No Place Like Home: The Return

[voidtreckermods]

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NO PLACE LIKE HOME: THE RETURN

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a silence broken...

It's been a very difficult few days. Rocking and rolling into the void and out again. Watching their friends out of the window as they wander from world to world. Meanwhile those lost on worlds continue to wander unable to return to the train at all.

"All attempts at returning those who left have failed. This voidcraft cannot do it alone. It is lucky that unlike those that have left before them, I can still sense them.

But I cannot bring them back alone. This is perhaps too advanced for Voidtreckers, but you have done the improbable before. You say you wish to help. This is how you help."

Their SCA's light up with a message. Or rather, a series of instructions:

In the unlikely event a tether gets stranded on a liminal space platform or between their own world and the platform space, you should, in the first instance, contact the Void technicians who monitor their non-travelling self. However, in the case they cannot be reached or there is a mass displacement of tether, an anchoring procedure can be carried out.

Ideally, this will involve two fully tethered individuals to retrieve the lost tether. One should be a stationary anchor. They should be outside of their void craft, if possible, and in physical contact with it. The second should be a roaming anchor reaching to draw the tethers back. In situations of mass tether displacement the stationary anchor can hold mutiple roaming anchors but it is recommended to not exceed five. In this situation, it is recommended that anchors rotate between stationary and roaming.

To start an anchoring of this kind, those anchoring should activate their anchoring program. Those staying station should reach out to the tethers of those they plan to steady. This might cause some emotional upheaval, and they will need to stay steady, especially if connecting to more than one roaming tether. Roaming anchors then must hold the person they search for in their thoughts and move towards them. It is recommended that the lost tethers activate their emergency beacon to facilitate being found and returning but this is not a necessity.

Once the roaming anchor has found the lost tethers they must keep hold of them and guide them back towards their craft, the stationary tethers must draw them back, pulling them through.

There is an additional note at the end, in different font.

It is as Anan told you. Your minds should visualise it. Be strong Voidtreckers.

... a short-lived dream

The doors open and anyone who wishes to try this can leave onto the platform. It is empty, devoid of the figures they had seen before; and, beyond the fog, devoid of anything. But searching requires their SCAs, not a path, and as people get into teams, they can activate their anchors and begin.

For those who will roam, their minds become filled, visualising light, void, voices and chaos; their bodies feel less stable, like they might unravel if not careful. But for those who will stay, when they touch the Voidtrecker Express, they will feel more stable, grounded. The fog shifts, but the world moves around them without pulling them in.

Thinking of the person they wish to keep stable, a mental and emotional link will be established, and they will feel each other as the roaming anchor sets off to find their missing crew.

---

Outside the train...
For those that had left - either by choice or by strange happenings - they have found themselves back at their anchor point during Poi 26, regardless of where they were before. For those unfortunate enough not to have a world to return to, or those who were stuck between in the first place, they will find themselves alone, in a fog filled space where no matter how far they walk, nothing greets them.

All those in fog or back in their world receive the same message from their SCAs.

Hold fast. Press your evacuation button. Your friends come.

---

RETURNERS: FLEETING HAPPINESS

But it's likely before the message arrived, that something wrong has been noticed by those outside the void. More than the bizarre ability to travel between existences, an inability to move far from where they appear. Back at their anchor points, they may notice - in time - colours sometimes flash across the sky, streaking through clouds or making trails in a night sky. At first not much, something to be easily dismissed but it builds. People talk, wonder at what is happening.

For the colours aren't the only thing. Across worlds, in cities, kingdoms, villages, underworlds and space stations, people are dreaming. Bright colours, vivid dreams. Prophets spring from nowhere, people claim to know the future or to have seen the past. Some talk of places and worlds they could not have seen.

Perhaps at first it can be explained away, there are always such people. But more people talk, from urchin children to commanders, people dream and the colours dance.

ANCHORERS: A STEADY HAND

While the stationeries will feel grounded, they aren't blind to what's happening to their roamer. It's as if they're both linked, intimately, meshing together, and they will need to work to keep their feelings separate; hearing each other's thoughts, their feelings. Images of what the other thinks and memories shared between them.

And then there is the search for their teammates, amongst the multiple of realities. Existences move past the roamer, threatening to lose them in the mess, but they must persevere, keep their thoughts on the individual, their stationary anchor to help them. Until finally, they appear - in a world they perhaps know, don't, the kaleidoscope colours of the void faint above their heads.

Speak to each other, keep each other focused, certain, and find who you came to save.

BOTH: HOLDING ON

Searching for individuals, the anchorers will find themselves at a character's anchor point; if they haven't moved far from here or another world, it will be easy to locate them. Now is the time to convince them to come back, and then the eventual work of doing so.

It can be in agreement, or force. Taking a hold of the person, the anchorer can pull them into the mass of chaos. Just like when they helped the guests return to their worlds from the false Diagad, all parties become battered by images, voices. Voices like sirens; 'Just stay,' the voices encourage. 'Just let go and drift into the chaos. It will be easier.'

But they must be strong, move towards their anchor and towards the craft. The crossing doesn't take too long, perhaps ten minutes each way, and once they get to the craft the person they are rescuing glows gold and vanishes. The anchors will know instinctively that they are safe on the train.

And indeed, the rescued will find themselves within the luggage carriage - exhausted, but safe.

TRAIN: AN INEVITABLE RETURN

Exhaustion is something all parties will experience, once everyone is returned to the train and the adrenaline wears off. Those who anchored will be hit with a total exhaustion, leaving them unable to do much more than eat and sleep for a few days. Those rescued won't be as bad, but if they decide to join in with the efforts, they'll too face the soul-tiring experience that other anchorers are.

There's likely to be efforts, to help soothe people over this time. And as people return to their life on the train, they will see the marks of the last few days for those who stayed behind. Broken ceramics, books out of order in the library; the ICPs in the standard coach, storage, sports and games carriages broken, and some damage to furniture.

But for the scars brought on by this event, surely, they will heal - eventually.

OOC NOTES

OOC post. Ask questions here. New second part OOC post here.

First phase of the event took place during Poi 22 to 25; the second phase takes place during Poi 26 to 28 (20-25th February).

VISITING WORLDS: While during Poi 26, it will be possible to go back to wherever they were, or other spaces. However, they will have increasing difficulty doing this, and will feel themselves getting more lost if they try world hopping too much over the next 3 (void) days. It's like something is trying to pull them back, or pull them, but into nowhere.

SCAs: The SCA's comms will not be active at this time.

Comments

[crowneddragon]

"Isn't it tetherin'?" Hang on, is he getting all confused over this? "There's three tethers accordin' to the ministry, right?" He... doesn't remember them being named, but he knows there is one to the train per say, and he'd? thought that was what they were doing? Re-tethering the ones who had been badly un-tethered?

(He hates the fact that tethering is used in such a way, now how's he going to explain the tethers of his own world without having to jump through twenty hoops, he doesn't know-- but that's besides the point, and he's getting confused.)

"I think it's something like the train, the conscious an' the soul? So..." and here, he trails off, losing his confidence. This is far, far from his usual zone of comfort, but he cannot just... leave it be. "If the train's able t' do that-- t' anchor us to it even without us havin' a say... can't we make our own tethers? Find people an' things we can get tethered to, can chose t' be tethered to?"

Can he offer his hoard this way? It feels particularly dangerous and stupid now that he's said it aloud, something that might end up merging two people into one if they aren't careful-- Tidus had picked up his Common slang even though something as simple as anchoring; a tether? A tether might make it ten times worse.

Esteban huffs at himself, feeling the strain and sluggishness of his thoughts crawling back across his mind. Maybe he's just suggesting that because he's being an idiot. Maybe he's just offering this because he's scared-- he'd thought himself so much better already, only to realize he'd been covering his eyes so that he wouldn't see the dark. He's a horrible friend, really. Dragons are selfish creatures by nature.

Right.

"D'you know who might know? Or have some better idea 'bout the tethers?" Esteban... Esteban has an idea. It's not his brightest-- (he doesn't think he's had a bright idea in the last few days, maybe he should consider resting instead of doing stupid stuff like this over and over again?)-- but it's... it's an option he wants to follow. And the train is, if he's honest, probably the best source of information they actually could have over this.

No! WAIT!

He's doing the same thing again! This-- this! Blindness! Not again! Not. Again.

"Sorry." Dead guardians in a ditch, he's repeating the same pattern and not even realizing it; why is he so-- lost in his thoughts? He'd wanted to bring some cheer to his companion. He'd wanted, he'd wanted to fix things again without pausing to offer more. Offer help, offer a hand, a shoulder, a care. He does care for Tidus-- he does! But every time, it's like he thinks he could fix things for him right that moment when he can't.

He has to lean his head back against the wheels supporting them once more, breathing deeply of the steel and fog that surrounds them, the sharp metal tempered by the weak scent of things they cannot see. Stone and grey and nothingness and another deep breath helps slow him down again, enough that he scoots a little closer to the blond, leaning his shoulder against his. It's not much, but it's better than words, Esteban figures, especially since his words always end up scattering his thoughts twenty ways before he can truly offer comfort.

He keeps on saying exactly the wrong thing to Inigo, and he keeps on getting distracted when trying to help Tidus. Some friend he is.

[blitzcheer]

There's an inner turmoil going on with Esteban that Tidus only has a glimpse into. Through what he says, his apologies given after a brief pause, his expression and how it shifts. It's enough to tell that there's a lot whirling around inside of Esteban, and -- Tidus gets it. At least he thinks he does, and he leans, enough so he can put a hand on the guy's shoulder.

(Given his habit with his wings, Tidus figures he's the kind of guy to like physical touch.)

"Whatever you're overthinking in there, don't worry, alright? If you want someone to talk to," since he can answer that, has a pretty easy name to give, "then I'd go to Seto if I were you. He'll know - he might've read up about them and voidcrafts."

Seeing how the guy wants to pilot one someday.

"All I know about tethering, is - it's the train that tethers us, or we're tethered to. How we can do it... I don't know about that." He exhales, then drops his hand - and moves instead, to come and take a place beside Esteban. Against the train, the sight of the platform ahead of them.

"...nothing about this makes sense to me. But if you think you can find an answer, or look into something... then try it. Nothing's going to stop you, right?" A joke, soft as it is - what Esteban had earlier remarked. He needs to try.

"Just know that...you're likely going to end up lost, and not knowing what else you can do. Sometimes, you're just - stuck. And that's all you can be, 'til a chance comes around."

[crowneddragon]

For a moment, Tidus' encouragement for him to try is almost enough to send Esteban back to his feet (even if he can't find them right now, his body is disjointed, a puppet without strings, but he could do it if he just pushes through--). It coils unease along his spine, a need for action, to do something, anything. Time that slips like sand between his fingers.

But the blond goes on and-- and--

Esteban is stuck. He's stuck with wanting better-- wanting something so much brighter than what they have right now. He wants his friends to be happy. He wants them to be content and happy and at ease, he wants to offer them comfort and fix the things that hurt them.

He wants to erase the heartache that lingers in Tidus, he wants to bring back those who have been lost, wants to fix things that are too broken and sharp for him to offer them back to his friends. He's always wanted them to be happy above all else, wants to bring light where there is darkness, because that is one thing Esteban can do-- should be able to do.

But there are storms he can't fight. Not like this. Not alone.

There's a taste of gingerbread in Esteban's memory. A chat next to the sweets claimed by the purple team, of water worlds saved and fire worlds lost and the slowing lull of the blond's voice as he'd fallen to his own thoughts. Naming him after the sunshine to chase away the storms. 'Dians.

"You're pretty amazin', y' know that?" He'd sort of known it before, but Esteban can't help but admire Tidus' resolve, especially now that he's starting to understand... this. The drag of loss, the confinement of their thoughts. Esteban doesn't want to go back to the train. Not right now. Not like this.

It feels like a trap.

But he knows he won't turn away from it. Not now, not until things are resolved; echoing Tidus' steadfast brightness. His lips pull up in a smile as he decides that, trying to etch it deep enough that it won't fail him next time. He wants to be as strong as his companion is, and maybe next time, maybe he'll manage to be the strength to keep someone else going.