middleofsomewhere | No Place Like Home: The Return

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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

"I should've stopped her," Zetta said, even though they both knew he neither could have nor would have. He wasn't even doing a good job pretending it was just annoyance and not deep-seared worry. "We're gonna drag her back here top speed."

"She wanted to go sir, so we couldn't tell her no." That would be mean. But now they needed to go and get her to keep her safe.

"I can anchor you to the train! I'll hold on really tight!"

"Right." Zetta was sure that physical strength had nothing to do with it. Things like this were never that simple and easy. "I don't know what's going to happen, but it might get rough for you. So be prepared."

"Of course sir! I'll try my best!"

And be very prepared. "Shall we do it now?"

The sooner the better, to get miss Persephone back safe and sound.

"Yeah. We're not waiting." Romeo understood exactly. "Not sure what it's gonna be like, but it won't be the weirdest thing we've been through."

"Probably not! Lots of weird things happen!"

He grinned. "Okay so we got to press these anchors and I got to touch the train and then you got to go and find her!"

They were the instructions, he had read them carefully.

"Right. And since that's all it says, we're probably going to have all sorts of weird stuff happen, all of it bad."

Zetta had gotten just a touch cynical about the train and everything to do with it.

"Maybe but that's why I'm here! To help you so the bad things won't be as bad!"

Nothing was as bad when they worked as a team!

"You've spent too damn much time as a shinki, kid." Zetta shook his head, but now wasn't the time to argue. He'd just have to do what he could to spare Romeo while still getting the job done.

"I've spent all my time as a shinki!"

He can't remember being anything else! He grinned at him and led the way towards the train. "You don't got to worry, I'll hold on to you real tight."

"Hey. Listen. If it comes down to it... let go if you have to. I'm Zetta, I'll survive anything this damn train can throw at me."

Rarely had the Overlord been more serious than this.

He frowned at that, shaking his head, pressing his lips together. Technically he was meant to obey Zetta and he did most of the time. But he couldn't let go of him, not when his job was to hold on.

"I can't just let you get lost! What would miss Persephone say?"

"If it was between you and me? She'd pick you in a heartbeat! She knows how strong I am!" And he wouldn't blame her at all! Hell, he'd obviously support that choice. Nothing can keep Zetta down -- hadn't spending a couple years as a freaking book proven that point?

"I'm strong too!" Though not as strong as Zetta. He really wasn't sure miss Persephone would pick him though! She loved mister Zetta so would want him to be safe!

"Yeah, but you're not the most badass freaking Overlord in the cosmos!" Nor would Romeo ever be. Not for Zetta's lack of trying to teach and train him, but because Romeo would never get to the proper point of challenging Zetta himself for the title.

"That's not my fault though!" Well maybe... "I'm just me and I work really hard!"

He's strong for a Romeo!

"Just means you'll have to settle for second-most-badass." With enough time, Zetta figured he could accomplish THAT much with the kid.

"I'll work really hard." He promised. One day he would be the second-most-badass for sure.

But for now they need to get Persephone. "I'm ready sir! We'll bring her back safe and sound."

"Okay. You got a good grip?" Zetta was stalling just a bit -- not because he didn't want to rescue Persephone, but because he didn't know just what this would do to Romeo.

"Yes sir." He nodded with both hands on the train. He was holding on very tight.

"Are you ready?"

Mister Zetta couldn't be nervous could he?

"Yep. Here goes."

Zetta took a breath, then -- stepped into the void, simple as that.

It was strange, for him to disappear like that. But Romeo could still feel him, like he was still with him even if he had vanished.

Mister Zetta He thought hard, in many ways he was used to things like this, communicating with his thoughts was what he did in his shinki form after all.

Immediately, they had a problem.

The connection between them was far more than just a simple bond between shinki and god. This was like barriers falling, like two pools of water suddenly flowing into a channel that sought to intermix and combine them. Or rather, an ocean and a teacup... because Romeo had a few years of memory, and Zetta tens of thousands. The weight of thirty-five millennia of existence surged towards Romeo with merciless pity.

An ocean meets a tea cup indeed. Romeo is staggered against the train as a surge of memory, of emotion, of existence surged towards him, washing over him and dragging him into the depths.

He held on, physically to the train and mentally to Zetta. He trusted him, completely. That would be the main emotion Zetta would feel, past the fear, the determination and the hope. Trust. A respect bordering on adoration.

Zetta was his god and he was amazing and together they would rescue Persephone. Even as the rush of millennia surged through his brain and threatened to sweep him away.

This kid...

They had a goal in common, though. Zetta fixated on that: save Persephone. Everything else was unimportant compared to that, memory or thought or feeling. They had a goddess to rescue!

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