voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post March]

A New Platform [Intro Post March]

PLATFORM STOP: MONTH 17
(QUICKSAND)

BEFORE ARRIVAL

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day 1 of the month of Quicksand. Points have been updated on the system."
The voice of the Voidtrecker Express welcomes passengers at the same time as always, sometime after breakfast. With points updated, everyone can spend the morning shopping. Most people will be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later, as the colours of the void outside the windows blur more and more.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. The weather is cold and damp. 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.

ON THE PLATFORM

1. THE ARRIVAL

At first, all your character can see is steam billowing around them as they come to their senses. But as their eyes adjust, they find themselves on a platform.
It is cold, a slush of ice and rain on the ground underneath their feet. It's not currently raining though. The platform is made of black cobbles, slippy under their feet, dark stone gates serving as barriers giving the impression of a severe and grim place.

They stand in clothes not their own, in a style they might not even recognise. They're carrying a rucksack on their person, and for a moment it seems to just be them, alone on this platform. Before the fog starts to subside, and they'll see they're one of eleven figures: all facing the tracks, and all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies, the latter in one of four colours. Purple, red, blue or orange.

But then there's a roaring sound to get their attention, and out from the fog arrives a train. A sleek black, it it reads The Voidtrecker Express in gold lettering on the side. Every one of the doors hiss as they open automatically, and out pours a strange assortment of people, over a hundred at least. Some are human, some less so, with a majority wearing the same hoodie of four colours as they do, though some sport outfits in a variety of styles.

The train doors close behind them, and the vehicle is cloaked in the same fog that hides the world beyond the platform. A group of people head towards the gates of the platform, their expressions blank and unaffected by their surroundings. Ansem, Connor, Curufin, Elle Days, Freddy Fazbear, Margulis, Murderbot, Potato, Vexen, Will Stanton and Yota They disappear through the barriers, but no one else can - all people can do is wait until the train re-emerges, finishing whatever changes it's making.

2. BOARDING THE TRAIN

After a short time, perhaps ten minutes or so, the fog clears and the doors hiss open again. Everyone will feel a pull when they do, a need to board, and those from the train may encourage new arrivals to board. This feeling grows into one of apprehension and turns worse the longer they stay off-board.

For those that do board, they may find themselves in a few different carriages, but most likely the standard coach. A row of seats sit available, with a few tables between each. More likely than not, some cookies have been set out with jugs of drink, and cups available for pouring.

For those that don't, however, they're likely to attract attention if they're spotted. And if that fails... an unfortunate end will await them.

3. DEPARTURE

Do a little exploring, if you will. But people will have half an hour total from the train's arrival before a second horn sounds, encouraging any stragglers taking advantage of the fresh air to board. After five minutes from this, the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, but they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train begins to rumble with activity, and the platform starts to disappear into a fog as the voidcraft moves. A female-coded artificial voice echoes throughout the train.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express. 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.

ON THE TRAIN

1. EXPLORING

With nowhere to go but through the train's carriages, this is a good time for newcomers to explore. For veterans, it's back to your everyday life aboard the Voidtrecker Express.

¤ New arrivals will notice a screen and console in every carriage sharing the same message, and a stack of leaflets in holders by them offering further information to the curious (see 'Publications'). There are lavatories available on each carriage on one end, with another console with a deposit box under it at the other. This is the train shop.

¤ It'll take some time for newbies to figure out the layout, even if there's only two directions to go in. Go one end, and you'll find the food stores and washing utilities. This month's key ingredient is pineapple, and you're sure to bump into others curious about what's in the stock.

¤ Go to the other end, and you'll find the sleeper cabins. Plaques sit on the wall by each door with the names of their occupants, and one of these will be yours - hopefully, they'll figure out that swiping their ticket against the doorpad will open it up to them. 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.

¤ At the farthest end in this direction is the luggage carriage, where passengers who have bought items from the train shop will find their purchases. There are also medical kits for every one, each labelled with their full roster name. These are scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags, but there's also a small fridge and kettle here with bottled water, for those who want a quiet drink.

For those of Purple team who go looking for their reward they will find simple boxes of cupcakes to share out. There's a cupcake for all of purple team, even the new arrivals, share in your new team's success!

2. ACTIVITIES

But of course, there's also everything in-between those two directions, and the people in them.

¤ Areas of note will be the training gym, where there's always regulars training to pass the time. There's a training board offering services, but maybe you'll find someone who catches your eye in here. Or even its gear?

¤ Is your character used to the appliances to be found in the kitchen? Depending on when your character wanders in, they may find someone testing out a recipe, preparing for lunch, or even dinner time.

¤ The library offers a quiet place, with a fair selection of books from fiction to non-fiction. Is your character interested in learning more about the void? Picking up an action or adventure book? Wow, there sure are a few magazines.

¤ There's also media to consume, from the games car, the cinema, to the arts carriage. Ever played a virtual reality game? Wanted to learn how to fly? Have you seen a screen of moving pictures? There's now documentaries to be found in the cinema's catalogues, from How To programming, Void-related topics, and sports.

3. REST AND SLEEP

¤ Time is difficult to track in the void, even with the few clocks around showing a 21 hour time. But the windows allowing a view of the kalediscope void will shift to a pitch black once the time reaches 12, and keep for the rest of the day.

¤ Breakfast, lunch, and dinner time is usually announced by whoever's cooking that day, and when. Sometimes it's decided by the team chores; other times, it's decided by who wants to be cooking.

¤ But sleep eventually comes to all, even if they don't want it to. When 21 hours have finally passed on the train, all passengers, whether they need sleep or not, will see black - only to start a new day in their cabin beds, with the sound of the train's automated voice greeting them with a 'Good morning' message.

NAVIGATION ~ GAMEPLAY ~ SETTING ~ CHARACTER INITIATIVES ~ QUESTIONS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Answer the question."

Fortunately for Rezo, Zelgadis has been on the train long enough to know that no one dies for good here, so he would just gain a day of peace and then a bunch of questions that he couldn't escape from given the train wasn't likely to stop for days. That and even when Zelgadis was a chimera, he couldn't beat Rezo in a straight-up fight given Rezo's magic. His greatest asset would be a surprise attack, which he'd lost by speaking up.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

“Why is that your first concern?”

Even as he’s being evasive, Rezo does think back to his last moments: Sending Posel back with the last of his power, then letting himself fade out piece by piece. He does not think he could bring himself to properly explain it.

Better to try and find out Zelgadis’s motivation, so that he knows how best to answer.

"People don't always show up from the same time. I'm trying to place what I'm dealing with. And what I know that you won't."

Rezo both recognizing Zelgadis's voice and not questioning why Zelgadis was so curt and angry at Rezo meant it couldn't be longer than a handful of years. Damn the man for not visibly aging.

Rezo feels an internal twitch of irritation: If Zelgadis is hoping to lord his superior knowledge over Rezo, he certainly has another thing coming. Zelgadis would need to be a great deal older than he sounds before he would have any hope of knowing things that Rezo doesn’t already know.

Another, calmer place inside of him recognizes the absurdity of this prideful line of thought. Especially when it’s already obvious that Zelgadis has been on this train longer than Rezo has.

Rezo exhales through his nose. “Taforashia,” he says at last. “The Durum plague. Treating it, and what came afterwards. Does any of this sound familiar to you?”

"Yes. I am from a few weeks after that. Then your unwanted passenger isn't also on the train?"

Which is the real reason he is asking. Anything Zelgadis knows about the world after Rezo finally dies again for good (he hopes) is probably not relevant to Rezo. But 'did the train also bring Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo (or a piece of him) on board' is vital enough information that Zelgadis can set aside his own feelings to get the answer.

Not that he'll be able to do much about it beyond quietly start contacting everyone he knows that can use magic or something. Zelgadis is fully aware that if he hadn't run into Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev, he'd have been killed just like Zolf and Rodimus were.

“Ah, as to that…”

Rezo unthinkingly raises his hand and lifts it to his eyes, drawing his fingers across his face to rest at one side. How does he explain this? He hadn’t known Shabranigdo was inside him for so long. When the seal broke, he became rapidly, horribly conscious that there was a being inside him and when he’d been inside Hellmaster’s Jar it had been possible to listen for Shabranigdo’s pulsations. But now…

He doesn’t know. He simply feels odd and alive and confused, and doubt plagues his every moment.

“The seal is in place once again. Besides that, I have not been able to verify if the Dark Lord is present or not. Nobody has been able to explain the mechanism by which the train revived me in the first place, beyond that passengers who die are revived in the luggage compartment.”

In other words: The answer is a solid maybe. And if Shabranigdo is here, Rezo knows as well as Zelgadis does what could be in store. Maybe not immediately, but eventually…

“Your friend, Lina Inverse, wouldn’t happen to be here as well, would she?”

This gets a bitter laugh. "Trust me, if anyone else who knew both of us were on this train, they would be the one having this conversation and not me."

Okay, not Xellos. But Lina, certainly. She might even do it without Zelgadis having to promise any favors to her.

"You're not the first dead man to show up here. For the living, our... selves are tethered to the train, while our bodies stay in our own worlds. The experts are really hesitant to say 'souls', but I'm not clear on the difference, so don't ask. These aren't our real bodies, they're something the train creates. Hence waking up in the luggage compartment. Some of those books you're reading should have what we've pieced together."

It occurs to him that of the people from his world, the man who literally managed to create a contingency magical item to hold his soul, then transfer it into another body might actually be able to assist on this ongoing 'how do we re-tether to our original bodies' problem. Zelgadis is reminded of the saying about being careful what you wished for, since it seems to backfire far too often in his life, and it always seems to involve his grandfather.

Damn it. No Lina Inverse means no Giga Slave, meaning it’s unlikely anyone here is equipped to deal with a Dark Lord whenever Shabranigdo starts to stir.

Internally, though Rezo is new to the situation, his thoughts are already moving in a similar direction to Zelgadis’s. Tethers... If he can figure out how these tethers are made or broken, then perhaps he can find a way to unbind his own from the train. Then, without the train interfering and reviving him, he could try finding someone to destroy him again. Without breaking the seal this time.

In fact, Zelgadis himself would doubtless be happy to volunteer.

The only issue is that he might be reborn instead of being fully destroyed and it would once again be another delay of the inevitable. Although, from the little he’d picked up after Shabranigdo’s awakening, each rebirth without Shabranigdo awakening brings the Dark Lord a little closer to being purged…

This is all mulled over very quickly, and Zelgadis won't get much more than a moment of Rezo's brooding expression.

“I see,” Rezo says shortly. “So this is, in short, a copy body.” Perhaps that’s why he’s been feeling subtly off ever since he woke up.

"Right. There's some link to our original bodies, though who even knows what that means for you in particular." Not just the 'being dead' thing, given Rezo's various shenanigans. "They are entirely unconscious back home."

Because if there is anything Zelgadis has learned, it is that the world does not need more than one Rezo. Though this is the first time he connects that to one of the things Rezo did in Taforashia; putting the entire kingdom into stasis.

“It would be simplest to assume I still don’t have a body on our old world,” Rezo says. “Do you have reason to believe otherwise?”

It sounds like, as far as revivals go, the train has a very complicated and bizarre way of going about such things, especially if it’s going to the trouble of making multiple intricate copy bodies.

"No. You're not the first person to arrive after dying in their world. Or possibly as they are dying."

Which meant the piece of Shabranigdu may be here or it may actually have been destroyed for good this time. Zelgadis knows which one everyone on the train would prefer if they knew about it.

Rezo’s head tilts, his expression pensive. “Perhaps I’ll need to speak with the others, then.” Do a little cross-referencing, if the other dead or dying passengers are willing to speak of what’s likely a sensitive subject. Hopefully his counseling skills aren’t too rusty.

“You would know the people here better than I do,” he continues, “So tell me who I should consult with. And…” A hesitation, since it’s a long shot, but, “...Is there anyone who might possibly be of any use if he were to awaken?”

No need to specify who he is.

Zelgadis scowled. "No one I've met personally would be that useful," he said. "But there are some powerful people on board. Some even say they are gods, and aren't laughed out of the room." This is one of the few things he is willing to work with Rezo with. He (mostly) doesn't care what is going on with Rezo's link to the train or his original body, but Zelgadis wants to survive to go home, which means preventing a certain someone from waking up.

He's not going to answer the other question, because the only person he's sure is dead back in their world is Yondu, and it's dawning on him that Rezo's sainted reputation means jack shit here, while everything Zelgadis has said about Rezo is what is known until now.

That doesn’t sound too promising, but better than nothing. “Have you seen any of their power firsthand?” Rezo asks. "And if not, do you have any thoughts on how we could assess their power?"

Internally, he notes the lack of follow up on the subject of other dead passengers but he’ll give Zelgadis a chance to focus on the more important issue of insurance against Shabranigdo first. And it feels strangely natural to consult with Zelgadis on this issue, even with the boy’s clear contempt for Rezo. Perhaps it’s because he’s so familiar with Zelgadis’s strengths and weaknesses; Rezo thinks he knows what Zelgadis can be trusted with, and what he cannot.

(Although, speaking of strengths and weaknesses… Zelgadis’s footsteps and movements are certainly lighter on the train, aren’t they?)

(They certainly are. A lot of little sounds and changes in the rhythm of his motion. And probably familiar ones to Rezo, even if he hadn't heard them in years. Zelgadis in his early 20s isn't that physically different than Zelgadis in his teens. Ignoring a transformation or two.)

And, honestly, Zelagdis had worked so much with Rezo, it was easy to fall into old patterns when he could focus on something other than Rezo himself. "Missions can be dangerous. The last one had us dealing with some kind of pissed-off god. Pay attention to what everyone else is doing, if you have some attention to spare."

He's not going to begrudge Rezo a desire to not die. "People pick what tasks they do on missions, but there's default assignments. I'm on the purple team. You're on the red one." This does get a slight twitch to Zelgadis's lips that might be a bitter smile, and that colors his voice. Someone might have told Rezo about which team he was on, but he owuldn't know Zelgadis's except if he found the roster.

There’s a touch of humorless amusement, if such a thing is possible, in Zelgadis’s voice when he notes that Rezo is once again stuck in his fated color.

Fortunately a man called Thanatos had already explained to Rezo that he was on the red team, what that meant, and also please help them with the laundry. But Rezo indeed hadn’t known what team Zelgadis was on, and it seems they’re on separate teams.

“One must give thanks for small blessings, isn’t that right?”

Letting Zelgadis decide for himself what Rezo means by small blessings, Rezo presses on.

“I’ll keep my eyes figuratively open while I’m out,” Rezo says. “Now, you still have not answered my question about the other dead passengers. Who else do you know that was dead in their own world?”

"A guy named Yondu. Given he actually knows my past, he's liable to tell you to get lost if you come around asking questions of him," Zelgadis said. Yes, Zelgadis could ask Yondu to be civil. No, he sees no reason to do so.

“...I see. That is unfortunate,” Rezo says. Internally, he wonders who else Zelgadis has been talking to. Probably not that many people, since Zelgadis is the first person he’s run into all day to know about what Rezo has done.

And, more to the point, he can’t imagine Zelgadis shouting out Rezo’s sins to the public.

“Very well, then,” Rezo says. “In that case, I just have one more question to ask you.”

He shifts where he stands, hesitating. This is, after all, more of a hunch than anything he’s one hundred percent certain of. But there’s something that has been bothering him ever since he first heard Zelgadis speak.

“You’re human again, aren’t you?”

Zelgadis froze. How the hell had Rezo known? (He could probably figure it out later. The man was very smart and used to navigating the world without sight, and he knew exactly what Zelgadis's chimera body was like.)

"You told me yourself it was impossible," he snapped. "What would even make you ask that?"

It wasn't actually a denial. At this point, Zelgadis knows that being caught off guard before he yelled at Rezo is too much of a tell for someone who knows him well, and because Rezo's question was loaded with the context of their relationship, Zelgadis couldn't control his reaction as well as he could from a stranger.

The best he can do is not confirm it. Nothing he said was untrue, after all.

It’s not a confirmation, and of course Zelgadis would grow defensive if the subject came up regardless. But the way he avoids is suspicious enough that, while it may not be a complete confirmation, Rezo is now certain that something has changed for Zelgadis.

The boy is older and angrier than he had been, but one cannot care for a person for over half their life without learning a bit about how they behave when they have something to hide.

“Don’t underestimate my hearing, Zelgadis.”

Rezo stands there, facing Zelgadis directly, his expression neutral, almost serene.

“If my hunch is correct,” he says, “Then I suppose I must give you my congratulations.”

Which rings hollow. 'Congrats for fixing something I did to you and told you was impossible to undo, hope you like re-learning how to fight and where your old magic capacity was'. Hell, Zelgadis hadn't actually done anything besides ask around the train about comparative magecraft and follow up on a lead when it turned out the train had grabbed exactly the right spellcaster.

"I don't need that. I'll let you know if I find a magic-user that could do what Lina did."

Which is as good a signal as any to leave.

It could have been a worse response.

Rezo lets Zelgadis go. He doesn't say anything further. He just stands there, waiting until he can no longer hear Zelgadis's footsteps.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A New Platform [Intro Post March]

Re: the long-awaited happy fun family reunion time

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me @ rezo "dude are you TRYING to piss zel off"

Given Rezo's backup plans appear to be 'provoke Zelgadis to great-grand-patricide...'

rezo is great at plans and only has excellent ideas