A New Platform [Intro Post February]

[voidtreckermods]

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!

Comments

[controlsthedie]

"Hm, I'm not afraid of being attacked but appreciate that." Thanatos does come closer, but he strays more to the what looks like a pot full of dirt.

"... You knew I held onto your soul? I normally handle souls and not the bodies I free them from. I wanted to make sure both came at the same time." Especially with the strange location of Otoha's soul. He didn't know how strong or weak the connection would be.

Death Incarnate, a god, wouldn't apologize. But Thanatos... maybe he could. He knows how gods can make a mess of things when getting involved. "I apologize for the distress I caused."

[bakegarasu]

"... Huh." He considers that for a moment - the statement, rather than the apology. "It's fine. ... I could kind of tell, given... I mean, it's not in my body." That part seems like it's obvious to both of them, now.

"... What are you, exactly?"

[controlsthedie]

"A god, Death Incarnate." Simply said, no attempt to hide his identity. Thanatos has given it to enough people that even if he tries to be more of a "person" like Persephone and Ryo want him to become, the information is out there. He is still a child of Nyx.

[bakegarasu]

He's about to say something like 'gods don't exist', but this isn't his world. He shuts his mouth and looks over Thanatos carefully. "... I'd say it's funny that you're hanging around a healer, but I'm a trained killer and I hang around him so I have no room to judge."

Hm. "... Yeah. I have a... weird situation. That's why my soul's there. ... I'm the guardian of a city. I was human, but as I was dying I ended up contracting with the city's will. She needed a new guardian to defeat her old, corrupted one."

[controlsthedie]

"Ryo can be very stubborn, but that's not always a bad thing." He's at least a stubborn fool with a good heart.

Neither of them have any room to judge, and both of them also know with few words that Ryo is the main reason they are friends with Ryo. Thanatos doesn't know Otoha well, but he doesn't seem the person to easily make friends. Especially when he talks about being a trained killer.

"Ah, it happened in your world and not due to the train."

[bakegarasu]

He snorts in amusement, wandering a little closer - enough to be conversational, not close enough to feel in his space.

"Yeah, no. This wasn't a train thing. My city had a guardian, but he was trying to get humans to believe in yokai again by attacking the city's human population to... I guess make them believe via fear? I guess? Yokai only survive on human belief, so in the 'modern' world people just... kind of don't. I didn't."

Anyway. "Only a Karas can really kill a Karas. Out of armor, maybe. In armor? No chance in hell that anything but a Karas' weapon is cutting through that."

[controlsthedie]

With their previous encounter smoothed over and explained, Thanatos isn't worried about Otoha coming closer. He was more concerned with how safe Otoha felt over his own comfort.

"If you're here, then is your city currently in danger because she doesn't have her guardian?" Thanatos doesn't know what a yokai is, but if its attacking humans and survives off fear, that tells him enough.

[bakegarasu]

"... Well, I took care of that threat. A lot of people still died, but we did the best we could under the circumstances. If she doesn't have a guardian, she'll find one. That's what happens if a Karas needs to be taken out... I imagine she's not going to go without a proper guardian."

So no, he's not all that worried. He'd prefer to be there, doing it, but... Shinjuku isn't likely to end up with more destruction.

[controlsthedie]

Ah. So unlike his own situation, someone can substitute for Otoha's duties. Well, at least that's good for Otoha's city and the people who live there. Although, now Thanatos doesn't know what to say, so he lets the silence hang between them as he thinks. He may be trying to talk with others more, but he's still no expert.

"I will let you get back to your gardening."

[bakegarasu]

"No, it's... it's fine, I was pretty much done anyway. ... It must be... difficult, adjusting to life on a train."

Otoha... Otoha, your small talk needs work.

[controlsthedie]

They make quite the pair, neither knowing what to say or how to say it. And yet... they are still trying.

"There are a lot of good people who help," says Thanatos without confirming that it has been difficult. Then again, anyone who was the least bit aware probably saw or heard Thanatos trying to teleport away from the train the first day. He turns to look at his poppy pot. It's still just dirt. "Being around the same living mortals for so long is different."

[bakegarasu]

"There are. ... And... I have a similar feeling. I had a group I was around, but I... well, I lived in a city of more than three hundred thousand people, and even more passed through it on their way to other places. Sure, people had routines, but it wasn't like you saw all of the same people."

He looks at the poppy pot. "... It's strange for me to be growing things rather than killing them." Hm. Death, huh? "... Hopefully whatever sort of version of you exists in my world was good to Reiji on your way to wherever he was going, or I'll find you." He stares for a moment, and then chuckles.

"... Nah. I'm not holding you responsible for something some other concept of death might have done. Just, uh. ... Recent death." His gaze flicks away, but then returns. "... Still working on... what's the word that got used? Processing. Still processing it. ... It's not your fault."

That joke probably wasn't in the best taste.

[controlsthedie]

"This is my first time growing something even if poppies are one of my symbols." He lightly presses a finger to the soil at the edges of the pot. (He's too nervous to test the soil closer to where he sowed the seeds in case being Death withers them.) Does it need water? It looks and feels really dry. Maybe some water then?

"I can't speak for Death in your world, but I collect the souls of those who died a peaceful death and see that they reach the Underworld safely."

[bakegarasu]

"Ah. Wouldn't have been you then, even if you were in my world. My father shot him while I was trying to rescue him." He says it casually, though there's an uneven note to his voice. "That debt was settled."

... Hm. "He was a terrible person, besides. So it was justified, anyway." The way that people have responded to him discussing what his childhood was like has at least told him that much.

[controlsthedie]

"..." Thanatos turns to look at Otoha. It sounds like his relationship with Reiji and his father was complicated. He'd equate it to another father-son pair he knows, but it's a little different when the Lord of the Dead and the Prince of the Underworld fight.

Both of them don't stay dead if they kill each other, for starters, and Otoha's people didn't. Should he give his sympathies? Praise him for dealing justice?

"I don't judge the souls in death. That isn't part of my job."

[bakegarasu]

""... It's fine. I would have outlived them all anyway, even if both of them were alive. ... Grief's a mess, but whatever. I have potentially hundreds of years to figure it out."

He's not sure how to feel about that one.

[controlsthedie]

Grief isn't something Thanatos has much first hand experience with. He's seen it. Mortals cry for their love ones. They lash out at him for taking someone away "too soon" as if Thanatos had a part in that. Some try to bribe him with all the riches they own believing that even Death Incarnate would have some want for them.

But feeling it himself? Thanatos isn't sure he'd recognize the feeling.

"For what it's worth, it seems time dulls grief."

[bakegarasu]

"And I have nothing but it, now." He's really not sure what to do with it... hm. Actually. "Do mortals believe in spirits in general where you're from? I mean, before you show up."

[controlsthedie]

Having nothing but time? Thanatos knows exactly how that feels. He doesn't know what to do with it either.

"They do. There are plenty of beings to believe in beyond the gods."

[bakegarasu]

"Oh. Most people in my world don't. ... But there's a world of -" What's the best word to describe yokai to someone not familiar with them? "... Spirits? I guess that would be the best term. It sits... somewhat on top of the human world, though yokai are usually invisible to people unless they want to be visible. ... And their connection to humanity is pretty strong. When humans stop believing in them, they get sick and die."

There's a faint look of guilt in his eyes. "The guy who had my job before me thought that killing a bunch of humans would make them afraid and more likely to believe in yokai. ... That's why I got tapped for the job. The city's will needed him gone. But... I don't really have any experience with spirits. If they're something people know about in your world though... it might not be helpful, I don't know."

[controlsthedie]

"I could tell you of the beings in my world, but there may not be overlap. They live among mortals and gods. They can choose to be seen or not. However, I do not know how necessary belief is."

After all, if belief was something that directly affected them, then Thanatos can name a few beings who should have disappeared or weakened over time.

"You spoke of getting rid of your predecessor. Do you mean to get rid of the yokai as well?"

[bakegarasu]

"No!" The answer comes out sharply, and Otoha takes a deep breath. Try that again, Otoha. "No. They're citizens of the city just as much as the humans are. Part of my job is to treat them. I can't... cure them from wasting away from lack of belief, but I can at least make them things to help ease the pain."

[controlsthedie]

Thanatos nearly shifts away at the outburst, though he wouldn't have been able to say if it was from being startled or fearing he had erred in a major way. Luckily, he manages to stay put enough for Otoha to explain himself.

Ah. The situation is more complicated if the yokai are citizens of the city as well. "Mortals, sometimes, need help to see past what they believe to be the truth." Like with what happens after death, they may not know or have the wrong idea entirely.

[bakegarasu]

"... Yeah. I'm trying to do what I can. It's just... like I said." He gestures to his sword and to Thanatos. "... We both have experience with ending lives rather than saving them..."

[controlsthedie]

"Have you spoken to Ryo about this? He..." Thanatos trails off, trying to think how to word this unsaid draw Ryo has. Persephone has it too if he's honest. "He seems to be the opposite of our natures and could probably give you better ideas than me."