A New Platform [Intro Post May]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Life returns to somewhat normal, though the train still seems to be moving faster than before. Eventually though it slows until they wake one morning to a familiar announcement. "Good morning passengers, it is day one of the month of Fiddlesticks."

Those that have been on board a while know that new months usually come with new people and also new points, indeed when they check points have been updated and the shopping spree can begin. A few hours later another, expected announcement sounds.

"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. The sun is shining and they will find it pleasantly warm when they disembark.

The first to leave the train though don't seem to notice the nice weather. They notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Padme Amidala, Terra, Ianto Jones, Happy, Hibiki Shikyoin, Shikeo, Elfangor, Bailey Morello, Will Stanton, Primrose, Prisoner, Aaron LeBlanc, Miles Morales, Rustling Paper all reach the barriers, show their tickets and disappear through, vanishing into the fog.

But on the platform itself there are many new faces. Once again the largest amount of newcomers to date.

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 the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large and it holds twenty nine figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. The air is warm, pleasant even. 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 and bacon has taken over onions as the food of choice! Any of orange team who go to check the luggage cart will find a parcel containing chocolate eggs, each the size of a chicken egg, filled with caramel. One for each of the orange team, including new members, come share in the reward!

Passengers who are not brand new will notice some changes to the train. There are now seven sleeper carriages. The kitchen and dining carriages have changed, one whole double carriage dedicated to each one. The kitchen has huge ovens and preparation space downstairs with a row of sinks and more preparation space upstairs. The dining carriage has two floors as well, each one with a long wooden table that fills the length of the carriage, benches to either side.

There is also the long awaited cinema. There are hundreds of films, some slightly familiar to those from worlds with films, others strange and unusual.

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

wildcard - chance meeting in /spins wheel the engine

[enthunder]

Sometimes, people didn't take the time to read the warning signs, and you had to post a person at the engine room to head off any newcomers who desperately wanted to prove their mettle by breaking their own arms on the wall. By sometimes, she meant station days, and by 'a person', she meant herself.

At least for an hour or so, then she was sure someone else would show up to spot her, and she could go get lunch or something.

When the redhead showed up, she didn't bother moving from where she was leaning next to the sign. Still not lunchtime, then.

"No, you can't break through. Yeah, we've tried. And no, there's no secret passage or hidden door under the floor or in the walls."

oh good, he can make a fool out of himself in front of Lightning right from the start. :'D

[theturksway]

"Is that so?" the Turk replied languidly as he stepped further into the carriage. He looked over Lightning from head to toe then glanced at the note briefly. "Maybe you just haven't tried the right kinda trick yet, yo."

start as you mean to go on tbh 8')

[enthunder]

"Right," she raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. She'd be among the first to celebrate if someone found a way to force the train to give up even a single one of its secrets, but... Reno received a once-over of his own, before she looked away again. "Knock yourself out, then. Literally."

[theturksway]

"You think I can't handle it?" Reno asked as he stalked closer to Lightning and by proxy therefore the door as well. He leaned towards her with a cocky smirk on his face, trying to get in her personal bubble and get a reaction.

[enthunder]

Sure, because 'tough' guys on Cocoon never resorted to crowding when they wanted to prove a point. She unfolded her arms, and made eye contact again. The second eyebrow joined the first; her expression still its resting mixture of bored and distant.

Helped stifle the growing urge to throw him into the wall. She hated this kind of cocky attitude. Wordlessly, she made an 'after you' gesture to the wall.

[theturksway]

He made a whimsical bowing gesture with a flourish of hand waves as if to pretentiously say 'thank you' before turning his attention towards the wall. He eyed it for a moment. Tap, tap went the nightstick on his shoulder.

He swung the nightstick around and hit the switch on it, igniting a crackling of electrical energy at the tip. He glanced at her with a grin and an upwards nod, all cocky bravado and overwhelming confidence.

Batter's up! He took aim, spun the nightstick around for show, and then gave it a true swing at the door.

There really couldn't have been any other way it ended. Reno was prepared for the force of the swing to knock back his nightstick, send a thrumming ache through his hands as they vibrated from the blow--it was a solid wall, he knew that--but what he wasn't prepared for was it to send his lightning back at him.

Usually Reno ignored the spark of lightning as it crackled all around him while he used it for his attacks. But this sent the whole damn strike back at him and Reno wasn't expecting it. Reno's whole body tensed sharply, barely leaving him time to register the pain much less what happened, and five seconds later the charge quit. Reno dropped the nightstick as his muscles relaxed and he joined the rod on the floor a second later, dropping down like a sack of potatoes. He landed on his butt and remained upright, implying he had some cognizance left, and slowly put his head between his bent knees.

"...Not cool, yo." He whispered quietly from between his legs.

[enthunder]

She rolled her eyes at his gesture, mouth quirking up despite herself in anticipation.

Three, two, one...

...

Fine, the near-explosion of electricity caught her by surprise. That was a lot of juice for such an unassuming weapon. For a moment she was genuinely unsure if he'd managed to do some permanent damage to himself, and was about to try casting a Raise before--

No, actually, spite aside, he really looked like he needed it. The prismatic warmth of the spell fell over him before she could think better of it, hopefully dispelling some of the damage he'd inadvertently done to himself.

"Any more tricks?"

[theturksway]

"Eh?" Reno felt the restorative effects of a Cure spell and lifted his head to look up at the stoic faced lady. "What'd ya do that for?"

What he really wanted to ask was where she got the materia to cast the spell from, but first things first. Reno grabbed his electro-mag rod from the floor and hopped back onto his feet as if nothing had happened. He clicked the trigger again and watched the sparks fly from the tip. Good, it wasn't damaged from the blow back.

Before Lightning could attempt to stop him from another dumb attack on the wall, Reno sent another burst of electricity at it with a swipe of his left hand. This time the rod didn't touch the surface directly but the electricity jumped from the stick to the wall nevertheless. Reno was ready for the counter attack this time and bared his teeth as the electrical current returned to him.

He straightened his stance and swung the nightstick back over his shoulder, looking no worse for the wear. After all, this whole little demonstration was to prove to the pretty lady that he could handle it.

"Tch. I've got plenty of tricks left in me," he told Lightning. "But nothing currently on me that'll bring down that Reflect like barrier."

Reno's attacks weren't magic spells so they shouldn't have been reflected back on him like that. Hence, he was a bit perplexed. It had to be some tech instead that merely worked similar to the magic spell, right. Either way though, he didn't have enough Shinra tech or magic on him currently to try and deal with this bullshit.

[enthunder]

"First heal's free," she quipped. Second and third? That'd depend on how much more he pissed her off in the future. At least she could warn Wen Qing before the guy showed up in medical-- she immediately failed to stifle a derisive noise as he sent another attack out.

Looked flashy, she could appreciate that. He knew what he was doing. Maybe she could try a fight sometime, if he could drop the cocky attitude for five minutes.

She wouldn't be holding her breath.

"Someone unloaded lasers and a heat beam from a powered suit into it a while back. Another punched it with enhanced strength. First one almost killed the guy next to him, second broke her own arm. Psychics can't look past it. Ghosts can't walk through it. People've tried all kinds of storybook nonsense."

[theturksway]

"Wasn't necessary but thanks, yo." He replied to her healing him. He was over dramatic about a lot of things and the unexpected counterattack had simply caught him off guard. It hadn't felt all the great but the electric attack didn't do too much overall damage to Reno.

The hyper Turk shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he stared irritably at the blank wall where a door to the engine should have been. He looked like he wanted to do more but didn't have any way to proceed. Which was exactly the case.

As she listened off all the things done to the door so far Reno's attention snapped back to her with two raised brows. That was an impressive story.

"Damn, that's one impenetrable wall. The hell is it made of?" What kind of tech or magic could make it resist all of those things at once. That was a hefty list. "There really all those types of people here?"

He didn't sound particularly surprised by anything she said nor disbelieving so it was safe to say that all, or most, of those things were plausible in his own world.

[enthunder]

Healing didn't cost Lightning anything, so she didn't look particularly bothered by his refusal. Another shrug, and she watched him process, in case he decided to try something else.

"Don't know, but the whole train's like that... And yeah. We've got all kinds."

She stepped forward, to rap her knuckles against the wall. "Not that it's helped here. I figure it won't take anyone on-board that could scratch it."

[theturksway]

"I guess that makes sense," he said as he stepped back from the wall to look at it disapprovingly. "What's the point of a prison if it can't keep in its prisoners, amirite?"

Which also sucked for them. It was still a marvelous feat...buuut one Reno would have rather been on the other side of. If Shinra had tech like this--

Well. One step at a time. Reno had to survive this and get back home. Somehow.

[enthunder]

"Right." She looked him over one more time; yeah, this guy hadn't taken any major physical or emotional damage. No further action required, box ticked.

"It's been fun," she began, "But I've had my fill of watching people throw themselves at this wall, so... See you around."

Maybe.