Make the Clock Reverse (Day 22 Jelly)

[voidtreckermods]

Make the Clock Reverse,
Bring back what once was mine.

On the evening of Day 21, before it goes dark, any Voidtreckers who look out of the windows might see the void is a little more chaotic than usual. There's a little bit of turbulence. Nothing too bad, nowhere near how bad it got during the void storm, but noticeable all the same.

It doesn't last long, and the night continues. Those who are not early to bed may see the odd golden flicker out of the corner of their eyes, darting away and vanishing if pursued.

Strange...

Heal what has been hurt,
Change the fates' design.

"Good Morning passengers. Today is day twenty two of the month of Jelly." The morning announcement wakes everyone up as usual, and they awaken in their own beds.

Though, for some passengers, those beds may seem completely unfamiliar: a strange room full of people they don't recognise. For others the room and people are perfectly normal, just... bigger than they remember them being yesterday.

Or it might be that they feel healed, old scars faded. The changes might be small, sporting their embarrassing teenage hair cut; or drastic, their whole body younger.

Either way, it is clear that something very strange has happened on the train.

(OOC: All the information about this event is Here. All changes will reverse the next night and passengers will wake up normal on day 23.

Update: In early afternoon the dressing carriage cupboards will open and animal onesies will be available in child size.)

Comments

[10billionpercent]

Roland may have spared the poor ICP from Senku's destructive wrath as he turned to glance at him.

"...A void is nothing." He blinked. "I mean. There's nothing in it. That's what makes it a void. Who would write a book about that?"

[adregem]

I wonder how much of this Senku will remember when he gets back to normal...

"Well, why not? Just because there's nothingness there doesn't mean it's not worth discovering. Come now, where's your sense of wonder?" Roland does something sure to seal the deal, though he feels that a proper, polite introduction is worth having even if this version of his Allied kingdom is probably ill-equipped to receive social protocol. He summons a book recently ordered from the shop, manifesting in golden light straight out of the Arms Band. He waves this nicely before introducing himself.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Roland. Would you like to read some of these books? I think you'll find they're more interesting than what the library here has."

Roland nods at the distance, remembering Senku isn't comfortable with touch if he can help it.

[10billionpercent]

Senku's eyes went wide because he just made a book appear out of nowhere. That was just cool. But it was a nice thick book, just like the ones he wanted to read so he was taking him seriously, which was another point in his favour.

Maybe the book would help him figure out what he was doing there, even if he couldn't get out.

He definitely wanted to read that book. He abandoned the ICP properly and approached, reaching for it.

[adregem]

That's precisely the reaction Roland's looking for, so he rolls with it. He knows Senku well enough that he's not going to have time to introduce himself back, especially not at this age, so Roland makes sure he's careful not to call him out by accident. Kid or not, Senku is sharp and he'll notice immediately that this grown man knows precisely who he is.

Roland chuckles and makes a motion to hand the spine of the book to Senku...before drawing back, pretending to look around the train for something. He's play-acting of course, just wanting to make sure Senku is comfortable in his reading versus staying put by the doors. Not that they'd open all of a sudden, but it pays to be safe than sorry.

"Ah, let's go sit down first, shall we?" Convinced that Senku wouldn't take just that, Roland quickly adds, a finger pointed up in emphasis, "So I have some room to get two more void books out of my...magic pocket."

Look, Senku is smart but if he can appeal to his natural kid instincts all the same, Roland's going to take that shot. He leads him to the nearest bench and table, hoping the lure of more books to consume will make this easier said than done. Please be comfortable, future friend and ally.

[10billionpercent]

Senku held the book against his chest and stared up at Roland for a moment. It was magic?

"Magic doesn't exist." He informed him with a bit of a skeptical look, but he would get two more books if he sat down.

He seemed to consider his options and that was really really tempting. His sense of curiosity was the easiest thing to appeal to keep him entertained and under control, because it was so strong in Senku that it was likely going to lead him into trouble one day.

Senku decided he wanted the books and went over to sit where he was told to. "How does your magic pocket work?"

[adregem]

"I don't know."

Said sense of curiosity is what Roland anchors to. His only goal right now is to ensure the least amount of hijinks from a tiny Senku as possible...mostly because he isn't sure who can rival his brain to undo whatever unwanted damage he could cause if left unattended.

That, and they're friends. Even if this version of Senku just thinks Roland is a silly adult with silly games about make-believe and magic. Friends looked out for each other, at whatever age they may find themselves in. Little did this Senku even know, that all of it would be true one day, on a voidtrain taking them to the next, crazy adventure. For now, he'll play the part.

The two books are summoned out of his Arms Band one after the other. The first, a book on Time Travel in the Void, easily the most complicated one in his possession. It rambles on theory after theory, and Roland has little doubt Senku would be keen to understand this most of all. The second, his book on Sign Language...except it wouldn't be from any country in Senku's version of Earth. His version of it exists in the spectrum of Aremica - a world where he is President. That might tickle his fancies a bit too. And finally, the book he baited him with, the one on Dying in the Void.

If it had been any other kid, Roland would have withheld it. But Senku is Senku and it's still information he would appreciate regardless of the morbidity. He takes a chance and sets all three thick tomes down in front of the white-haired boy, folding his hands together in front of him with piqued interest.

"Maybe we can figure out how this magic stuff works together. I certainly don't know enough about it to give you answers. Not on my own, anyway."

[10billionpercent]

It was wise to distract him for awhile at least, because once he was an adult again he was going to have to clean up whatever mess he happened to make and mitigating that at least, would be a help to his future self.

The fact that it was discussing death and dying didn't phase Senku. It wasn't as though he were desensitized, like someone who watched violent movies, it was more that he was desensitized from scientific research. Although he didn't have much of a foundation in biology, he understood some of the basics.

He was far more interested in astrophysics these days. His proficiency in biology wouldn't come for several years yet.

"It can't be magic." Senku insisted. "It has to be something scientific I don't understand. Everything is science." Did Roland know that? He was a grown up, he should know that. "And that means they have rules. You just have to figure out what the rules are."

[adregem]

You haven't changed at all where it counts, huh Senku?

It's cute to think that a grown-up version of his friend said precisely the same thing to Roland just months ago. In fact, it's safe to assume that the older Senku becomes, the more he will continue to espouse the same philosophy. Roland agrees with it even if he has lesser understanding of these things than Senku does; everything has rules. Everything has to have some semblance of an explanation. They just needed to discover it.

He holds back a wider smile in an effort to look a calming force in the face of youthful energy.

"Sure. I'm looking forward to your findings." Would it be a nice exercise to show Senku his Arms Band; get him to use it and re-discover the existing rules they both know as adults? He'll mull it over. "What's your name, young man?"

[10billionpercent]

Those natural rules were how Senku understood the world. He didn't really get people - what they did, why they did things, it was all nonsensical to him. It was quite a discovery for him to learn that understanding the world around him could come from a book. He could read about other things he didn't understand and he ran with it.

As luck would have it, Senku did not have his arms band on his person, which meant Gen, as the responsible adult, did. That was probably for the best, considering, who knew what Senku would be able to do with it at that age.

"How do you get into this void to die anyway?" He asked, already turning a page.

He'd been about to get absorbed but he blinked. Oh. Right. Introductions. "I'm Ishigami Senku." He answered. "I'm looking for Ishigami Byakuya." He informed the stranger because he should say something like that when he's lost, even if he was easily distracted by his curiosity. "He's my guardian."

[adregem]

There's not much to do at the moment apart from watching Senku read, so this is what he settles into for the time being. Senku could say anything at this point and Roland's confident he'd be ready for it too, having spent enough time with him as an adult that predicting reactions has turned second nature.

Not even the mention of his father as 'guardian' makes Roland bat an eyelash.

"We were kidnapped. Nobody knows how or why. As for your guardian, Mr. Senku, I'm afraid he isn't present on the train." At the moment, he wants to add, but opts not to in lieu of it being easier to explain. "For now, you only have us. Your teammates."

[10billionpercent]

That kidnapping was a more attractive option than being dumped somewhere was probably a strange thing, but he seemed to relax a little bit. He could deal with kidnapping. All they had to do was escape.

"Wait, teammates?" Senku's brow furowed. "No one ever picks me for their team. Because they think I'm weird." He didn't seem to care about that so much, but it was just another fact to him.