voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post April]

A New Platform [Intro Post April]

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yes." She nodded firmly. "So you do be trusting me and we will be staying away from this fire."

Firm but gentle words. Much like when she had talked Soldat down. "We do be being almost there. One more carriage and we can be finding someone to be waiting."

One more carriage. That's bearable, as long as she just puts it like that in her mind. One more carriage, and then they'll be safe.

(But will they really be? Despite the girl's tone, there's still the doubt in the back of Alice's mind, born from her sheer paranoia when it comes to anything that even remotely has to do with fire.)

"I do trust you, but.. I also don't want you to get hurt."

Is this girl weird? Oh, yes. Definitely. She isn't like any kid you'd usually see around. But she's still a kid, and she still deserves so much better than burning up in a fire. Of course Alice would want to protect her, even in the middle of this panic.

"I will no be getting hurt. We will be sticking together."

It's weird that Alice would be worried about that, when she was clearly so scared. Why would she care what happened to her?

But that's quite a lot to think about. Especially in the emptiness. Later. She can think about it later.

Sticking together doesn't always mean you can prevent someone from getting hurt. Alice knows that all too well. She's seen it happen so many times.

But she's not going to argue it now. They're so close, after all. So close. One more carriage, the girl had said.

They're almost there.

It doesn't. But in this case it was best Alice had someone nearby. One more carriage. She would have lied to take Alice into the luggage carriage, into one of her hiding spaces. Safe there. But she's not sure if the smell of smoke in there will make Alice's worry worse, it's different kind than fire but it might be worrying, if she fears the fire.

So instead she stops in the sleeper carriages, the very first one. She opens the door to her room, her roommates best not be in, and gestures Alice in.

"That do be being a lot of doors to be protecting us."

Alice steps into the room without questioning it. She walks a few steps before just sitting down on one of the bottom bunks, not bothering to ask or even ponder whose it is. The reason she had to sit down becomes obvious rather quickly anyway - her legs and hands are entirely trembling, and in a very visible sort of way now she's sitting.

".. It is," she says. But is it enough? Can train doors really stop the fire? Back home there had been so many doors too, and yet, and yet..

She gestures for the girl to come over, patting the spot next to her on the bunk. It feels safer to have her nearby. So if the fire does reach here, Alice can at least protect the girl with her body.

It's not her bed but she is sure Masumi won't mind even if she does find out. She notices the trembling, this is the most scared she's ever seen Alice, even in all the battles.

She sat down next to her, still and silent, hoping some of her own empty calm will pass over and calm Alice.

"You do no be needing to be worrying, I will be protecting you."

It's such a mature thing to say, especially for a kid this girl's age. Not that it's too surprising to Alice - sure, in some ways she's still very childish, but she's seen more mature things from her before.

But this isn't something she should have to be mature about. Nothing she should be protecting Alice from.

Not when it comes to fire.

She reaches out, grabbing the girl's hand and holding it in her own.

"Don't," Alice says, softly, yet a bit insistent. "You'll get hurt. It's dangerous. Fire isn't like monsters, like enemies-- you can't fight it."

"But you can be." She nodded at her. "I did be meeting someone once, they did be fighting fires. That did be being their job."

But they weren't here anymore. Not very useful.

"They were.. fighting fires..?"

Alice sounds a little confused as she says it. It's not like her world's concept of firefighters is very much like the modern concept, after all, and even so.. it's not like she can think that it's what the girl is refering to in the middle of her current panic.

She just assumes it's someone who quite literally fights fire. With their fists, or something.

Which is exactly how she thinks of it too. So she just nods. "Yes. I did no never be seeing them doing it though. But they did be being having metal suits... A bit like mister Starks but bigger. A robot maybe. That's how they did be fighting the fires."

With robots that punched fires.

Robots that punch fires.

And people said Wonderland was odd. Clearly they should have experienced this multidimensional train ride to get a proper idea of just exactly what level of weird certain worlds are on.

"I.. see," Alice says, accepting it despite its oddness. "Well, I'd rather still not have you fight them."

Partially since she doesn't have a metal suit, but also..

"Too much. I've.. already lost too much to those fires. I won't let it take you too."

Well she isn't a fire fighter and she doesn't have a robot so her chances of fighting this fire are low, she's hoping it won't get to that and someone will put it out before it gets to them all the way at this other end of the train.

But Alice was still talking and... Oh. That was why she was acting so strange, so un-Alice-like. She had lost people to fire.

"That do be being why you do be being so worried. Because fire did be killing people you did be knowing before?"

"Yes."

Be careful who you tell things to, Alice had warned the other girl before. Yet here she is, sharing this sensitive information with the other girl all the same. Sure, her guard is down a little on that front since she feels so awkward right now, all her thoughts and emotions all jumbled up inside of her head, but would she have shared this otherwise?

Who knows. It's impossible to tell. The words spill out right now all the same, either way.

"My family died in a fire when I was younger than you are now." Or younger than the other girl looks, anyway. "I got caught up in it too, but I managed to escape, even though my entire body was burned."

"Oh." She hadn't quite expected that. Not for such a thing to have happened to Alice but also not that Alice would tell her. Be careful she had said. Only tell people you knew you could kill.

She would keep her mouth shut. "You do no be being burned now, you did be being healed?"

Alice may have accidentally imparted some entirely wrong implications upon the girl..

But they're implications she's entirely unaware of right now. Instead she just nods slightly at the question. It's not a time she likes thinking about. Even though she remembers so very little of it, with how in and out of it she had been the whole time, she doesn't like the little flashes she remembers of pain and heat and so many faces she didn't recognize.

"They treated me for it in the hospital." And then promptly shipped her off to the asylum. Even worse. "But I-- I don't want that again."

The first time had been traumatizing enough, as young as she had been.

"No. No one would be wanting that."

She wrinkled her nose again, "You must have been being very angry, that the fire did be taking all your family."

Anger was the most likely emotion. She can't imagine Alice being truly leaky eyed sad.

"I was."

Even if it had been a very delayed reaction. After all, right after the fire she had been hospitalized, and then thrown into the asylum - and she had retreated into her mind for most of it, unable to deal with all of the trauma. There had been no time to be sad or angry until years and years later, when she finally managed to emerge from her own mind.

"Especially once I found out that the fire hadn't been an accident." Somehow this brings back a bit more of an usual tone for Alice. Fear is hard to handle, but anger? Anger is a very familiar friend, grounding her a bit more. "Someone set our house on fire that night to try and get rid of my family."

"It did no be being?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. Not an accident. Someone had tried to kill her. Was she important? Were her family important?

Or had they just angered the wrong person?

"You did be getting revenge though? Did you be finding who did be doing it?"

She brushes a hand through her hair, her breathing slowly starting to calm down a bit, the more she's sitting here and trying to gather her thoughts.

"Yes. He's dead." She made sure of that. Thankfully she got to do at least that much before she was dragged away from the train station by this train. "But even that won't erase what he's done."

All the damage he's done to her. To her deceased family. To all the children he hurt and manipulated.

"No. It will no be changing the past. But it do be avenging them."

Which was important, that the person who did that was punished, that they were as dead as her family.

"It do be being good that he do be being dead."

".. it is a good thing."

That much she at least knows for sure. Even if it hadn't been about her personal revenge, then Bumby still would have hurt more and more children, if he had been allowed to live. It's better for everyone that he's gone. It's better for the world.

Even if it won't change a thing about how much he messed up Alice's past. And Alice herself. She remembers it even now, staring him down on that train platform, him saying his work was done, since she had turned into an insane wreck.

Something she can never undo.

Alice sucks in a breath, not wanting to linger on thoughts like that while she's still feeling a little off. She shakes her head, and instead says: "You would think people would know better than to start fires in a contained space.."

At least there's more of a hint of annoyance in it rather than just panic, even with her voice still being on the soft side.

"Well we do both be knowing that people on this train do be being really stupid." She reminded her. Honestly she's surprised this is the first time a major fire has broken out, there have been a couple of small ones before.

"It probably do be being a new person who did be getting angry."

With fire magic potentially or just, trying to burn their way out of the void.

She knows. She's so well aware people are idiots.. and yet. And yet Alice hoped that they would at least be smart enough to not set the whole place on fire. But the girl's imagined story does sound very believable. Alice could imagine a newcomer trying to do that, no matter how stupid.

She lets out a heavy breath, her hands moving up to rub her eyelids.

"I hate this."

People who just do whatever they want, without any regard of other people and their potential traumas.

At least hate was a better emotion, something she knew how to deal with. Hate felt more like Alice than fear did.

So they were on the right track.

"Do you be wanting to be smashing things?"

After all it was Alice that showed her how smashing things could be a good way to deal with things like this.

A New Platform [Intro Post April]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)