voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post October]

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A New Platform [Intro Post October]

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!

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Well, with the raised brows- "In defense of the term, most spellcaster types are very much human in appearance," Yuume declares. Ahh, but that said.

"Ahh...well, as I've explained to most, the basic functions aren't unlike older smart phones. I have notes, an option for a map...certain things simply aren't working because of that however. While I can access things that are operational on local settings for example, I can't make any calls, or access the usual network..." Ahhh... "In terms of how much data it can store though, I can't really speak for if it would be beyond expectation- other than the 'Doctor' settings, it's considered a standard model after all."

Oh, but that said. She peers at the book. "Your manual...takes the appearance of a typical book though? For things like notes, that must make for a very familiar method of information recall then," Yuume chuckles. Like going into a library....

Nita looks quite bemused, now, and she nods. "Funny thing is, back home, anyone can be a wizard - in the sense that a lot more people who take the Oath aren't human, than are. Being a wizard is like, well, being a Doctor."

Could she assume this person was a doctor, then? With... a glove/duel-disk as a phone. What a world.

"Not being able to access up-to-date stuff from home is normal, sad to say."

Tucking the book in to her side, she held out a hand.

"So, I'm Nita Callahan, wizard of Earth. What about you?"

"Hahaha...well, I don't know that 'anyone' can be a doctor either..." Oh.

She realizes something as she says that. "Ahh...but if you're not familiar with gloves...I should probably note that when I say 'Doctor', I don't mean the medical sort- I'm far from made for that..!" she protests with a small laugh. "Ah..."

Hands. Yes, right- she'll shake that, even if it's not her usual greeting. "Yuume Souryuu- 'Duel Doctor', from Earth- the 'Standard Dimension' to be a little more precise," she adds with a small smile. "Where I came from, there are four surrounding a more ethereal realm, all parallel to the other. This train is somewhat similar to the subway I would take between them actually... ...or at least, the seating carriage was," Yuume admits.

"Those trips aren't especially long after all..."

"I've met more than one kind of 'Doctor', I can reassure you on that," Nita says, then lets Yuume explain.

"'Standard Dimension'... your world's from a set of five?"

Dimensional sheaths; she hadn't met someone who knew about them in ages, outside of those from her world.

"We'll be on this train longer than that, I'm afraid. So-"

She gestured to the wall behind them.

"How does being a Duel Doctor connect with what you were saying earlier? Might be we have other things in common."

"Mmmm. It would be more accurate to say 'four'; the shadow's realm isn't so much a parallel dimension as it is a reality held between the four," she explains calmly. "Though I rather guessed that from the cots and kitchen..."

Ah, but earlier. "You mean about what I was detecting?" Well. No harm in explaining that. She'll pull up the screen typically used during a job- as many blips as there are souls in the nearby radius float on a 'radar' screen. "That would be...this. It detects living presences- souls, more accurately, whether shadow or otherwise. The reason 'duel doctor' is the full term, would be because of how connected Shadows are to Duels."

Another nod.

"A 'between' place? I've been in realms like that before."

Well, she hasn't technically been in this Void before, but The Between certainly counts, right?

Nita eyes the screen - she hasn't seen a radar-esque display in a while, more's the pity.

"The wall here's supposed to be unbreachable; we've even had ghosts make the attempt and bounce. Maybe that's blocking what the glove can detect?"

Because there was definitely a mind to this train, typical or no.

The rest of what Yuume's saying, however, is familiar for a different reason.

"I think I've heard a little about that, but I'm betting it's not nearly enough. How does that work?"

"Mmn. Technically speaking there would still be farther points between...but ultimately, that's what it's called. It's rather strange to hear something so similar to that in appearance be called 'void' actually- for me, 'void' would be complete darkness after all..."

Ah well. With the explanation of the wall- and what it's deflected, something that has her eyes widen- Yuume nods. "That quite likely is it then...ah." She blinks. "...You've heard a 'bit'..? Could I ask what that bit is before explaining then? It will make it a bit easier to know what I have to explain..."

"Oh, it does get completely dark in this void," Nita replies.

"So it's... both true and not, in that case?"

What little Nita has heard about Duels is easy to explain:

"Some of the people who arrived here a while back - either when I did or shortly thereafter - knew what duels were and put on one for the train at large. Even showed us how to make our own decks, after. Shadows weren't all that relevant, but one of them did mention a 'Heart of the Cards'; was that related?"

Not mentioning what Wester had gotten up to - given Nita hadn't even been on the train for that, it seemed in poor taste.

"But not permanently, neh?" That was the point. But, anyway.

"Ah... ...Well I've certainly...never heard of 'heart of the cards' as a legitimate term before.." Maybe as something mentioned in a biography though..? "If you're talking about who I think though, they would be a number of decades behind me though as well...truthfully I'm a little nervous about interacting with too many of them, it might become awkward..." Ahhhh well.

They'll do it anyway. "Mnh. That said...a shadow is a part of one's soul- manifesting as a monster, of some sort- though monster is a loose term. A monster could appear as anything- from gods, to animals, to machines. Shadows are linked very heavily to Duel Monsters- the cards themselves were created using carvings and recordings of them as reference, and in the modern day therefore act as minor contracts to them- it made Solid Vision, the method older generations would be dueling with, quite dangerous when Shadows themselves began to arise- their very presence drew too much of their realm with them, making the holograms too physical," she warns.

"Ahhh...I'll simply have to avoid standing too near to any duel disks I suppose... ...Mnn, that aside. All duel monsters have shadow counterparts. But not all shadows are duel monsters- does that make sense so far?"

"... Time travel."

Nita sounds like she wants to facepalm.

"You wouldn't be the first person meeting people from different places in their own timeline, or even parallel versions if it goes that differently."

Though she was speaking more of what she'd gathered from, say, a certain group of Sad Wizards, many of whom were supposed to be dead.

"... I've heard of personas, though; reflections of a person's suppressed self, things they have to work to become comfortable with."

That sounded a little closer to what Yuume was describing.

"I'll agree on the contracts thing, though; way too serious a matter to mess with!"

Was tethering like a contract, drawing individuals out of their worlds to 'bind' them into this reality of the void? ... Something for later, merhaps.

"I think I'm following, at least. Duel Monsters are like individual drops in the 'sea' of Shadow; even if you had all of humanity pick one, there'd still be loads more."

"Hahaha...I'm surprised it didn't occur to you with the multiple realities already involved...but indeed, that's more or less what it feels like. And unfortunately I don't have much in the way of proof for if someone here from a 'similar' reality is or isn't from the 'correct' one." Plus it's a bit awkward, to her at least, to be in the same place as a generations off relative...but she'll keep that close. ~~At least unless Nita drags it out later.~~

"Serious, but unfortunately fairly integral now- one relies upon the other...and for that matter, when it comes to Shadows, it's not the same as using a card. A shadow is born with you- it is tied to who you are, and grows with you from there; there will be a manifested card if your shadow has woken, but beyond that, all of the monsters within the realms are their own. ...For the most part, at least."

This is where she must explain her work, after all. "...I won't lie- my time is peaceful, but it isn't perfect- when shadows began to wake in this way, so too did people strive to find a way that they could co-exist with the duel monsters game without severing connection from the realms the shadows relied on. Simply removing dueling...it would starve the soul, literally. But unfortunately with that, came related crimes. It is possible to steal a soul. It is possible to kill one, as well- or at least part of it.

"My job, is to enter the minds of those who have had this crime done to them, and find a replacement."

~~Nita won't ruin the Kaibas' day, rest assured.~~

"So, when you were saying 'Doctor', it's more like a- a soul doctor, combined with a psychologist?"

Because she couldn't imagine just finding a shadow without having to put some serious legwork into finding one compatible with a person's mentality...

"... Where I'm from, that would be like performing surgery on a person's kernel - it's a way of representing the rules on which a body/soul matrix runs. So filling in a new hole-"

She breaks off, not sure her line of thought is still working well here.

"Mnnn. Though the term is 'Duel Doctor', given the connections shadows hold. Actually, because of how vital it is for the monsters of the realm, being able to perform well in the card game is as important as holding one's own in combat- it's a rather demanding task..."

Ah, that said. "Psychology...is somewhat right? I wouldn't consider myself adequate for the field as a whole though," Yuume warns. "While we're trained to understand the appearance of the Dream- the inside of the soul as it looks while opened to the realms- the greatest importance is non-interference. We arrive, we move, and we find what fits best. The glove itself uses the energy of the soul to seek out a close match- so truthfully, much of the work on the psychological end is simply to avoid causing harm to the client themselves. If anything went wrong, we could cause irreparable damage after all...or worse, cause their death alongside our own."

Nita nods.

"You'll find that we - Voidtreckers, not just wizards - only get called on to involve ourselves with worlds in an immediate crisis too."

Resonances could pop up anywhere, it seems.

"But your presence matters regardless of the glove, right? Or- could the glove run a diagnostic on the person without Dream-diving?"

"That was what I was told yes...suffice to say, I expect my combat skills to be far more useful on the field," Yuume chuckles quietly.

Ah-

"Mnnh. The diagnostic is if anything simply me entering the realm and making observations upon it. No soul is the same- the manner in which it presents itself is always equally unique. For that matter...while the appearance of the realm can give certain ideas of the state of someone's mind, a number of subtle things would still be kept private...over all it's like I said- calling myself a psychologist...it would be entirely irresponsible. Entering someone's soul is something best only for if there's clearly something amiss with the mind and soul, something from an outside force- a person's behavior and circumstance isn't something you 'fix' with the flip of a switch, after all...in the end, even 'fixing' things can have consequence if done too swiftly."

"You won't be waiting too long for that," Nita replies.

"Missions happen once a month, but it feels a lot more frequent than that."

As for the explanation... Nita's expression turns contemplative, until she eventually responds:

"See, that might be something we have in common - changing things just because they look 'wrong' from the outside isn't good practice, and the wizard who does that can be punished, even lose their wizardry altogether. But, for wizards, building a spell and having it take are two different things; if the conditions you build it around aren't met - say, an ethics constant - the spell won't run. Even just having a conversation in the Speech is a two-way street; for example,"

Nita gestures to the wall again,

"If I ask the train a question in the Speech, it has the choice to respond or not. I'm not obligated an answer from a thinking being, even when, supposedly, everything responds to the Speech."

"Hahaaaa...well, I won't fall out of practice then at least in that case..."

Mmmm. "I'll need to get training clothes though..." Bugger. Well, that aside.

"Mnnh. Ultimately, it's why the largest rule of being a 'Doctor' is to change nothing. Minimal damage, even under attack. ...This 'Speech' of yours sounds quite well created though," she compliments with a blink. "The option of consent. Unfortunately, many of my clients don't have that option..." Yuume grimaces. "...It's the consequence of why there's a problem at all, by that point..."

Nita nods again. "Getting clothes isn't hard, here - if you happen to meet Charlotte - the spider - she makes them in exchange for snacks."

A more mundane-seeming trivia in light of the rest of the conversation, but useful all the same.

Nita grimaces as well. "That's the problem of crisis intervention; when things are down to the wire like that, your choices are limited. Wonder if there's a way to make a middle ground."

"Rather frankly," she remarks dryly, "I dread what kind of crisis would immediately warrant my entering their souls over the use of shadow and blade...even the glove's ability to locate souls in the area would be more likely to come forward than that..."

But, all the same. "Charlotte? There's a spider named Charlotte?" she can't help but chuckle, a brow raised. "And she makes clothes at that...I don't know that I saw any snacks in the kitchen, so I'm likely still out of luck, but that's good to know..." She'd say she could just cook something but...well.

That would be a disaster.

Nita nods, and the conversation drifts along.

"She's got a bunch of names, I think; depends on who you ask. As for snacks; you have three to your ticket, right? That's the price of all the basic snacks if you check the shop vendors."

Not everyone has to cook, thank the Powers.

"I suppose if I were a spider, I wouldn't typically have a human name, so that would make sense..." Ahhh... "Right. ...Oh?" Well! "I suppose that would be enough for...one outfit then?" She'll have to be particular... ....bugger she'll have to specifically stick to the work-out clothes. Maybe she can cheat and get a sweater as part of it, the purple is bugging her.

"... It's never said you have to buy them all yourself, actually," Nita hazards, after thinking on it for a second.

"I'd be glad to help. It's cheaper than the outfits the train provides - the shop option, not the uniforms."

"Eh?" What- "Oh...that isn't necessary..! I can wait until I have the points for more..." she begins to insist, only to frown.

Snacks are three, but... "...How much are the outfits from the shop..?"

"Outfits are fifteen," Nita recalls quickly enough.

"And if you're getting something specifically from home, it's twenty five."

She makes quite the wry face!

"If you pay for it yourself, you'll have to wait until the next platform, at least and that can be a real pain."

"Th...that many...? And with that sort of delay even!?" Goodness...

"Mnh...I would still rather pay you back if you're helping to buy any snacks for this payment..."

Think this thread is wrapping, or is there more they could chat about here?

unfavorableinstigation - 2020-10-10 13:47 (UTC) - Expand

Wrapping sounds good!

shadowslipping - 2020-10-10 14:27 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A New Platform [Intro Post October]

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Think this thread is wrapping, or is there more they could chat about here?

Wrapping sounds good!