Lord Gyousou was here, he's on the platform somewhere but the fog and sleet is too thick for him to see him and even if he could... he didn't want to drag his king into this.

He was supposed to be good at this after all. He reached out for Xion's hand as they moved towards the train.

I'M HERE

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