voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post July]

On the Train

Luckily for everyone the final couple of days of Fiddlesticks are quiet and mostly uneventful. Eventually though they awake to the announcement. "Good morning passengers, it is day one of the month of Grasshopper. Points have been updated on the system."

They have indeed and everyone can spend the morning shopping. Those who have been on the train a while will be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later.

"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. Also a loud pattering sound, which they will discover once the doors open are hailstones. They might want to grab their raincoats.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Ann Takamaki, Drizzt, Geralt, Huehuecóyotl, Ignis Scientia, Ivy Wakefield, Jiang Yanli, Lan Sizhui, Maebhrin Tillinath, May Parker, Nie Huaisang, Osomatsu Matsuno, Raven, Roxas, Shaw, The Iron Bull, Ultimo, Wei Wuxian, Yuki Sohma, Yuffie, Yukito Tsukishiro

But on the platform itself there are many new faces. Wearing hoodies and waterproofs, in various states of confusion.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam. Billowing around them as they come to their senses. The second thing they will notice is it is cold, hailstones rain down around them, though they don’t last long on the platform ground, melting into slush.

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 nineteen figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. 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. Most are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple though some are sporting different clothes in a variety of styles.

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.

Indeed whereas usually there is plenty time for people to be met and brought slowly onto the train, the whistles blow a lot quicker this time, as if hurrying the passengers along.

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, it seems carrots have taken over the bacon, though there are plenty of other staples.

Those from blue team who go to investigate will find a box of biscuits. There is enough for the whole team, including new passengers. Join in your team's success!

Those who are not new will quickly discover some changes made to make the train accessible to those who can’t see, including Braille translations of all the signs around the train.

There is of course the new music room to explore. A double carriage, the downstairs has instruments to learn and practice with, as well as a series of music screen points. Those who play around with the screens will soon discover their SCA’s can now store music and can choose their favourites to listen to around the train.

Upstairs is a performance area and holds a piano.

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 over the noise of the hail stones 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"What an excellent idea," Wei Wuxian said, coming toward her. His blue hoodie was keeping the worst of the hail off, but really doing nothing about the wet and the cold. "Exactly where is this, anyway?" he asked.

"It's the VoidTrecker Express," she replied once he was inside. "It's a train that travels between different worlds."

She understood that that wasn't particularly helpful, but it was the most honest explanation to give.

He gave her a slightly blank look. "Can we break that down into smaller chunks?" he asked hopefully.

"First...what is a train? And...what do you mean by 'worlds?'"

"Oh, sorry." She hesitated for a moment, trying to think about how to explain.

"A train is a mode of transportation that's made of different...uh, sections. Each section has something different about it inside, like there's one for cooking, one for eating, some for sleeping...like that. Normally trains are used to travel between different cities, or sometimes different countries. But this train travels between different worlds."

As difficult as that had been, trying to explain worlds would be trickier.

"I...guess a better word would be more like a different universe."

"Uh huh." Wei Wuxian blinked at her. "Train, okay, like linked boats, each one specialized. Got it."

"Universe...still lost. Please explain more?" he asked with a lost, but hopeful puppy look.

"Um..." She hesitates a moment. How do you explain different universes to someone?

"Well, uh...Okay, I know this might sound like I'm avoiding it, but I'm not, I promise. But to start, why don't you tell me a little bit about the place where you're from?"

"All right. It is beautiful country, of course, mountains, lakes, streams, lotus, various clans and sects, spirits, and resentful ghosts, the usual," Wei Wuxian said. Was he forgetting anything?

"Spirits and resentful ghosts?" She tilted her head a little as she repeated the words. She wasn't entirely surprised by the fact that there was something unusual about his world, though she was curious about the specifics.

"Yes. You know, when the dead have built up resentful energy while they were alive and die in some fashion that their energies are not given a release and hold them to the earth and they roam about and make trouble for the living?" Did they call them something else where she was from, perhaps?

She nodded. "I've heard about ghosts and spirits before. Where I come from, though, people aren't actually sure if they're real or not." She wouldn't be surprised if they were, but she had never seen any for herself.

"Do, uh...Do living people have powers where you're from?"

Wei Wuxian looked at her a moment, then pulled out a little paper figure and held it in his hand. After a moment, it got up, shook itself off, then bowed to her. "You mean like this?"

"Yeah, something like that," she said with a nod. "Is that magic, or...?"

"Mm, yes and no? I am manipulating it with energies from my Golden Core," Wei Wuxian explained. "But I can also make talismans to summon or ward off the dead, and various other things, which are considered magic by those unfamiliar with the techniques that Cultivators use."

She nodded as she listened. "Okay...So, some of the things my friends and I can do back home kind of seem like magic to people who don't know too. But how I use my abilities sounds different from how you use yours."

Wei Wuxian put the talisman away again.

"May I ask what sort of abilities you have?" he asked, curious.

She hesitated for a moment, trying to think of the easiest way to explain.

"I can...pass through solid objects."

There was more to it than that, and object didn't necessarily have to even be solid, but that was the best she had right now.

Wei Wuxian raised his eyebrows. "If they are solid objects, and so are you...that sounds uncomfortable." Not impossible, mind. He can put his soul into a talisman and run around snooping on people, after all. Impossible was really only a state of mind.

She shook her head. "Not really. My power lets me pass through things pretty easily."

Mostly, depending on how dense something is. But again, that's more complicated than she wanted to explain right now.

A New Platform [Intro Post July]

Platform

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