A New Platform [Intro Post April!]

[voidtreckermods]

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!

Comments

[shutupnail]

Piccolo was already back down on the ground by the time she caves and addresses him. Good timing, really, as he was about to wander the crowd but she caught him first. He wasn't much for putting on friendly airs but he turned to face her and gave her a nod of acceptance. "Go ahead. Ask questions about the train, too, if you haven't gotten the whole story yet."

[sacrament_of_blood]

"I have already received knowledge about the train, but I thank you for your kind offer. My questions were merely..."

She hesitated, her expression looking slightly troubled. Would the green man take offense?

"I do not know what you would find rude and what not. Um, you have an appearance that is most unlike myself and you are capable of flight."

[shutupnail]

There was a question in there somewhere? All right, fine. He could extrapolate. If she wanted to know what he was and why he could fly she should have just asked outright. Whether he was offended or not really shouldn't have been a concern. He supposed not everyone could be as blunt as himself though. He should just appreciate the politeness she displayed.

He nodded. "I'm a Namekian. It's a species from a planet called Namek. And before you ask, I'm actually from a planet called Earth and have only been to Namek a few times as a visitor so I'm more familiar with humans than any other species. As for flight... you think I should have wings in order to be able to fly? It's a very inefficient way to fly if you can master ki manipulation instead. I use less energy than flapping wings and can fly faster than any winged creature could."

[sacrament_of_blood]

She considered this a little. "So you are an Earthling with alien heritage. Do tell me about this ki manipulation and how you use it to fly!"

Her face lights up with excitement and her tone is eager. To fly like the birds, leap from mountains to mountains, to be free in the sky!

[shutupnail]

"Sure, you could put it that way."

Piccolo adjusted his stance and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked up and out for a moment while he gathered his words before returning his gaze back down to her.

"Ki manipulation is just that: manipulating ki to do what you want it to. Ki is an inner energy that's present in every living thing, be it a person, an animal, or a plant. Martial artists where I'm from have mastered the ability to harness their own ki for spectacular techniques. Flying with it is only one of them."

He stopped there to let her digest what he had explained so far and see if she had any further questions yet.

[sacrament_of_blood]

"I see, so in essence it is the animating force in every thing. It sounds as if this is an entire discipline that requires its own dedicated focus and training."

Her dreams of soaring through the skies are beginning to look further off.

[shutupnail]

"As does anything you put your heart and soul into. For some it comes easily. For others it takes years of dedication and training. If you already know the basics of martial arts it could come naturally as part of those skills. If not, it could take time. But it is certainly something anyone could learn if they simply put the time and effort into learning it."

Piccolo was of the firm belief that anyone could learn how to manipulate their ki. He also knew it wasn't as easy for everyone else as it was for someone like him or a Saiyan to learn. Natural born warriors certainly had a leg up in mastering the techniques. But that didn't mean others couldn't do it, too, with enough practice and dedication to the art.

[sacrament_of_blood]

"Indeed. However, I already have something I have dedicated myself to; embodying my goddess in action and deed. That includes invoking Her gifts. My very blood can become weaponry to slay my foes, I am stronger and swifter because of Her gifts, and for a brief time I can match a fraction of Her deadliness.

All of those are things that take time and training. I am not certain I have the time to devote to another form of training. It may be possible, it may not be."

[shutupnail]

That was a lot to take in. Or rather, it was a lot of interesting and unusual things to take in. Piccolo sat on the information for a moment, considering. It sounded a bit like magic to him but he wasn't certain what to make of some of her phrasing. Not to mention some of the techniques and abilities she listed were a bit...dark.

He didn't really get an evil vibe off her, and usually his Namekian senses were fairly good at that sort of thing, but there was definitely something dark about her and the way she spoke so casually of blood and death was, well, slightly disturbing. Yet she was calm and nonthreatening which led him to the conclusion that her ideals or religion or whatever it was were simply different from what he was accustomed. Nothing wrong with that, he supposed.

It did lead to a bit of curiosity though. "I suppose that would depend on what kind of art this devotion to your goddess took the form of. And how much you wanted to combine, if at all, the two styles. I would need to know more about it. But fighting against foes takes training, a master of power and skill, and there might be overlap if that is what you do."

warning: run-on sentence

[sacrament_of_blood]

Oh, flying was potentially back on the table? The words practically rushed out as soon as Merciless could speak them. "In essence, our art teaches how to best guide the goddess's power through ones body and to act through it and supplement our fighting with our blood magic arts but also there's the goddess trance we can enter which increases the goddess power in us and in that state we can act without thinking, slaying as efficiently as possible and it's a thrilling feeling but best invoked in crisis because having so much goddess power flowing exhausts our bodies and increases our hunger and also it's most efficient for slaying less so for other things but it can still be used for those other things in times of need and..."

She paused, finally having ran out of thoughts to speak.

[shutupnail]

Piccolo merely blinked at her long tirade and took two seconds. "Right. So you have an Autonomous Ultra Instinct via goddess magic. Got it." And that was that.

"I don't know how magic users fly since it's easier for me to understand ki techniques rather than magical ones, but if channeling your goddess's power is anything like either of those two things... you could already have the ability to fly and not realize it." He's guessing but he's trying to do so out of a reasoning brought about from comparing the two arts to being, essentially, a channeling of power. "You already know how to manipulate an essence of power to your will and strengthen your body from its flow--ki manipulation is, essentially, doing that with your own energy."

Piccolo looked up to the sky for a moment and then back down at her. "We could always see just how similar your training is to my own. If I can watch you in battle, I might be able to extrapolate what you're doing."

[sacrament_of_blood]

Merciless wasn't sure what he meant by Ultra Instinct or whatever he said, but it seemed to be something similar enough to what she had. She considered his suggestion.

"We would have to make it clear what we are doing as to not unruly alarm others."

[shutupnail]

"Fair enough," he agreed. "We use the gym on the train as a sparring area, we could always do it there and it likely wouldn't be questioned."

Whether they did it now or later, Piccolo didn't seem to mind.

[sacrament_of_blood]

"Very well. When the opportunity arises, let us do thus. I cannot promise to match up to someone such as you who can fly and presumably do other things, but I shall show you all I have."

[shutupnail]

[[Do you want to thread this (perhaps here) or handwave it? Do you have a preferred outcome? Or if you want, we can discuss it on plurk, PMs, wherever.]]

[sacrament_of_blood]

[[I was planning on picking it up there, yes. And honestly Merciless holds no chance against a DBZ fighter, though she is superhuman in speed and strength. Just not quite as superhuman.]]

[shutupnail]

[[Awesome! That'd be great. Piccolo will be impressed with her skills anyway! He'll encourage her to use some of her unique ones so he can see them for himself. Because let's face it, DBZ characters like to see new techniques even if it does trump their own. XD]]