voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

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A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

On the Train

Two days after they return from their mission they are awoken as usual "Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Egret. The shop has been updated and points have been applied to passengers tickets."

Those that go to check the shop terminals will find they have indeed updated, with the option to buy larger items and also animals. The morning goes on until just after noon there is a second announcement.

"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 they are soon surrounded by the fog that means they are at a platform. Though the fog is thick, thicker than usual perhaps, there are patches on sunlight shining through and it is pleasantly warm.

The doors open and the first few to disembark do so with rucksacks on, hoods pulled up, silent and almost blank faced. Cu Chulain, Dio Brando, Disreputable Dog, Heiji Hattori, Loki Maedhros, Maglor, Naruto, Thor, Tobias Fangor.

They walk to the barriers, show their tickets and disappear.

But on the platform itself there are once again new faces. All are stood, waiting for the train.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam. Billowing around them as they come to their senses. They are standing, in clothes that are not their own, styles 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 but then as people begin to shift or call out it will become apparent they are not alone.

The platform is not large and it holds eighteen figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. It's warm but foggy making it hard to see much, but there are clearer patches bathed in sunlight found across the platform. Both left and right the tracks disappear into the mist. 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 into the cold step a selection of people. Some are human, some are less so. They are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple.

The Train

The doors hiss open. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there is 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 not be a good thing. 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. The store rooms have been restocked with an abundance of onions, in case the passengers weren't bored of them yet.

Passengers who are not brand new will notice that the train has gotten yet longer again with a sixth sleeper cabin for new arrivals.

New passengers will find their tickets allow them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

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 and you will hopefully find a pillow for your bed if it has not been nabbed by a roommate, there are also spare blankets for if it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view 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. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

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Considering last time it was Alice's first time to experience the departure - and it all happened so suddenly and quickly - this is the first time she can actually see how others deal with it.

.. suffice to say, Duo's way of dealing with it is not exactly within her expectations. Even if people doing the unexpected seems to be a trend on this train so far. Alice mostly looks kind of unimpressed, but there's a definite expression of surprise on her face for a moment before it that's hard to fully miss, honestly.

"Are you aware trains can't talk?" Or appreciate near-backflips!

Duo just grinned unrepentantly and laughed. "I dunno, it was talking a minute ago!" He said, referencing the fact that the automated voice had warned them to sit down in the first place. Maybe it wasn't exactly the same as having a full blown conversation with the train but saying the train couldn't talk was technically wrong.

He turned to fully face this new stranger and offered up a friendly smile. "Sorry, thought I was talking to myself, honestly. Didn't think anyone else was around."

Honestly, it would be pretty ironic for Alice of all people to condemn someone else for talking to themselves. And although she can be hypocritical at times, she at the very least seems to acknowledge it enough this time to not hound this stranger over it. Especially when he's even saying sorry for it and smiling? Really? Back in London people would have snapped back over less.

"You'll find that for better or worse there is always someone else around on this train." She'd say for worse, but something about this guy's smile suggests to her he might think it's for the better. "It's what happens when you put this many people inside of a space that's relatively small. It makes privacy hard to come by."

"Yeah, startin to get that impression." Duo drawled and gave a low laugh as he looked back the way he'd come to already see people milling about and picking themselves up off the floor.

"A lotta people all in one place? Must make things... interesting?" He continued, turning his attention back to the strange girl. "Can't be much room for privacy, eh? Like, getting away on your own for a minute or two?"

She nods at the last part. And honestly, her facial expression just by itself makes her opinion on it very clear too. This place is awful when you're introverted or just aren't used to dealing with a lot of people.

"You can't get a moment to yourself without some daft fool running in, doing something incredibly loud and ridiculous." Even the spaces she's been stuck at before have been quieter at times, and that's saying something! "Although I suppose that's less of a problem for some than it is for others."

Duo, despite his outward appearance, did enjoy his moments of peace. It'd drive him insane if he didn't at least get some kind of privacy.

"Does the can at least have a door on it?" Duo asked with an amused grin. The bathroom seemed like the only place you'd really get a seconds peace. If it had locks on the doors. And if there wasn't some kind of rota for when you could use it so everyone got a fair try. Man, that would suck.

"But I hear ya. Guess it's rough. I'll try not to be a 'daft fool'" Duo did his best to mimic her accent here, and smiled. "And do anything ridiculous in front of you."

Oh god, now she's just imagining what kind of chaos would exist in this place if the bathrooms or toilets didn't have locks.. At least they're spared that. Alice can feel a headache coming on just thinking about it!

"The effort is appreciated," she replies, although there's definitely some dry sarcasm in her tone. She'd hope most people wouldn't have to put active effort into trying to not be ridiculous. (For what it's worth, she at least doesn't seem to mind the accent mimicking.. She's had so much worse that it barely even registers with her.) "I feel like I've already dealt with enough at this point. You would assume that if enough people were put on a train together, there would at least be a good percentage of reasonable people."

Maybe Alice of all people shouldn't be talking about that, considering she is quite literally insane, but.. come on! If someone like her can behave, then she doesn't get what other people's deal is.

Duo had to laugh. He'd been teasing her for the most part. He didn't have any plans on being ridiculous in front of anyone. But he did intend to enjoy himself. At least as much as he could. He preferred it when people played along with him. He could get on more with people who had a sense of humour, dry or otherwise.

"Not many reasonable people here I take it?" He asked, this time with a more sympathetic look and less teasing. Duo was well aware of what he did, the things he said and to who. He knew very well the image he showed people. Was it the real him? Who knew. "Anyone in particular I should be avoiding?"

Although there's no verbal reply to his first question, the look on Alice's face says enough by itself. What she wouldn't give for a bunch of regular people that are easy to interact with. Please save her from this circus.

Apparently Duo isn't so terribly bad to talk to so far though, considering she's making no attempts to walk away.

.. that question though. The girl narrows her eyes almost instantly.

"If you see a talking book on this train, do me a favour and chuck it straight out of a window into the void." No, Alice doesn't have chill, in case that wasn't obvious yet. "It would be for the best for all of us."

"A... talking book...?" Duo blinked, wondering for a second if she was pulling his leg. But the look on her face told him that no, she probably wasn't.

"... If I see a talking book, can't guarantee I won't shoot it." He paused, then sighed sadly. "If I had my gun. Damn but I miss having a weapon... Feel naked."

She'll take shooting it, honestly. Anything to get that menace away from here. With Alice's terrible lack of social experience she isn't even too sure whether or not he's joking about the shooting thing, but even if she's taking it seriously, she doesn't seem to disapprove in the slightest. Some people just won't learn without getting hurt, okay?

Instead her gaze turns slightly curious.

"You don't have your gun with you?" She seems to find this odd for some reason.

"No... Not my knives either." It was so strange the things you could get used to. While he didn't think he was in any particular danger, he felt safer if he had something on him with which to defend himself with. While he was pretty sure he could handle himself if it came to hand-to-hand combat, he hated prolonging a fight. If he could take someone down with one hit that was better in the long run.

Even if that thing was a talking book.

"Don't suppose this place lets you have things like that, huh?" Duo asked, a slight hint of hope in his voice. Maybe they had a weapons store he could pick through to find something to his liking?

"I'm not sure, actually. It didn't seem to me like the train has any problems with it." Sure, it'd be easy to find that out by just asking around, but asking around is never the first option for Alice. Asking things to random strangers? No, thanks.

But to illustrate her point, she holds up her hand. A moment later - seemingly out of nowhere, since it's not sliding out of her sleeve or anything - an ornate knife appears in it. Thankfully Alice is at least smart enough to hold it in the most non-threatening way possible, just in case someone is paranoid enough to think she's pulling a knife on Duo as an attack.

"I have my blade right here with me."

"... Well that's just cheating!" Duo laughed, looking at the wicked looking knife that had appeared out of nowhere. "I can't do anything like that." Though Heero had been able to, he swore he could. His gun would appear out of damn thin air and it had never made sense to him!

Duo held out his hand then, curiously. "Would you mind?" He wasn't about to run off with it, where the hell would he go? And if she could magic it into being he was sure she could do the same if he tried to steal it and whisk it away. He just wanted a closer look.

There's a slight moment of hesitation. Slight, but definitely obvious enough to be noticable. It's the weapon Alice is most attached to, after all - and while it's not like he could just run off somewhere with it (and even if he did, she easily has more weapons to get it back with), there's just enough paranoia in her mind to not easily hand it over.

But not too much to completely stop it either. Since after that slight moment of hesitation, she does hold it out and opens her hand so he can grab it off her palm.

"Why, are you interested in it?"

Duo was just about to pull his hand back and apologise, when the knife was held out to him. He'd noticed the hesitation and really didn't blame her at all. He would feel the same way if someone had asked to borrow one of his own. But he gave her a smile when she opened her hand to him and reach to gently pluck the knife from her hand.

"Just curious." Duo replied, looking the knife over. It was large, a lot bigger than he was used to. And wasn't weighted for him so even if he were to try and take it he knew it wouldn't suit him. It was beautifully crafted though. And when he moved it to his side and have it an experimental twist, spinning it in his hand with a low laugh before he lifted it and held it back out to the girl, handle first. "It's a sweet knife. Not my style though."

"That's understandable. Every weapon is most suited for its owner, after all."

She takes back the knife from him, staring down at it for another moment or so before making it disappear into thin air again. When she looks back at Duo, it's like some of the tension about her has disappeared. It's still not fully gone - there's something very stiff about her shoulders, like she's very much not used to normal social interactions like these - but at the very least she doesn't look like she's ready to jump him at any given moment if necessary anymore. It's kind of like dealing with a feral cat in human girl form.

"I've had this with me ever since I first showed up here. If that isn't the case for you, perhaps you could find some way to convince the train to let you have your weapons again." Not that Alice knows if that's possible at all. Sure, it'd be the logical thing to let them have weapons, considering they need to go on missions at all, but very little about this train seems logical. "I can understand it might feel strange to go without for a potentially long time."

"Point." Duo nodded his agreement. It was still a nice knife though.

"I guess being able to magic them up and just having them on you constantly are two different things." As an example, he'd slept with a gun under his pillow for so long he knew he was going to have trouble sleeping on the train. He was going to be on edge for as long as it took him to be armed. While he didn't anticipate anyone actually attacking him, or an enemy people attacking the train itself, he liked to be prepared.

She huffs.

"If this train cares so much about a slight difference like that, it's true pedantic." Sure, Alice isn't complaining since she gets to have her weapons. But if the train would choose anyone to keep their weapons during their stay here, it sure shouldn't be the girl who constantly gets called violent and volatile. Even she knows that.

"Especially since it requires us to fight on some of these missions. Why not let people use what they specialize in during those? There's no doubt in my mind that this train cares very little about effiency."

Duo was grinning. Clearly he'd struck some kind of nerve. Maybe his problem was a common one, if she was getting annoyed on his behalf?

"Yeah, I've heard of this missions. I'd hoped they'd arm us for them, but I'm guessing not?" Duo shook his head with a frown. That wasn't going to suit him at all. But then he shrugged and laughed. "Well, I'll try and get my hands on something before that time comes!"

"You certainly sound resourceful enough for it."

Granted, he seems maybe.. a little too casual for someone interested in weapons, in her opinion? On the other hand, it's not exactly like she's interacted with a whole bunch of people during her life, so what does she know. People probably wouldn't assume she's the type to be able to pull knives out of nowhere either if they first met her.

"I wish you good luck with that then. I should get going for now."

"You've no idea." Duo smiled, but said no more. He didn't want to come off as boasting too much. And maybe he was casual about it, it was, to him, completely natural. His life had been a strange patchwork of crazy thing after crazy thing and being armed had been one thing that had kept him alive.

"Nice meeting you! And hey, before you go..." He moved a step and held out his hand. "Don't think I introduced myself. Name's Duo. You are?"

Alice just gives the hand a stare. As if it's not a hand he's holding out to her, but rather some foreign object she has never seen before in her life. Of course Alice knows what shaking hands is in theory, but that doesn't mean she's had much experience with it herself in life.

This is so weird. Why does everything on the train have to be so strange!

But despite the awkward staring pause, in the end she does slowly reach for the hand to lightly shake it. (There's something awkward about that too, which is much more betrayed by the touch itself than anything else.)

"Alice. Alice Liddell."

She's definitely the first to let his hand go again, but hey, at least she did shake it! She's trying here. Even though there's no 'nice meeting you too' or anything. Instead her head just dips slightly into a nod.

"I shall see you around."

Was hand shaking so weird? It wasn't the first time someone had looked at him weird for doing it. He was starting to get a complex!

But, she finally shook his hand, and Duo grinned and tried not to laugh when it was almost immediately dropped. She, Alice, really didn't look like it was something she'd been thrilled by. Luckily Duo didn't take offence to it.

"Yeah, I'll see you around, Alice." He was chuckling to himself as he turned and headed off on his merry way, whistling a jaunty little tune as he did.

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A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

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