middleofsomewhere | No Place Like Home: The Return

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: THE RETURN

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Returners/Holding on – Closed to Kyoko
Idia had already said his goodbyes to his world. Had left it in the way he wanted to. Was ready to move on. He had actually been enjoying a chance to look around other worlds, popping in to explore what they were like, documenting his time there, and moving onto the next when he needed supplies or a place to rest away from the platform.

To be suddenly thrown back into his world, into Night Raven College, and into Ignihyde dorm… he hadn’t been expecting that. He’ll overhear talk about those strange events going on, even go and have a look himself to see it. And to get that message. They were going back to the train… good… good. He… he wanted that. Activating his button, Idia waits, hoping it would work and that they will come for him.

…right?

Train
…this place was a mess. Just what went on here?! Wow, and he thought it was bad bouncing between worlds. Idia wasn’t the neat type to begin with, unless it was making sure all parts were in their proper place where he worked, so of course the Lab is one of the places he goes to check survived the turbulence of the train. He’s happy to see his broomstick survived, planning to start work on that again, even if the rest of the carriage had some issues… He hopes they will be able to replace all the stuff that got broken. The train should! It’s its fault after all!

He… guesses he will help around the train, though ‘helping’ is more him using his magic to put stuff back in place than getting his own hands dirty; picking up stuff with it and moving it back into place, or what looks like close enough. Sorry, some of those library books may be out of place…

If not then he’s going to rest in his room and just… have a chance to rethink everything. A lot has changed, and Idia realizes he has to change up the way he’s thinking about this all now. It’s not going to be easy, he still misses home, he misses Ortho, but… this is what he has to work with, and he will.

Wildcard

There are more names on Kyoko's list of people to look out for than she expected. And this particular blue idiot is one of them. When Yondu introduced them, she hadn't expected to -- well. To spend so much time with him just doing normal shit. Talking about magic over snacks is familiar in a heart-achingly way, but with him, it's different enough that it feels like establishing a new normal instead of sadly echoing the past. Dragging him into playing DDR with her, and then listening to music together in the music car, and reading manga together... This is the kind of shit normal kids her age are supposed to do. And it's -- It's weird, but it isn't... It's less suffocating than she expected.

And the time that she spends on the train, stuck at the platform, stuck waiting -- waiting -- She spends that time doing a lot of thinking. A lot of worrying. And when it was time to finally do something, to bring her missing people back to the train -- By then, she had a list.

She focuses on Idia, and the emergency beacon draws her in. This isn't like rescuing Nozomi, though -- Idia apparently isn't just... out in the void. He managed to make it home. The moment it solidifies around her, Kyoko barely spares her surroundings a glance -- She has eyes on Idia, and that's what matters.

She holds up a hand in greeting and simply says, "Yo." Of course she's playing it cool.

Idia's made his way back into the Ignihyde lounge area to wait, fiddling with his fingers and the sleeves of his coat as he waits, jittering in the seat he had taken as those around him mill around, talking about the strange events that were going on. Someone would come, right? Right? Or should he leave through the fog? What if no one bothered? He wouldn't blame them. It's not horrible here... but... would his world survive if he was forced to stay? With those weird glitches happening around them.

There's no similar coolness for when Kyoko appears into the world and gets his attention, Idia looking shocked, then instantly relieved to recognize someone from the train. "Someone actually came." He was starting to doubt anyone would...

His reaction hits home a little too directly. Kyoko is so blindsided she can't even respond rightaway, and definitely can't fully process her feelings about it. She pushes it away to get her feet back under her, in a manner of speaking.

"You're damn right." He wasn't sure, so she's going to show him that it was inevitability. She steps up to where he's sitting and holds her hand out, offering to pull him to his feet. And, despite the air of confidence she's trying so hard to project, she still has to brace herself for what she's going to make herself say. It's taking practice, okay, but she learned her lesson after rescuing Nozomi. "I'm not leavin' my people out here like this. C'mon."

There's a pause, then a light 'heh' of a breath out of laughter. "A shame we don't have more time since I can't bring candy back, I would show you all the stuff in the vending machines here." Idia's going to miss those snacks, including his favorite one here. "I'll have to order them in the shop." You know what... yeah, he's ready to leave here, has accepted it.

He pauses... looking at that hand. Idia's not... good with random physical contact, so he hesitates in going to take it, even lifts his hand to do so. Then stops. Ughhh! No, no! He can do this! He's enjoyed their time on the train! She gets it, about manga, and music, and anime, and... well... he doesn't really like her dragging him into DDR, but... ok, it was fun. Hnnggggg! Ok, fine, Idia closing the distance with a rather shaky hand for her to help him up from his seat, his skull computer lifted off the table to bob in the air next to him. "Lets go. How do we do this?"

However any answer she may give is interrupted by a sound coming from his skull computer, Idia looking surprised, then shocked at it. Oh, no, no. Nonononononono! Not now!

No Place Like Home: The Return

Idia Shroud

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