voidtreckerexpress | 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"No problem." Demyx grinned a little bit and stopped fussing for a moment, adjusting the frets finally and he strummed one of the strings, tuning it by ear.

"Perfect." He opted for a more classical piece, as opposed to one he'd picked up at random, which meant it was much more put together, and extremely well practiced.

He stands there in content silence, listening to Demyx strum masterfully on his instrument. Roland doesn't recognize the song, but it didn't matter. The sound comes through, crisp and clear.

"Perfect's a good way to describe. What a lovely melody, Demyx. Where did you learn how to play?"

"I learned to play when I was a Somebody." Demyx answered, continuing to move his fingers. Some musicians might find conversation a distraction, but he always played or tuned while doing other things.

"When I was young, probably, takes a long time to be able to play the sitar."

"A...Somebody?"

The term is lost on Roland, obviously, though the interest is piqued.

"What does that mean? You were a celebrity?"

There's no modern-day equivalent to these things! So he defaults on something more familiar to him, even if Roland knows it's a long shot to assume it's what he's actually thinking of.

"Nah, definitely not." Demyx laughed a little bit. "I'm a total amateur, as far as the sitar is concerned." He wouldn't sound like an amateur to unfamiliar ears though, he had some talent.

"A Somebody is like...a whole person. I'm not a whole person. I'm a Nobody. Means I don't have a heart."

"Oh."

Honestly, did Roland still expect a common answer...He really is functioning way above his paygrade on this train. Thank goodness for well-practiced faking it til you make it. Though that isn't to say he doesn't care to know more.

"I...Are you...I mean, is that a..." Condition? Were you born this way? Is that a bad thing to not have a heart? He has a soul split in half, technically. Does that mean Demyx has some sort of heart partner like Roland has a soulmate?? Oh boy. He clears his throat.

"So, I'm technically a Somebody. And you're a Nobody because you don't have a heart. Did I get that correctly?"

"Uh huh, that's right." Demyx said, as his fingers moved along the strings.

"I'm a monster, or at least, not a person." He hummed. "As I understand it." He looked rather lifelike on the person scale though. "The-well, Xemnas named us Nobodies. We're not supposed to exist, we're just creatures made outside of the the darkness or light." They were anomalies, and yet there were so many Nobodies that didn't make much sense, but most didn't retain a human form.

"My Somebody lost his heart and I'm what remains...there's probably a shadow somewhere too, but beats me where that is." Demyx said. And his heart, presumably, that was somewhere too.

It's funny how soothing the strumming of his strings are compared to the actual topic at hand. Roland learns new things on this train everyday. And a part of him does think Nobody's and Somebody's as names for one's...existential? Status? Are rather amusing. Exactly what they say on the tin, eh?

He shakes his head. "Whoa there. You're gonna have to slow down a sec. That's a completely different way of living from what I'm used to." He can admit that much. But he's more invested now, at least. All walks of life, truly and sincerely.

"First, I don't think you're a monster and I hope you don't prove me wrong," He smiles wryly, but that's as much as a joke as it is vague in nature. He doesn't know Demyx that well yet anyhow. "Second, how does one lose their 'heart'? Do you ever get to meet your, err, Somebody?"

Here he thought having soulmates was stranger than fiction.

"Depends on what you mean by monster, I guess." Demyx retorted with a bit of a smile and he shrugged. If he meant someone who was going to go out of his way to cause pain, Roland had nothing to worry about.

"I don't really know how I lost mine. It could be that someone stole it, stabbing me with a keyblade, or a shadow got me." Demyx considered but ended up shrugging.

"If I get my heart back I'll be my Somebody again, whoever he is. I'm like...a fake copy or something. Most people know more but I don't remember a whole lot."

"...That's terrible, Demyx."

Between the storm of words Roland has no idea what to make out of, divorced from context, and the final revelation that apparently without your heart, you're not real, Roland is unable to hide part of how he really feels. A rare moment, but get a guy flabbergasted enough and it can happen.

"You're quite real right now, though. You're here, on this train. Just like the rest of us." He encourages easily. He's had this conversation ad nauseam with someone else but he's ready to dredge the sentiment back up for someone else if he has too. They all existed at one point or another, and the desire to live is stronger than any magic. Roland is testament to that too.

"Sure." Demyx said with a bit of a shrug as he didn't stop playing. It had moved more from the song he'd been playing into something of a stream of consciousness. He did that a lot. The notes suggested something was turbulent. It wasn't exactly pleasant to listen to, he probably should be paying attention to what he was doing.

"I'm as real as a Nobody gets." He agreed. "But we're not meant to be here or anywhere else." Demyx could just die and get it over with, but somehow he didn't want that. He didn't know what he was afraid of.

A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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