Event: Healing Waters

[voidtreckermods]

"Good morning passengers, it is day twenty three of the month of Grasshopper. All passengers of the Voidtrecker Express require rest. Next stop Jema’grethy Island. All passengers prepare to disembark."

It is a very strange morning message that rings through the train on the morning of day twenty three but as the passengers of the Voidtrecker Express wake their screens glow with the colour of the void and a holographic screen pops up for them to read.

World #2554098133741: A world once inhabited by an ancient civilisation and now preserved as a historical site, nature reserve and well-being retreat. It is famous for its relaxing hot springs, calming atmosphere and beautiful beaches.

It is a popular void-traveller destination, particularly among void missionaries as a place to rest and recuperate after difficult missions.

The Voidtrecker Express will spend three days here, arriving today and leaving on day twenty six of the month of Grasshopper. The dressing carriage is open for your convenience.

It is time for a holiday it seems!

Preparation

For those who go to explore the dressing carriage they will find a variety of beachwear and wetsuits. One cupboard has a pile of tents and groundsheets in all four team colours.

One cabinet is exclusively filled with beach towels, in a kaleidoscope of colours, designs and patterns. Another is filled with different shapes and sizes of plain towel dressing gowns. There is even a cabinet with buckets, spades and small rock-pooling nets.

It seems they are in for quite an adventure.

Arrival

"Shortly arriving on World #2554098133741. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train lurches and rattles as it leaves the void they will get a glimpse of silver-purple sky and a beautiful ocean below.

However some passengers might be a little more than distracted, one staring at that table for a second too long, another seeming lost in thought for a couple of seconds, a longer than normal pause in a sentence. They see a vision, a glimpse of a life that is not their own. Not all at once, but here and there as the train descends to the island.

But then it is gone and things are back to normal. Just in time, as they come to land.

Jema’grethy Island

The train has landed on a grassy ridge, overlooking a beautiful beach of white sand and the ocean beyond. It is warm, but not too hot, a cool ocean breeze cutting through the heat making it pleasant. Behind them is a grassy plain, changing to forest in the distance. There is the sound of birdsong in the purple sky. To the west the land is more craggy, the silhouette of a fortress in the distance. In a word, it is idylic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

A little more worrying is the volcano-like structure in the north. But even a quick glance will show it is not a typical volcano. There is no smoke and the liquid slowly running down it in rivulets is pink and blue.

Exploring the passengers will find beautiful beaches, ragged cliffs to walk and caves to explore. Where it is more craggy the beaches are made of pebbles- perfect for rock pooling.

The place has no people, but it is clearly maintained. The eastern beaches have racks of shallow boats, both canoes and one- or two-person sailing dinghies. There is also a small building in which scuba gear is stored, along with several waterproofed manuals and instructional literature.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered across the island, but the main settlement is built into a rocky section in the north-west that has been secured with ropes and stairways cut into the cliffs, perfect for scrambles and hikes.

There are no living quarters, but there are sheltered sections with basic toilet facilities marked as camping grounds in five different sections of the island - by the hot springs, within the ruined fortress, beside the harbour, on the eastern beaches, and on the northern face of the mountain.

Hot Springs

To the west are the hot springs. They have both outdoor and indoor areas; the indoor areas being wooden loghouse saunas, changing rooms and storage sheds, whilst the outdoor areas are a tiered series of pools spilling down the side of the mountain and shaded by brightly flowering trees. The waters are hot, mineral-rich and soothing.

Perfect for overly stressed, world weary Void heroes...

(OOC: More setting information is here, please feel free to go wild with the setting and have a fun and relaxing time. You can use this post as a catch all for your holiday or make your own posts on middleofsomewhere. More information about how the memory event is structured is here!)

Comments

for Della

[blue_ice]

[ Later that evening, close to dusk, Kaiba is finally leaving the hot springs. He'd stopped to pick up one of Kumoko's yukatas earlier, so he can at least take a walk in comfort before heading up to set up camp.

And then he spots the faintly familiar duck up ahead. He rushes to catch up to her, calling out. Hoping he doesn't sound like he's lost his mind. ]

...Della?

[sos_pilot]

[ Upon being called, Della turns around - and when she sees who it is, she can't help but smirk, crossing her arms. ]

I knew we'd have to cross paths again sooner or later.

[blue_ice]

[ He nods awkwardly. Oh boy. Time to think...very carefully about how he's to address this. ]

I saw something strange this morning, when we were landing on the planet, and I have to ask.

Do you know someone named Donald?

[sos_pilot]

Know him? He's my twin brother!

[ She has to laugh! ]

And I'm guessing facing off against a guy with a weird hair-do in Egypt sounds familiar to you?

[blue_ice]

[ Atem. Kaiba can still picture that smile, even months later...he sucks in a breath and nods, reluctantly. ]

For a moment this morning, I felt as though I was you in that moment in time. Four kids were there, and you were arguing with him about a moon invasion.

A friend thought I was having a strange dream, but I don't think that's it. If you were in my head too...

[ And boy is he angry about that. Not at her, but. ]

It wasn't the real Egypt. It was an idealized version in another dimension, an afterlife of eternal reward for the real Egyptians who've passed judgment. Or so they say.

[sos_pilot]

... Dude.

[ For the moment, she doesn't even seem to realize he's angry. ]

That sounds like the COOLEST THING EVER. What happened? Did you pass? Did you win? What kind of duel were you guys having?

[blue_ice]

[ It's a topic he didn't really talk about much with Yugi, even, so he's surprised. But it does sound weird to an outsider, he supposes. ]

Oh, I'm not dead. The pharaoh's soul was trapped in a puzzle for thousands of years, until Yugi put it together. Then he shared a body with Yugi, took my champion title, drew me into his world-saving nonsense, and eventually left. Without a final challenge for me...or saying goodbye.

So I chased him down. We played Duel Monsters---it's a card game, we have a whole set on the train if you want to look at it later.

[ He is very pointedly not answering the question about whether he won. ]

[sos_pilot]

Oh, what? That's so harsh! He owes you big-time... but yes, once we're on that train, you are teaching me every and anything about Duel Monsters.

[ Pause. Glance back. ]

... I guess in turn I can tell you about Donald. What were you seeing? Because if we were fighting, you'll have to be wayyy more specific.

[blue_ice]

[ He snorts a little. ]

I can do that. But...let's see.

You'd landed with them at the entrance to a jungle. You were worried about a moon invasion, and wondering why he hadn't been home to greet you.

[ He can't believe he's saying this. ]

[sos_pilot]

[ She raises her eyebrows. ]

That recent, huh? Well... as weird as it all sounded, it's all true.

People from the moon were tricked into invading the Earth by their really awful leader, Lunaris. Donald had managed to get back from the moon, but he crash landed on a deserted island... he was on his own for a couple of weeks. We didn't realize he'd been off-planet because we all thought he was on the cruise.

What you saw, well... It was the first time we'd seen each other in over ten years. Before all that, I was the one stuck on the moon.

[blue_ice]

"...first I'm hearing about a moon colony," he shook his head. "And they...regularly kidnap people?"

He's going to have to personally run a lunar mission when he gets home, just in case.

[sos_pilot]

"Well, it was and it wasn't... it's kind of a long story." Della laughs, but it's not the full, lengthy laugh Della seems used to giving. More like a short, resigned one. "They're mostly good people. One of them is my best friend. But they were all manipulated... and so was I."

Still, she doesn't want to linger on this for too long, so she shrugs one shoulder. "But! The important thing is, I got my family reunited, and together, we all sent Commander Lunaris packing, and saved the whole world. We're just that awesome."

[blue_ice]

"Are you, now. Given what I tend to see on the train I'd believe it."

Huh. So now he knows. He rubs at his temple, still...very confused about the whole thing, to be honest.

"But I've never had any 'psychic' ability before. Does anything else feel different to you?"

[sos_pilot]

Della pauses, trying to clear her mind and think. "Hm... I felt what you felt, like I was actually in your body... but that's about it. But I saw a lot of people zonking out today, just staring out into space. It might not be a case of you and me having some special connection - this world might be affecting everyone here."

[blue_ice]

"Right. I had no control, just...emotion, pinning me down."

One of the most uncomfortable experiences in his life.

"But how do you even start to ask the others about this without them thinking you've lost your mind?"

[sos_pilot]

"You do it anyway without caring what they think." Della replied bluntly with a smirk.

"C'mon, look around! We ride on a dimension-hopping train surrounded by people and creatures from other worlds. Last month we defeated monsters with light, and earlier I saw someone lick lava without burning their jaw off. I think memory sharing might sound plausible."

[blue_ice]

"...wait, licking lava?"

Kaiba's just going to boggle at that for a moment, but nod.

"Fine. We can ask, and compare notes tomorrow?"

[sos_pilot]

"Consider it done." She offered a fist. Bump it. Bump iiiit.

/wrap?

[blue_ice]

Kaiba exhaled through his nose, loud and deep...

...and offered a gentle, hesitant bump. Guess they were doing this.