A New Platform [Intro Post March]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Once again passengers are awoken by the morning announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day One of the month of Kazoo. 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 is thick, the air is warm and humid and there are rumbles of thunder, the air heavy with the promise of rain.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Alfredo Martini, Daia, Enna Alchiba, Lord El-Melloi II, Natsuno Yuuki, Nita Callahan, Saku Gyousou, Sakura, V and Wen Qing

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, and seems smaller with twenty-seven 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.

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'). Those not new to the train will note the addition of an eighth sleeper carriage. The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, it seems the month of Kazoo is defined by the tomato and there are plenty of them.

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 as thunder rumbles further and the storm threatens to break. 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

Ai Haibara

[deage]

[ Luggage ]

Haibara heads to the Luggage Car to collect what she paid for. She makes sure to enter only when she sees somebody else inside - it'd be a good place for an ambush, and she wants to avoid that. She's sure Vermouth won't try anything where there are witnesses, at least, so apologies to whoever she's using as a shield.

All she collects, though, are a pair of glasses. But when she sets them on her face, she clicks a small button on the side and one of the lenses tints blue, showing an almost radar-like screen. Five dots are located on it, not included hers at the center. "It works," she says mostly to herself before switching it off.

Now she can track down anybody with a Jr. Detective Badge. Sorry to everybody who took one without signing up for this part.

[ Medical ]

Haibara looks both extremely at home and extremely out of place in the Medical Car. On one hand, she's self-assured, looking both familiarized and confident in the setting. She has on a lab coat that could be called doctorly, and can definitely be called scientific. On the other hand, she's a seven year old.

But Wen Qing left, and that means this place is going to need a more active hand to keep running. Haibara isn't exactly excited about the prospect, but she's not so uncaring as to ignore the plight.

She tries not to look annoyed every time a new passenger sticks their head in, to some degree of success. She looks she gives can still be called 'flat' at best, though. "Can I help you?"

[ Dining ]

After the train has well departed, Haibara finds herself in the Dining Car. It's been a day - comings and goings, taking on a greater workload, dealing with people.

So she's nursing a cup of coffee.

Feel free to say something. Because the usual suspects know her secret now, and they're not going to. (Probably.)

Luggage

[pleple]

While Haibara collects her fancy high tech glasses, Ple Two is wrestling with a fishing net. It was apparently related to some artistic thing or another, and it came in a backpack that she can just stuff it back into, but she kind of wanted to see what it looked like. A throwing net; the sort with little weights around the perimeter, big enough to catch a small child in.

...which runs through her head when she glances at Haibara, but she doesn't act on the intrusive thought. "Those aren't just corrective are they?"

[deage]

Please don't net Haibara, even if Haibara is the perfect size for it. You almost stabbed her a couple days ago, let's not turn this into a habit.

She turns to Ple Two, running over how to respond in her head. Eventually, she settles. "You're right." Since the glasses are still on, she clicks a different button - the screen on one lens is now showing a zoomed in shot. "I live with a professor. He invented these - they allow you to zoom in on far off objects." she clicks again, turning them off. "I figure if I go help out on any more missions, they'll come in handy."

It was true, that was certainly a feature. But the main feature was the tracking. That wasn't something she was going to share, though - especially since the only thing they could track here were badges that had been given out to friends and allies.

[pleple]

It wouldn't be very productive. Ple Two's memories are fuzzy and unpleasant enough that she's still just not thinking much about anyone she doesn't readily recognize - although it's giving her pause as she looks at Haibara.

Whatever.

"That's incredibly compact for a function like that." Even a small digital camera shouldn't have that good a digital zoom, right? "Just be careful getting into dangerous places."

[deage]

There's a reason Agasa is a genius inventor able to live in a huge house in Japan, where real estate is a premium. He's good at inventions. His downfall is in thinking useless stuff will be marketable.

"They've proven useful." Why would a small child need them? Don't ask. "It has night-vision capabilities as well."

[pleple]

Get a marketing assistant my man!

"That sounds very useful." Because she's a child who gets up to... some kind of non-child danger. That much is very apparent. "You can only get the one pair right?"

[deage]

"He's only made two as far as I'm aware. The other isn't mine to take though."

Not that she has qualms about doing so. Since... this is actually his to begin with.

Whoops.

[pleple]

"Ah well." She wants one for herself. Of course, that would give away the primary purpose so it's a terrible idea anyways. "As long as it's useful, anyone getting a boost helps."

[deage]

"On missions, I tend to stick to the... information gathering teams. It should prove useful there." On a train, zoom has limited use, so it makes sense that she'd bring up missions.

Of course, its main purpose is for tracking the badges Kudo-kun brought in. And that's useful even for the train.

[pleple]

"Puts your intellect to good use." It's obvious that Haibara is very smart, and very observant.

[deage]

"I don't know if I'm anything special." That's a lie. "But I'd do the Detective Boys a disservice if I don't do my best."

[pleple]

"Hm. ...don't underestimate everything you're capable of." Although she'd understand why Haibara is trying to not be on too many radars.

Medical... (Look I just get a kick out of 'bad at kid-acting' meets 'no idea what kids act like')

[seacub]

Emporio can't say he's spoken anyone Haibara's 'age', but he doesn't really give that kind of thing much thought when he enters Medical at some point in the day. He does of course, give a bit of thought to the annoyed expression, but that's mostly because he prefers to be polite- the boy in a red sweater and an orange polo rather anxiously adjusting his black school cap.

Somehow, despite being the taller one here, he's feeling quite intimidated!

"Uhh- sorry, I didn't realize anyone was in... ...I was just going to practice some of the First Aid lessons in here. Should I pick a different room?"

What do you mean he should be questioning this.

what is a kid? a miserable little pile of secrets!

[deage]

"First Aid... lessons?"

What.

"What exactly are you 'practicing?' Where did you learn it from?"

This child was only subject to 'why are you bothering me' vibes at first, but now he has the full brunt of Haibara's 'what the fuck' vibes.

TRULY...

[seacub]

"Oh- yeah, there's lessons on the ICPs," he starts with a blink. "For things like CPR, or bandaging a wound...there's more complicated stuff, but I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea to test surgical procedure," Emporio laughs, his smile a bit nervous at the very idea of it. "Especially since I'd be using Weather..."

[deage]

"Learning how to suture a wound isn't a bad plan. That's something you can practice with clothing. Basically the same thing."

She sighs, leaning back in her chair. "Well, you can practice here. I'll let you know if you're doing anything too badly."

finding stand images be like 'reference?? no we're here for ART' while I cry I guess,

[seacub]

"It is?" He pauses, but thinks about it for a moment. "Hmn...I guess it would work, especially if he put it on..." The idea that someone younger than him is apparently able to claim full skill in this doesn't appear to phase him.

As it is, he pulls a pouch from his pocket, rooting through it. "I'll bring out Weather then," he starts, a tall figure in white appearing to mist into existence beside him. While Emporio pulls out some fabric from the pouch- far too much than the pouch should hold, frankly, 'Weather' simply stands and stares blankly forward, apparently inert. "I think I still have the clothes I found for Donatello here, and they were about as big as Weather is- so I can better work with the human figure that way."

A pause, and he looks over to Haibara, as if to gauge if it's as good an idea as he thinks. "Thanks in advance, though..! I don't normally have anyone here to offer critique..."

[deage]

The fact Haibara doesn't let out a little shout of fright or even surprise? That's showing just how much crazy crap she's already had to see and deal with.

It's like, this might as WELL happen.

"The clothes should work, yes. But what the heck is that?" She gestures at Weather Report.

[seacub]

Oh, right.

He's grown so used to people blinking it off, it's almost strange to explain it. Looking from Weather to Haibara and passing the stand the clothes- the Stand proceeding to rather robotically pull everything on- the boy explains. "This is Weather," he starts, answering at least the question of who 'Weather' was. "He's my Stand."

After a short moment, he recalls that 'Stand' doesn't actually answer that question. "A Stand is sort of... ...it's like a superpower in a way? Except some of them look sort of like people," he gestures, frowning. "Honestly, I don't actually know a whole lot about them...no one really did, they mostly just fought..."

Prison Scary,

"What I do know, helps a lot for stuff like this though! What Weather feels, I feel, so I can get a better idea of how a lot of this is supposed to work that way!"

[deage]

"I... see. A 'Stand'. Like the cardboard cutouts used for movies." That's not the origin of the name but Haibara is trying to make sense of it, give her some credit.

"I'm not going to lie, that's very strange. Even for all the people here with weird powers. But I commend trying to learn practical skills instead of relying on it."

[seacub]

"I haven't seen any of those up close, but maybe..? If it is, they must have gotten the name before people realized Stands could be internal- Weather is humanoid, but my original Stand just sort of 'is'." He holds up his pouch. "It lets me interact with ghost objects- memories of things, like the ghost room inside the quiet car lab."

He pauses, and adds- "The clothes are ghost clothes too, actually. I got them from Irivar." Ah, the fantasy place they had a mission at some time ago.

In any case, he does try not to overload the other from there. "I think it's strange even at home if it helps...honestly, it's still strange for me. I was used to my original Stand, but working with Weather is..."

He stares, the Stand in question simply...well. Standing. "...there's a lot I'm figuring out still, I guess. It only makes sense to do what I can with it though right? And even if they're pretty strong, that won't help if anyone gets hurt."

[deage]

"Objects don't have memory. Though I suppose there might be some sort of quantum imprint that would let them linger in some form." Something modern science couldn't decipher, but might exist in theory. And this kid could.... well, it was better for Haibara than simply writing it off as magic or ghosts.

She looks over Weather again. Well. Okay, magic.

"Right. So you can fight with this one, but you want to expand your skills past it. That's a good thing."

[seacub]

He wants to say, 'that's still a form of memory isn't it??', but instead he just nods. "...If you want, I could show you the ghost room in the Lab?" he offers, quietly listening to the instructions from the ICP in the meantime. "Not right now of course, but when I'm done in here, if you have time?"

It doesn't take long to have what he needs from the instructions. From there obviously he has to look for the materials he'll need, but that isn't especially difficult either. "Mnh- yeah. At home, the most anyone could really hope for was Jolyne and her string, so..."

His voice grows soft as he says that, and he soon cuts himself short. "...It's good to be able to have the option to do better, I think."