voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post November]

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A New Platform [Intro Post November]

On the Train

The morning after the Halloween party passengers are once again woken by a familiar voice.

"Good morning passengers, it is day one of the month of Imagination. 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. But through the fog comes sunshine, causing patches where the light shines down to warm the concrete. Looking up passengers will not be able to see the sun through the fog, or much of the sky at all.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Bryn Pendragon, Bucky Barnes, Colden Rollins, Elena, Fai D Flourite, Jiang Yanli, Juliette d'Aubigniy, Misa, Peter Parker, Samata Mahto, Satou Kuroneko, The Doctor, Tohru Mutou, Zuko, 10 Vigilant Gaze Purges The Horizon. They all walk silently and do not look back as they disappear through the barriers and into the fog beyond.

But on the platform itself there are 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 the thick fog, penetrated by beams of light. As their eyes adjust they will see they are on a platform, behind them are a set of barriers and in front of them is a single track.

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 five 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.

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 and Honey is the newest ingredient, jars of honey stock the shelves and the ICP's in the kitchen have recipe ideas for the month.

A new carriage has been added, those that go to investigate will find a small but function-able spa, complete with a small hot tub and even a steam room. It is a relaxing room with sun lamps and relaxing music or nature sounds available through the ICP. There are a couple of massage tables, with a course for how to give massages for those eager to learn.

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 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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Really, seeing Natsuno stare at the people leaving wouldn't be all that odd by itself. He's still relatively new, and the way those people leave is pretty weird. There's plenty of reason to stare at it as it happens.

But it's the way he's staring at them. That makes it odd. It doesn't take much though to connect the dots and have a faint idea of what may be going on here.

And although Alice may be antisocial, and not the best at being tactful, it's not like she's entirely callous. Seeing him look like that is enough for her to step over until she's close enough to talk to him.

"Did you know one of them?"

"Yes." Natsuno answered with a bit of a frown. "My best friend was here. He arrived when I did, but now he's gone."

He wasn't entirely sure what he was feeling, aside from a jumbled mess honestly.

"It's probably for the best, in some ways, but it's terrible in others. He's walking off to his death, after all."

It's surprising to hear Natsuno be so candid about it. But it's a good thing, Alice thinks - she's never been good at prying things out of people in a way that's actually friendly.

And she can understand the duality. Didn't she feel the same when the younger Alice left? Glad that she wasn't stuck on this train, but also worried about what may be waiting for her back home, if her own life was anything to go by.

For a moment she's quiet, but then she asks: "Did he like being here?"

"He's the kind of guy who's happy anywhere. I think he didn't mind it too much. He likes people." Tohru was one of those people. Natsuno was not.

"He became my friend because he wouldn't stop bothering me until I gave in." He hadn't wanted a friend, but he got one.

"I didn't want him here. I didn't want him to know what happened to me."

"I see."

For a moment she thinks it's odd for someone like that and Natsuno to be friends. They sound like total opposites, going by what she's seen from the other so far. But that second part explains it - although it's a little surprising all the same. Alice thought that sort of thing may just bother Natsuno, but apparently he's not stubborn enough to forever resist it, huh..

"Did he find out?" It's not like you can immediately see what's wrong if you'd just look at Natsuno, after all, so it's entirely possible he didn't. Plenty of people are a little pale. Heck, Alice herself is. "Before he left?"

That'd be the worst case scenario for Natsuno then, huh. Both having him here and having him find out, only to leave right after.

It was odd, and not entirely by choice. Tohru was just aggressively cheerful in his direction until he caved and accepted it. He would forever blame him for becoming his friend.

He didn't seriously blame him for his death.

"No." He shook his head. "He didn't know." He was really glad for that. "He didn't want to kill me...and after he did he spent the nights outside my house crying."

If this was a slightly less sensitive situation, Alice may have dryly quipped that between the girl Natsuno spoke of before and this description of his friend, Natsuno knows some really, really weird people.

But she has a bit more tact than that. Natsuno is obviously having some complicated feelings about this whole deal, so she'll hold back. She will play nice.

"It must be odd. Having your best friend be the person who killed you."

"It's not ideal. He was just doing what that man told him to, beholden to the others." Natsuno scoffed. He'd covered that already with her, she knew how he felt about that.

"It's worse because he was just broken after that. Probably when he died again it was a mercy." It was him that Natsuno felt the most for. He didn't have time to be sad about it, but he was.

"I'd say this train may have been trying to give him mercy by letting him live here relatively oblivious." Or at least, it sounds like Natsuno's friend was relatively oblivious, compared to that broken state he was in back home.

.. but Alice shakes her head.

"I know better than that though. This train doesn't care about any of us in the slightest."

"I expect it doesn't, since it doesn't seem to care what I want." He was glaring a little bit where Tohru disappeared.

He let out a heavy sigh. "This is not the least bit productive...and it's frustrating. I shouldn't be so bothered. What does it matter when I should be dead?"

Oh, Natsuno.

Let Alice tell you about emotions, because she sure knows a thing or two about them. No matter how hard she - at times - tries to seem all cool and detached. It's what makes her quiet for a moment as she watches him, trying to think of the best way to approach this all. It's not like she wants to make him uncomfortable on a day that already isn't great for him.

"Well, standing here and staring at the gates definitely isn't going to be productive." She shakes her head. "But you can't help your feelings. Being bothered is a sign of being human."

And sure, Natsuno may not exactly be human anymore, but it just means he probably hasn't changed, even if his body has.

"If we didn't have our feelings, we'd just be robots."

"Not a human." He retorted instinctively with a bit of a glum look in that direction.

Natsuno forced himself to look away.

"I suppose that's a point. I should embrace my feelings, as they're probably the only thing standing between me and the raw instinct to attack people, I would think." He reached up and pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"I should do something that is not staring at nothing." He frowned. He wasn't hungry, at least, his vampiric needs were met, but he was at a loss. "Maybe I'll have some tea?"

Did she want to join him?

She'll let him get away with the whole 'not a human' thing despite it not being the point here, considering he does seem to be seeing the actual point a moment later.

Besides, Alice does like having tea.

(With friends, but she's not even going to think that part.)

"Sure. As long as you won't attack me during it." Her voice is flat though, making it obvious that it's a very dry joke rather than any real concern on her part. Maybe it's her way of trying to make things a little lighter, while the departure of his friend must be weighing down on his heart.

Natsuno responded with a bit of an amused snort. As long as he wouldn't attack her. Right. He quirked a smirk at her.

"I'll try and contain myself." He drawled a bit sarcastically.

"Besides, if I was hungry, I could just consume those blood bags."

Time for tea! Alice will already start heading back over towards the train, though she's glancing back to make sure he's following as she speaks.

"Oh, you're the one having those?" Casually. So casually. And not even casually on purpose - no, this is just how casual Alice feels about the idea of people drinking blood. It's not like Natsuno is drinking it from a person, after all, so in that sense it's pretty much like any other drink around the train.

And sure, even though she already figured out he was a vampire, it's not like she's just going to assume all vampire stereotypes about him. Though it seems like this one is - at the very least - true.

"What do they taste like?"

Clearly a totally normal question.

"I can have regular food, which is a step above most, but I feel rather...sick if I don't." Natsuno admitted. He wasn't thrilled about it, but he just got weaker and weaker without it and felt unpleasant. It wasn't worth all of that in the long term.

"Not as you'd think blood would taste." He paused. "It tastes different from the coppery taste or scent you'd pick up as a human. I'm not sure how to describe it beyond that."

"In other words, I'd have to try it myself if I was curious enough about it, hm?"

Look, that's just the logical conclusion to take away from what Natsuno is saying. But before you think she's totally crazy - or, well, beyond how insane she quite literally is--

".. Don't worry though, I'm not thinking about drinking blood myself. It seems rather crude if you have no good reason for it. Though I'm glad the train provides it for you if it's a necessity."

"I'm not sure it would taste the same to you as it does to me. It's..there's a craving involved. Being a vampire is needlessly complicated." He admitted with a bit of a sigh.

"I wasn't, besides if you decided you wanted to try it, it's in the communal fridge, I wasn't going to stop you." He smirked slightly. "I think it would be rather challenging otherwise. I wouldn't die, I don't think. I resisted drinking blood for much of the time after I turned."

Alice definitely makes a bit of a face at that idea.

"I'm not just going to drink from the blood bags."

She may have done a lot of weird things in her life, but she wouldn't want to add drinking blood to that list, okay. She can understand Natsuno needing to do so, but her voluntarily doing it just for curiosity's sake? Ugh. It feels kind of gross just thinking about it.

She shakes her head though, abandoning the thought. There's more important things to be addressed here.

"What would happen then, if it wouldn't kill you? Would you end up being unable to even move after a while?" It'd be good to know in case - for some reason - the train decided to stop stocking blood at some point. Alice wouldn't put it past this thing.

He was quiet, which wasn't unusual for him, for a moment or two as he considered her question. Teasing aside, of course he wasn't expecting her to drink more than tea during their little hang out.

"I'm not sure. Before, I was able to move alright. I was weak and none of my skills were in working order." Natsuno admitted. "But after I had some, it now feels very unpleasant. I don't think I'd end up prone, but honestly, I have no idea."

She clicks her tongue. "That's not good."

And sure, she may not be explicitly stating any concern here, but it's implied in her words all the same. That she - at least to some extent - cares about Natsuno's wellbeing. It sounds like he's been through a lot back home, after all, and he's not a bad guy at all. He shouldn't suffer here, at the very least.

"I'm not quite sure if we can always trust the train to keep supplying blood like that, after all. What if it suddenly stops one day?"

"If it stops, I'll..." Natsuno trailed off a moment.

"I'll suffer the consequences. If I lose my senses, I won't blame anyone for killing me. They should. I wouldn't want to bite anyone without permission."

"Don't be ridiculous!"

She huffs. Sure, Alice knows there's technically not much to be done about the train. It's not like it listens to even violence, after all, which is the main language she speaks.

But she hates something about this very idea.

"You shouldn't have to suffer the consequences just because the train happens to not provide you with something that's vital for you! We ought to shake it down when that happens."

"I have no problem trying, but I suppose if it decides to no longer provide, there will be a limit to what we can do about it." Natsuno paused. "Unless I suppose, I use those points I've been racking up somehow."

Somehow Alice looks.. almost annoyed? Though not at him, since Alice is pretty direct about it when she directs her annoyance in anyone's direction. No, this is very much annoyance at the train, at this whole concept of being trapped here at the mercy of someone else's whims to begin with.

"We shall see about that limit if that happens to pass."

In other words: Alice is not above still attempting to beat up the train if it's for the sake of a friend's wellbeing.

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