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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"Hennessy's name is Jordan Hennessy. She gave half of her name to the first sister she dreamed. There were eleven more, but not all of them were alive when I met her." Jordan told him about the others and he could tell Adam, but that's for Hennessy to explain. If Hennessy ever shows up, which he's beginning to think might actually happen. "People came and gunned down every sister but Jordan then came after Matthew, all while another attack was happening in South Africa. There's a lot of dreamkillers, apparently, and they're not going to stop until we're all dead."

He's been sketching the Sundogs on a scrap of paper while he talks and he slides it across the table to Adam when he's done. It looks exactly like something Ronan would dream: wild and slightly unhinged.

"The Sundogs wiped them out. The ones looking for Matthew, anyway. Hennessy and I fought the Lace with swords Bryde gave us then more came after us." Ronan fiddles with the pen in his hand, flipping it end over end like the action of doing something physical will ground him. It's not working. "They said a Dreamer was going to end the world and we tried to negotiate but it was like trying to reason with Kavinsky. They weren't listening, and they just kept asking for stupid shit like for us to stop dreaming. We ran. I don't know what happened to Bryde and Hennessy, but I ended up here."

Ronan breathes out, something between a sigh and an exhale. The pen stills. Then, a touch sarcastically:

"Any questions?"

Adam both did and didn't have a lot of questions. Rather, he had a lot of them but he wasn't going to ask any. He stared at the sketch of the Sundogs, blinking a few times before looking away. It was heavy information to take in. Killing every dreamer just because one was going to end the world (if that was true) was... some part of him said 'efficient' and he hated himself for it, but it was also awful. He'd thought this was the dangerous place and back home was safe, even if there had been a monster lurking (the Lace? He wasn't sure), but now he thought he had it backwards.

What was he supposed to do to keep Ronan safe? To protect anyone? He swallowed, staring down at his hands. "God," he said after a moment, but then fell quiet again.

It was worse than he could have imagined chasing after Bryde would go, and he'd imagined a lot of terrible outcomes. He didn't know why Bryde was doing what he did, either. Why help other dreamers? Out of the goodness of his heart? Adam doubted it. The real question was...what were they going to do?

"This whole time, I'd been thinking how much I wanted to get us home. But now-" he shook his head. He was sorry he hadn't been there, for all the good he would have done. He was sorry that, for whatever reason, he hadn't picked up his phone. He'd checked it when he'd gotten to his dorm, so he didn't understand. He was sorry any of this had happened in the first place.

They had to get home though. They couldn't leave everyone else in the lurch, not knowing if they were safe or being hunted.

"We'll get through this." They'd always gotten through things before, they'd get through this, too. He didn't know how right now, but give him time and he'd try to figure something out.

"Don't we always?" Ronan forms the words like knives, all edges sharp enough to cut. That's still the natural state of him, even now that he's figured out ways to express himself other than anger. Then, like a confession: "The nightwash has gotten worse."

The thing about the nightwash is that Ronan knows how to fix it: all he has to do is sleep. On paper, it's simple. In practice, they're stuck in a tiny metal box hurtling through the vast expanse of the void and he doesn't know what he'll bring back if he actually tries to sleep. His attempt to follow Adam to Harvard and the fallout from it is still fresh in Ronan's mind, and it was already bad enough in the cramped space of Adam's dorm. He doesn't want to think about what might happen here.

He really hoped the bad news stopped coming eventually. One thing after another after another...no wonder Ronan hadn't wanted to talk about things on the platform or where other people could overhear. It was exhausting to hear all of these terrible things, as if Adam hadn't been exhausted to start with.

"Have you been sleeping?" he asked, frowning. The nightwash was dangerous, but it was relatively easy to fix. If Ronan was sleeping and he was still suffering from the nightwash...Adam didn't really want to think about that.

"I've been dreaming." Were Ronan anyone else, it could be taken as an answer to Adam's question. Normal people need to sleep to dream. Technically, Ronan also needs to sleep to dream too but there's a marked difference between sleeping and dreaming in Ronan's case. Saying one when asked about the other is as good as tacit admission that no, he hasn't really been sleeping. "You know what happens when I sleep, Parrish. That shit's not as easy to hide without Declan's silver fucking tongue."

Adam took a moment, let that sink in, and then groaned, pressing the heels of his palms against his eyes. "Ronan." He sighed, dropping his hands and for a moment looking as bone tired as he felt before gathering himself back up again. "How long have you been here? You can't just avoid sleeping."

"And what do you suggest I do instead? Just tell my roommates that sometimes I wake up covered in blood and god knows what else, because everything I dream becomes real and all my dreams are actually nightmares? Don't worry, though, my nightmares only want to kill me."

Ronan spits the words like acid, each of them dripping with a nameless fury that he hasn't had an outlet for since he arrived. He's not angry at Adam, exactly, but Ronan has been standing in a sea of gasoline for weeks and now seems like as good a time as any to drop a match onto it. Later he'll feel guilty about lashing out at Adam. Right now he's frustrated and so, so tired.

He does sleep, occasionally. Usually on missions where he can be far enough away from other people to avoid explaining why he wakes up with claw marks across his arms and drenched in sickly black ooze. He hasn't brought back an actual nightmare yet, but it feels like a ticking time bomb until he does. None of it's enough. Sometimes it feels like nothing will ever be enough.

"I don't have Lindenmere. I don't even have a ley line. I'm not powerful enough to fix whatever I fuck up, here."

Roommates made things harder, and Adam had expected that since almost the moment he'd stepped foot on the train. There was no way they weren't going to be at least doubled up with as many people as he'd seen. They were cramped, crowded in, far from home, without a ley line... He wondered how strong he was without it, how much more effort things would take. The fact was though, he'd go through any amount of effort for Ronan.

"Is there anywhere else to sleep?" He was as calm as he was going to get right now. He wasn't angry in the slightest, but he was still uneasy from all the information he was still processing.

"Maybe I could help. I could join you when you dream. Try to keep things on an even keel." There was a risk, he knew. There was always a risk. He'd seen what Ronan's nightmares could do, but he'd brave the danger. Danger was nothing when you were willing to give your life for someone.

"There's beds in medical, but the doctor-types are always fussing in there. You're sitting in basically the only place that might work."

His qualifications are essentially a place that's quiet, and relatively private. Are the quiet car's booths the ideal place to actually sleep? Not really. You could probably take a nap in one, but they're not exactly designed for sleep. Fortunately, for the purposes of this conversation, Ronan isn't a person who cares about where he's sleeping. He can fall asleep anywhere.

Between Adam and Chainsaw, though, sleep might be almost manageable. He doesn't want to say that, because that's a huge thing to ask and Ronan knows that if he asks Adam will do it, even at his own expense.

He surveyed the space they were in. It really wasn't ideal, but he didn't have any other options to suggest. He didn't know the train and Ronan did, so Adam was going to trust his judgement on this. Things could be worse, location-wise.

"It's worth a shot to try it here. If anything goes wrong, it was my idea." And he would accept the blame for it. He didn't want Ronan to beat himself up over it if something happened, but he also wanted him to give sleeping a try.

"You've been awake for almost as long as I have." Ronan's not entirely sure exactly how long Adam's been awake, but he knows Adam drove to meet him and then drove back to take a fucking test. "I'm not letting you try to dreamshare when you're as tired as I am. Besides, I don't know where Chainsaw is."

He could find her fairly easily, if he wanted to. That's more of an excuse than an actual reason.

"I'm not tired." He had been, before, but then scrying had woken him up. Then being kidnapped had done the trick. There was too much going through his head for sleep right now. As if just resting wasn't an option. Like he couldn't tuck himself away in the library or some place and read about the void and the train and whatever else until he inevitably fell asleep over the books.

"I can sleep after."

"No." Ronan gently tosses the pen he's been holding at Adam. He's sort of aimed it at Adam's forehead, but really he just wants to see what Adam's reflexes are currently like. "There's not going to be anyone to cut the circuit if shit goes south. I'm not gonna try it while you're dead on your feet, Parrish."

The very idea of saving Adam Parrish from his own damn self is a Sisyphean task, but it never stops Ronan from trying. He doesn't even want Adam to change, exactly, just to actually be willing to take a break when forced to. In that sense, Ronan supposes, Adam was made for the train in a way that he isn't.

Adam's reflexes were shot. By the time he'd raised his hands to catch the pen, it'd already hit him and it was all he could do to grab it before it hit the floor. He did catch it though.

Ronan was right, but Adam didn't want to admit that he was right. It would be better to wait until he'd actually rested, when he was at least close to 100% instead of about 40%. He was just so used to ignoring his own needs and emotions and tiredness and putting others before himself. It felt a little like he wasn't trying hard enough to admit defeat, however temporary.

Taking a breath, he held it for a moment, exhaling as he put the pen on the table. He didn't want to fight, even though fighting was sometimes inevitable. "After I've had some sleep, then." If he wasn't really, truly tired, he would've protested more. He didn't like the idea of Ronan suffering more and more from the lack of proper sleep, but unless Adam knocked him over the head (out of the question) there wasn't much he could do about it right now.

"Yeah, yeah." Ronan rolls his eyes, taking his pen back and slipping it into the pocket of the hoodie he's wearing. "After you've slept. Let me see your ticket first."

How much after Adam sleeps is another question entirely. Is Ronan going to try and put it off for as long as possible? Yes, because if it works Adam will kill himself doing it and Ronan would really rather they both be alive and functioning poorly than potentially worse off. He'll manage without sleep, somehow.

"I mean it." Adam knew this wasn't going to be an easy battle, not with how stubborn both of them were, but he was still determined. Maybe he was biased, but he thought Ronan deserved all of the nicest things in life, including the ability to sleep without worrying. Unfortunately, he didn't know if such a thing was actually possible.

His ticket? He patted his pockets until he found it, pulling it out and offering it to Ronan. "What are you looking for?"

"Your cabin number." It's said with an air of obviously, despite the fact that that's not really why he wants to see Adam's ticket. He slides his own across the table in return. "There's thirty five of them, I'm not about to go running up and down the sleeper cars trying to find you."

It's never actually occurred to Ronan to try and duplicate one of the tickets, mostly because he's never had a reason to want someone else's ticket. Technically, he probably could have gotten close enough by using his ticket as the base and simply changing who the ticket was for, but holding things is always the fastest way to commit them to memory for him. He can reproduce things from his own imaginings and he can produce things from cobbling together other things, but to replicate things he needs to have held them himself.

He hadn't even thought about where he would be sleeping, just that he would be sleeping somewhere on the train. Too much else had been going on; his mind was full of terrible news still. The only thing good about being here right now was that he knew Ronan was safe.

Picking up Ronan's ticket, Adam studied it for a moment, suppressing a yawn. "I guess it was too much to think we might get to pick what cabin we sleep in." Not that he thought they would be able to pick someplace without roommates, not with as many people as he'd seen on board, but he would have chosen to be close to Ronan.

"You don't even really get to pick where you sleep. Everyone wakes up in their bunk in the morning." Which had been a fun fucking time for him the first few times it happened to him. Waking up and being able to move his body immediately isn't something he's used to at all and he's definitely fell out of bed at least once because of it. "Time works here about as well as it did in Cabeswater."

He hasn't tried to actually make a clock that works well, but he gets the feeling that it'll probably always be a little weird. There might be a learning curve to using - well. Honestly, Ronan doesn't know what powers the dreaming on the train but he knows there isn't a ley line and the power must come from somewhere. It feels different to using Lindenmere or a ley line, and Ronan hasn't quite figured it out yet.

No wonder Ronan was having such a hard time sleeping, if he couldn't even choose where he was going to be in the morning. The more Adam heard about the train, the more he disliked it, as if he hadn't already disliked it from the start.

"That sucks." Which felt like the understatement of the year. It was weird, and creepy, and rude of the train not to let you wake up where you fell asleep at night. "At least Cabeswater tried to work with us."

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A New Platform [Intro Post October]

cw: mass murder and gun violence

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