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

[namethattune]

Thank you.

[Receiving the affirmative from Xander is a relief. He does feel bad, asking for a favor with nothing to offer in return - while Xander is not Senku and will not require payment in turn, he still dislikes employing the latter half of a give and take relationship without first fulfilling the former.]

[But that can be addressed later. For now, he falls in step beside Xander, waiting to speak up again until they are further away from anyone who could conceivably overhear.]

I was hoping you might be able to use your empathy to identify this...feeling.

[While there is some guilt over needing to ask in the first place, and some trepidation as to the answer to his question, the larger feeling in need of identification remains: the awful pressure in his chest and tightness in his throat, dragging him down and driving him to distraction. It threatens to become all-consuming if he lets it, and he does not know how to avoid that - hence the request for assistance.]

[emerald_mirror]

[Really, if Siebren said that he felt bad out loud, he might get a surprise--as in total shock. Xander is unlike Senku, that's true--even if Xander did want payment in turn? He's the trusting sort--Siebren would scratch his back eventually. Doing the same for Siebren first is not important. There's no score being kept in the nephilim's game. Though the question has his brows going up. And staying up.]

Uh. Well. You aren't happy, but that's probably clear. I think. [Most people are a lot to unpack normally, and Siebren isn't any different in that. But wait, there's more. Xander isn't really probing, either, but most people tend to compartmentalize, too, and the good doctor? More so.] Anxious. Depressed a bit, yeah, but that's to be expected. Same with grief. And loneliness. That's there too. [A pause.] A lot of that.

[But he can't condemn the latter feeling either. There's plenty of times where he's surrounded by people on the train--even people he likes--but he's still lonely. It's more for his brother or people who aren't here, like Drake or Rose or Carolyn--but it's loneliness all the same.]

[namethattune]

[He listens, quietly taking in what Xander tells him as he struggles to ease the pressure in his chest and the tightness in his throat. He is unhappy - that is to be expected at a platform with so much loss. Anxious, depressed, grieving - these all go together, in his experience, in losing someone dear to him.]

[It is loneliness that gives him pause, and he stops in his tracks as that sinks in, expression faltering as he processes. That does not seem correct - how could that be? He is surrounded by people: people he can talk to; people he cares about; how could he possibly be lonely-]

[But how well do any of those people actually know him?]

[It is a terrible, terrible question, and one with a point he cannot avoid. Does anyone here truly know him - know the entire story - and still care? Through circumstance and perseverance, Ken had been the closest-]

[And now Ken is gone, and there is no one who even knows the name Sigma, he realizes as the melody rises in his ears, as if summoned by the name. There are those with pieces - Eva and Seto and Xander himself - but nobody is anywhere near close to the whole.]

[How long has it been since someone has both known and cared? Has it truly been since- since before-]

[The melody swells to a crescendo, drowning out the questions and overturning the train of thought, and for a few moments Siebren is simply washed away with the tide, adrift on the ebb and flow of the song of the universe.]

[It is a matter of seconds before the music subsides enough for him to return to himself; he finds that he has stilled completely and does his best to fall back in step with Xander's pace. No doubt Xander felt every moment of that, but Siebren says nothing. He has nothing to offer at the moment - nothing he can talk about. He needs time to think - to process this new information in a way that makes sense-]

[...well. Perhaps there is one thing he can offer.]

...thank you. I appreciate it.

[emerald_mirror]

[He hadn't walked on, though. When Siebren had stopped, so had he--it was impolite at best to leave your friends behind, even on a casual walk.

Nor is Siebren the first person he's known who dissociates, at times--Rekah had done that sort of thing a lot--but if he's stunned, it's because he hadn't been aware that Siebren has that sort of...curious affliction, as well.

He has nothing to say about that, either--Siebren will explain, or he won't, as he chooses. Xander isn't going to push--he knows the man has always been more of a private sort, and this isn't late night at the spa, where it's too late for keen ears to pick up such things. He does lay a hand on Siebren's arm, though--the nephilim is not entirely without things to say.]

You might be lonely, but you're not alone, okay? Not unless you choose to be. You don't have to share anything with me, but talk to--to Seto, or someone. I don't know who. But someone. Okay?

[Though he ducks his head a little, rueful. He'd say Siebren didn't have to thank him for doing something he has so little control over, but that would be rude, to say the very least.]

You're welcome, I think. Any time for you, though.

[He probably is taking a serious liberty, now, but--he leans in and gives the older man a quick hug, clapping his arm and squeezing it again, looking up at him earnestly with a slight smile. He's positive Siebren's probably going to run leave, but Xander's going to give him what support he can, at least.]