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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"I know." Taiki's voice was quiet, he kept tight hold of Inigo's hand and didn't look away from the retreating people.

"But when fate... whatever it is... interferes, then no promise is enough."

His promise to Lord Gyousou was more than just words, an ancient covenant bound by the gods of their world. Yet still he had been taken far from him. A simple promise, however so heartfelt was not something that could change such a thing as this.

"His promise means that he would never want to leave you, in his heart he wishes to be at your side."

He is being taken from Inigo, he isn't leaving him willingly. It might result in the same thing, but there is a difference. An important one.

"I hate fate."

It's the most childish protest possible, but what else is he supposed to say? It really doesn't make a difference whether Gerome is choosing to leave him or whether he's being forced away from Inigo. He's gone all the same, leaving nothing behind but this wide hole in Inigo's heart. No thought about Gerome at least not actively wanting this could fill that up. It's growing too big at this point.

It's not like this is the first time this has happened, after all, and that thought only makes the tears flow all over again, though he doesn't let go of Taiki's hand ever since the moment the other seized his.

"I mean.. Is this my fate? Just being stuck here, watching everyone I care about leave me..? I don't--" He starts, then stops, shaking his head. "I'm not strong enough for that.."

Of course he hates fate. It was cruel. It had hurt Inigo so many times. He had lost person after person. Taiki can't imagine what it would feel like to see Gyousou walk out of those gates.

He doesn't think he could bare it. That Inigo is still on his feet is testimony to his strength.

"You are." His voice was soft, but also resolute. "You are a lot stronger than you think. Everyone is. Even when their hearts break, people find it in themselves to keep going."

He had seen the people of Tai, their desperation. He had felt that despair within himself. There had been moments when he did not think he could see any hope at all. He had seen people who had lost everything, over and over again and yet each time they rebuilt and kept living.

Human hearts were made of strength and Inigo was one of the strongest people Taiki knew.

.. well, it's not untrue what Taiki is saying, huh. Isn't that exactly what's happened each time, after all? Inigo had his world shattered so many times. The destruction of the kingdom, the death of his father, the death of his mother, all the hardship he endured in that post-apocalyptic wasteland.. and then watching people leave here, every single time.

And yet he's still here. It would have been so easy to just give in at any given point. Inigo thought about it so many times. How easy it'd be to just not get up after lying on the battlefield wounded. But he never stayed down.

He's not so sure how good of a decision that was at this point.

"But.. what if it keeps happening?" His throat feels so tight, but he forces out the words all the same. Just quiet enough that only he and Taiki can hear them, despite all the other people talking on the platform. "What if you don't know what you're doing it for anymore..?"

"I...."

Too much. Sometimes the pain of everything was too much to bear. Sometimes bad things didn't stop happening.

He's a kirin, he's meant to be a creature of benevolence, someone who advises a king. But here, next to his heartbroken friend, he has no idea what to say.

And the last time he tried this it had went badly. He can't help but remember Tidus' pain.

"I'm sorry Inigo..."

It's too much.

He knows.

Somewhere in the far back of his mind a voice speaks up to him, telling him that he's unloading too much. And all on poor Taiki too. Taiki already has such a hard time all the time, huh, why do you have to add to it, Inigo?

And he knows that voice is right. He did tell Roland that he'd try to rely on other people more, but.. there are limits to that sort of thing, right? There are things you can't ask others to bear. Like the heavy feeling of balancing on the edge of an abyss you can't come back from. And it's not like he's full on hiding himself away entirely, he's just.. downplaying things a little. That can't hurt, right?

So he sniffs, and despite the tears that are still heavily rolling across his cheeks, he laughs. Like he didn't say anything only just a moment ago.

"It's fine! I'll see Gerome back home again anyway, so.. what's the big deal, right? I guess I'll just have to adjust to sleeping by myself tonight."

"Inigo." Taiki's voice is sharp for a moment, just a moment. But Inigo has to stop acting, stop pretending that he is fine when Taiki can tell that his heart is hurting.

He squeezes his hand tighter though, as in apology. "You can sleep in with me if you want. I am sure Lord Gyousou, Wen Qing and Lio won't mind."

He understands the loneliness, the emptiness of sleeping without arms around him. If Inigo was used to sleeping with Gerome then it would be very strange for him.

Really, it's not like he's been sleeping with Gerome every night. But he has been seeking the other out like that whenever he needs comfort. And now he needs comfort, but Gerome isn't there.

And Taiki is offering, and it's so sweet, and he wants to take it. He isn't even hesitating as much as usually to take it, considering he's trying to be a bit more open to relying on others, but.. there's still some natural doubt. Some natural insecurity Inigo just can't help.

He smiles, but it's a bit less over the top. Still forced, but the sadness shines through now as he looks at Taiki, his eyes filled with tears.

"Are you sure..? I.. wouldn't want to end up bothering anyone, you know."

"You won't. No one will mind." Sure he is less confident about Lio, but he's pretty sure he won't mind. Wen Qing definitely won't, she understands after all how painful it is to have people leave her and he knows Lord Gyousou wouldn't mind at all.

"You can sleep in with me whenever you want, I don't mind at all."

Inigo may be larger than Taiki but he still wasn't large, both of them would fit in the bed easily.

His throat feels so dry. Instantly Inigo can feel about a thousand worries coming up, spurred on by his sadness and hurt. What if they do end up minding? What if they don't say anything, but think he's some gigantic weirdo? (Because he is. Because they'd be right.)

But he doesn't have the heart to turn down an offer when it's coming from Taiki. The thing he can afford the least right now is to make the other sad or unhappy as well.

So he ends up saying, "Okay," though it doesn't sound as enthusiastic as you'd expect from Inigo. Thankfully it's easy to imagine it's just because he's feeling so bad in the first place.

"Can we.." He starts, then hesitates. Though he does manage to push on after another moment. "Can we go nap right now.. maybe? I-- It's fine if you don't want to. I'll just go by myself then, I.. I wouldn't mind."

"A nap sounds nice." He nodded with a reassuring smile. "I don't mind at all, I won't leave you alone."

It might still be morning but he is still recovering from the exposure to blood from the mission, even if it was much less than the two missions before. So he wouldn't find sleeping difficult.

And even if he wasn't tired he wouldn't begrudge Inigo, not when Inigo was so sad, not after what he had just lost.

Of course there's some natural insecurity. A voice at the back of his mind that immediately whispers that there's no way that Taiki is really tired, that he's just indulging him, that Inigo is being a bother to others around him. Why can't he just smile, huh? Isn't that what he wants? For the world to think he's okay, no matter what's happening? But then why does it feel so hard to actually smile right now..

Inigo tries to fight it though. Instead just nods, accepting Taiki's help. Isn't that what Roland told him? It's okay to rely on others. It actually makes you stronger, rather than weaker.

".. Let's go then." His voice is still softer than usually. "We can go to your room.."

"Okay." He nodded with another reassuring smile and tugged on Inigo's hand slightly, to start leading the way to his cabin.

He was worried about Inigo, but there is very little he can do. He can't bring Gerome back. He can't stop people from leaving. But this he can do, stay with Inigo for now and make sure his friend rests.

It's very little, but sometimes it is the smallest acts of kindness that help.

Usually Inigo doesn't really mind how long the train is. He's very much used to walking, after all. But right now it feels like an eternity before they manage to reach the sleeper carriages. All he can do is just keep walking, his gaze turned downward, making sure to not make eye contact with anyone he knows while he's still feeling like this.

But even eternities pass. After a silent walk, they do arrive at Taiki's cabin, and Inigo patiently waits for the other to pull out his ticket and let them in.

And even when they're inside - Inigo awkwardly moving after Taiki - he just stands there. At this point Inigo probably has at the very least a good idea of which bunk is Taiki's, yet he doesn't move over to it at all. It's not that he's reluctant about this cuddling thing, obviously not, it's just.. he doesn't want to be a bother to the other after he's already had to depend on Taiki at the end of the last mission too, so he'll obediently wait until Taiki says it's okay to go lie down.

Taiki doesn't let go of Inigo's hand as they walk towards the cabin and he pulled the lanyard that held his ticket out of his hoodie and scanned it to open the door.

He smiled nervously at Inigo. "It's that one." He pointed at the top bunk above Lord Gyousou's. He let go of Inigo's hand for just enough time to bend down and untie his boots before he clambered up onto the bed.

His smile turned reassuring as he made room for Inigo on the bunk. Neither of them were particularly large, so it wouldn't be a problem.

Slowly, and still quietly, Inigo also takes off his shoes and starts climbing up onto Taiki's bunk.

At least it's not like he totally ignores the other once he lies down. Instead he grabs the blanket, making sure to pull it over the two of them, and then slowly wraps his arms around Taiki, clinging to the other. Burying his face against him.

He still doesn't say anything though. What is he supposed to say? Everything just hurts, and he wants it to stop. There's no words for it.

Taiki reaches up to stroke Inigo's hair slowly, gently. Trying to give him comfort.

He doesn't speak either, he doesn't know what to say. Really there is nothing he can say. He can only give comfort, lie still beside Inigo and stroke his hair in the hope Inigo can find some rest.

At first Inigo hopes that he can fall asleep. Usually he can, as long as he's cuddling with someone. He's done it plenty of times here on the train, with various people - mostly with Gerome recently, in fact, to make this all even more ironic.

But right now it suddenly doesn't feel as easy. Maybe it's since he's feeling much worse than when he usually does this. Sleep doesn't come easy, even though the feeling of Taiki against him is so comfortable.

So when minutes pass and he still can't seem to fall asleep, Inigo finally does speak up again, his voice a little raw from mostly having gone unused after all that crying.

"You and Gerome.. talked while he was still here. Right..?"

Taiki understands how sleep can sometimes be far away. It is not always easy, when thoughts won't quieten and even being held is not enough.

He doesn't stop stroking Inigo's hair even as Inigo speaks.

"Yes." He says quietly. "Not all that much. But we spoke a couple of times."

It was a shame he had not been able to know him better.

"He's great, isn't he..?"

Well, that may be a difficult assessment to make about someone as closed off as Gerome. Especially if you've only spoken to him a few times. But maybe Inigo, as wrapped up in all this emotion as he is at the moment, isn't really taking that into consideration right now.

"He always tries to act so much like he doesn't care.. But he can be so thoughtful when it matters."

"Yes." He agrees. It's the truth. The couple of conversations he had had with him had shown him to be a good person, quiet and thoughtful but someone who cared. Especially about Inigo.

"I never thought he didn't care. Our first conversation was about how much he cared for you." His voice is careful, he doesn't want to hurt Inigo.

It's so like Taiki, Inigo thinks. That he saw through to Gerome's core immediately, saw the better sides of him, hidden underneath that mask. It's since Taiki is so sweet, so quick to see the good in people.

Though the latter part of what he's saying is a bit more surprising.. but compared to Inigo's usual over the top dramatic surprise, this is much more muted. More quiet.

"You talked about me..?"

"Yes..." He nodded, "He didn't tell me anything I hadn't heard from you..." Maybe Ingio would find it worrying that they had spoken of him, though Taiki doubted Gerome would have told him any secrets of Inigo's.

"When he first arrived though, he was glad to find a friend of yours."

".. geez, Gerome.."

It's said very softly. And while Inigo doesn't necessarily sound hurt - not as hurt as he did back on the platform, anyway - there's definitely some emotion in it.

Mostly because he wishes that he would have or could have said so many more things to the other before he left the train like that.

"He's always been like that. Pretending that he doesn't need anyone else, or care about anyone else, but actually caring a lot."

Taiki nodded, he didn't know why he would pretend not to care. For protection perhaps? To avoid being hurt.

That was why most people did anything. To try and stay alive and stop their heart from hurting too much. It was the most natural.

"It was really clear, he wanted to help you."

A New Platform [Intro Post October]

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