voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post May]

Entry tags:

A New Platform [Intro Post May]

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I can tell you, but you're not gonna get a real answer. Wanna go complain anyway?

[ Tidus is looking out for anyone in purple, so the opportunity to speak up as this guy seems distracted - he takes it, giving them an amicable expression, a hand resting on Tidus's waist. He's got a hoodie tied around there too, but his shirt is the same purple as Woz wears. ]

I can tell you what's up, too.

Excellent.

[Woz clasps his hands together in a gesture that says that settles it. He can complain whenever. Getting answers is what's most important now, even though he's not about to take everything a stranger says at face value right away.]

Then please explain, my comrade in purple.

[ Tidus can't lie, there's something about comrade in purple that absolutely tugs a smile on his face, amused, but he's nodding too. ]

Alright, but just as weird it is we're here in the first place? The explanation's weird too. [ He jabs a thumb pointed over his shoulder, towards the train. A pause before he continues on. ]

That train? It picked us out at random from anywhere, and dragged us here 'cause it wants us to be heroes for other planets. We get sent on jobs, and the only way we can get back home is if the thing keeping us connected to the train gets interrupted, or whatever. [ Whatever, 'cause he can't think of a better word. 'Disconnected'?

Anyway. ]

If you need proof, well.. there's probably some people here who aren't gonna look like anyone you've seen where you're from. Non-humans, and that.

[ You know, 'cause there's a lot of people from very human-only worlds here. ]

[Woz could argue that this young man has no idea what kind of things he's seen. He's fought many things that hadn't been human. But that's not really pertinent to the main part of their discussion, so he leaves it be.

But if this train needed "heroes" then why had it picked him? There were far more heroic options among the kamen riders of various worlds - even among the ones from his own. If anything, out of his group he's probably the least heroic.]

Then this train has poor taste. ...No insult meant to you, of course.

[He wonders if his king will be able to summon him across the dimensions if he's needed. Which call would prove stronger?]

Does it pull names from a hat? That doesn't seem like the most effective method of choosing its fighters.

Might as well, [ he says with a heavy shrug, hands raising, a shake of his head. ] We get all sorts through here. Doesn't matter who you are, your age, what you can't do or can't handle. You just meet some kinda requirement, and that's enough to get you picked!

[ --geez, it might as well be picking out of a hat like that, huh. He sighs a little, quietly. ]

And that's how we all end up here on some platform, at some point. [ He cocks his head then, in no particular direction. ] You might find someone you recognise, but, it's pretty random if you do.

If there's a possibility of seeing someone you recognize, then it's not entirely random, is it?

[Woz puts a hand to his chin, looking thoughtful as he begins to pace and consider the situation.]

There are infinite worlds out there for the train to pull from, if one considers the worlds within worlds, and worlds connected to worlds.

[Kamen riders, for example, each exist within their own worlds, but Woz knows better than most that other universes exist outside their little realms that are completely uninfluenced by them. It would simply be too much to discuss with his friends back on his own.]

If, when choosing who's brought here, there are multiple individuals pulled from the same realities, then there would seem to be a set pool of realms the train can draw from.

[ Oh no, the guy is talking smart talk.

Which has Tidus's brow furrowing, kinda following. Kinda...somewhere between naturally unsure. Worlds within worlds...? Is that literally? ...no, it can't be.

He folds his arms, asking uncertainly: ] Does this uh, include people who look like each other and have the same name, but there's two of them?

[ That's a way to phrase that question. ]

[Woz stops mid-pacing to spin back toward Tidus on one heel and point at him. It's a brief gesture.]

Yes! Absolutely.

[It's alright, he got the idea.]

Is that something that happens here? Does it happen frequently?

[Having a doppleganger from an alternate timeline is something he's already experienced in his world. He hopes it doesn't become a reoccurring thing here, as he's not sure he can absorb himself a second time.]

Edited 2021-05-04 05:01 (UTC)

[ This guy is very movey... oh, wait. ]

Uhhh, well, it's happened to two different...realities? [ Would that be the word? He feels so weird saying that-! ] This one prince - there's two of him right now. And then this other place- oh, [ he raises a hand, mimicking like he's using his fingers to count off. ]

--there's like two or three of this married couple and one of their family!

[ Which is really weird, how does that happen? But, even with that oddity- ]

But that's all I've seen of it. And we have lots of people from everywhere. But I guess when it happens, it really happens to some people!

[ This train is weird!! ]

[Two or three of the same couple?]

So not random, then.

[Not at all. And somehow he'd been picked over his king. Is it because of his disconnect from the timeline? There are many reasons he can think of but none of them result in him being pleased with this. He's supposed to be watching over three highschoolers right now.]

I'm guessing there isn't a proper list somewhere?

[Overlord forbid there be organization.]

[ Tidus isn't sure what to make of the random comment. Understands where it comes from, but at the same time, it's confusing for him to even think about. What did any of it mean? There wasn't sense there that Tidus was going to get, but at the ask of a list- ]

--Like a passenger roster? [ Oh, yeah. He blinks and nods his head, turning on his heel towards the train. ] Sure, I'll show you. You seen the ticket yet? You'll want that.

[ And if there isn't any particular reason to delay, Tidus will lead them both to the first open set of doors, which happens to lead into the standard coach. Right there close is one of the ICP terminals, set to a message. Tidus taps a nearby slot. ]

Stick the ticket in there. It'll bring up the passenger list right away.

[Woz follows along, but this isn't exactly what he'd meant. It's good to know for later, but the current roster only helps him so much.]

Do they have a complete roster, though? A list showing those who have been on the train from the start?

[For however long this train has been running for. If it's still a new endeavor then perhaps this is all there is, but he doubts it.]

Even just a count of the number of duplicates?

Uh, the train? [ Well, the train or the passengers doing it doesn't really matter, so- ] Not really. If anyone's tracking everyone who comes and goes, I haven't heard about it.

Why? [ That's maybe the most curious thing here. ] What's knowing that going to tell you?

[Woz gives him a deadpan look.]

Are you just content to take all of this in stride? You don't want to look for any patterns? You don't want to see who was here before you?

[Does he have no sense of curiosity? The prophet wants to know why he was chosen over several others. He doesn't think this is a hard concept to understand.]

I think a list like that could tell me quite a lot.

Edited 2021-05-07 22:01 (UTC)

[ He makes a sound, somewhere between resigning and unsure, hands coming up in the shrug of his shoulders. ]

Ask around. A guy tried something like that ages ago - another passenger might remember it, what happened to the surveys. But I know I'm not gonna figure out anything from it. We get people from different worlds, same worlds... and there's word that we're not even from the same worlds even if we think we are.

I don't know what answer we're gonna find from that.

[ Not one that's going to help them get back, anyway. ]

[Ask around. Well, that's what he'd intended to do anyway, so that's not the most helpful advice. If someone had taken the survey a while back, even if they're still around, there's no guarantee the information was accurate then and it certainly wouldn't be accurate now. There would be a huge gap.

As for answers...]

You'd be surprised how much one could learn from that information. If there's a pattern, we might be able to determine who would be brought in next. If we can learn that, it might start to shed light on why.

[Or it really could all be random, and it would still help to know that for sure.]

Well... good luck with that. I'm not gonna tell you not to bother, [ even if he doesn't really think there's anything to it, ] but, even if there's some kinda pattern... we know why the train wanted us. It's just grabbing whoever it can to do a job.

The who doesn't seem to matter. And the way people come and go - sometimes you're here for months, sometimes you disappear after a week.

[ It's hard or him to see anything in that. ...but that's also why he isn't a science or puzzle solver kind of guy. ]

If it was grabbing whoever it could with no rhyme or reason to it we would be surrounded by people with no fighting skills to speak of, but that isn't the case. So clearly we at least all have something it wants.

[He points a finger at Tidus.]

So what's your specialty? What would the train want from you?

Not what I'm actually good at, [ that's for sure. ] My specialty's sports! But I can fight, sure.

[ Which might be why he got brought here, but... ]

That's not everyone though. [ He plucks the side of his shirt, in the same shade of Purple of the hoodies some people are wearing. ] Our team's got non-combatants too. Even if we get stuck with a lot of fighting jobs.

[ Though, that's basically all the teams, really... ]

And these non-combatants, are they completely useless when it comes to performing tasks the train needs to be performed?

[Not everyone needs to be a fighter. Now if there are those who sit around and do absolutely nothing the whole time they're here he'll concede that there might have been something random about that selection. From what he's seen so far, little as it's been, that doesn't seem to be the case.]

There are elderly and infirm that need constant care? Or toddlers scurrying around the halls?

Edited 2021-05-09 04:26 (UTC)

...there was a day when people turned into toddlers. [ Which isn't really what the guy means - in general - but hearing the word certainly recalls that to mind.

And probably an event that requires a little more information, but Tidus sighs, waves up a hand. ]

There's stuff people can find to do, but we're talking about people who don't know what they should be doing. Me included! I just go out there and fight 'cause I know how to. But if being too sick or being a baby's what means you shouldn't be thrown into situations where there's constant danger, then sure, most of us can wildly scramble around.

You aren't given proper instructions?

[This causes Woz to frown. Why bring people here, even random individuals (which seems less likely by the minute) if you aren't going to lay things out in any sort of organized manner for them.]

Or is it that you're just not good at following them?

[His expression shifts back into a smirk.] It's alright if that's the case. not everyone catches everything on the first go around.

Well, you have a look around yourself and see. [ Pah. This guy thinks in a way that Tidus can't follow, though he gets what he's implying there; but he motions his hands out, as if offering the invitation. ]

See what the train tells you and what you find out from others. Judge it for yourself! You're gonna find more from us than anything the train's done.

[ Train sucks!! ]

That seems counterproductive on the part of the train. Then again, it is a train. I've never had to communicate with one of those before.

[Not even the Den-O crew with their time traveling train probably had to deal with that. That group was enough of a mess as it was.]

In any case, I appreciate your opinion.

[And what little help he'd given.] Have you had a frustrating time?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A New Platform [Intro Post May]

platform

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