A New Platform [Intro Post October]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

"Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Horsehoe. Points have been updated on the system and new stock is available."

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. The first thing they may notice is that this platform is inside a basic shelter, making it warmer than the last couple at least.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Adora, Alex Hashimoto, Catra, Cloud Strife, Elizabeth Midford, Feanor, Gerome, Gladiolus Amicitia, Glimmer, Ifrit, Isabella D’Oro, Maru, Nari Reno, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Prompto Argentum, Scorpia, Siobahn Chereshei, SXT-2, Tamamo-no-Mae, Tony Stark, Uta, Zidane Tribal

But on the platform itself there are many new faces. Wearing hoodies in all four colours 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 gloomy, even without the steam and fog. They are in a wooden building, open to the tracks on one side. It in a creaky shelter, cobwebs hang from the rafters and there is a peculiar whistle as wind finds its way through the cracks.

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 gloom 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, with… teddy bear shaped luncheon meat being the main ingredient to be found. There are plenty of other staples.

A new carriage has been added, those that go to investigate will find a room full of lockers, designated as the Armoury. Even for passengers without weapons it is somewhere to secure possessions. There are instructions on how to use the lockers and enough for everyone to claim one.

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 braving the snow 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

[spikelet]

It was worse, somehow, to have seen her own memory again just two weeks before. To have seen that injury fresh, and now see it as if, somehow, he had survived it. Her eyes filled with tears, and she had to swallow several times, but she managed,

"Yes! A-Qing is here. I'm alright, I'm alright."

He couldn't be allowed to feel guilt for anything. She let go of his clothing as he turned, so she could reach for the hand not holding the sheathed sword instead. Grabbed it, and tugged with trembling fingers until his fingers were loosely resting on her shoulder. "Daozhang was holding a ticket, when he arrived. Can I see it?"

[feixuehua]

The scar was healed over but it confirmation of her worst fear of what happened to his fate. For him, there's no more future. It was over. It was in plain sight over his neck, so if only he can find a scarf to hide it. The guilt in his heart becomes heavier, knowing he left her behind so suddenly without much thought of how she would make it on her own and how his death hurt her. He wasn't strong enough for the both of them.

He can feel her so close. Is she in front of him? So slowly he turns to her. He was quite tall. "My ticket...? Ah, I think I have it." He searched for his pocket to hand it to her. It's the standard ticket that everyone has. "Somebody read it to me, so I kept it just in case. Is this the ticket?"

[spikelet]

"Yes!" She guided his hand back to her shoulder when he was done, and squinted at the ticket. What had been a source of frustration when she first arrived was now valuable information, because even if she could't read the characters that must have been his name, she could read the rest thanks to over a month of lessons. 3-B, huh? That was... Oh! Wasn't that the room Elena slept in? She made a note to enlist the older girl.

"Daozhang should keep this, okay? It's the key to your room."

Giving herself something to think about halted most of the white noise in her mind, helped her focus on something that wasn't the slice across his throat or the tremor in his hand. "Let's go there now. And then... and then we can talk?"

[feixuehua]

"...?" He has big hands, slightly calloused from handling a sword. The slight tremor in his hand is shaky, considering the world he sees is total darkness and he uses his hands to feel his way around. He felt her guiding him and his hand felt the warmth of her. While he can't see it, he can feel she is petite in height. Her warmth and her voice felt like a light to him in this place.

"Key to my room. All right, I'll keep it." And he puts his ticket back in his pocket. With a nod, "Of course. Let's go talk." There is so many things to talk about. All she needs to do is lead the way.

[spikelet]

His presence next to her is so familiar that this could be just another case in Yi City she's helping him investigate, except... the last time they talked, he told her to leave, and he'd wept blood, and he'd known that she'd been lying to him all the time they'd spent together. Would he have forgiven her? Xue Yang didn't think so, but she knew enough now that the way he thought wasn't normal. The things that guy said, she could ignore them.

In an effort to distract herself, she keeps up a steady, thoughtless chatter as she leads him to the sleeper section. Telling him of the train carriages, "--so we were asked what would make us happy, and a lot of people said books, so the next week there was a library. But it was empty, can you believe how stingy--", of the missions she's been on, "Sleeping with wolves is really comfortable. It would have been great if we could have brought some back with us--", of her roommates and her lessons, "--Edge and Enna say I'd suit knives, do you think--".

He'd been right, she unwillingly admits to herself: placed somewhere where no one can tell her background, she's flourishing. She doesn't mention her first day. It doesn't count. It's just the death she was supposed to have anyway, and he'll never have the chance again.

"-- Master Curufin bought me a whole box of hairpins," she forces herself to continue, as they pass the armoury, "He's one of the people in charge of the orange team, but he's almost too nice to everyone. I'm sure you'd like him--."

[feixuehua]

Two wrongs don't make a right, but what happened, happened and nothing could change the past. As they walked together side by side like they used to when they lived together in Yi City, he simply listened. Xingchen nods his head. All the anger and self-hatred in his heart haven't vanished, but merely diminished, broken up and fragmented by grief and confusion. Part of it, he's trying to adjust and accustomed to the idea that he's alive once more, but for what purpose?

For now, his mind is a blank. He's merely soaking in his new surroundings, his new home with his senses. Half of the time, he doesn't know what she is talking about, but she sounded happy to him as she is filling him with new information.

New people, new names, new words, and experiences. Unfamiliar. As they headed somewhere toward to where she is leading him. He remains silent, but he is listening and while she has no end of telling him her tales, he nods, opening himself up, "Mm. So you had been here on this train for a while?"

[spikelet]

"Two months today," she agrees, a little hesitantly even having worked it out along the way. Has it really been so long? So much has happened, but with the way the days work and the strange lighting, she's not really thought much about it.

"Here, this is the third sleeping carriage, and your room is the fourth door along." She makes sure she leads him along the raised bumps on the floor that seem to indicate whenever you're standing next to a door. "The first door is a room with showers - they're really good! You stand under a spout, and it pours warm water over you, it's really comfortable."

And then they've reached the door to 3-B, and her momentary enthusiasm is banked as she looks at him again. Has she been dominating the conversation to avoid having to talk about anything important? Maybe. She hopes she's ready for this. "Ah, touch it to the door, on the metal plate. Your ticket."

[feixuehua]

This is going to take some time to get used to. He may need her help to repeat where is his cabinroom, feeling for the bumps on the floor, and learning to read braille eventually which will take weeks. For now, it's simply the first day.

"Shower? All right." That's going to be a challenge that he has to ask his cabin mates. It's not going to be easy living for the first week.

Once they're in front of the door of his assigned cabin. "With this?" Feeling for the ticket and takes it out. He feels for the metal plate, and it's going to take him long to figure it out, but the door eventually opens.

[spikelet]

She hums a confirmation, and waits for him to feel out the door, rocking back and forth on her tiptoes. When the door slides open, and she sees that the room is empty, her slump as she tugs him inside could be relief or nerves.

Both, really. She straightens, almost done with bravery. They just need to sit down.

"This bed is free. There's one above it, so watch out..." She scrambles onto the empty bed and holds out both her arms to tug him.

[feixuehua]

All he sees is darkness and all he hears is her voice, being tugged along inside the empty room. It looks like the cabinmates are out. His presence is a calm one, so he blindly searches for the flat surface of the bed and he found it, an empty one, and kept note should he needs help with his cabin mates to sort it out when it comes to rest and sleep.

Following her cue, it doesn't take much for him to sit on it. His forehead lightly bumps from the top bed. "Ow..." He rubs his forehead. But he's here finally, as it takes a lot of work leading a blind man around, and he felt her presence close-by.

As sat silently, waiting for her to talk with the things she needed to tell him. "A-Qing...?"

[spikelet]

She settles next to him, legs folded underneath her, and fidgets. Grabs the blanket folded at the head of the bed, unfolds it, tugs at the edge...

"I... Daozhang, I didn't run away when you told me to. I didn't-- I saw..."

She looks at his throat again, proof that he can only be from one moment, and slumps until her forehead is pressed against his shoulder. "Sorry, I'm sorry..."

[feixuehua]

He sat quietly as he tries to jog his memories together. Memories of his previous life felt like a faint, distant memory, and he's detached himself from it as if it happened a long time ago to somebody else.

"A-Qing...? What happened? What did you saw?" He felt her weight on his shoulder, and he can sense her distress. So he reaches for her to hold her arms in his hands, trying to calm her.

"I'm here now. It's not your fault as to what happened. If there is anyone's fault, it's on me. I fell for his tricks and lies. I couldn't set things right. So the fault is on me also. So what happened, I do not know any better, and it was too late for anyone to fix it."

[spikelet]

She's frowning by his second objection, and while she doesn't interrupt, she digs her fingers lightly into the front of his hoodie, and shakes her head.

It feels nice, to be held. But he's wrong, and telling him that is more important than enjoying that. Just.

"It's not your fault either! How could you know, when he hid his voice and his hand and lied to us? It's all his fault, daozhang shouldn't blame himself! That--"

But he seems distant enough that she stops there. What if he doesn't remember the last moments, or what happened to the other daozhang? She can't mention him, just in case.

[feixuehua]

"Xue Yang is also at fault. He deceived us, this I know. He blames me before I...before I decided to go and leave that world and left you behind."

He wanted to cry, and if he could, it hurt a lot, his eyes sting and shed tears of blood instead. His white blindfold becomes a pair of crimson where his eyes were once was.

He gives her a hug, offering his apologies. "A-Qing, I'm sorry. For leaving you behind. And Song Lan too. Do not burden yourself. You deserved to be happy. The train gives you a second chance, a new life, so you must seize it and make a new life for yourself."

[spikelet]

Oh no, oh no. She watches the blindfold darken, and freezes for a moment in remembered fear. He does remember. He might---- but then she's being tugged back against him, and she exhales, a shaky, quiet noise. Relaxes, when she can't see the wound, or the blood.

"... The same goes for you," she insists, stubborn even as she melts into the hug. Her voice is muffled into his shoulder, so she raises it. "You can do whatever you want here, daozhang. We have missions, to save people like you used to, or you can just relax, and enjoy yourself, and no one can speak against it! I won't let them! But... I know I'm too old to sound so childish, but I want to live with you! That would make me happy, okay? I hated being alone after-- after you--"

[feixuehua]

He is full of regret. Xue Yang said terrible, mean things to him, used him to his advantage and selfishness. He remembers that his tears sting a lot, the blindfold darkens a crimson red.

"Missions, save people, live with you..." He echoes the words after her. "Can it be possible that we can have all of that despite everything that I had done? Everything that happened in our previous lives?"

Gently he lets go and releases her. "You won't be alone. Once again, I'm sorry A-Qing. I wasn't strong enough to fight against him once I knew who he was and what he set-up for me to do because of his evil ways."