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

[firewalled]

Well, at least that's nice. Maybe not so nice for them, if they want to get back home...

[Though if the monsters aren't that dangerous, it might not be so bad. Hell, Rich would probably deal without sunlight if it meant he didn't have to deal with some of the mess he'd left back home.]

Anyways, I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends here. Most people are pretty nice here.

[Save a certain blue holographic dick.]

[saveas]

[Asriel just kinda shrugs. He doesn't know about most of the humans, and really he has no idea what Frisk was trying to do. But he kinda doesn't think they went up the mountain for happy reasons, either. Chara never wanted to go back to their old home.]

Uh...yeah, I guess.

[he had like no friends BEFORE Chara, and that was when he was at least normal]

[firewalled]

Hey, don't be nervous. I promise it'll work out.

[Either way, he should probably take Asriel on that tour, so he climbs up into the entranceway of the train, holding out a hand to help the kid up into the car.]

So! Starting off here. This little computer thing over here is called an ICP. You can use it to send messages to all the other ICP terminals in the train. I think there's one in pretty much every carriage, except the quiet cars, but we'll get there.

[saveas]

[Asriel looks at the hand, but doesn't ultimately take it. He's not a little kid, he can climb up himself!]

Why would you do that? Do they not have phones here? [not that he ever really had his own anyway, but]

[firewalled]

Nah. A lot of people didn't get brought here with phones, and even if they did, it's not like we can connect to a network or anything. Whatever computer the ICP has is really outdated, like... We can't even text on it, or save messages.

[It's kind of bullshit to Rich. Especially when the 'broadcast to everyone' has already gotten him in trouble.]

[saveas]

[Asriel grimaces a little. It's not like he has anybody to text or call anyway, but if he has to do it to everyone at once, AND it has to be his voice? That sounds awful!]

Yeah, I don't think I'll use that.

[firewalled]

Hey, suit yourself.

[Rich shrugs his shoulder and bangs on the metal wall behind him.]

The engine room is behind here, but as far as I know, we can't get in there. And just down there, you can see there's a little terminal you can use for shopping. If you want something from home or whatever, you can order it there, if you have enough points. I think we get points based on missions and stuff? It's a little weird, though.

[saveas]

...you can get stuff from home? How does that work?

[He's not...well, he hasn't really owned anything for a while, and he'd been okay with that. But if nobody from home has any chance of finding out...it'd be kinda cool to maybe get some of his old stuff back. He knows Dad still has it all, he just hadn't cared as Flowey, and just now it hadn't seemed important enough to waste time on.]

[firewalled]

Well, when we go on missions and do stuff to help out our team, we can earn points. If we get enough of those points, we can order stuff on this terminal, and type out specifically what we wanted. Like before we got to this platform, I asked for them to bring my guitar. And now, the train made an announcment that my package is in the luggage car!

[Along with another one, but he's not going to get into that with Asriel.]

Once we get to that area, I can show you.

[saveas]

And it's your guitar? Not just a random one?

[.......ALSO:]

You play guitar? [that's...cool.....]

[firewalled]

Well, we'll just have to go check. It should be my guitar. I'll be able to tell right away, if you want to check it out.

[He smirks a little. He has to admit he always thought playing music would seem super cool. Take that, SQUIP! This little goat creature thinks he's rad!]

And if you want to hear me play.

[saveas]

Okay!

[Yeah, that sounds fun!]

My - my dad used to play the piano, but I've never seen anyone play guitar before!

let me know if you wanna hit on anywhere before they have their Jam Session

[firewalled]

Well, we'd better wpeed up this tour, then! I wish I had the patience to learn piano. It was thanks to my mom that I managed to learn guitar at all.

[He smiles gently at the memory, but then gets to leading Asriel through the storage rooms, the kitchen, and so on, giving him a rundown of what to expect. He's trying to be thorough, but... well, they're both pretty impatient about getting to see his guitar.]

i'm down for whatever!

[saveas]

I learned a little, but I was never that good at it.

[The stress on that word makes it sound like there was someone else who was...but Asriel never had their patience. When he didn't get good at it very quickly, he kinda got bored and frustrated. Maybe he'd be more patient now? But then again, maybe it'd be worse.]

[firewalled]

Hey, you're never too old to learn. I know there's probably people willing to teach you if you want to. I'm not much of a tutor, but hell, even I'd try.

[The kid's too cute to turn down, really. Rich is used to being the little brother in his family, so this is certainly new. He points out a few more cars, but he realizes after a moment that Asriel said something a little odd.]

So was there someone else in your family who played music?

[saveas]

Oh...

[Asriel's smile fades. He looks away, fingers curling against his palms.]

My sibling. They could play really good.

[firewalled]

Oh, I get that. My older brother was way better at the drums than I was.

[He can tell, though, that there's more to it than that, even though Rich isn't quite sure how to breach the subject.]

Do you miss them?

[saveas]

Yeah.

[Maybe it's more complicated than it was before, but of course he misses them. Even Flowey missed them, sort of. He guesses he probably always will. Which isn't a very fun thought, but there it is.]

[firewalled]

I'm sorry... I mean, I know it's not a good thing to imagine, but there's always a possibility that they could end up here too.

[He would be happy to see them reunited, though he would worry about the safety of children being stuck here.]

I miss a lot of friends too... though I don't think they'd exactly have the abilities this train is looking for. Not that I did, either.

[saveas]

They're dead.

[It comes out harsher and more abrupt than Asriel really intended. After all, it isn't like Rich knew any better. He just...hasn't really allowed himself to say things like that aloud, much. Maybe never in those exact words: they're dead.

They are, though. He's spent way too long acting like they aren't. He digs his claws into his pawpads, trying to stop himself from crying.]

[firewalled]

...Oh.

[Rich just barely manages to clamp down on a swear at that. He doesn't want to make the poor kid feel worse, and he's already pretty thoroughly jammed his foot in his mouth.

The train has a pretty fragile grip on mortality at most times, and Rich is used to hearing that people have died and come back around here before. Unfortunately, though, he doesn't know anything about people who are already dead in their own worlds coming here... so he can't offer any assurance there.

Instead, all he can really do is kneel down beside the kid again, slowly reaching out a hand. If Asriel flinches away, he'll retreat, but if not, he'll rest one hand on his shoulder. He's not... good at comforting, exactly, but he knows what he usually wants when he's in need, and tries to follow that as an example.]

...I'm sorry I brought up something so painful. It's okay if you need to cry a little. I lost my mom when I was little, so... it's not like I understand exactly what it's like, but...

[saveas]

[Asriel used to draw a lot of comfort from physical affection. Nowadays, he's not really sure how he feels about it anymore; it's been an awfully long time. But he'll let Rich do his thing, and scrub a pawpad across his eye in an unsuccessful attempt to not cry.

It's not like he's not sad. He's just trying to keep on being all brave and cool about it, like he did for Frisk. It was easier then, though. They hadn't been there that long, and it'd been important that they not feel too bad to go on without him. Now...he was never really able to feel sad about Chara being gone before. He died so soon after them, and it didn't hit the same way when he was Flowey.]

They've...I mean, they've been gone for a long time now.

[firewalled]

Yeah. My mom has too.

[Rich squeezes Asriel's shoulder again, trying to get him to look up so the teen can get him to understand that he's serious. He knows what this is like... a little of what this is like anyways. He's not going to try to tell this kid how he should grieve, but he still thinks he can offer something.]

Sometimes you still get reminders of them, and it still stings, even after a long time. It's impossible to just stop missing them, for that feeling to go away completely. There's ways to deal with it... but it can't disappear. Which is for the best, really, I mean, would you want to forget all about them?

[saveas]

[Asriel snuffles and rubs a sleeve over his eyes.]

N-no. I...they weren't...perfect, I guess. [Not that Rich said anything of the sort, but it's something Asriel's been sort of coming to terms with lately.] But I still miss them. I was...I was gonna sit with them for a while, but then I ended up here instead.

[firewalled]

No one really is perfect. And it can be hard to accept that, especially when you're dealing with grieving over someone. It's hard to deal with the bad things you remember about them. It feels kind of taboo, right?

[His situation is a little different, but trying not to confuse his mother with the being that wore her face... usually results in those complicated feelings.]

I'm sorry this place did that to you. It's... awful.

[He knows better than to swear again.]