A New Platform [Intro Post July]

[voidtreckermods]

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!

Comments

Re: Platform

[tactlesstantei]

[Masumi, meanwhile, had been considering trying to force her way past the ticket gates. While she had no idea how she'd gotten here, she was also less than eager to board a strange train to who knew where.

Then she heard a very familiar voice behind her and turned to look, relieved that at least someone she knew was here too.]

"Ran-chan!" [Running to meet Ran, Masumi would give her friend a hug on reaching her.] "You know what's happening?"

[singlefaith]

[It's her. Ran absolutely meets that hug, holding on for perhaps just a moment longer than normal. She's had Conan here, and Kaito is from their world, but it's still been a relative sea of unfamiliarity and things that do not exist except in books. Though she's slowly started to make a niche here, she's been lost in a way that she's only confessed to one person.]

[Sera is relief, and she doesn't even know it.]

[A few emotions flicker through Ran's features at the question as she pulls away -- predominantly the look of someone unsure of how to break news the other person may not like.]

Ah . . . Let's get on the train and find a place to sit, okay? I'll tell you everything I know.

[tactlesstantei]

[As the hug ended and Masumi stepped back, she couldn't help but notice the odd look on Ran's face in response to her question. That probably wasn't a good sign, but she needed that explanation about what was happening.]

"Alright, let's get on the train then." [While she was still hesitant to board, Masumi couldn't deny that there was a pull to get on that train. Besides, what other choice was there, besides staying in the hail or trying to get past the ticket gate?]

[singlefaith]

[Of course getting on the train completes the circle in a way -- once Sera gets on, she's on like the rest of them. There's a part of Ran that feels guilty for that . . . despite the fact that there's really no choice. Even if Sera were to resist, that urge would grow stronger, and if she still resisted, there are rumors that she would end up in the luggage car.]

[There are no choices when it comes to getting on.]

[Ran leads Sera to the passenger car, where there's plenty of seating and some seats that face one another at the table. She slides in on one side, waiting for Sera to do the same.]

This is going to sound strange . . . [And it is. There's no getting around that. There's no equivalent for this kind of situation in their world, and who knows what Sera will think of this? . . . Or of Ran for telling her.] This isn't a regular kind of train. It -- or someone on it? -- "recruited" us. It brings in people from all different types of worlds, with all different types of abilities . . . and it keeps us here.

[tactlesstantei]

[Following along behind Ran as she boarded the train, Masumi took the chance to glance around at her new surroundings on the way to the passenger car. There wasn't much time to take much in before they found a place to sit down, and her curiosity was quickly pushed aside by the explanation for what was going on.]

"The train might have done this? Why?" [That sounded ridiculous, and it was something she might have rejected under normal circumstances, but this was Ran telling her this. What would Ran have to gain by lying? Uncertain, Masumi did her best to push back her worry over not going home in order to focus on the conversation.]

"...You said it keeps us here? I know I saw a bunch of people leave through the ticket gates when the train arrived, but..." [There had been something off about those people that Masumi couldn't quite put her finger on.]

[singlefaith]

[Ah, yes, that group . . . Ran's seen them too. It's eerie how they march through the gates without looking at anyone, as though there's no world around them anymore. Amending:] Some people do go home. But it's not by choice either, I don't think, or most of us would. Every time the train stops at a station like that, they just . . . go. They don't look at anyone or speak to anyone or say goodbye.

I guess I say "the train" too, because we don't really know who's doing this. No one's ever seen a conductor. It's just . . . us. Food appears, and sometimes other cars; there's one with movies now, and a training gym. But we don't see anyone.

[Kind of like ghosts . . . but Ran is really trying hard not to consider that option.]

[tactlesstantei]

"...So we can't leave on our own, food and entire carriages just appear, and we don't know who's doing this or who's running the train?" [That was really not encouraging her to want to stay on the train, if there had been a choice in the matter.]

"Why, though? There has to be a reason why we're all getting brought here, since people don't usually just kidnap others for no reason."

[This many people all getting taken from their homes to ride on a weird train? There had to be a reason for it.]

[singlefaith]

[It all does sound pretty awful, doesn't it, laid out like that. Though maybe for a detective like Sera, also a challenge? Ran's not sure which way her friend will react yet.]

I think we're here to do missions? [How to explain missions . . .] I've only been on one, but I've heard they pretty much come once every other month. The train is called to a place in trouble, and we're assigned to teams -- usually the colors that we're given, though we can switch -- and we complete a certain task with that team, whether it's investigating something or exploring or fighting . . . or anything else. The mission I went on, I joined the Orange team to watch Conan-kun. We dove underwater to find out what had happened to a group of people who lived there. Those of us who could fight ended up fending off a lot of crabs from attacking the sleeping mer-people, and we discovered an area where we had to decipher runes to figure out what to do to save them.

[Yes, this was probably all as clear as mud. It's hard to describe to someone who hasn't lived it yet, and their world certainly doesn't have anything even vaguely comparable to all of this.]

1/2

[tactlesstantei]

[That was a lot to unpack. Give Masumi a moment to work through what she was being told.]

2/2

[tactlesstantei]

[And she's starting from the top on unpacking all that.]

"So the train, whoever's in charge, whatever, wants us here to do missions for other places? And Conan-kun's here too?"

[It was a lot to take in, let alone the fact that the last mission had apparently involved merpeople, of all things.

As for the fact that there were teams determined by colour, Masumi did recall seeing people wearing orange around, so taking into account the other three colours she'd noticed and her own hoodie's colour...]

"...I assume there's a Purple team, then?" [She's trying to keep calm about this. It's A Lot]

[singlefaith]

[Believe her, Ran completely understands. This place doesn't fit with anything that they're used to, except maybe trains and a scattering of other things. Everything else takes absorbing and wading through the mindbending. How Sera is staying as calm as she is, Ran doesn't know; it's more than she herself has felt most of the time.]

It's . . . weird, isn't it?

[For lack of a better word. "Weird" is an understatement.]

I guess it wants that? We . . . don't really know. Again, we've never talked to anyone -- or at least I haven't? Conan-kun is here, yes, and he's been here for months, so he might know more. But the train does stop each month for some kind of mission to help other places, and if it isn't that, then why would it take us from our homes like this?

[There's a little thread of something more in that wording -- just a flicker of anger.]

There's a Purple team, yes. [Holding up her SCA so the band is visible:] That's what I'm on too.

[tactlesstantei]

[Masumi's barely staying calm, with the only thing keeping her from freaking out being the effort to get more info about why she was here. Panicking wouldn't help with that.

Even so, there was still a tension over the situation as she responded to her friend.]

"...I don't know. You would think whoever's behind this would want people who are willing to go on missions for other places, not people who were effectively kidnapped into it, and especially not children."

[It didn't make much sense to use unwilling people for whatever this was. Then again, not much about this made sense.]

"We're both purple, huh?" [Actually, might want to ask about that watch thing. Masumi had noticed she had one too, but hadn't had a chance to really look too close yet beyond noticing it didn't show a time, just a bunch of symbols.]

"Hey, Ran-chan, what is that? I thought it was a watch, but it doesn't seem to show a time."

[singlefaith]

You . . . would think so.

[The words are soft. There are things lurking behind them, visibly flitting across Ran's face, but not anything she releases. Negating her own worries is a pattern that Ran falls into all too easily -- especially when the other person's needs seem to weigh more than her own. Though she doesn't openly acknowledge it even to herself, however, there's a flicker of hope? relief? release? that Sera has the same thought; it's not just her.]

[Maybe at some point it will help her talk about the rest. At some point when Sera isn't overwhelmed herself and Ran doesn't feel like she'd just be burdening her.]

Ah, this is called an SCA? [She twists her wrist to look at it in turn.] That stands for "Safety Control Apparatus," if I remember right? They're not really watches; they're . . . more kind of a tie back to the train when we get off it? They let us keep understanding each other, I guess, and they're a communication device. [With a little laugh, because it seems like the most minor of features:] It can also do things like be a flashlight or a timer . . . or store music? That last one is new.

[tactlesstantei]

[It’s a concern that just anyone could be taken, regardless of age or what they were doing or if they even wanted this, but that went unspoken. Instead, she turned her focus to what the SCA was, hoping for some sort of distraction from her thoughts.]

“An SCA? Sounds pretty important then, if it does all that.” [Masumi poked at one of the options on the screen, and yup, that was definitely a flashlight. Turning it back off, she considered that bit about it letting people understand each other.]

“I guess that makes sense, if we’re being grabbed from different places. Whoever’s doing this would at least want us to communicate, so there should be a way to make that happen.”

[It was all too easy for her to slip into trying to puzzle out what was going on, despite not having anywhere near enough info to figure out the big questions.]