A New Platform [Intro Post April]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Once again passengers are awoken by the morning announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day Sixteen 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 after lunch. A lunch that may be a bit sparse: between the big eaters and the stress bakers, the stores have been stretched thin the last two weeks.

"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 steam is thin, with blue skies seen above. The sun shines brightly down, warm light pooling on the platform.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Cassie Lang, Glorfindel, Jessie Custer, Olivia, Paddra Nsu-Yeul, S’reee, Thea Queen, Wei Wuxian.

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, open, with a vine-covered wall stretching high either side of the barrier. 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 eighteen 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 doors close behind them.

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'). The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, including plenty more tomatoes.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. There is a suitcase stocked with spare wash kit items, for those who are running low as well as a box labelled Do Not Use Yet that is full of small 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 who are making the most of the sunshine. 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

[zombiemessiah]

Oh. There's a little... pink thing? What is that? Okay.

"Trust me, sister. If you ever have a zombie invasion? The fridge and freezer are going to be godsends. Great places to put 'em until you can take care of 'em." He phrases it as 'take care of' on purpose. He doesn't necessarily like killing them. He will, if he has to, but he doesn't take a lot of pleasure from it. Especially now since the chance he can cure them is very high.

He opens up the brown paper and his brows raise.

He looks up at the pink thing. Man, he wants to check it! But... The pink thing is there and it feels weird. "Can you hand me one about big enough for about four apples?"

[mtsilver_conquor]

"Noted, though let's hope we never have to deal with that, here or on any of the worlds we visit." Eva chirps, not even questioning the idea of zombies even existing in the first place. "And... you mean kill, yeah? Or...?"

Eva, don't just ask that, gods, woman. At least it's open-ended though, even as she rummages around a bit until she finds what he's after.

And then she comes into view - Orange polo, brown cargos, and the most obvious thing that stands out is the pokebelt with three balls attached to the right and three widely spaced 'studs' on the other side. If one looks closely, there's also vines etched into the leather of said belt, while the buckle itself is a platinum(?!) leaf shape. In her hand is the container, though a bit bigger than what he asked for. "Here- and don't mind Princess. He's a pain in the butt but generally harmless."

[zombiemessiah]

"Sometimes you can save them, if you get to 'em soon enough."

He's not really familiar with the pokeballs- was never that kind of nerd and it's been years since the start of his apocalypse. All the fun stuff is gone. Thankfully. Means he doesn't recognize her pink friend.

He takes the tupperware and puts the brown wrapped package in it, before glancing up at Princess. "What is that even? In my world I'd be expecting it to jump down and get me. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop."

It always does, eventually. He turns his back so its to them, pulls a bit out of the wrapped brown paper and tries it, before putting the lid on the tupperware and puts it on a shelf. His face is going through the various stages of What the hell? Then, Hmm... Then shrugging acceptance because hey, it works! It's just empty in there.

[mtsilver_conquor]

"Huh. So it's like a disease then?" Based on what she knows so far, it makes sense to her that it's be something like that.

Eva grins and while he turns away, she talks. "He's a pippi - a kle'fari in uh, English." Her pronunciation of 'clefairy' is very much flavoured by someone speaking an utterly foreign word. "Either way, they're a species of pokemon native to Arkea - that's my world. We've got a number of other pokemon on the train, but most of them aren't from Arkea. That said, he won't hurt you. Steal your lap, beg for food -please don't feed him. He's getting fat-, try and trip you up, yes."

The fat comment earns Eva a sad, mournful look. He's skin and bones under all the fur! Underfed and overworked by a mean human! Eva ignores it. "He's also a fairy, if that means anything to you - and I assume whatever's that contain is food for you?"

[zombiemessiah]

"The only fairy I knew of was the tooth fairy and they gave up on me a long time ago."

Murphy, luckily, can also eat normal food. So after that one sampling he grabs an apple from a shelf to munch on. "Regular decent food is so underrated. You always kind of know that? But man can that hit home after an apocalypse... And yeah, it was a virus."

He shrugs and crunches loudly into the apple, twisting to look up at the Clefairy again. "Called it 'ZN1'. Luckily there's a cure, and a kind of vaccination." Mostly because of him and his trash garbage collection of immunities, a dumpster bin of infections he's fought off.

[mtsilver_conquor]

"Tooth fairy?" There's a head tilt as Eva tries to puzzle out what was meant; there's nothing like that on Arkea and she's curious, to the point she misses the bit about food, but not the virus.

"At least there's a cure for it. Hopefully, your world'll get a vaccine sorted soon, too." Cures are good, but nothing beats a vaccine to stamp out a virus in the first place. Especially one like a Zombie Virus, given as far as Eva knows, nothing good comes from them.

[zombiemessiah]

"Would probably be better if it wasn't all up here-" He points to his own head "-and in here-" a loose gesture over his torso "-and now I'm-" a big sweeping motion to the train. Yup. He's got that whole cure. And he's not there.

"You've never heard of the tooth fairy? Creepy old tradition where when a kid loses their teeth they put it under their pillow and a little creature comes and takes and leaves a coin. It's called a tooth fairy."

He never got to tell that story to his daughter, though. She never got any of the good parent lies he'd been so keen to tell one day.

[mtsilver_conquor]

It doesn't take her long to work out what he means, and Eva nows. "We're working on getting us all home ASAP. That much I can promise you."

Last she checked at least. She should probably go poke any of the science team she knows are still around, what with people coming and going all the time.

"There's a lot of things I've never heard of, though gods only know there's probably some small village or the like on Arkea that has something like this 'tooth fairy'."

Probably; Areka is a big place after all. "It does sound creepy though, and why would fairies want coins? Don't they have iron in them?"

[zombiemessiah]

"I think I heard the Japanese guy with the two-tone hair suggest something to that effect. And if you're in the process of trying I'm betting I need to be in the process to prepare for that going very, very wrong. No offense, but every time I stop somewhere new and changes are being made, somehow they play out badly."

'Murphy's Law' is a concept he truly carries with him.

"...Actually I think coins didn't have iron back when someone dreamed up that whole myth? Whatever. It's a cute lie to keep kids from being upset about losing their teeth. And most kids where I'm from don't have-"

He points back to the pink thing. "No reason to know any fairy rules."

[mtsilver_conquor]

"You mean Senku? Trust me, if he says it's happening, it'll be happening. No matter what, he's a good person and he's 100% committed to getting us all home without things going sideways." She sounds 1000% sure in that belief. "If it does go sideways, that's out of our control."

For all she says that though, there's a small frown at the lie to kids part. "I... I understand not wanting kids to be upset and they'd have no reason to know fairy rules, yet... surely there's a better way to deal with it?"

She was told the truth; that each tooth lost was a step closer to being mature enough for her Journey.

[zombiemessiah]

"Most kids are lucky if they even have a pillow anymore, so I don't think if fairies were around? They'd have all that much to worry about anymore. And some of them don't even have the chance to grow up."

And he does actually sound a little sad about that. As much as he can drive himself to not care in a moment, in other moments it wells up in him. Especially as he's in the proximity of something leaking its emotions right into him.

He used to be so hateful, so indifferent. He is capable of it, still, but he slips more and more often.

But he can't give the wrong impression. "I'd still make a Bug-Out Bag, one guy that's super determined to do the right thing can be fucked over by the ten other guys ready to spoil the party."

[mtsilver_conquor]

For a second or three, there's honest heartbreak and understanding on Eva's face. For all she's not from his world, her world is monster-filled.

"Gods, don't I know it," And she does. How many times had she seen the adults of Pallet rouse to fight off something. Wild monster, rouge trainer... or worse yet a trainer who'd lost control of their pokemon. Too many and it's the with her joining the efforts.. the search parties...

She swallows and it's shoved down and down until there's not but understanding and sympathy. "Trust me on this: make one if you want, but I've been here ten months -since the beginning- and we tend to come down hard on those who spoil the train party at least."

[zombiemessiah]

"I'm generally referring to poor choices and people throwing wrenches into the works.
What constitutes spoiling the train party?"

He already figures there are a good number of things that he does that a lot of the Big Damn Heroes on the train wouldn't like, and those are on a good day. Those are in the tupperware he just stashed away.

Sorry for the delay. Feel free to drop this if it's too old.

[mtsilver_conquor]

"Murder of, or hurting fellow trainmates, basically." It's a matter of fact and blunt at that.

"Throwing wrenches in the works is somewhat expected given everything, though... I prefer to think we do that just by the Voidtrecker Express existing."

[zombiemessiah]

"Real question, does everyone here get the whole, 'don't attack me or murder anyone on the train' speech multiple times or is that special for me? I feel a little singled out."

Now, he knows he's red and looks a little bit like Satan. But, come on people.

"I don't need to kill people to take care of myself. You might want to start giving that speech to the normal-looking folks. I'm sure a few psychos slipped in."

[mtsilver_conquor]

"I didn't mean you exactly. You could be bright red with green polkadots and you'd still get the same answer." She means that, too. "I try to give it to as many people as possible. Not everyone reads the welcome guide."

Much to her dislike, but, she can't force it on everyone.