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

[forleaving]

"What is it?" There was a question waiting to be asked; he knew there was.

Holding up his wrist a little to better show the watch, which was probably one of the nicest things he'd ever own, he added, "It was a gift from my partner." Strange that it had ended up here with him, of all things, but he wasn't going to complain.

[ramengroupie]

"Your partner?"

Wormmon tilts his head. "What's your partner like?"

"...They're probably not a Digimon," Ken warns his own partner, who seems unphased. Partners, no matter what kind, are VERY IMPORTANT BUSINESS! It's good Adam has one!

[forleaving]

Adam shook his head. He wasn't entirely clear on what a Digimon was, but he knew that didn't apply to Ronan. "He's human. And a handful, but he's a good guy." And from the fond way he was talking, it was clear Adam cared about him a lot.

[ramengroupie]

So Adam's partner was that kind of partner, then. Probably. No wonder he felt like so much was waiting for him back home.

"He sounds like a precious person," Ken agrees: "a handful, but a good guy" also happens to describe his own best friend. This was the first time Ken'd be going on an adventure without him, too...

He'll have to work hard for the both of them.

[forleaving]

"He is. He's just..." Adam didn't finish, gesturing vaguely and eventually clearing his throat. "He's important to me." When Ronan could have had anyone, and he'd chosen him. It made Adam feel...worthwhile, important, at least to someone.

"And he doesn't deserve to be here." Nobody did, really, but Ronan least of all.

[ramengroupie]

"Your partner is on the train, too?"

Wormmon has an Intrigue. Ken blinks and looks down at the word "deserve". He's....familiar with that kind of thinking, too.

He's going to have to figure out what, if anything, to do about it.

[forleaving]

He nodded. "He is. We met up on the platform. It was good to see him, but-" but he'd only wish getting kidnapped on his worst enemies. "It's all the more reason to get out of here." He wouldn't include any part of the truth, that the real reason he wanted to get Ronan out of here was because this place, cramped, crammed with people, was no place for a dreamer.

[ramengroupie]

"I see." Wormmon crawls into Ken's lap - all this talk of different kinds of partners has made him lonely, and Ken-chan had been a whole TWO FEET AWAY, intolerable - as Ken continues to think. He has heard a theory that could possibly ease some of Adam's worries (that he knows about), but can he really voice it without definitive proof?

He doesn't want Adam to suffer, though.

"This is just hearsay." Ken's choosing his words carefully. "But it seems that time might not pass in our worlds while we're here. So if that was part of your concerns...."

Ugh, he's bad at this. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything.

But he had needed to try.

[forleaving]

That catches his attention. He was no stranger to time shenanigans, but those were much smaller incidents, not an entire world.

"It doesn't?" He didn't know if he believed it or not just yet, but if it was true, it was a nice idea. "That'd be a huge relief, actually."

[ramengroupie]

Oh, it...helped? Ken...helped? He hopes so.

"Nothing's certain," he said, not wanting to make promises he can't keep. "But some people have found evidence. This also isn't the first world I've seen where a different time flow is possible."

Back when he had been a child....back that August, when he met Wormmon....

Ken's own memories of that time are hazy, manipulated with, either by dark forces or his own denial of parts of himself. But he'd traveled with Wormmon longer than he'd been away from home.

That much he knows.

[forleaving]

"The possibility still gives me hope." Not just for himself, but for Ronan, too. There were more important things going on at home than Adam missing a presentation or classes in general. He also wasn't a stranger to time working differently than it should or was expected to.

[ramengroupie]

Ken grins. "Me too."

....Leaving it at that would be inconvenient for the other person in the conversation, though, wouldn't it? Ken should add something. Yes. "Let's try to make the most of this new time, Parrish-kun."

THERE, THAT IS NOT AWKWARD AT ALL!

[forleaving]

He snorted a little. "Guess I could. It's not every day you get kidnapped by a train." Thank God.

He was already going to have a story to tell Blue and Gansey when they got home, one they probably wouldn't believe.

[ramengroupie]

"We go to other worlds all the time, but there's never been a train for us before, either. Or the void."

Wormmon thinks about other things the Voidtrecker Express has that the Digital World doesn't. "Or an ice cream machine."

"....You really were impressed by that...."

The bug looks about as solemn as a bug can look, however. A machine where you press a button and ice cream comes out is serious business.

[forleaving]

Adam's face scrunched a little, in curiosity. "You normally travel worlds?" he asked. No wonder they both seemed to be taking this all in stride like it was nothing too rattling.

[ramengroupie]

Ken nods. "We're from different worlds to begin with," he explains. "I gained the ability to visit Wormmon's world, and met him."

"And now we have adventures where I protect him!"

In some ways, Ken feels it's a little unfair. He's still in over his head, but at least he knows the basic concept of inter-dimensional traveling.....He has to be there for the people who don't. He has to make the most of his experience.

[forleaving]

"How did you travel to Wormmon's world?" And was there any chance that ability could help them out here. He had a feeling it was probably a long shot, especially if it hadn't been brought up any sooner, but it never hurt to ask.

[ramengroupie]

"We were chosen to become partners." Ken heaves a sigh - not at the idea of being partners, but at how his ability to world-hop is currently denied to him. (And a long shot anyway, given the circumstances, but it's frustrating to not be able to at least try.)

"There's a device I use to open the gate, but it didn't come with us..."

"We're gonna ask the train for it when we get enough points."

[forleaving]

Maybe it wasn't such a long shot, after all. Adam, at least, remained hopeful. Sometimes, hope was all you had and he couldn't give up on that.

"Do you think this device could help us get home?" He didn't understand how it or anything else worked, but he didn't have to for it to actually work.

[ramengroupie]

"I don't know." Lacing his fingers, Ken looks down. "In theory, it's possible, but we didn't travel here by choice. We may not be able to return until the train permits it."

Or whatever out there is operating the train.

[forleaving]

Fuck the train, in Adam's humble opinion. Not that he would say that, but he would think it.

"It couldn't hurt to try when the time comes," he said.

[ramengroupie]

Ken nods. "That's my thought."

"You can do it, Ken-chan."

Don't worry, Adam, Wormmon BELIEVES IN KEN, and therefore, everything will be just fine.

Ken appreciates this, but isn't done talking. "If you'd like, should I be able to regain my Digivice, I could find you before I test it."

[forleaving]

"That sounds like a good idea," he said. But it also sounded like something he would want to bring Ronan along for too, in case it actually worked. Adam couldn't handle the idea of leaving him here by himself.

[ramengroupie]

If Ken guesses Ronan would also be a part of this equation, he doesn't call Adam out on it. Instead, he offers him a smile.

"Then I will."

Wormmon stares up at Ken in adoration. Even under these circumstances, Ken-chan is being considerate of others.

KEN-CHAN IS SO SWEET.

[forleaving]

Adam nodded. "Thank you."

Whether it worked or not, he appreciated that he would be included in the attempt. There was also the chance that they'd get off the train but still be somewhere not home, which was equally distressing.