No Place Like Home: On the Train

[voidtreckermods]

ANNOUNCEMENT

'Voidtreckers, and passengers of the Voidtrecker Express.'
The female-coded voice of the Voidtrecker Express speaks, as smooth and calm as always.

'Please, may I have your attention. I have been compiling answers for you, and it has been noted that many believe it is wrong that you were brought here at all. This is an opinion you shared with the ministry. You were not asked on this journey. You wish to go home. Some of your worlds are in danger. Some are gone.

The need for heroes is vital, and the Voidtrecker Express must continue saving worlds. You have done countless good. However, it was not the intention of this voidcraft to keep you prisoner.

Those that wish to leave may do so. I shall send you back. You will return to where you last were before you were pulled here. It can only be to that exact place. Be ready. Exiting voidspace in ten, nine, eight...'

The countdown finishes, the only warning as the train shudders as it leaves the void. Outside the train's windows, they see a familiar sight: of a smoke filled platform.

'For those voidtreckers that wish to leave, all you need to do is walk through the barriers. The train will remain for one hour for you to partake in parting rituals.'

---

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: TRAIN

---

GOOD BYE...

Those that have been on the train more than the twelve days of this month will be very familiar with the sight before them. A smoke filled platform, polished stone cobbles lining the ground leading to two large stone arches, with glass barrier doors. All that is needed to leave is to press their ticket to the reader next to the doors, and they will open.

Unlike most people who leave each month, blank eyed and silent, the people who choose to leave will be able to say goodbye, They can take whatever they wish of their belongings from the train, or leave them for those that remain behind.

The air is chilly, enough to discourage standing idle outside for too long, but not so uncomfortable, so long as people are bundled up. The sky overhead is cloudy, giving the platform an altogether dull and melancholy air. There are no new people waiting, just an empty station, and the barriers, with all that lies beyond them.

The doors will remain open as promised, so that those who wish to leave, may do so. The barriers let them through and they disappear.

[ Note: A top-level for goodbyes and leaving can be found here. ]

REMAINERS

The train, good to its word, remains for one hour before the horn toots, a warning to board if they are planning to. And this is where the first inkling of things not being right, when some who try to board the train might find themselves instead pressing their ticket to the barrier, and those who try to remain on the station - or leave through the barriers - may find themselves stood on the train, with the doors closing behind them.

It's a much smaller crew who remain as the train counts down, the usual shudder as the smoke vanishes and the kaleidoscope of the void appears. Only for a second, before the train lurches violently to the side, flinging everyone sideways before righting itself just as violently.

As people regain their feet and their wits, they will realise the obvious - they are stationed back on the platform, mist and smoke swirling around the train.

"Apologies Voidtreckers. Retrying entry to the void in ten, nine..."
Once again they are jerked into the void, and once again they tumble out. Hopefully this time, the passengers thought to brace themselves lest they get thrown across the carriage once more.

---

STUCK IN TRANSIT. Phasing back to the void seems unlikely. It's clear something has gone very wrong, but the doors remain shut, and the train remains silent. There are a few attempts over the next few days, always warned for and given a countdown, but always ending in failure.

Outside the windows, the fog swirls around, remaining thick. It seems for now, they are going nowhere; for now, they must wait.

But they needn't sit idle, with the attempts at getting back into the void having made a mess. While anything large is bolted in place, and shelving have rails to protect anything inside at normal levels of turbulence, there's still a lot that has gone flying as the train was lurched around.

It might be wise to secure anything else as well. It's clear they will be trying again to return to the void, and it might be wise to avoid having to clean up all over again.

---

SHADOWS WHO ONCE WERE. The platform outside the carriage windows is shrouded in smoke and fog, fluctuating in thickness as it swirls around the train, obscuring the view.

But those looking out of the window may spot a figure. A friend. Someone from the train; they appear, then disappear. Sometimes there are many, sometimes just one alone. Sometimes they leave together. It's not easy to see them, as they drift in and out of the fog, and visibility is bad.

They cannot hear them, or interact at all. They can only watch as more of their fellow Voidtreckers appear, vanish, appear again. The doors will not open, the train remains silent, clearly dealing with whatever problems it has ran into.

It's clear that something has gone very, very wrong.

---

A SWIRL OF REALITY. The constant entering and exiting of the void takes its toll eventually. Sleep is harder to come by, there's a general sense of disorientation as the train moves in and out of void space. It is more than just their bodies that are being bashed around, it is their minds as well.

Tempers might peak or emotions might come on stronger than they usually would. Adding in the stress of the situation, and the knowledge that those who left seem to be returning, leaving, and returning again to the platform, and passengers are unable to call out or reach to them, it's a very tense few days.

When they do sleep, their dreams are plagued by weird dreams. Not always bad, but bizarre for sure. Often they dream a dream that is not theirs.

OOC NOTES

OOC post. Ask questions here.

This is the first half of February's event. It will last between Poi 22-25 (12th to 19th February). The second half of the event will go up during 20th to 25th February (Poi 26-28) where those left behind will rescue those out world hopping.

Feel free to play out threads for as long as you like, of course! A few details:

• The train will not be responding after its first attempt to leave the station
  
• No matter what, the doors won't open.
  
• Though they can see the voidtreckers outside, those outside don't seem to be able to see them through the windows and so communication between the two groups will not be possible.
  
• Likewise their SCA comms are not working during this event.

Comments

training gym

[unrecovered]

Wash is beyond pissed. He'd had his chance to go home yanked away a week ago by whatever malfunctioning AI runs the train, so he'd actually had some hope that that would be corrected today-

Except the fucking train still won't let him leave.

He tries damn near everything he can think of short of fireball, because there's still some part of him, even through his rage, that's still mindful of the safety of the other poor bastards stuck on this train. Nothing works. Nothing works.

So he gives up - for now - and heads to the training gym, intent on working off some anger-

Except someone else has beaten him to it, and looks to have been at it the entire time Wash has been trying to escape from this brand new bullshit mobile prison. He swallows his temper for now and watches. Yeah, this all looks familiar. Technique isn't too bad - temper is making it worse, though, and one wrong hit with enough force is going to give him a broken hand-

Aaaaaand he's threatening a punching bag. Okay. Great. It's going to be one of those interventions.

(Because it is going to be an intervention. Wash has no idea what it is with multidimensional recruiters going after traumatized teenagers, but he's found yet another one, and he's not about to let him sink. His own anger at the situation can wait, at least for a little bit.)

"So do the punching bags usually talk back, or are you imagining something else there?"

[blue_ice]

Kaiba turns stiffly toward the new voice. Ah, yes---this person had boarded last platform, right? What a great first impression they must've made, with over half the team (reasonably) fleeing at the next stop and whatever this mess they've gotten caught in now.

Never mind the first impression he's making. He's not sure he should really care anymore, but...he should probably aim for some level of professionalism here.

He reaches for a cloth to wipe his brow, forcing himself to take a deep breath. Back to work, back to reality. Be the businessman.

"...no. They don't. I'm. Frustrated, but I need to thoroughly prepare for the next mission. With three quarters of the crew gone, I have that much more ground to cover."

It's a practical consideration, nothing more.

[unrecovered]

Wash shrugs, moving away from the door and fully into the gym. It's not really an invitation, but that's not about to stop him from treating it like one. "You want to talk frustrated, I tried to leave. Guess I don't have enough good behavior yet to qualify for parole." To be fair, he's never managed to qualify for parole. This is just how life works for him.

But hey, nobody's happy here. Might as well try to guide this somewhere slightly less self-destructive.

"From what I've been told, we get some time between missions, right? If I'm doing my math right, we've got about a week." And if he's not, he's sure he'll be corrected. "So if you want to spend the day taking your frustrations out on the punching bag, that should be fine. Just wrap your hands first so you don't break them." It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than repression or broken fingers.

[blue_ice]

"...Right. No one in their right mind would want to stay...unless they had no life to return to, or bonds that mattered more. But that takes time."

Seto doesn't plan to elaborate on whether he was locked out or chose to stay, or why...but whatever happened, he looks haunted by it. He walks a little closer, just slightly skittish, and sits on the ground so he can rummage through his bag. There are a few long strips somewhere in here, surely.

"...that clock doesn't start until we leave the platform. I don't know what the holdup is, it's not normally this rough. The train doesn't usually have a problem losing tethers and sending people off to haunt the void as ghosts, so sending them fully home shouldn't be much more work."

Is there a hint of bitterness there? Maybe. But he's trying to focus on a wrap now.

[unrecovered]

He raises both eyebrows at that. Nobody in their right mind would choose to stay, and yet here they both are. He stops short of asking which one this teenager is - odds are he's not going to say anyway, and there's no point in pushing when he doesn't need to.

He heads closer and takes a knee next to the teen and the bag, waiting for bandages to be produced and considering the timing of running back to the medical car for some. Will the teen even be here when he gets back, if he goes, or will he go find somewhere else to work out his temper?

He shrugs at that assessment. It's easier to crash a ship than to land it successfully, but he's pretty sure that observation won't go over well. "I'm guessing it doesn't normally make an effort to send people home either. From what I can tell, we're in uncharted territory, right?" It would make sense that things are going wrong when nobody has any idea what the fuck they're doing.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba's at least somewhat prepared. He hauls them out and can manage to wrap his left with his right, at least. Sloppy, and hard to tie one-handed...ugh, does he have to ask for help?

He furrows his brow and thinks it over a moment.

"...could you tie this for me?"

It's taking so much out of him to ask. Please appreciate the effort that goes into asking.

But he sighs and continues. "No. It's trying to keep hold of us until it finishes its mission to find the original crew it lost in a battle ages ago. But it's been losing its grip on at least a handful of us every few weeks. Better that as many people leave as possible before they become ghosts too."

[unrecovered]

He sees that hesitation, sees that struggle to ask, and doesn't comment. Instead, he takes the wrapped hand and turns it over gently, looking over the wrap job. Either this guy has never done this before, or he's never had anyone to teach him. Either way, this isn't going to help his hands much.

He considers his words for a few seconds. He's taught people who didn't want to be taught, but Blue Team had made him their leader and he'd had some sort of authority. He'd taught people with no experience who wanted to learn, but Sayori and Kaede were open to the experience. This is neither of those situations, and needs yet another approach. He takes one of the loose ends of the wrap in his fingers. His hands are scarred and calloused - a roadmap of his own experiences. "Do you do this very often?"

He furrows his brow a bit at that information. Missing crew, huh. "We're gonna talk about that in a minute, but let's get your wraps done first."

[blue_ice]

Seto's hands are definitely not well-practiced at fighting. If he does anything with his hands on a regular basis, it's likely typing away at a keyboard, or maybe holding a screwdriver or wire cutters. This whole hero business is fairly new to him.

The answer's obvious, so he might as well be honest. "No. I tend to fight more through cyberattacks than punches, but I've been training the last few months. Our missions are dangerous and unpredictable. If escaping fails, I can't rely on someone stronger being there to protect me."

But someone more knowledgeable is here to offer guidance right now. Maybe he should listen. "I can tell it needs fixing. How do I do it?"

[unrecovered]

"So you're our tech guy. Good." It is always, always good to have a tech person. He takes Seto's hand in his again and starts unwrapping the wrap. "As for defending yourself, learn how to use a weapon and carry it. Unless there's more to you than meets the eye, you're not going to get as much force out of a punch as someone with a bigger frame." Kid's tall, but he's also a twig. North was tall too, but North also worked from a distance and had more meat on his bones - and, after a point, AI backup.

"I'm going to wrap these for you for now, until you get used to doing it with one hand." He explains as he goes, re-wrapping hand and wrist, threading the wraps between fingers and over his palm. "You want to make sure you have support, not just coverage. Coverage is good for bleeding, but it won't stop you from breaking your fingers, and you're gonna need those." He finishes and ties it off, then holds out both hands. "Other hand."

[blue_ice]

Kaiba watches the man work, committing the process to memory. It's simple enough, he'll be able to do it soon. He flexes his fingers once one hand is securely wrapped, then offers the other.

"I do know a trick" he says helpfully. The hand that Wash isn't holding curls, and he allows a bolt of lightning to jump straight up from it. He wraps the bolt around his wrist briefly before dismissing it.

"I know my way around throwing knives too. I'm trying to keep several options open, it'll get more dangerous from here and I refuse to be a liability."

Those last words are said extremely seriously. It's a promise.

[unrecovered]

He doesn't stop wrapping the other hand as he glances away, hands moving in easy, practiced motions from feel and memory alone. An eyebrow raises as the lightning curls. "Nice trick. How versatile is it?" He's obviously got enough control to keep it from traveling on its own, so Wash skips that question.

His hands do stop when Seto ends on that sentence. He pauses for the space of a breath, then catches Seto's gaze with his. "There's a difference between wanting to be an asset to your team and not wanting your team to have to save your ass. Which is it?" His tone is calm, with an undercurrent of steel if Seto can hear it. Whether Seto understands it or not, this is important.

[blue_ice]

"I can throw small lightning balls and wrap my fist in them. I didn't gain the ability until recently, so it's a game of slowly testing my limits."

Seto hesitates a moment. He definitely gets the sense that there's a wrong answer. How can he explain his mindset...?

Deep breath.

"I assume by now someone's filled you in on roughly what the team designations mean. Most people who aren't seasoned warriors get assigned to Orange, and we generally split our duties between investigation and tech support, depending on what's needed on each world. We're usually not assigned to dangerous regions of the mission planet, and when we are, some members of Purple are asked to split off and guard us."

He clenches his already-wrapped fist. "But with so few of us left...if I'm one less person that needs saving, we're more likely to escape a mission without deaths."