voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post March]

Entry tags:

A New Platform [Intro Post March]

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Bulma's dragging a little to begin with. Of course, that's usual for her before she's had a cup of coffee or two, and especially if she's had a late night the night before. Which is probable, considering her gaming hobby had been in full swing in the time period between Yamcha and her breaking up and Trunks becoming a little half-saiyan in the world.

She sighs over her cup as Vegeta asks how she's doing, shoulders sagging ever so slightly along with it. ]

Exhausted for no reason. I don't even understand. I feel like I was up all night gaming or something.. and I haven't done that in years..

And just what did you do last night? [He honestly has no clue, most of his time yesterday was spent having a small and scared girl clinging to him and wanting his attention... it wasn't a terrible way to spend the day, but it did mean Vegeta had lost track of Bulma during it. Not like she could had gotten herself in too much trouble on the train, it would had been a different issue if they were at a stop during this all.

This was more trying to prompt her memory, to make her think about what happened and to see if it would come back to her.]

I ... hmm... [ Bulma pauses for a moment as she thinks about it. It’s all kind of fuzzy if she’s honest, which is a little concerning. But clearly, if Vegeta is asking -

He knows something. Which means she rounds on her husband in a moment, eyes accusatory. ]

Alright, spill it. What do you know?

[Well that wasn't fun at all, what a shame.] Something happened that caused a portion of the train inhabitants to revert in age to some degree. Bulla became a child, Trunks was from a time before Gohan died, and you, [He raised a brow at her as he answered.] Came from just after Namek after you ordered me to stay. [Vegeta would had said invited, but lets face it, it had been more an order.]

You seemed very sure that you would never marry someone as horrible as me and clearly I couldn't compete compared to Yamcha. [A bit of a smirk appearing on his face towards her, happy to rub it back in her face.]

I did not order you to stay. [ Bulma's eyes roll at the implication that she could have made him stay even if she had ordered him to stay. Vegeta then could've very well blasted her off the planet and made his way away but he hadn't... so she rests her case on the fact he clearly liked something about her from the start.

Bulma takes a prim sip from her coffee, contemplating her defense against her own assertions that he couldn't measure up to Yamcha. To be fair to herself, at the time, she and Yamcha had been so off and on it was hard to make any calls either way as to how they would end up. Had she thought, then, that she would end up in a stress relief stand turned 13 year kind of marriage?

Hell no. Absolutely not. ]

Well, to be fair, at that point you were the house guest who liked to scream at me all the time, so.. [ Not that Bulma didn't yell back just as intensely.. but you know. Not the point. ] And you were pretty horrible. And smelly.

But Yamcha was still a wandering eye culprit, so. I think I upgraded at the very least.

That's the only upgrade? [The raised brow he gives is not quite the joking one he uses now and then with her, a bit more serious. Please Bulma, don't just say the ONLY improvement he is to Yamcha is that... that's... so insulting. Maybe he's a little more caught up in this than he should be, after all, how many years have they been together? But after yesterday and her inability to ever believe they could be together... well...

There's also a twitch to that hoodie he's wearing, despite the fact he's got his arms crossed as he leans a shoulder against the edge of her bunk, though possibly in her half asleep brain it could go unnoticed. She is only a few sips into her first cup of coffee after all.]

[ Bulma... just giggles, lightly, as he asks if that's the only upgrade. Of course it isn't, but she can't help teasing her husband a little bit when she can rib him. Not that she doesn't take every chance she can possibly get whenever she can, but.

She does lean in to kiss his cheek, anyway, leaning back to take another sip from her coffee. ]

There's a lot of upgrades. But you'll get all huffy if I list them all off, so I won't.

Anyway, you know there's more if I agreed to marry you.

[She gets little more than a 'hmm' back in reply, but Vegeta had lost some of the tension in his face and set of his shoulders at her answer, seeming happy to take it and leave it how it was. The kiss was nice too.

He gives her an extra moment to enjoy her coffee, realizing she may take back those words with what he's going to ask next, but it has to be done.] I need you to fix my armor.

Your armor? [ Bulma pauses, giving Vegeta a hard stare over the rim of her coffee cup. She takes another sip before she asks, as if preparing herself to find out the reason that he needs her to 'fix' his armor. Of course there's always something in this family, but still - ]

Alright. What did you do to it now?

[There's another twitch from that hoodie, reacting to that tone and look he knows all too well from her. It could go two ways, one was her to be annoyed and grumble that once again he broke something; the other was to yell at him. To which he would yell back. And it would start a cycle until they both had blown off enough steam to calm down.

And it certainly doesn't help she starts off with that accusation... as true as it normally was.] I didn't do anything to it. [A pause, then realizing that, well, he would have to reveal this all to get this sorted. So arms crossed over his chest, and still leaning against that wall, Vegeta unwrapped his tail from around his waist and let it slip out from the bottom of the hoodie, moving it into view for her to see.]

Then why does it need to be fixed? [ She's too busy staring incredulously at her husband to notice the tail at first. Of course, she's never actually known Vegeta all that well with his tail, so the last thing she's probably expecting is for that furry appendage to suddenly appear.

... In typical Bulma style she stares for a moment, mouth sort of open in surprise before she dead pans : ]

Well, I guess I did marry a monkey prince.

[Bulma gets a rather flat look back about that pun, Vegeta letting it hang a moment in silence before choosing to ignore her attempt at a joke.] I can't wear my armor now since there is no room for it. [Which while he doesn't need it on the train, it's what Vegeta feels most comfortable in, at least until he gets a chance to get more clothing similar to what he likes to wear back home. None of it's his style at all. Which is to say, none of it is what Bulma tends to buy for him to wear.]

Can you alter them? [It's not asked in a manner of politeness, more as if she has the capability to do so without her normal tools here.]

Hmmm... that might be the question at the end of the day.. [ She's sure she could, one way or another, but would it then make the rest of the structure a bit too weak? Bulma contemplates for a moment how best to even change it before, well.. She realizes and remembers that Vegeta had a tail for years before he didn't and would probably have some good input there. ]

Well.. I've never had to make a suit to accommodate your tail before, so.. I assume you landed on Earth with a tail and a set of armor?

Do you remember how those were different enough to give me a run down on it?

The key is changing it without making the rest of the structure weaker while you're doing it..

Yes, I will give Frieza one thing, he at least ensured there was a range of armor suitable for all kinds. [Though admitting Frieza actually got something rights hurt a little.

Vegeta frowned in confusion for a moment at her question, trying to find a good way to answer, but at the end of it couldn't come up with more than,] It just had space to allow it to go through the base suit. [As she well knew, the armor was very flexible as well as strong, a perfect combination, especially for species which were able to transform. Especially with Oozaru form.] It wasn't always comfortable, but it did the job.

I plan to use the older, gray suit until they can be adjusted. [That at least had more distinct separate pieces to work with and give him some room.]

Well not very hard to do with materials that stretch as much as the base suits and the armor on top of it... [ Look, don't go giving Frieza much credit and attention here Vegeta .. it's a stretchy suit and stretchy armor. Of course, it's all great material and all, but it isn't like he's sewing things by hand individually here or anything like that.

Anyway... she nods as he says what she'd thought of at least, though... ]

I just don't want to make a weak point for the under suit with it by just... cutting it. It shouldn't make it too much different in how much it can handle, but at the same time... it isn't like I can just go making a ton of different suits around here, either.

Let me think about it a little before we just go cutting the undersuits, mn?

[During this Vegeta has let his tail drop, but instead of hiding it back away he let it rest behind him, it swinging in a gentle back and forward motion as they spoke.] Yes, the last thing I want is it falling apart or it somehow compromising the suit. [It would be worthless as armor otherwise.

A bit of a snarl pulled at his lips from this.] Half tempted to cut the damn thing off again. It's nothing but a nuisance. [Said tail reflecting his mood, the fur puffing up on it to show that anger he felt.]

Oh, stop. You're just not used to having it again. [ She's happy for him to have it back if she's honest. From all the ways he'd spoken of it, it was sort of like a lost limb when he had first lost it. These days, though, he hasn't had it for so long that, she thinks, it's just as odd as when he'd first lost it for Vegeta.

Of course, she's never experienced anything close, so there's no comparison.

Bulma can't help it, watching the tail fluff, reaching over to pet along it out of curiosity and to smooth down the fur. ]

I'll do some research. It should be fine, but like I said, better to think it over at length than just do it and make it weaker.

It's a weakness, [Vegeta snaps, though it's not aimed at her, but the situation. He... does like having it back, but not in the state it's in.] I'll have to retrain so it's not a liability to me again. And become aware of the moon cycles of any locations we stop at. [He does not want to even think about going into Great Ape form again. He's... not fully sure he could control it, not without practice. It's been so long, and it was a power that needed maintenance to control, to not let it just consume him in the need for destruction. It was too great a risk to all those around him.

As she reaches for it his tail reacts on instinct, trying to move away from the contact before Vegeta got it under control, forcing it to stay still for her.] I'm not used to it being touched.

I.. [ Oh, right, the moon thing. She remembers that from Goku, and Gohan, and for a moment Bulma is... unsure how to proceed about the entire thing. Of course she's curious, but at the same time...

Yes, the great ape was a threat. A large one at that. ] I hadn't thought about that... What are the chances you could control it? Or is that.. hard to know, really?

[ She supposes it's hard to know, considering how long he's been without, it. Bulma briefly runs her hand along the tail, the fur there as soft as Vegeta's hair, which was mainly why she had been curious in the first place. ]

Well I'm not gonna pull it.. Yet. [ If he pisses her off? Maybe. Anyway - ]

Do you think it's possible that other moons may not work the same? I never really... knew the ins and outs of the tail thing...

[There's a long pause from Vegeta, not wanting to admit this but, well, firstly it was to her and that made it a bit easier. And secondly, someone else should know in case something did go wrong.] I'm not sure. Oozaru is... all it wants is to destroy everything around it. It's all rage. It's why Saiyan children can grow their tails back if they lose them, both due to it easier for them to lose them because they don't know how to protect them from harm, and so they can be removed if they cannot control their transformation. I haven't had access to it for so long that... I'm not sure. I may have to fight it again to be able to control it. [Vegeta's not looking forward to when it happens. He knows what it feels like to transform, still had memories of it, but it was still a battle each time. And he was out of practice with it.

Vegeta then scowled towards her,] Don't you dare. [He's sure it was a tease... no, no, she would do it, wouldn't she? Horrible woman.]

I hadn't found a planet whose moons didn't cause it to work, however I didn't test all of them. Either we didn't need to transform to take a planet, or we used the artificial moon ability rather than waiting for a natural full moon to occur.

Then why lose the ability to regrow them in adulthood, though? [ It didn't make much sense to her, but then again.. not a lot about the world made a whole lot of sense at the end of the day. Who was she to tell Saiyans how to evolve and all of that, right? It isn't really the most pertinent question at the moment, but it's what she can think of. ]

Do you.. Do you want it cut off again if something happens and you can't control it?

[ Establishing Vegeta's wishes to do with this is important considering she's getting mixed messages here on the tail's worth to him, for starters.. and, well. She doesn't really want to ask someone to butcher her husband in some way if that isn't what he wants, regardless of the destructive rage part that filters in too.

He tells her not to dare to pull his tail and Bulma just smiles in that too sweet way that says she will not promise, but he has to try not to make her mad enough to think about it in the mean time. ]

I guess kind of no point in testing all of them if you don't have to, that's fair.

Because the likelihood of an adult Saiyan losing their tail is extremely low, short of them not being some sort of moron who is just asking for it. That or whatever would have the ability to take their tail would also have the ability to just kill them. Keep in mind you all had knowledge of how they worked before Raditz, Nappa, or I showed up. Not every race does, or lived to tell the story. [Vegeta is well aware of what his people were like, and just how much damage they had done in the universe.

That question makes him hesitate. Does he want it gone? It wasn't really needed now days, not with him having Super Saiyan, and he had learned to adjust to having it gone. But... he had also missed it, even if he wouldn't admit that, even to himself. There had been no point to mourn over it once it was lost, it couldn't be changed after all. However, if he lost control...] It's not worth keeping if it threatens you. [And that's what it came down to. If he transformed, if he couldn't control that form, then the risk of what it could do to those on the train, to their kids, to her... it wasn't worth it.

Although, it raises a question, Vegeta getting caught up in those thoughts and tuning her out as he does so.] I wonder what would happen if I was in Super Saiyan when I transformed. Or Blue. [That was... he hadn't considered that. What would happen? The great ape form increased a Saiyan's power, so if he was already transformed before doing into that...]

Well I mean .. did we really, considering it was Goku? [ Let's be fair here Vegeta - Goku was her best friend, and a lot like her little brother, but he isn't exactly a shining light of knowledge and insight in to being a saiyan. If anything, she's lucky when he isn't naked half the time just hanging around his house or something.

It warms her a little, admittedly, to hear him say that it wasn't worth keeping the tail if it threatened her. She'd ask about their kids, but she could anticipate the answer, she thinks. ]

A big blonde or blue ape, I would bet. [ Which is kind of funny, but at the same time - ] But I guess more dangerous for the rest of us.

I might be able to beat Kakarot and his damn Ultra Instinct. [Sorry Bulma, you've lost him for the moment as Vegeta considers the options here. If he did manage to get control over his ape form, why not use it to train while he had access to it? Of course, only on suitable locations with plenty of space and no risk to train inhabitants. To be able to increase Blue form's ten fold... Maybe he could even get a hit in against Beerus or Whis if they were here. It opened a whole new bunch of possibilities. Vegeta had given up on himself reaching Ultra Instinct, it just wasn't his style, he couldn't possibly 'empty his mind' like Whis had instructed them. Certainly not as easy as Goku could...

So he would have to find his own way to continue to progress. And this was a very Saiyan way to do so.]

[ Bulma can't help the half sigh, half-laugh that escapes her as Vegeta waxes into his thoughts about beating Goku. She really should have known that this is where this would absolutely end up, but somehow had missed that all signs pointed to the fact that he was going to go into 'more powerful than Goku.' ]

I should've known that's what you were going to start going in to.

(no subject)

renegadeprince - 2021-04-23 11:11 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only