voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post March]

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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!

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"Yes, Xion was at that school as well." He had seen it in her memories though it had taken talking to Lea to understand that had been a different place than where she had first lived.

It was... He's not sure he would use the word depressing. But it was worrying, to know the multiverse was so much larger, there were so many more ways to lose those he cared about.

That Lord Gyousou could be anywhere at all. He tried to focus on Tidus' words about art supplies instead.

"That sounds nice, it might stop people staring at the void too long as well." It was easy to do, even when they knew the dangers.

"We'll need a lot more paint for that!" Tidus laughs, but bringing up the void... "Think it's less of a headache if you're not really looking at it, but the stuff in front of it? Maybe we should get ladder and try to really spruce it up. Would you wanna paint anything on it? You could really let loose on this!"

And why not more hands on getting the project started to begin with? ~~please don't mind Romeo there, Taiki.~~ He had Rapunzel he wanted to talk about too, but he'd take every helping hand he could get.

"I'll help in any way you require." His words are a bit formal, but formality is better than silence, than getting lost in his head.

And he wouldn't mind painting, it has always been a way for him to calm the thoughts inside of him, to try and bread through to discover what is going on in his mind. It's relaxing, a little like meditation.

And the fact it means doing something helpful for Tidus is just a bonus.

It is formal, and as the way they're walking isn't as packed together with people as the aisles of the coaches, giving Tidus more room to be turned, watching Taiki better. Funnily enough, it's the garden car, it's opened space and the void swirling slowly all around them.

"Well I'm glad you want to!" Haha. "Maybe there's something from Tai we can add. Some kind of motif, or something you remember?" He pauses in his walking, looking around, thinking, before looking back at Taiki. His hands lifting in that conversational, gesturing way.

"One of them was telling me about these cards they hang in memory where they're from. There was a name... but I think we can all leave a piece of something behind. Of each other, and the people that're gone, right? Seto was talking about putting a memorial somewhere in here before," he remembers with a soft laugh, another glance taken about.

"It might end up looking like a mess, but that'll be good. It should. We should have a big messy display. That's who we are -- a bunch of different people coming together, just trying to...make something out of this."

"Like tanzuka? Wish cards?" It wasn't quite the same thing but it was the first thing he thought of when he thought of hanging cards. It would work well for a memorial and perhaps was in different worlds.

He kept his eyes on the ground, unable to look at Tidus, not sure he will be able to hide the pain on his face if he does. "I've been painting people, I haven't gotten everyone who left... I didn't know them all."

But it had been his attempt at helping others remember. "I like... A big display with lots of different ways to remember people. That would be nice..."

"Yeah! Like that!" At least Tidus is guessing the word is close to same. Actually-- "Tanabata!" he says with a click of his fingers. "You hang the wishes from tree. Same deal, right?"

But it's hard to miss now, the way the conversation has been led into a gloomier place. Hard not to, with what's being spoken about, and the way that Taiki keeps his head down with his soft-spoken words.

Tidus rests his hands on Taiki's shoulders in comfort. "You can add your paintings. From its own tree, or... we can have a board. Something, a way for everyone to be seen and remembered. Even now..." his own head dips, gaze with it. "People are going... it won't ever stop. But they won't be forgotten."

He's quiet for a beat, then shares: "I got some nice card paper. You can tell me if any of it's good for painting? And we can get some better paper if we need it."

"Tanabata." He nodded, "Yes, it is a festival, where you hang the tanzuka from trees." It had been a long time since he had gone to the festival, his wishes had been locked inside him, hidden from even himself.

He lets Tidus's words wash over him, as painful as they are. It wouldn't ever stop. Anyone could vanish at any time. But they wouldn't be forgotten.

He nodded, he was sure card would be good, he could buy some good paper as well. Filling his head with such thoughts was better than dwelling with the pain inside him.

"I can have a look..."

"Good thing we're going there now." He lets out a light chuckle, and there's a pause, before he takes a hold of Taiki's closest hand while turning back on the path they were walking. "We should do a lot in here! There's this printer, you know. Webmind talked about it once... You can make 3D things outta it? We should check it out too."

He's walking, talking, easy to focus on the sorting and testing, but he's got no thoughts about what he'll be doing himself for all this. Then again as long as the kids (and Taiki) have fun, he'd find that a success.

Taiki grips the hand immediately, not hard but almost desperate, taking comfort in Tidus' nearness. Listens to him ramble, he's never heard of a printer that makes things in 3D but the train surpasses the technology even in Hourai.

"It sounds like you've got many plans." As ever, Tidus was very busy. They are close to the luggage carriage now.

"Did you buy anything for yourself?"

"Actually, yeah, I did!" And what a way to remind him. If Tidus could get any more excited, he does, eyes switching from the sleeper car they're walking through to Taiki. He's got brilliant things to share.

"I got these game devices from Zanarkand if they show up." That part, it's a normal Tidus cheeriness, with the next shared more eagerly: "--And I asked for blitzball books, for showing it off! I wanted a book for beginners, and one from a world I don't know. You wanna read them if they look good? You can see what it's all about!"

Nevermind the blitzball anime. This is going to be the real thing!

Even with a dark cloud of sorrow over his heart it is still... nice to see Tidus so animated, so excited.

Game devices? Like gameboys perhaps? He could imagine Tidus enjoying those but the next... More blitzball. Of course it would be the game that got Tidus so excited.

"Of course I'll read them, it would be nice to know more about it."

He's always happy to learn about what his friends love.

"I'll tell you anything you don't understand," Tidus happily offers, as if imagining the sport and book leaving Taiki with questions after that the latter wouldn't already supply. And wouldn't that be great?

The art supplies are just about forgotten as they walk into the luggage carriage, Tidus's eyes now only for anything that looks like it might be a wrapped book. Or would it be multiple books? Gotta see, gotta see...!

He finds one eventually with his name on it, and pulls at the wrapping to getting into it, revealing--

"Ugh. Baking." Right, he got that. Batch baking or whatever... This isn't blitzball!!

"Baking?" He can see Tidus's disappointment so he quickly starts looking through the parcels, looking for anything that seems book shaped, that has Tidus' name on it.

He finds a few things, passing them over as he does. Not all are book shaped but they might as well gather all the parcels in one place whilst they are here, even if they aren't the one that Tidus wants right now.

Everything has fallen apart today, his heart is in shadow and in this sorrow, finding this book for Tidus, to see his friend smile has become the most important task he could ever think of.

The luggage carriage has never been so well searched.

Right, he came here for more than the blitz books; some with shapes he can't really distinguish, but those he aren't caring about more than anything book shaped. Those he looks into, and -- no, these are comics, which he does show the cover of one to Taiki and jokes, "You like robots?", will pass it over anyway, just so he can have a look. There's the book for baking cakes and other sweet treats, and then...

"Aha!" Bingo! He's got one, with a photographic cover showing someone submerged in water, reaching for a blitzball. This wasn't the exact one he was searching for, but he's turning it around and examining it, taking a flip through some pages.

"Ohhh, yeah..." Hmmm, hmmm...! "This one's about a place that plays blitzball! Wow, what's all this about?"

There's a lot more going on than Tidus was expecting.

"Robots?" He looks at the comics, they look... very violent but he is sure that Tidus will enjoy them, they look exciting at least. But then Tidus is looking through one, he must have found it.

He moved closer to look over his shoulder.

"Oh..." It looked like... That's a lot of history, it's hard to get through the pictures and the few words he gets on page flips.

"Is it the same game?"

It looks the same, to his eyes at least.

"Maybe!" He flips slower with Taiki actually there curious with him, making Tidus think to actually try and read the book too. But there's a lot of talking about the world, the people -- Tidus ain't got time (read: the patience) to do more than glean what's there.

"There's a ball. And it's in water..." And that's what, two out of three? He does want to take a look through it better, but there's just one more book for him to peel the paper off, so he puts that onto one knee, starts tearing into the other.

There we go. Blitzball in big letters on a more action dynamic covering. Tidus's face brightens instantly.

"Alright!"

So perhaps the same. Tidus probably needs to read it more thoroughly to learn anything else. Later probably when his excitement about his new books has lessened a little.

He watches him open the other and looks down at it when Tidus brightens. This must be the one he was waiting for.

"This is the instruction book?"

"Yeah, see, look here?" He's tapping on a page, the images here less exciting than what was displayed on the pages of the other book. Instructional images to be followed, simple and to the point. "This is showing different exercises to do. You need to work your muscles in and out of the pool. Hmm, I wonder if they have any moves in here?"

Here comes the page flipping, slow and as careful as it is.

"People make up their own moves--the way they shoot the ball, use it to get past the other players and make the goal," he explains. "Some of the really fancy moves you see--you watched the cartoon. You know." So he doesn't need to explain too in-depth, but just remind Taiki. "When the main guy used a move that copied the famous blitzer's signature move? But then there's moves everyone knows. Like a spin and kick."

That came up in the cartoon show. Man, they should look for more cartoons. He's stuck on a page now, thinking, toying with the idea, thumb fiddling with the side of the page. But heck, what's the harm in asking? And he looks at Taiki, smiling.

"Think Saku'll be interested in it too? Maybe we could read it together, or--I can give it to you, and I'll ask you two about it later." He chuckles, showing his teeth for a second.

"Bet I could copy anything in this book if you two wanna see it!"

He could listen to Tidus talk about Blitzball all day, listen to him be happy and full of enthusiasm for something he loves. It is comforting, a reminder that even if his own world has shattered, other people were still just living their lives.

It's strange, a disconnect but he leans into it, nodding along as Tidus explains about Blitzball moves. Humming his understanding and recollection at scenes from the cartoon.

But then.... Then he asked about Lord Gyousou. He didn't know. He hadn't seen... He was still living in a world where Lord Gyousou was on the train. Where he hadn't walked away through the barriers.

He's stuck, staring at the page, the diagrams breaking down the move. Staring, silent.

But he has to answer, as much as he hates to burst this bubble. "Sorry Tidus. Lord Gyousou can't... He won't be able to." A slight stumble but apart from that his voice is calm, emotionless.

"Uh?"

Tidus looks at Taiki, trying to garner his meaning. Sitting there in the pile of books with him, calmly, straight-forward. He blinks, letting his gaze go to the open pages as he works around the blockade that seems to be stumbling him. If Saku can't, then - well, he's not ill, right? Can't, won't be able to doesn't fit. But Taiki isn't sad enough for it to be anything too serious. But, maybe still...

"Did he... did his name go gold?" He's careful as he says it, knows even that's still a heavy thing for Taiki to have to deal with. "Today?"

He wouldn't have just missed the king disappearing any other day. But, he hasn't checked the roster - didn't pay attention to who was gold and who wasn't. Damn, did he really miss Saku's name being in gold?

He can't look at him, it's too painful to see his confusion, his concern. It's one thing keep a careful face around those he doesn't know too well, to hide the hurt as he walks through the corridors.

But to do it in front of a close friend, someone who cared deeply for Gyousou as well. It felt wrong, felt like lying. But he can't... He can't let his feelings bubble up, it feels like once he allows them to that will be it, he won't be able to push them down again.

So he carefully picks a spot on the wall opposite as he speaks. "He left. Through the barriers."

He left.

Silence fills the carriage, its own sort of presence within the four steel walls. Tidus is still, frozen in the moment: understanding what's been said, but unable to comprehend it. Not knowing what to do or say. He left. When? How? He never noticed. He never saw it. He didn't see Saku's name gone from the roster. He didn't check.

And Taiki never said anything. There isn't blame to it. The 'Why?' that might rise barely a ghost answered by all that Tidus knows of Taiki, and the obvious: How was he supposed to? How do you speak it, even if Tidus wasn't being himself, talking and gabbing away as he always does, never giving a guy like Taiki to speak. But Taiki wouldn't speak. Taiki wouldn't say anything if he never needed to, would never mention it if he could dodge it forever. Would that have been better? For Taiki?

He left. Saku and Taiki sat in the cinema carriage, watching whatever new show or move the king has found; the pair in the dining car, the calming presence of the man. Watching the blitzball cartoon, chatting in the kitchen. The ball that Saku gave him, the walk around Jema’grethy Island, paths of berry bushes and fruit trees. All of it gone, surfacing in Tidus's mind like some ugly reminder that now, that's all he gets. Memories. Just memories. And Tidus thinks about that link, Taiki's connection to his king severed repeatedly. But always, Saku came back.

Time is always running out.

The books are put aside - the mess of parcels, anything that might be in the way - and Tidus reaches out, pulling Taiki towards him at the shoulders, holding him close without anything immediately said.

But he does speak, apologetic and remorseful. "I didn't watch them go."

I didn't know. I'm sorry.

The words burst the last bubble of normality. For a moment things had mirrored how they had been before that morning, Tidus' enthusiasm, comics, books and talk of art. But now. A silence descended as Tidus took in the news.

Taiki felt bad, to have broke the news this way. Both for not saying anything earlier and saying anything at all. It felt wrong to bring such pain to Tidus and yet not telling him... That hadn't been good either.

Tidus had been a friend of Lord Gyousou's. His leaving left a wound on his heart. Taiki let himself be pulled closer, pressing his face into Tidus hoodie as tears slipped past his eyelids.

He can't hold them back, not whilst being held by a friend. "I know." He knew that Tidus hadn't been there. He knows why he didn't watch anymore. Why it was too painful.

"I'm sorry..."

"You don't--" --need to say sorry. But Tidus stops himself before he might finish, his dismissing of the apology as automatic as Taiki's need to apologise. Taiki probably knows what he was going to say, but it's not important. Tidus just doesn't want to add that guilt on top of what Taiki must already be feeling.

That's not what they need. That's not what Taiki needs, and Tidus wraps him up in his arms more, his head coming to rest close to Taiki's. Neither of them can help the way they are, but for how they feel...

"I'll stick with you, as long as we're together," he promises fiercely, even in a whisper. "Let it out. You're not alone. I...it's never fair."

These losses, and Tidus feels the sting in his own eyes, keeping them closed. Taiki wasn't going to be alone, but what did that mean for how he'd feel? He still remembers them touching down in Terran, the way Taiki crumbled just from losing him then. Knowing instinctively, the second their connection snapped.

And now he was going through it again. And now he was going through it for real.

"I'm sorry, Taiki," he says, voice thicker and a hypocrite, slowly shaking his head.

He still feels guilty, he feels awful. About everything. Because he is hurting but so are others. He can hold hope that one day he will see Lord Gyousou again. He has to hope. That one day they will return to Tai. That he will serve at his king's side once more.

But would Lord Gyousou ever return here. Would he ever see those who he called friends on this train again. Or would this be it? Vanished without even a chance to say goodbye.

He holds onto Tidus, as if the other boy might slip away, vanish himself. It was never fair and it was... more than Taiki deserved to have friends such as this. Friends who would comfort him, even as he was left in crushing darkness once again.

No kirin can be happy without their king. For most kirin even a trip to another kingdom brought sorrow, they always yearned to return to their king. Taiki had spent almost his entire life an entire world away from his.

He takes a shuddering breath. "Thank you." It's a whisper, the tiniest sound as he fights to keep tears contained. If he starts to cry, he's not sure he will ever stop.

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A New Platform [Intro Post March]

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