middleofsomewhere | The Mountain Top: Grasshopper 25

The Mountain Top: Grasshopper 25

After the strangeness of their second day on the island for some, with memories and conversations in a cave, the third day goes calmly.

At least until mid afternoon. As the day winds on into evening all of those who have been sharing memories with others will feel a pull.

A pull to climb the mountain in the north. It is a good feeling, that mountain is where you need to be. A sense of belonging, friendship, camaraderie. You don't need to be alone, just climb the mountain.

For those that climb they will find worn wooden benches spaced around the lip of the caldera in concentric circles, the centre set up like an amphitheatre. The Jema syrup spills from crevices around the edges, running down from the peak in well-worn grooves and channels.

The sun sets slowly on Jema’grethy, slowly sinking into the ocean over a period of a couple of hours. During that time pairs of Voidtreckers will feel drawn towards the syrup, to touch the surface.

When they do they will receive a memory and find themselves back in that cave once more. For those watching it is as if they are in a trance, lasting a few moments.

People feel moved at different times and so there are always people aware, sat around the mountain top. It might be that there are other friends they wish to speak to about what they see. It might be that they wish to sit silently and avoid everything, if only their friends will allow it.

But it is a place to be together nonetheless.

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I know it's not all that assuring to hear, but I got used to it before this-

[She gestures all about them with her free hand]

All got started.

[She takes Roland's hand, opting to show the memory she'd received first, to make things easier. ((It's the second one.))]

So, before we move on, what about that one stuck out to you most, Roland?

[She's curious to know what catches his eye, between all the shifting perspectives.]

[ The memory plays and it's disorienting. Jolting. It felt like he was being held to a camera and every time he shifts, something new was happening. But the feelings were strong, and when it all ends, and Nita speaks to him, Roland just falls silent first, in thought. ]

[ His initial instinct is to comment on how many children were there, too many for his liking. That wasn't what Nita was asking, though, was it? ]

...The mission itself. I can't tell if if they were responsible for the casualty they're averting, or if they're just caught up in it. Felt like it was a puzzle too. Two teams were split with the task of stopping something, while the other two were rescuing and defending. Not unusual but...

[ He dismisses any more. ] And what about you, Nita?

[Nita nods.]

Like how some of our missions get. It reminded me of back home, too, when an errantry goes just right despite the danger, for maximum success.

[That may not be what Roland wants to hear, however.]

I also recognized some of the people in there - one of them I only saw thanks to one of our previous Voidtreckers, Will Stanton. She was on Orange, with special tattoos or something on her hands.

The other's voice I've heard before, in those train longs. Vian Tail.

[A pause.]

Let me know when you're ready for the next memory.

[Or as ready as you'll ever be, Roland; she knows what that's like.]

[ His brows furrow. There is a sense of foreboding he isn't sure he wants to ignore. Roland also keeps that in mind - that the train logs before his time on the Voidtrecker already spoke to the passengers. Vian Tail... ]

[ He inhales deeply and holds out his hand once more. Roland is always grateful for Nita's similar sense of levelheadedness... ]

I'm ready. No sense in pussyfooting around. Go for it.

[The next one Nita shares is, technically, the first memory shared - Enna's, of a being that had lost seemingly all sense of self.

Nita does her best to steady herself, after that.]

It was like whoever they were had been - hollowed, or something.

[There's no nice way to describe it.]

But the last memory, the one only Minako got at first, might explain how they got that way. It's a doozy, though. Lemme know what you think, and when you're ready.

[ When he shakes out of it, Roland feels his throat close up. He lets Nita's hand go and he looks away for a quick minute just to regain himself. What in the world...? ]

That's...the nicest way to put it. [ He breathes in and out, almost audibly. ] Tortured? No. No that feeling wasn't someone desperate to get out. They were determined. That's unmistakable to me. They were...driven. They wanted to keep going. But to what? To where? What was the goal?

[ His eyes widen slowly. There's a theory that's forming in his mind's eye, but he's not sure where it'll take him yet. The third one might be the wringer. It might seal the deal. His hand is held out again after he shakes himself free of such an unpleasant memory. ]

Last one, then. On your lead.

The third one will probably explain it, yeah. Not completely, though, I'll bet.

[And indeed, "On your head be it.”

Nita readies herself to steady Roland, this time. The implied destruction, the guilt and grief... Nita's no stranger to those feelings, and she doesn't think Roland is, either.

It never does get easier, in some respects.]

[ He wants off of this damned island.

He didn't care if Jema'grethy was this beautiful. He didn't care about any of it, not anymore. This was the price. He knew it. Deep down inside, he knew it wasn't going to be just a holiday, it was going to ruin them somehow, in someway. ]

[ But this is also the price of the truth. This was what he was looking for all along. So he allows this memory to tide over him totally, overtaking his sense until it plays out till the end. ]

[ It's almost nauseating the way the final memory affects Roland. Flashes of thoughts and emotions, one after the other, obscure his vision until he sees stars in his eyes. If he is stumbling back one or two steps, hand still in Nita's, he can't help it. He regains balance soon enough, but the lump in his throat is near impossible to swallow down.

And for all his eloquence, for all his stoicism and stature when on the job, for once Roland is hit with the weight of their roles - just like when Doloran began harvesting souls, and he knew this was no game. This was real. One mistake, look at that one mistake, whatever it was that came. Clouds? The train jolting ahead? She was screaming at it - take us back, take us back. ]

[ He looks down on the ground and grits his teeth hard. His fists clench shut, trembling. Not this. Not again. He is shut into silence. ]

...

[ Roland turns away completely, back away from Nita's view. His composure was running on thin ice and this is when his words fail him. He has to calm himself first, before he can speak. ]

[Nita lets Roland get some air, takes some deep breaths herself... but, eventually, she goes and gives him a hug.

They both need that, too. Before words, even; evidence that they're there, and can still help each other.]

[ And he takes it, closes his eyes and lowers his head, still breathing deeply. A hand finds its way to grasp the closest thing he can - Nita's forearm, wrapped around him - reassuring. Steadying. But he is so angry. He is seething in ways he can't describe.

Roland is also afraid, and for good reason. He has a lot to tell her, a lot to say. That this is a feeling he knows so well; losing it all, right in front of you, not being able to go back. Watching his own third memory play out in front of him can do that to a man; a nuclear strike to start a war he can't stop. He finally finds his voice again, and it's just as unsteady as he feels. ]

There was barely anyone left on Purple, Nita. Purple was gone. [ The trembling in his fist intensifies. He doesn't have to spell anything else out to her; Nita knows. ]

It was.

[And Red was the largest group to survive; neither of those facts had escaped her. All the remaining Voidtreckers were desperate... and young, hardly older than she is right now.]

Those shadows... they didn't even have anything to do with why they were there in the first place.

And that's why the train ran, this time, when that mission to Biq came in.

[The hug persists, even while they talk.]

[ He can't steady his breathing, but Nita's presence is helping him keep his wits about him, at least for now. Did Glorfindel see this? Did he talk to Nita too? Did the Thunderstorms know? Purple having the most number of members as they speak, and then being shown this right after that fact -

- History is repeating itself. There were no civil wars this time. Just a mystery unfolding, no clear answers in sight. But what was worse, really? That they couldn't negotiate a peace treaty out of fragmented memories, or that whether or not they had a say in it, every single one of them was now caught up in the eye of the storm? ]

What was it? [ He whispers, under his breath. The hand keeping Nita close remains, though he feels himself growing cold. ] Those...things, that they couldn't read. That came out of nowhere, that destroyed everything. Can your magic see it? Can - can you figure it out from that memory? Take the syrup, maybe it'll help?

[ He's throwing ideas, even if none of them might make sense. The only thing he can think about is the cost of this little trip around the voids, and who was paying the highest price. ]

Those shadows?

... No one knows, yet. But if they can destroy a world, they're immensely powerful.

[She shakes her head.]

We couldn't interact with the memories like that, back in the cave. I doubt the syrup will make that kind of difference now, after the fact.

But-

[And it's only now occurring to Nita that Roland wasn't there for the aborted mission to Biq, he needs to know this-]

I couldn't talk to the shadows, when they visited a world we went to. But the train- it was blinded with fear, like it was having a panic attack. And before we'd arrived at that world, all the visionary types like me saw those shadows in the form of a nightmare, destroying a place or world that was close to us.

[ Roland listens, and realizes this was the same story Inigo told him about when he first asked about world missions. Where they couldn't do anything at all. The cogs in his head start moving faster, until certain pieces fit into place. He slowly turns back around, facing Nita once more, though his hands still keep to the side of her arms as if anchoring him there, in that moment. His eyes are gleaming with intensity. ]

Blinded by fear...? [ He remembers no sight, no hearing, but still feeling. ] Nita...Could the first memory you showed me - could that have been the train? The train recognized the shadows that destroyed home base, panicked, and showed the rest of the passengers the extent of the danger?

[She holds him - anchors him - as long as he needs, holding his gaze when he looks back to her at last.]

It sure seems like that's the picture we're getting. Though- how much are you thinking was the product of a timeloop, or just time travel?

Why are we only seeing this memory now, when it's been months since we were in the kingdom of Biq...?

[ When Roland finally lets Nita loose, his grip slightly weak, he is already back in his thinking stance, one hand under his chin, another tucked against his chest. This is likely the most bothered Roland's been upfront. ]

...What if this was a warning, too? For our next mission? [ He shakes his head. ] But how would they know? Time travel isn't something I've got a lot of experience with, and more than that -

[ Finally, he is able to swallow the lump in the back of his throat. ] - are you telling me, what Enna said before I came to talk to you. [ His eyes narrow. ] About the train being the previous 'treckers. How...? Did they turn one of themselves into...what we're riding now?

Edited 2020-08-28 14:37 (UTC)

[Nita's mouth gets pressed into a thin line before she speaks next.]

If we keep confronting something it doesn't know how to fight, how can things change?

I've got some experience with time travel, but I'm nowhere near an expert - and a shapechange like this is new to me, too.

How they managed it, if that's what they did... I couldn't say.

That's exactly it, isn't it? It's the problem with this whole setup. [ His hand clenches into a tight fist. His voice rises by just a tad bit. ] It doesn't know the answers, it looks like they want to bring back what was lost, but it doesn't work that way. Especially not like this, kidnapping others from every corner of the universe to fight a fight they're neither equipped for nor had a choice in the matter!

[ Roland crosses his arms. ] Is it sending us to the front lines to see if we can figure out what they couldn't? Letting us fight the good fight for what? We're being made into pawns. These are people's lives!

... It's not acting rationally.

[The Voidtreckers had been too traumatized, the catastrophe too total, to consider asking for help - because they'd been the help, and badly outmatched.]

But how to get it to talk about it - that's where we should start. If all it can use to communicate now is emotion, how do we form a plan?

Not acting rationally is right. [ He can't get the last memory out of his mind. It's tattooed, even as he tries to pace himself now, around Nita, trying to scrub it free.

The weight of responsibility has always been heaviest on his shoulders, whether or not it's warranted of him. ] How do we even know this train can actually take us back when all's said and done? It keeps ejecting passengers out every platform day, but why? They're not useful enough for it? Even defying nature itself, reviving the dead...!

[ It's not right. It's not. Not to him. Not like this. He closes his eyes and breathes. ] Helping save a world is one thing. Hell, I'm sure everyone on this train's got some experience on that. That's why we're all here, right? But to come into the task blindly, with no help, no answers, no choice, and nothing to go by? [ His perspective on things are changing as they speak. Who would have thought this is where his mind would take him? ]

We didn't get to see what they did after that memory; how time travel works in relation to the void...

[She shakes her head.]

I still don't think the comings-and-goings of passengers are something it can control, Roland. Who knows what it's tapped into...?

Doesn't that make it worse? What kind of foolproof plans involves tapping into powers it can't control or understand? Innocent lives on the line, parading us all off as...world savers? Heroes? [ He's calmed down significantly, but the furrow on his brow is deep. ]

Why won't they talk to us, Nita? [ And though he's calm, the frustration is evident. ]

The sort that only become an option when the people you normally work with... aren't available anymore.

Not just the Voidtreckers, but the void ministry.

[That idea's been building up in her mind all evening.]

The ministry only thinks the Voidtrecker Express exists as a legend, Roland. Could be they don't recognize it as one of their own allies anymore.

[ ... He is fully engaged in this now, humming in thought. He knows about that - that the train they're riding now is supposedly a phony, named after a legendary one. But what Nita is saying, what she's suggesting is... ]

Yeah. And they mentioned that we could be associated with criminal activity. We're the danger, or we're in danger. They heard words like 'kidnapped' and 'victim', and of course who wouldn't be concerned?

[ Roland glances up at the beautiful sky; a stark contrast to the turmoil down below. He's thinking. ] And we can't talk to them either.

The Mountain Top: Grasshopper 25

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sorry for the delay! work got wild ;_;

'tis okay. /hugs

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