A NEW PLATFORM [INTRO POST JANUARY]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Despite whatever Voidtreckers may have learned or how they feel about those revelations - or reminders - of the precariousness of their situation, the train flies ever onward.

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day one of the month of Poi. 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. The weather is dry but there is a chill to the air and a strong breeze." 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. Dairine, Okada Izō, Rapunzel, Satoru and Siebren; 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 thirteen new faces. Wearing hoodies in all four colours and 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 long with a grassy mound behind them. It is blustery and the air is cold, they will be glad of those hoodies.

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

Thirteen figures, 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, with cans of corned beef lining the shelves.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. Those from purple who go to find their prize will find a large box containing a gingerbread train for them to share. Plenty enough to go around, even for the largest team.

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.

Snow Time: Rock Garden

Winter seems to have followed from Osiga and nested in the rock garden. There's a chill that nips in the air and a light snow (real snow) fills the air. A thin cloudy haze at the top of the carriage seems the source. Yet the kaleidoscope of the void will assure that this is no timely world stop.

People might have seen it occurring the night before. Snow falling heavy before tapering off with an odd precision, leaving a heavy blanket over the carriage 'ground'. By morning of Platform Day, a miniature winter has descended, ripe for snowforts, snowballs, angels and snowmen.

It's not just the climate that's changed. Many statues and rock features are missing or moved. Digging below the snow reveals soil now frozen but providing a barrier between the bare floor of the carriage. Keen eyes will see changes are made with safety and available space in mind. The fountain has been emptied but the pond and streams are frozen solid, allowing intrepid spirits to try slide-skating over the surfaces without the risk of breaking through. The mosaics are still around, and enchantments are in place to protect paintings and paper decorations from damp. Any plants have been sent to sleep or taken to safety.

The benches are still around. Paths and bridges are covered with fresh snow, but, as the day goes on, it's trampled down and or scattered. Najaran's woodfolk may be glimpsed near Jingyi's shrine or hiding in the shadows of rocks and statues still present, perhaps even buried in the snow and peeking out. Shy around humans, though those with pointed ears or Hylian lineage may find an easier time interacting.

There are signs on both doors of the carriage warning of the change and mentioning the dressing carriage will have winter gear, and it does: with hats, scarves, gloves and ice skates in a variety of sizes. Dispensers with warm drinks such as coffee, hot chocolate and hot water for tea are available in the Games Carriage.

Early the next day, the snow will be gone and the gardens returned to how they once were.

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

[blue_ice]

Kaiba barely moves in response. His star's burned out, he's bitter and cold, thinks he doesn't have much left in him to give. But he knows a response is expected, so he draws a few ragged breaths. Twists toward the wall, pulls his collar up to quickly wipe his eyes.

"...And everyone we've lost...they're ghosts, devoid of everything. Of all the insults to end with." He's finally able to speak somewhat intelligibly, at least. His gaze is still on the floor.

"But. I let myself grow complacent, too reliant on him. Orange lacks firepower, so I'll have to fill the gap. Somehow. Until it's my turn to become a ghost, but my tether seems unusually strong for some reason."

[yondu]

"Technically I'm one of them ghosts. I'm dead. I ain't got a body. I just exist here... but I'm real enough. I don't give a damn about her missions. I just care about keepin' y'all standin'."

Speaking of which, he comes over and holds out a hand, snapping his fingers in a wordless demand for Kaiba to present his hands.

They did need Siebren. He knows that Kaiba doesn't want to talk about it right now, but he needed him especially. "You don't gotta compensate for him. Y'all were always strong enough."

[blue_ice]

"...if there's a way to help you. I'll find it."

Kaiba still sounds weary, throat raw, but he...oh, what does Yondu want? He glances down at his hands and---oh. That's unpleasant. He hesitantly stretches them forward.

"He always put everything he had into protecting me. Even at risk to himself. My powers will never be that strong, but I can do more. We've always been a more ragtag, less focused team....we were ambushed once, in the time before him. It wasn't pretty."

[yondu]

"No shame in preparin'. It's what he woulda wanted anyway." He fixes up Seto's knuckles with a little of the potion he's been lugging around, has about half left for later. "It's a sad fact of this crew that no one's gonna follow anyone's lead. Too many cooks an' plenty of counterspace for ever'body to do their own thing. It works out most of the time but expect protectin' people what won't want it to be hard as hell. They wanted Siebren to look out for 'em."

Literally big shoes to fill. But in Siebren's case, he doesn't think they can be. It's Kaiba desperately trying to slam plaster into a new hole in a swiss cheese wall.

"He ain't dead. Spider came back. Raven came back. Means his tetherin' info is still there and we will figure this shit out. Somebody's gotta look out for him, too."

[blue_ice]

"Mm."

Kaiba appreciates the assistance in that sort of detached way. He's still reeling, still trying to regain some sort of emotional equilibrium. Probably failing.

"I will. I'll keep looking. But it feels pointless...like we're looking for a needle in a million haystacks, blindfolded. No avoiding pitfalls. How do you hold on when there's so little to hold on to?"

[yondu]

"Because I don't have anything else to hold onto but that little bit." His crew is dead after all, his son gone, his ship destroyed, Yondu didn't even have the clothes on his back when he came in. Just the train's replacements. He had his arrow and everything else he's earned or been given as gifts since.

"After Diagad, I was expectin' to disappear. I wanted to disappear, because that man had a life a life I knew I could never manage. I knew what I was and I was not that, I should be with my crew. So I got the help of people that I thought was more solidly tethered than me, so I'd know people was covered if I left, an' someone would help with researchin' ways outa this. Agent 8. Della." He looks rightfully disgruntled. "But I'm the one still standin'. And I'd switch out for any one of 'em if I could, but I can't, so all I can do is make sure they end up alright."

So needles in haystacks it is, he supposes. "I was thinkin' of tryin' to get in touch with the reporters what wrote the articles we was sent. See if they had any resources, but it'd mean havin' to speak to another void connected world."

[blue_ice]

Kaiba finds this hard to listen to....but he does. This is important. Yondu is important, he's absolutely certain of that now.

"I don't know why my tether's so stubborn either. Yugi and I arrived the same month, and there are very few who've been here longer than us....I wonder if it's because my soul was already in flux when it found me."

That's another long story. He shrugs past it. "But it seems to like tormenting some of us longer than others, so I'll struggle with you."

[yondu]

"I know he wasn't the type to leave someone what needed him. Not without a word an' gettin' ya ready or somethin'."

He doesn't know. He couldn't even begin to fathom Siebren pulling something like that, though. It didn't match up with anything he saw.

"I count those missin' people as ones I gotta try for. I got a book on Void Metals and still diggin' for info on craft. Gonna find more knowledgeable or resourceful people to talk to. She pretty much told me we're here 'cause we're the ones what can change worlds. Don't start treatin' people who don't got a choice like likin' 'em is a threat 'cause ya end up cooped up with a bunch of people you only feel safe hatin'. I did it for way too long. It's shit."

Don't be like him.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba sighs and rolls a shoulder. He really, really doesn't want to open himself to more pain, but he's starting to believe he doesn't really have a choice. The heart knows what it wants and won't shut itself off.

"I don't hate anyone here. I know you've endured this far more than I have...so..."

A deep sigh. "I admire your strength. All of that and you still try to keep us together. I want to get there, I just...don't know how to turn the pain off."

[yondu]

"Not really. Pain always has context, nothin's bigger than the other. I'm just tellin' ya why I been tryin'." Besides, he's got a lot of screwing up he did that makes him feel as if he deserves that pain. Kaiba's just a kid- well, compared to Yondu anyway. Even if he did something, it shouldn't be on his record as a condemnation.

"I don't know either. I just get real focused an' do shit. Or I drink. I figure the last one ain't advisable an' the first ain't real healthy either but it's the lesser of two evils."

And he almost says that he fucks around, but he hasn't since coming to the train and he's cautious about striking up physical intimacy with people he might disappoint by not giving a damn about them afterwards. And when he's in pain? That's what he wants. A quick fix. Closed spaces and constant crews aren't a good place for that kind of drama, Kaiba's married, so he won't advise it as an option.

[blue_ice]

"...I have things to do. The builds haven't been going well. But maybe getting the others off my back about their video games will help."

Kaiba normally loves game development. The work is fulfilling, he knows that deep down...it's just hard to feel a passion for anything at the moment.

He moves to stand up, feeling stiff. This probably wasn't the best place for a meltdown.

"If we ever find any of those metals, I'll build test models with you."

[yondu]

"I'll read the thing as soon as I can focus on it." 'Cause he's feeling it, too. Feeling how hard this fight is, and the pain of watching yet another person marched off. He can't blame him. Not one bit.

"C'mon, you wanna beat the shit out of somethin' make it a training dummy. Don't be violent in front of the vegetables, you'll upset the herbivores."

He attempts the terrible humor with the straightest face in the world.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba doesn't really have it in him to smile, but he shrugs a shoulder in acknowledgement.

"Head start on my training. Being able to focus when compromised is essential."

[yondu]

And he knows that Siebren wouldn't have wanted him alone in here kicking the shit out of himself. Though after a loss, sometimes what the other person wanted stops meaning anything. It's just a restriction that makes their absence even more real, a reminder that love is gone.

"You should wash your hands, too. I hate how that potion shit feels after a while."

He winces and gets the door for him, holding it with his foot so it won't slide shut.

[blue_ice]

"...okay." Seto gives Yondu a grateful nod as he steps into the kitchen. There's a sink here and he hesitates a few moments, but he ultimately uses it. Hey, at least he's not leaving clumps of wool.

It's here, washing his hands and somewhat calming down, that he remembers something.

"Thank you. You're probably the best leader we have."

[yondu]

That... means a lot to hear, considering most of his leadership through most of his career, after he was exiled anyway, was held via violent strongarming.

"I ain't really a leader here," he has to admit. "Blue team lead is more just recitin' what our mission is. I just wanna watch out for y'all." He frowns to himself as he crosses his arms and walks through the kitchen in that slow 'shark in the shallows' way of his.

"I told Siebren how I'd felt. Back durin' the fake mission? I told 'im I'd gotten over it but I'd had a thing for 'im. At the time I thought it was a good idea, lettin' 'im know someone thought highly of him? But it only really did any good for me. Means the last thing I ever said was I talked myself out of gettin' near to lovin' 'im. Like that was some kinda terrible thing. For me, it was.... it's shit to hear, though.

"Another reason you shouldn't give up on it. Or at least don't tell people you're givin' up on it, 'cause that dumbass move is gonna stick with me for a while."

[blue_ice]

Seto flinches a little at this admission. He had been open with his love in the end...granted, it was a very different kind of love. And the loss of affection, warmth, and security was devastating.

But Yondu is suffering with something else. The what-ifs. He regretted never allowing that relationship a chance...what could he say?

"He...had some issues with fully trusting people," Seto finally says softly. "We all seem to. But I know how much the pain of unfinished business hurts. I never said anything to my first love before he died, and I nearly tore the universe apart trying to reach him."

Deep breath. "Yugi loved him too. It's complicated. But that absence ended up bringing us together."

[yondu]

Yondu's problem is more an issue of guilt. "I didn't let it get that bad." He'd had moments where the emotion built up, got intense, but he'd scolded it into silence successfully. Every skipped heartbeat muffled under leather. Every stolen breath hidden under a silk scarf. The only thing he couldn't hide were the contagious smiles. But he'd told Siebren, and Siebren didn't need to know that someone had chosen not to feel things for him. "But I wasn't hurtin' nobody keepin' it to myself, especially after it was in the past."

He snorts softly.

He thinks, for a moment, about telling him that kind of love is what he always wanted. That sort where you'd search the whole universe for them. He sees it all around him, and he wants it. But he's too damn old for it, he's simply not made for it, and he doesn't want encouragement 'cause he's doomed to disappointment. So he just nods in vague agreement.

"You still got somethin' worth keepin'. You both had the conversation about what you'd do if one of ya left? 'Cause... might be best to. Just so the one left could keep goin'."

[blue_ice]

"...I've thought about it," Seto says, resignation falling over his features. "I've been so sure that he'll be the one to leave first. But if I was?"

He squeezes his eyes shut. Doesn't want to think about it.

"I backup and duplicate my files and memories regularly, I don't know what all will disappear with me if I'm lost to the void. I've tried to make them as intuitive to read as possible. We'd better find each other again after that...but if not."

He bows his head. "I wouldn't want to push him to the limits I've pushed myself to in the past. That's not fair to him. But as long as the train insists on dragging my soul across the universe, I'll keep fighting. For everyone to have freedom and choice."

[yondu]

Seto's preparation was a lot like Yondu's. Making sure that a lot of his valuable information would be carried on.

"If somethin' happened to ya I'd let him know I'd keep fightin' for ya, too. It's a conversation y'all oughta have." He is glad, though Siebren could be there for his marriage. They needed that moment.

"Cope however you need. I can probably scrounge up a drink to share if ya need it. I got a book I'm hopin' will help the littlest bit. It's slow goin'? But it is goin'. An' it might not be me but I'm gonna make sure someone is gonna get us all back home, intact and safe."

[blue_ice]

Seto knows he has to have this conversation. He dreads it. It hurts like hell now, and to imagine more pain on the horizon? He doesn't want it, but he knows it's coming.

"...I'll think about it, but. What book?"

[yondu]

"A book on the properties of void metals. Might help us design and build somethin' that can better help us out. Maybe not somethin' ship sized, but a sensor or antennae might do us some good. Maybe somethin' to keep track of people walkin' out into the fog further'n we can go."

But that requires scavenging up some void metals.

[blue_ice]

"I'll read it too. I'll help you find whatever we need. I can't just sit here, can't just give up..."

Oh, but he's tired and miserable. He drops into one of the seats in standard, apparently too tired to wail on a training dummy right now.

"It's funny. Spite and rage used to be my primary motivators, but I tire of them more easily than I used to."

[yondu]

"I figured out a long time ago love's been the best motivator one can muster, but I also know if you have a shortage of gettin' it ya make due. Considerin' that's what ya default to that says a lot about the sort of shit you put up with before you got here."

Because Yondu's walked both paths very well, and unreciprocated love still works. And whether it was unreciprocated romantic, like his for Stakar, or familial, like his for Peter, or platonic, like that for his team. It works better than hate ever did for him.

"Hate an' spite don't motivate me that much, I just use it when I gotta."

[blue_ice]

"...I guess it wasn't all spite. My love for my brother drove me to keep pushing for a better life for us. Even if I messed up too many times."

Seto's hand reaches up for a brief touch to his locket. Almost a year without him now, and all the guilt and regret that entails. "I've loved more people in the last year than in the 18 years before that...but look where it's put me now. Rage and regret."

So many things he should've done before they left. He understands that much of how Yondu feels. "We just need the brains to put that into action."