A New Platform [Intro Post October]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

The train continues its journey

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day sixteen of the month of Nebula. 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 doors open. As usual, those who leave first notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Asch, Ayumi Uoshida, Cleopatra Selene, Della Duck, Ghost, Hanuel Min, Jaisyn Solo, Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood, Nie Huaisang, Vermouth; all pass across the platform, not looking back. And then they're gone, disappeared through the barriers and into the fog beyond.

But on the platform itself there are four new faces. Wearing hoodies, three in purple one orange, 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. The platform is relatively small, a brick wall behind them and cracked flagstones on the floor. It is cold, icy cold but the wall at least shelters them a little.

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 on the foggy, freezing platform; then the fog begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform isn't large, but it is enough to hold the four 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, perhaps ten minutes or so, 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 yadon tail, as well as all sundries.

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. In most rooms, the occupied beds are obvious, leaving the spotless, empty spaces for the newcomers. 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 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

[dyingpro]

"... you're right, I did say those things. Even if I say that it was because of the illusions, I know in my heart that I meant what I said to that simulacrum of Father. But if I have to choose between you and Voidy..." Zagreus tightens his grip on Than's hands, so smooth and cool, like fine marble. "You know I'm choosing you, right? You're my oldest and closest friend. And besides, I have plenty of other reasons to return home. Dusa, Meg, Mother, Hypnos and Orpheus and Achilles..."

His laurels are warm and light up the space between them, even as one flits up and lands on the crown of Thanatos' head before disappearing into nothing. "But I would be lying if I said you weren't the first reason I thought of. This isn't negotiable, Than. When we find a way to send you home, I'm coming with you." Despite speaking barely above a murmur, Zagreus' words are concise and clear. "I can't in good conscience leave you alone, especially when I might be..."

The prince's voice falls silent, not wanting to say what he was about to say, but he's been doing so much of that lately. Holding it all in is too much even for Zagreus to bear. "... Achilles thinks I'm the God of Blood, so I may be the best way for you to find Life. That's why your message at the River came to me, right? Because I might be able to find them."

Look at these two not being dumbasses finally

[controlsthedie]

"I... no. I didn't. Who chooses Death when there are far better options available?" Despite his question, Thanatos's cheeks color golden and warm. Zagreus chooses him. To return home with him. Even if he removed himself from the equation (Zagreus thought of him first!), there are still those back home he would return for. That looming pain of their eventual separation eases. The guilt of asking Zagreus to not leave him again no longer makes him wound so tight. They may come from different times, but their weavings do not part onto eternity. He... could follow his heart and not worry it is some temporary thing destined for immense heartbreak in a trapped and dead world.

Thanatos shifts his body so that they are touching forehead to forehead instead of forehead to temple. The heaviness he's carried since entering the cabin remains, but now, it's nature is different. Tired relief instead of being so weighed down by everything that has plagued him for so long. There's less to worry over.

"I don't know. It could be why if you believe you're the God of Blood." He gives a small huff, enough to send wisps of their hair fluttering. "It's fitting if true. And if that's why you got my message.... I've only felt that kind of deep overwhelming ache in my being once before in my life. Nngh. I wouldn't even have known. If I hadn't seen Persephone's spring, I wouldn't know what our world... what I'm missing.

"Does that make sense?"

[dyingpro]

"What do you mean 'better option'? Than... don't put yourself down like that." And suddenly Thanatos shifts, their foreheads resting together, and Zagreus' heart pounds loudly again in his ears. Feeling Aphrodite's caress bloom against his cheeks into a blush, the prince finds himself staring down at their intertwined hands instead of Than's face. It's much easier to speak if he doesn't see those glowing golden eyes watching him, or the golden hue spreading across tanned skin. "Your job is important, it is, but it's not all of you. You're so generous to all the mortals here, and you're kind, and you listen to their burdens, and you work hard without complaint to make it easier for them all, and--" He swallows, feeling his verbal pace trying to catch up with his heartbeat, and forcibly slowing himself down. "... you're great, Than. And you are worth choosing, worth waiting for."

Zagreus hasn't spilled all his secrets yet, though, and so he finds himself still weighed down by them. He always hated keeping secrets and withholding information, but it had become necessary in recent times to bring the Olympians to his side. Now, though... he's only doing it because he's afraid he'll say something that will send Thanatos teleporting away from him. But doesn't this need to be said? Wouldn't it put Thanatos at ease? Nervously, Zagreus glances back up at Thanatos' golden-flushed face, then instantly regrets it, his own growing a darker hue of red as he glances back down at their hands.

"I don't know what I am. But I do know that I'm terrible at it, whatever it is... unless I'm somehow the God of Interior Decorating, or the God of Passable Lyre Playing, or something. Being stuck in the Underworld as I am... what can I do for the mortals on the surface world? None of them know I exist. They can't worship me, so it's not like I can grow in my godly powers in that way. So I have to use them to get better at them, like you did, but... how? I can't stay on the surface for very long. What if I'm the God of Blood, like Achilles says, and the mortals are dying because my powers can't sustain them? Suppose I'm really the God of Humanity, and my presence in the Underworld is causing them to act like monsters and kill each other. Maybe I am the God of Life, and--"

His voice cracks, and he falls silent, the slightest pinpricks of tears forming at the corners of his eyes. The prince's fingertips brush against Death's knuckles as they remain silent for a moment longer. Zagreus only has the strength to continue speaking after a shaky breath or two. "... maybe I've failed you especially, and Mother, and all the mortals, and everything else alive on the surface world, because I can't escape the Underworld long enough to use my powers for what they're meant to be. "

[controlsthedie]

How can this kind-hearted god continue to believe so much in Thanatos? How can he still see him as such despite all the evidence Thanatos tried to show him? He grips Zagreus's hands harder without meaning too. A different kind of heat flares within Thanatos, and he opens his eyes to look at Zagreus. No trace of shyness is present. "The winter of the surface started when Lady Demeter lost her daughter, not at the birth of a grandson, and that has shaped the world. That causes the mortals to die faster than I can keep up. Human, beast, they are at her frozen mercy. Life won't be able to thrive if snow and ice blanket the surface without end. Maybe he couldn't even come into his own."

Should Zagreus look at Thanatos now, he's probably the most "lively" he has been since entering the cabin. Color warms his skin. His eyes are sharp without the distant indifference required of Death's station. Ichor pumps through his veins with every timely beat of his heart. His chest rises and falls with each breath. An entity of Death has been brought to life by the one before him.

"If you choose that path for yourself, I'll support you. If you choose otherwise, I'll still support you." Zagreus deserves a choice if he can, which is something Thanatos never had. He holds no expectation; he won't trap Zagreus for his own yearning for Life.

"Despite what Lady Death thinks, worship is not a requirement for a god." It has been something Thanatos greatly disagreed with when talking with her. He remains adamant that belief and worship aren't necessary because Zagreus is a god. "However, if worship is what you require, then Death will become your most devout follower. The Underworld does not hold you now.

"And if the Fates deem that Death cannot worship Life, then..." Here, the certainty he spoke with breaks. He can no longer look directly at the bright and warm god before him. "... maybe Thanatos can. Since everyone is so certain that I'm more than my role. That I can have a purpose other than Death."

What if he's overstepping? What if Thanatos cannot do what he hopes for Zagreus? He was willing to betray his role and nature for this god. He was willing to be locked up in Tartarus for this god. He was willing to destroy his heart for this god. He is willing to sacrifice his thread for this god. For Zagreus. But what if he fails him?

"If you'd have me. That is."

[dyingpro]

"But maybe, if I was never born... maybe Mother could have reached out to Lady Demeter when she was ready to, or... Gods, I don't know. This is all such a mess." He can't help but feel partially responsible for all of this, for a myriad reasons - the constant belittling by his father, the many lies he's had to tell to keep up this fragile façade, the many failures he's experienced in his journey, all the sacrifices so many Gods and Shades alike had made to get him to where he is now.

... all the sacrifices Thanatos had made to get him to where he is now.

"I don't need your worship," he murmurs, half to himself and half to Thanatos. "I just need you." He draws Thanatos' hands to his chest, pressing them against his warm skin, and the heartbeat underneath all the skin and muscle and bone. "The way you are. Not the God of Gentle Death, not Thanatos, but all of you. I... need you, Than."

His fingers squeeze around the cool hands pressed against his skin, his emotional outburst draining him more than he'd expected. He can't bear to look in Thanatos' eyes again, his head falling from its place to rest instead on Thanatos' shoulder, his temple pressed against his cold metal collar. He was such a fool for taking advantage of Thanatos' generosity, hurting him with words he only half meant and half thought through. But now is not the time for apologies, as much as he wants to say he's sorry for all the things he's done to foolishly cast him aside; the thread between them is so tight it threatens to snap if put under any more pressure.

I wish I could be what you needed, too.

[controlsthedie]

Thanatos feels the warm rhythm of Zagreus's heart beneath his fingers, a mix of divinity and mortality. If he concentrates, Zagreus's pulse beats through his chest and into his own. He could stay like this, without moving, just feeling the life within Zagreus. Thanatos wants to lose himself within Zagreus, have every sense filled by him because during times like this, he doesn't feel so butterfly-wing-fragile. The weight of his domain doesn't loom so fully and completely over him like Atlas and the heavens above. Thanatos feels like maybe, just maybe, he could dare to hope.

His hands slip from Zagreus's chest to reach around and embrace Zagreus. Tightly. Fiercely. As if Zagreus was about to be taken by the Styx, and Thanatos couldn't defy his own domain any longer. His head drops in a mirror image of Zagreus's. "Don't say that. If you were never born, then... I'd be alone." He'd have no one but coworkers or family he was distant with, people who had abandoned him to that chest for what he allowed Sisyphus to do. "You're better than the Underworld, than all of us, but I--" He takes a shuddering breath hoping that it will steady himself enough to say what he needs to because now is not the time for silence.

"I... I'm scared. By how much I need you. Zag. You already have me. I-I'm not supposed to be swayed by anything, but you... You. I feel you die like a scythe to my own awakened heart. The only relief is your return, but each time I fear it's going to be the one you don't come back from." And he curses Aphrodite for her cruelty for he has to feel this multiple times when a mortal only has to feel it once.

Thanatos angles his head slightly to whisper words he should have said back in the Underworld, words hidden under every excuse except the truth. "Please... please don't leave me."

[dyingpro]

The removal of hands from his chest makes Zagreus start, afraid for the briefest moment that the thread has snapped, that he's ruined it all again. But then Thanatos' strong arms are wrapped around him, tightly, and the embrace washes through him like the soothing waters of the Fountains. He lets out a laugh - a relieved, incredulous laugh - and wraps his arms around Thanatos in return, squeezing just as tight. "You're right, Than, I shouldn't think like that. I promised, didn't I?"

Every word from Thanatos comes like praise spilling from his lips, and Zagreus' beating heart is only spurred on by each. He needs me. The pang of guilt at hurting Thanatos with each death still stings, but it's not enough to quell the joy he feels at being needed, at being wanted. "Your sisters made sure that won't ever happen," Zag reminds him, hand rubbing affectionately back and forth across Than's shoulders. "I'll always come back.
And I'll... try to be more careful. I've been wearing the Butterfly on every mission to remind myself. To tether me to you more than usual. Except that first mission we went on, I haven't died once, so I think I've been pretty good about keeping that in mind. That first mission was a bit of an exception, though, wasn't it?" Zagreus squeezes Thanatos a little tighter for a moment, before adding, "But we worked well together, I thought, on that mission. It reminded me of our sparring matches, a little. I liked being with you."

The prince feels Thanatos' breath against the skin of his neck and it makes him shiver, in a way that is not all too unpleasant. His cheeks flush but he tries to focus again, on the words and the meaning behind them rather than the closeness, physically intertwined as they are now when their last few weeks had been so distant. "Maybe that's what the Princely Gorget is for. To remind you that I'm always with you. That you'll never be alone again. That you'll always have me."

[controlsthedie]

"That's..." Thanatos starts, but he doesn't know how to continue that sentence. There's too much spinning in his head, in his heart. So instead he murmurs softly, "Thank you. I could use the reminder, I think. That you're with me. Now and whatever the future brings."

He should put the Princely Gorget on. But trying it on would require Thanatos to remove himself from Zagreus's embrace, and he doesn't want to move just yet. He likes this closeness. He likes the feel of his hand rubbing his shoulders. The Princely Gorget can wait to be fitted just a little bit longer. They're comfortable like this.

Perhaps... too comfortable. Thanatos's body sags; more of his weight falls upon Zagreus. A tiny, breathy sigh tickles the hairs of Zagreus's neck. The tight grip around Zagreus loosens just slightly but is still unwilling to let him go. While hard to see with his face tucked into Zagreus's neck, Thanatos's expression turns ever so gentle and peaceful.

Being so emotional over the past months, fearing the worst for their world, trying lock away a part of his heart that only continued to grow... everything has exhausted Thanatos. The relief from Zagreus's words, his promise, his closeness, drains the rest of his energy. He's completely vulnerable after opening himself so much, but he hasn't felt this safe in a long while. Being here like this feels right.

Death Incarnate has fallen asleep upon the one who has given him so much life. Thanatos could never fall asleep easily on his own, a side effect of having Sleep Incarnate as his twin. He needs someone by his side, coaxing him to stop, relax, and rest. All of which, Zagreus has managed to do, intentionally or not.