A New Platform [Intro Post December]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

It's only been a couple of days since the Voidtrecker Express took to the void once more, and many of the passengers are still recovering and recuperating after a very hectic end to their latest mission. Nevertheless, they are awoken by a familiar message.

"Good morning passengers, it is day sixteen of the month of Imagination. Points have been updated on the system."

They have indeed, and everyone can spend the morning shopping. Those who have been on the train for 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 the windows fill with the fog that means they are at a platform. It is warm outside with a pleasant breeze that flows down the platform, rustling the light spread of leaves that litter the floor.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Akemi Homura, Alfred the Poisoner, Donatello Versus, Chie Satonaka, Joscelin Fitzthomas, Ronan Lynch, Rose Tyler, Tangle the Lemur, Trowa Barton, Wester Mazaki and Whisper the Wolf all pass through the platform, not looking back before 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 swirling leaves at their feet, moving in flurries and rattling against each other softly. As their eyes adjust, they will see they are on a platform, cement and packed earth forming a very practical, plain-looking shelter. Behind them is a set of barriers, and in front of them is a single track extending both ways into thick fog.

They are standing, in clothes that are not their own and a style 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 eight 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's 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 lead to something terrible. 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 (see
'Publications'). The store rooms have been restocked with more jars of honey, the ingredient of the month of Imagination, as well as sundries.

A new carriage has been added right next to the luggage carriage. It is a second medical carriage, or triage carriage. Downstairs is more open with beds and chairs, upstairs are two surgical bays for those that need immediate attention.

For those intrigued by the claim of a parcel for every passenger they will find several large boxes filled with small blue bags. Inside each bag is ten dark blue coins imprinted on each side with a silver snowflake. Each bag has a small label with a passengers name. On the other side of the label it reads: Keep these safe for now.

Of course for any passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage as well.

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 taking advantage of the pleasant weather and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, but they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view again 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

[zechs_isonfire]

Not getting a response, Zechs took out the pasta and turned to look at the boy, attempting to see what caught his attention instead. ... Nothing?

"Yoite?" Zechs asked, wondering if he was spacing out from lack of food and energy.

[firewalled]

"It's nothing. It's not... worth it. It was my own damn fault." He's just caught up in making excuses. It's easier to just dismiss this as stupid than listen to anyone saying the contrary... even if he does appreciate that help.

He grabs for the water and takes a small swig of it, and that helps him slow his breathing just a bit too... through his mouth, so he can't smell the smoke as intensely.

"Can we just get out of here? Smells like... it just smells."

[subcircuits]

Devero is really, really comfortable enough to be lingering in that hazy liminal place between waking and sleep. He doesn't hear the door open, is unaware that anyone's entered until a voice jerks him out of his pleasant reverie. He splashes upright in the pool, a little bleary himself-- and his heart stops when he sees Koumyou.

Speaking of bright spots. Speaking of stressors.

"S-sanzo," he says, and slides back down into the water, all the way to his chin and a little under. "Hello."

[theturksway]

Reno made a sound and a movement like he was offended on behave of the color black but made no actual comment. He resumed smiling immediately like it was all for show anyway. Just a joke.

"That is probably the worst team color to get stuck with." Seriously. Between blue, purple, and even red who decided to stick orange in there. Too bright a color for so much clothing. Oh well, not his problem.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," he began in a stage whisper, implying it probably wasn't that secretive of a secret in reality. "A simple way to get some new threads. But first: how do you feel about spiders?"

[sos_pilot]

She didn't mind at all, occasionally tapping her fingers on the arm rest to the beat.

"Nice to meet you, Demyx. Let's start things off with the obvious... everyone you meet here is from a different world."

[sos_pilot]

"Needed a quick repair." Della says casually. "But why are you studying the wall in the first place? ... Oooh, are you doing a mural?"

[sos_pilot]

[ It does take a minute or two - she's not really used to walking on crutches - but she does make it! And she gently lifts up the precious babbu for snuggles. ]

He's so adorable, how do you stand it?! Is this even legal?! He's even got a pacifier!

[ she... might be projecting due to missing out on her own kids being babies. ]

[its_dad_sanzo]

"Oh! I didn't mean to startle you like that, sorry!"

He did Devero the favor of at least turning away to change his clothes. Robe shed and folded over something, then his blue, train-issued boxers. A pair of swim trunks pulled on in their place, no fuss, no hassle. This sort of thing was common, where he was from!

Koumyou looked much as the tight clothing under his Sanzo uniform had suggested. But perhaps not quite as nice. Wiry, some might say, all sharp bones and dense muscle. No real fat to speak of, not even a healthy amount. It was more than possible that he looked far better with clothes on, than he did with them off.

And what else the Sanzo uniform hadn't shown? Except maybe faintly across his bony shoulders? That was the scars. There were a lot, all over, back and front and even over his sides. Bullets, burns, shrapnel, slices, stabs, teeth, claws...

More than a few looked to have been very nearly lethal, both in severity and in placement. They spanned from decades old and nearly faded away, to more recent and prominent, pulling at the skin around them.

Even fresher, the priest had several new bullet grazes along his sides and across the back of one thigh. The deeper ones, he'd simply cleaned and cauterized in the field. Some of his previous kaleidoscope of bruising was still around, too. Faded, now; the mission had been something like a week ago, after all. The worst of it centered around the rib that he'd fractured while defending Station 29.

None of this was noteworthy to the priest. Tucking the sutra into the waistband of his trunks by his hip, he moved to approach and step down into the water. Across from Devero, at least, not that there was a ton of space, even so.

[fun_thementalist]

Ah, but this happened before that!

Medusa was a Gorgon, who turned people into stone when people looked at her. She had a pretty unfair life, if you think about it, but thaaaat's mythology! Perseus was tasked with killing her, because of Reasons.

Since looking at her meant you were turned to stone, he polished his shield until it was as shiny as a mirror, and used that to see her, since the reflection didn't hurt him. And so he cut off her head, posed for a lot of really cool statues, and from Medusa's corpse, the winged horse pegasus was born.

[ A small pause. ]

Western myths are really weird.

[fun_thementalist]

As warned, Gen quickly backed away, just barely managed to get sprayed by ink. But his reflexes weren't good enough to get basically painted in by her ink, now backed into a corner. Whelp.

"I can see that!" Gen said, eyes wide and, kind of wondering about - how much ink did she produce? There seemed to be a lot of it now. It kind of seemed rude to ask about something that came out of a person's body, but, again, he was literally boxed in with it. "I guess it's a good thing that you've got ... somewhere to put it all. And throw it all. ... Please don't splash me?"

[fun_thementalist]

"All right, let's see what's left in the kitchen," Gen said, placing his hands in his sleeves. "I think there's some packets I saw left over from a few months back, let's see if not all of it has vanished quite yet."

Gen wouldn't push him to talk as they walked down the hallway, carefully avoiding running into everyone in the chaos that was Platform Day. Once in the kitchen, he'd go to rummage around for those aforementioned packets.

"What happened today, if you don't terribly mind me asking?" Gen asked as he looked, still listening intently.

[fun_thementalist]

"Ah! You have magic, where you're from. Real magic, anyway. I admit I'm a little jealous," Gen said with a grin. "What I wouldn't give to be able to throw around lightning from mid-air, that would be pretty incredible."

"No, I'm an entertainer by trade," Gen said with a cheeky little bow. "I'm a Mentalist - that's a fancy way to say a magician - and that's in a world without real magic, my dear. So unfortunately, no balls of fire are involved without a bit of chemistry and planning."

[fun_thementalist]

Gen knew it was a trap, an adorable trap. But he willingly fell for it anyway, because. How could anyone resist a soft kitten belly? That hand would just be captured by a clever little kitten.

"You always want my clever hands to do things for you, my dearest," Gen teased back, as one of them was likely gently captured by a kitten. He hummed. "I suppose. These balls for the pokemon probably keep him safe, I'd think? And he's so small right now. What sort of creature does he grow into?"

[10billionpercent]

"Apparently they like the balls, it's not harmful to him. It's magic, somehow, I don't think he's just squished into a tiny space as I understand it." He crouched down and reached out to scratch Orion's ear lightly. "But..." He trailed off.

"We're supposed to be bonding." He commented.

That question got a bit of a deadpan look. "......A cat."

[gundamofthedesert]

That was it exactly. Ignoring that he was particularly close to Trowa, Quatre had never had many friends as a kid. Being the child of one of the wealthiest people on the colonies was actually pretty lonely. Private teachers and personal security rarely made it easy to make friends. His teammates had been the people he had grown closest to aside from his family.

"I suppose... at the moment playing might be better."

The words were there but saying them didn't necessarily help. Playing at least got the feelings out.

[barenakedspirit]

"Yep, come on. Next car doesn't smell like anything." Galo steps forward, urging the group on as he takes the bag from Eight. He slings it over his shoulder with a soft breath.

Smoke. Ah, this is definitely territory he knows how to handle. He's quiet until they reach the next car. The bottom of the carriage looks like a medical bay with curtain rod rails running on either side of the ceiling. Thick grey curtains wait, tied up on either side to keep them clean and out of the way until needed. It smells like a typical hospital, the anti-septic smell smelling barely of anything.

His eyes drift to the cupboards and chairs, ignoring the four beds with the locks around their wheels so they can stay in place. There's a lift to the left of them. He leads them to a chair by the cupboards. "Okay, promise this won't take long. Your docs say anything about infection or anything like that?"

Whenever Rich sits down, Galo's hands hover ready to lend assistance but only if he really wants it. "After that you can ask all the questions you want." He says as he sets the kit down and opens it, checking the contents. Last time he packed it and took it out, he'd left a potion inside. Between that and the one Eight grabbed. One looks like an energy can, the other a bottle.

He thinks about it, grabs the can.

[fun_thementalist]

"A tip jar!" Gen told him, holding up a finger as he explained brightly. "Sure, the kind of money we get here can't be transferred between people - but you could ask for tips in candy, for example!"

[fun_thementalist]

Well, thank you, my friend, but.

[ The little guy's voice was familiar. Wasn't it? Gently, he scooped him up, and was going to help him look around. ]

Do I know you? I don't think we've met.

[fun_thementalist]

"Hmmm," Gen said, and went to stand next to her, trying to see the same wall and imagine art there. "Well, what were you hoping to paint? I imagine that would determine the kind of spot you'd want to find."

[gundamofthedesert]

"Thank you. A friend I was very close to just left and my space heart feels very empty without him here." It was still downplaying how he felt about Trowa, but around strangers, they didn't really need to know it was so much more.

At the encouragement, he did finally make himself get up off the ground. If nothing else, he needed to be on the train. After getting up, he headed onto the train, one foot in front of the other. Once he and the new arrival had boarded the train, he turned back to him. "My name is Quatre Raberba Winner."

[gundamofthedesert]

It was certainly hard not to feel a lot small when someone you really trusted was gone and not through fault of either party. He certainly felt that way now.

At the offer of tea, he nodded his head. "Yes, I think that would help. Thank you."

Carefully, he slowly lifted himself up off the ground. He knew, as much as he wanted to sit there all day, it wouldn't bring Trowa back and it wouldn't help him. He had enough trouble with mental state already.

[gundamofthedesert]

Quatre had just lowered his violin, turning to look at the other when he spoke him.

"Thank you." Both about the song and for the sympathy. "My friend left the train earlier today."

[gundamofthedesert]

Even just having someone around him right now was helpful. He knew he didn't have the best reactions to loss. That was pretty clear when he had taken certain actions after his father's death and granted, this wasn't a death, but he was still gone.

He leaned a little bit more towards Tidus as he rubbed his shoulder. "Thank you."

CAT NIP

[kingcat]

Grimmjow was in their cabin, having used his resurrección to get his hair nice and long... so he could use it as a toy, playing with Shiro up on his bunk. The kitten pounced at the wiggling hair, darting after it as Grimmjow grinned and chuckled at the little thing.

When Ichigo came in with that announcement, Grimmjow looked up, letting his hair go still. The kitten pounced and attacked the fallen locks, but Grimmjow didn't pay any attention. Instead he sniffed a few times. "You smell weird. Is it food?" Weird smells usually meant food.

Kitchen Car

[kingcat]

Grimmjow is not particularly skilled in cooking, but today he is particularly motivated by a white fluffball perched on his shoulder and meowing loudly at the side of his face as he enters the kitchen car.

"Alright! Alright! Chill out you little bastard," he grumbled as he headed for the fridge. He spared Ken a glance as he passed, but it wasn't until he'd dug out a piece of fish from the freezer that he actually got a good look. "What happened to your bug?" He asks, as he uses his teeth to rip open the plastic packaging around the fish fillet.