Event: Abort! Part Two (day 25, Egret). Luggage carriage

[voidtreckermods]

They are on world world#27462947582 for about five hours, helping, ushering people out of the city, fighting monsters, keeping guard. All seems well in the city itself, peaceful even except for the slight panic of people being told to move south.

Wherever they are, north in the desert, travelling through the countryside to the south or still in the city itself they will notice from their peripheral vision a darkening of the sky. Looking up they will see clouds. Strange clouds, appearing in the blue sky out of nowhere.

Their SCA’s start beeping, rapidly, flashing red. The clouds are too weird to be clouds, dark shapes in the sky. It might be that the Voidtreckers heed the warning and tap their SCA to evacuate to the train. It might be that they do not.

If they don’t then there is a moment, a moment of absolute stillness as those around them notice the shapes. A confused pause. Children stop their chatter, people stop their complaining, even the monsters seem to sense something and pause in their attacks.

The remaining voidtreckers are yanked away, even without pressing their SCA, they glow gold and disappear.

They all appear in the luggage carriage and not even a second later, with no warning the train lurches, flinging everyone off their feet as it enters the void.

It’s not really easy to tell speed in the void, but they will get the sense that they are moving fast. Faster than before, leaving that world and whatever those shapes were behind.

(OOC: Information on this event is here and part one is here)

Comments

Duo Maxwell | Getting Outta Dodge

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo was halfway to ending the suffering of a particularly nasty boar-creature when all hell broke loose.

His SCA started to beep and flash and that brought Duo's notice away from what he was doing and more toward his surroundings. And he realised the sky was darkening. He looked up. The clouds...

A memory of a conversation recently had caused very little hesitation in Duo. He slapped the SCA without a second thought and with a lurch that made his stomach feel very odd, he was back on the Voidtrecker.

"Damn... Damn..." More people popped up around him and Duo stepped back to allow for room, muttering the same word over and over until the train tried to murder him by suddenly jerking and throwing him into a wall.

[najaran]

Najaran had brought her creatures back into their cards for a break just before the alarm went. She didn't know what it was so had focused on the shapes in the sky.

"What in the world...?" She lifted a card, intending to re-summon Thunderbeak so she could go check it out. Suddenly she was surrounded by.... luggage...? "What...?" She put down her hand and looked at her card. "No way we did that...." she muttered. She looked down, but she was still in the clothes she had chosen.

Anyone close enough to see it would notice that she put her hand behind herself and the card she had been holding sucked itself into the pouch on her belt, which opened enough for the card to slide in, then closed back up.

She shook her head and rolled her shoulders, trying to figure out how to stand with the train moving so quickly. "Anyone know how we get back out there? Those people still need our help!"

[sell_tickets]

Okay. That.... That should not have happened. Thankfully Khary was using Sapphire shields not the Ebony ones in his ring of honor or he would have killed a lot of people just by being too close to them. But with his shields nothing should have been able to get to him. And traveling didn't work this way anyway.

"Mother Night, what the ***** just happened?" he asked, and at the moment he was shaken enough that he actually... wasn't smiling...

Open

[laurefindil]

Glorfindel's amulet flashed, in his peripheral vision.

For that one moment it was Gondolin all over again, with the forces of the Dark Lord coming in, bringing darkness with them, the shapes not dissimilar to the Balrogs that had decimated his city.

Then, between one moment and the next, he was back on the train, crowded together with the others from the train and many pieces of luggage. When the train started suddenly moving, without the usual announcement, he staggered back, but the press of bodies was too great for him to actually fall.

His breath was still coming fast, as the memories of Gondolin came back so fresh, and the memory of the dream the night before as well. His hand was clenched tight around the hilt of the sword he was still wearing.

As he tries to calm himself, he starts to glow, and those nearest him will also begin to feel a bit calmer. Any close by that can read minds, however, are going to know he is fighting terror and only the fact he is glowing is helping him gain control over it.

OTA | CW: light arachne descriptions

[themasterthief]

That was nothing good. Garrett was just stepping back out onto the streets from pilfering a small, lonesome place already evacuated when the SCA started beeping. He felt the darkness spread over him and looked up. That was a giant nope for him. Nothing good ever came from things like that. He hit the button on the SCA almost immediately after he looked up and saw the darkness coming.

That landed him in the luggage carriage which was fine with him. He rolled out his agitated muscles from the mere stress of looking at that oncoming disaster and tried to relax again. He had a few trinkets from the world to go over now that he was back on the train. Five hours wasn't a lot of time but it was enough for someone like him to get started.

Then everyone else started popping back onto the train and Garrett came to the sudden realization that they were all going to end up in the luggage carriage. Shit!

The arachne leapt into the air and grabbed hold of the ceiling with all his limbs. Being that close to so many people was way out of his comfort zone. He clung to the ceiling for dear life, flattening himself out on it as much as possible. Well, this sucked. And now he had to wait for everyone to tramp back through the dressing carriage before he would have a nice, safe, and quiet place to settle down and go through his new trinkets.

Gladio | Last Man Standing

[callmegladio]

Since Gladio had been on the hill watching the clouds, he'd been able to watch it all play out. Part of him had realised that this was all too good to be true. That he wouldn't be allowed to enjoy this. Of course not, that would be too simple.

So he watched. He watched as the clouds he had been observing changed. Distantly he could hear beeping, but his focus was on the sky. On the approaching darkness. The clouds... were not clouds. Gladio had no idea what they were, but he knew enough to know screaming danger when he saw it.

Slowly he moved to his feet, rising to stand, as if the extra height would offer him a better view.

But it was as he was standing that the strangest of things happened. Stranger than the clouds.

Silence.

It was as if he had suddenly gone deaf. Even the wind seemed to have stopped, breath held, waiting for what was about to happen. Gladio held his own breath, eyes still on the sky...

... Only he would never know.

Before the calm was broken, Gladio found himself on his knees back on the train, a sick feeling in his stomach and an ache in his chest. He immediately pushed himself up and away to get through the crowds of people and the hell out of the luggage carriage.

Re: Duo Maxwell | Getting Outta Dodge

[najaran]

Najaran had a card in her hand, over her head, about to summon when she was thrown back into the train. She stumbled and fell into Duo with a startled cry.

[myblueskies]

Romeo had been helping keep up the spirits of some of those leaving the city. Curling up on frightened children's heads and moving around people who seemed upset or worried, taking advantage of his shinki power. He might be a very small weasel right now but he could make people feel better.

Because he was in shinki form he could see everywhere around him all at once and so he spotted the shapes quickly.

"Elfnein? Do you see those shapes? What are they?" He scans the crowds for her or for Joss. For anyone from the train. There was lots of beeping, for a moment that was the only sound as everything went quiet.

Then he was in the luggage carriage. Back on the train and they were moving.

There is a weasel running around, trying not to get stepped on. When he gets close to anyone they will feel hopeful, their fear will lessen somewhat and they will feel more at peace, more able to face whatever it is that is happening right now.

If they happen to be friends with Romeo they might find said weasel scrabbling up their leg.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo hit the wall and was just twisting around to slide down it when Najaran, who he swore hadn't been there before, came flying toward him.

He gathered his legs under him and grabbed for her, lurching forward in counter to the trains movement to take her away from the wall and landed on his ass with the girl in his lap, but relatively safe in his arms. "Hey? Hey, You okay?"

[myblueskies]

Khary will feel a scrabbling at his boots, it is a small, white weasel. He will also feel a lot more hopeful, a lifting of his spirits.

The weasel seems a little agitated. He would very much like to know what just happened as well! They need to get back and help!

[najaran]

"Owwww...." she said, wincing. Then she realized that someone had caught her and she tried to twist to see who. "I'm sorry, are you okay...?" she asked, worried.

[sell_tickets]

He blinked a few times, then a small smile came to his face, eyes softening. "Well hello," he said. "Kindred or just kind?" he asked, calling in an apple and a knife, cutting a slice. The rest of the apple and the knife vanished. He offered the slice to the small creature. "Where did you come from, anyway?" he asked. His voice was quiet and soft, but like he was speaking to a person, not the odd voice some people got when speaking to animals.

[myblueskies]

More calm, of a hopeful sort, comes from a small weasel that appears at his feet. Romeo can't read minds but he can tell when someone looks sad. The glowing is unusual, but not all that much so. There's lots of different types of people here after all.

What ever just happened, it had been very scary and Romeo recognised Glorfindel, he looked scared and Romeo wanted to help. He nuzzled at his foot.

[laurefindil]

Glad for the distraction, Glorfindel bends down and picks up the weasel at his foot. "Romeo, I trust? You didn't mention you were so pretty." He holds Romeo in his arms and pets his fur. His glow evens out and starts suffusing the car with a calming aura.

[He's picking up on Romeo's effect and it's making his own stronger, I think.]

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Are you hurt?" Duo asked worriedly, ignoring the question of his own condition in favour of hers. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

[najaran]

She groaned, trying to figure out how to get off of him without hurting him worse. "Pretty sure I'm the one that hurt you," she mumbled as she tried to get up.

[maxwellsdaemon]

"Hey, easy..." Duo, being very gentle, sat himself up and helped ease Najaran off of him... mostly. He made sure to keep her close. The carriage was full and he didn't want anyone standing on her. He was doing his best to shield her. "I'm fine. Promise. Made of pure gundanium, will take more than a wall to hurt me!"

[najaran]

"Thanks," she said. "Made of what?" she asked, confused, trying to keep her legs close in so no one stepped on her. Wasn't he human? She didn't mind if he wasn't, she was just confused.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo laughed and gave a shake of his head, he'd forgotten that wasn't a term people knew. As he laughed he'd moved from under her to actually shield her, keeping her between himself and the wall, and out of the way of everyone else.

"A metal from back home. Really tough. You have steel where you come from? Any really heavy, tough metal? Gundanium is probably tougher than that." He smiled. "Just means that it takes a lot to hurt me."

[longforgottenpromise]

In his path to the door there was a young man, his eyes are distant, as if he is in shock. He is in shock. One moment he was travelling away from the city with those they had convinced to evacuate and the next there had been those shapes, the eerie silence and then they had been pulled back to the train.

It doesn't take much imagination to think about what might be happening there. They need to get back.

He has no way of doing that, if he had a horn, if he was any use at all he might have a chance. But he didn't. He was useless, as helpless to help those of that world as he had been to help those of Tai. He barely seemed to notice the large man coming straight towards him.

[najaran]

"Oh," she said with a small laugh. She looked around. "Do you think we could make it out rather than just trying not to get stepped on?" Like maybe finding the kitchen again? Her food ran out almost two hours ago. She was starving, clearly.

doot deet doot this guy does not belong here (but I couldn't resist) >.>;

[rieper]

47 felt something brush up against his leg as he was carefully making his way through the crowded carriage towards the exit. It wasn't an accidental kick or brush of a foot as the crammed people shuffled awkwardly around, he could tell the difference. Which meant the hitman was curious about it and he looked down to figure it out.

He caught the movement of the weasel just before it disappeared further into the crowd. But now he was aware of it and keeping up with it was easy for someone like him who was used to keeping an eye on multiple targets while in a crowd.

A moment later he scooped up the weasel in his hands. He held it out at eye level for a moment as he examined it carefully. It looked fine. "What are you doing here," he mused aloud as he shifted it towards his chest, holding it with a surprising amount of gentle care. He wondered who had brought a weasel on board for a pet as he headed for the exit once more.

[maxwellsdaemon]

Duo looked over his shoulder, there were a lot of shocked and confused faces, lots of packed bodies. He looked back to Najaran and grinned as he stood up and held a hand out to her. "C'mon, I'll get you outta here."

[najaran]

She took his hand and got up as carefully as she could, putting her card behind her back where it vanished. She found her metal staff where it had fallen and she lifted it, careful not to hit anyone with it. She wasn't sure if she'd get to keep it or it would vanish, but she wanted to make sure no one tripped on it. "Okay, I think I have everything. Let's go."

47 | OTA

[rieper]

47 was busy hacking the nearest boar-like creature when the darkness began to creep upon the sunlit sky. Taking advantage of the creature's distraction, 47 chopped its head off in one smooth swing of his sword. With his immediate foe down, the assassin took a moment to assess the situation. It didn't look like a normal storm approaching. While that was worrisome there was also not much the assassin could do for it since there was no shelter nearby. Besides, there were a few more boars left in this pack and 47 saw an opportunity to take out the remainder of his foes.

Despite the warning from the SCA the hitman moved to take out another one of the boars while they stamped worrisome around the area, too stricken to continue their efforts from before. He was in the middle of another deadly swing when the silence fell. Even to him it was a bit on the eerie side of things.

Thankfully, it was enough warning for him to stop his swing. The next instant he was inside the train's luggage carriage but still posed to strike downwards with the sword in his hand. Despite whatever startled soul might have done in reaction to the sudden sight of the assassin about to strike them with a sword, the hitman calmly lowered the weapon and carefully sheathed it in the scabbard hanging off his belt. All as if nothing unusual had just occurred.

It was an interesting turn of events. Whatever that darkness had been it was definitely something worrisome according the train and whoever ran it. 47 would have eventually sought out shelter from it once he had finished his targets off but the train thought it was better to leave entirely rather than risk the loss of personnel. Interesting indeed.

A lurch of the train a second later and they were off. At a rapid pace. It was odd because usually it was impossible to tell how fast the train traveled but this time it seemed obvious they were going faster than usual. More fire to the fuel for the curiosity of this event. 47 was used to the train's departure so he hardly swayed when they took off and anyone else who wasn't used to it could easily use him as a hold to stay steady. He didn't seem to mind this time around. He was caught up in his thoughts anyway.

After a moment, as things began to settle and people got their bearings back, 47 began to move through the crowded carriage. It appeared the entire passenger list was crammed into this one train car. He did his best not to trip over luggage or other people as he headed for the exit.