A New Platform [Intro Post May]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Like clockwork, the Voidtreckers are awoken by a familiar message this morning.

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day one of the month of Llama. Points have been updated on the system."

With points updated, everyone can spend the morning shopping. Most people will 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 air is sticky and warm, the windows almost immediately dewing over with the humidity outside.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Azula, Prisoner, Amery Vallet, Dyme Graydon, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Yoite, Piccolo, Bulla Brief, Xie Lian, Kurosaki Ichigo, Hua Cheng, Renee Corbin, and Ran Mouri; all pass through the platform, not looking back before they disappear through the barriers and into the fog beyond.

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 find themselves on a platform, rich wood and pale stone forming a natural, tree-like structure overhead. Behind them is a set of barriers, and in front of them is a single set of tracks extending both ways into thick fog. The air is rainforest-hot, and the sound of frogsong can be faintly heard over the drip of the artificial canopy.

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 fog begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform isn't large, and seems smaller with twenty-eight figures scattered around, all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. Then there is 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 pours a strange assortment of people, over a hundred at least. 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.

Behind them, the doors close, and the train is cloaked in the same fog that hides the world beyond the platform.

The Train

After a short time, the fog clears and 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 several crates of nori, the ingredient of the month of Llama, as well as all sundries.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. For each member of Purple Team, a small silver box with their name on it contains a glittery cupcake.

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, but at least they won't be alone in their confusion - since the sleeper carriages are now double-decker, and experience isn't going to avail the passengers in finding their rooms.

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.

The new double carriage's transfer ICP is active, allowing people to move to a double room should they meet the requirements with another person, though they'll have to move their belongings themselves.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers taking advantage of the fresh air, and 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

[happyends]

Apparently her flustered reaction doesn't disappear that easily. Sure, it seems to ease a bit when he reassures her, but Madoka still looks a bit awkward and embarrassed even as she starts to simmer down a bit.

It makes her hands move downwards to awkwardly pluck at the bottom of the blue hoodie she's wearing.

"Yes," she says, a bit softer now. Her head dips into a nod. She figures she ought to add a bit more than that though, especially at the sight of his own similar hoodie. "C-Close since the start of when our current group started appearing on the train, since I was one of the first members of the blue team.. I think it's been.. um, about ten months or so now..?"

[oncedriven]

"That's quite a while," Asch replies, tone still gentle. Especially at her age, assuming that she's as human as she looks - she's what, fourteen? Fifteen? Young enough for the years to matter individually, at any rate.

That doesn't mean that she might not have good information, though. "I heard that people here go on missions - can you tell me about some of the older ones? The ones people who haven't been here as long wouldn't know about?" Since everyone else he's talked to so far is a relatively recent arrival...

[happyends]

"Oh, of course!"

Madoka quickly nods. The least she can do to make up for how startled she seems is to try and help him out if he's still so new, she thinks. In fact, the girl already looks like she's thinking, trying to imagine what the most helpful thing for him to know about those missions would be.

But the conclusion she arrives at is that - perhaps - it's better to just ask him. If not just to avoid rambling and telling him all sorts of stuff he doesn't care to know..

"What would you like to know about those, sir? What kind of places we went to, maybe?"

[oncedriven]

"Sure, and what kinds of things you did there," he says. "You don't have to list all of them, though." Enough to give him an idea, but he'll certainly have follow-up questions and kids generally don't like being absolutely probed for information.

(He wouldn't have minded if she rambled, really. You can find out a lot from rambling people.)

[happyends]

She hums, thinking, but then starts. "A few world we've been to.. um, we were on an island before where we tried to protect the villagers from sea monsters and other sealife that was attacking.. we've protected wizards in a tower who were being attacked by goblins.. a little while ago we were in a jungle-like place, where we had to try and herd and protect a bunch of animals."

It's quite a range, and that's only a few examples so far. Madoka really could go on forever, but then one very unique one occurs to her. It's unique enough to her to stand out, anyway.

"Oh, and one time we were on a space station! Do you know what a space station is, sir?"

[oncedriven]

He shakes his head. "I'm guessing it's in space?" he says, a little wryly. "And you don't have to call me sir, I'm not anyone with that kind of authority." It feels weird in a way he can't really put a finger on. "The name is Asch, if you're going to insist, please use that instead."

But that's definitely a range of environments and tasks - he's not sure if that's team-specific or in general, but he adds it to his file of mental notes anyway.

[happyends]

"Yes, it's like a building, except it's just drifting around in space.."

There's a pause.

An obvious pause.

And then she tries, gently: "Mis.. ter Asch..?"

Please, don't make her say just the name by itself. Madoks is too polite for that. She looks like she may just pass out on the spot if he tries to make her do it.

"It can be really strange if you've never seen one before.. I only saw them in movies back home, and it was strange even for me."

[oncedriven]

...Sometimes you have to compromise, huh.

"Good enough," he says, with a little bit of a sigh. "And... I don't really think I have the context I need for that, but I'll take your word for it."

He has experienced exactly one movie, an action flick with very little plot but lots of explosions, at the behest of Mythra and Lloyd (who pretty much sandwiched him in on the couch to make him watch the whole way through). He's not sure if he's a fan of the experience or not.

"What did you wind up doing there?"

[happyends]

Thank god. If he wasn't up for that compromise, Madoka definitely would have paniced more. But this is a compromise she can live with.

(Maybe she should just keep calling him by his name to a minimum in general, she thinks, to keep the awkwardness to a minimum as well.)

"It was being attacked by soldiers," she explains. He probably knows what the concept of a soldier is, even if he hasn't dealt with space stuff, so the girl figures it might give him a slightly better mental idea of what they were doing. "And we were trying to defend it."

There's a slight pause, and then said with a bit more awkwardness born from her own unease with the concept: "These missions usually have a lot of fighting.."

[oncedriven]

He does, indeed, know what soldiers are. The explanation gets a nod of the sort that's more I'm-paying-attention than a yes, but he notices when she gets uncomfortable, too.

He's not good at comforting, though he tries. "If there's fighting you can't handle, come find me," he says. "Even if I'm with another team at the time. It's one of the things I'm best at." One of the things he's made for, and if he could he'd have words for the person who made blades that way, but that's not something to burden her with.

[happyends]

It's an attempt.

Perhaps even a good attempt, because it does manage to keep Madoka from looking so fussy and worried. Instead her eyes widen as she looks up at him, a clear look of surprise etched onto her face.

"R-Really?"

It's not that there aren't plenty of nice people here on the train. People who, no doubt, would have offered the same. But every time she encounters that kindness from a new person, it's a whole new surprise to Madoka.

"Are you sure you wouldn't mind? I wouldn't want to bother you-- and I'm not sure what I could do for you in return either.."

[oncedriven]

"I didn't offer for the sake of you doing something for me in return," Asch says. "That's not how protecting someone should work."

Especially not protecting kids. Kind of fucked up, the idea that anyone would make that conditional.

He gives her a weak smile. "Though I'm better at attacking than I am at protecting, so hopefully it won't come to that." His idea of protection is 'eliminate the threat with prejudice and that means the person is safe, right?' which Asch is aware is not the most useful way of going about things when dealing with kids. He's only so good at pretending to be something other than scary. "That and patching people up afterwards."

[happyends]

"Well.. It's not so terrible to be bad at attacking either."

She would most likely have given a different answer. But that would have been such a long time ago. Before she ended up on the train, before she realised the existence of witches back home. Back when Madoka was a normal girl living a normal life, and she didn't imagine that one day she would lead a life of battle.

By now she has just realised that sometimes attacking is necessary - when there are monsters who would hurt people otherwise.

If anything, she thinks he must be a good guy, if he wants to protect people from it.

"You must be strong," she remarks.

[oncedriven]

"Strong enough." It's the easy answer, that understatement, because strong blades are valuable enough to be worth stealing, and some habits you never really fall out of. Some things you never really forget, even when you forget everything else.

(It isn't that he's a good person. He's a just person, and there's nothing just in forcing children to fight, and everything just in making it so that they don't have to.)

Still, the smile he gives her is somewhere in the range of older-brother-ly. "Just focus on what you can do," he says. "There's no shame in not being able to do everything."

[happyends]

Madoka stares at him.

Slowly her cheeks start to glow a little. It's not a very deep blush, but it's present all the same. Because she can't help but feel a little flustered in the face of those words, in the encouragement of someone she's only met just now.

"T-Thank you." It's what causes that slight stammer too. But despite the flustered reaction, she does seem genuinely happy with it. "I'll do my best. And I-- I'll remember the offer once we're on a mission." Even if they might not end up around each other, but hey, you never know. "Things should be pretty safe as long as we're on the train, at least."

sorry i lost this, it's getting pretty close to done though i think

[oncedriven]

"That's good to hear," he says. "It's too tight a space - it'd be hard to avoid anyone getting caught in the crossfire." At least for the way blades tend to fight, with a lot of movement and elemental artes flung everywhere. Maybe for people who are only human, it'd be different.

"I'll look forward to working with you," he says. "Though, I think you've forgetton to give me your name."

yeah, i think so too!

[happyends]

".. oh!"

Apparently the girl only realises now too that she has forgotten to do so. In fact, she seems to look rather startled and embarrassed at the realisation - her jaw hanging open slightly, the glow on her cheeks only starting to deepen.

"I-I'm so sorry!" Not that it's really something she has to apologize for, but with how polite Madoka always wants to be, she can't help it. She quickly bows. "My name is Madoka! Madoka Kaname.."

She uprights herself again so she can look at him once more, the colour lingering on her face.

"I'm looking forward to working together with you too.."