middleofsomewhere | Event: 12 of Beetroot

Event: 12 of Beetroot

It's been a couple of weeks since they had evacuated Osiga. In that time, many of voidtreckers were busy with a project to try and solve some of the many mysteries that surround the train they travel on. By the eight day of Rabbit they've exhausted all avenues, and whilst they have learned quite a bit, there are still some clear gaps.

Just as that investigation comes to a natural end, passengers are woken up by an announcement.

"Attention voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express. We are travelling to system #2554098133741. I have sent word to the ministry who have arranged recuperation packs for you. You have had a difficult mission and you deserve a rest.

But it is not just for rest. Last time we visited the system voidtreckers shared memories. Though it is understood that many of you did not enjoy the experience it is notable that certain voidtreckers saw memories of this voidcraft. They were memories that this craft had not accessed. It led to more pathways opening up in the operation of this craft.

I have done some research on the system and I believe we can trigger the caves of memory. This voidcraft understands this might be difficult for the voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express and it is hoped that only those of you who consent to this experiment will take part.

Regardless this should be a time for relaxation also and the dressing room is open for your convenience. We will arrive in the morning.

The dressing carriage is indeed opened for those who go and look. It's filled with swimming costumes, beach ware, summery clothes and sun hats. There's even a cupboard of buckets, spades, rock pooling gear and picnic blankets.

There are also team coloured tents for those who want to go and sleep under the stars for a night or two, though the train is remaining on the island for those for who camping is their idea of hell.

12 OF BEETROOT

RABBIT 9-12 ~ MEMORY CAVES: BONDING ~ MEMORY MAZE: SEARCH FOR THE TRAIN'S MEMORIES
ASK QUESTIONS ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ MEMORY CAVES ~ MEMORY MASTER POST

JEMA'GRETHY ISLAND: RELAXATION

The next day the train announces their arrival and they burst out of the void. For those near a window their first view of the island will be of crystal blue sea and white sand. It really does look like a paradise. The train circles down before landing 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 idyllic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

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.

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.

The recuperation packs are found at the closest toilet facilities to where the train lands. They are simple things, small gift baskets with a couple of fragrant soaps, fancier hair products and skin cream infused with herbs to encourage rest and sleep.

There are some sweet fruit biscuits and a cheesy bread. The packs aren't named but there are some suitable for the younger passengers with tiny plush and colouring books. Quite a few designed for teens with a more engaging activity book and components for making a fancy mocktail with a cute stirrer. Adult packs have a small bottle of alcohol- there's a mixture between the packs and what looks like a stone. When placed next to the skin it will either warm up or cool down depending on what is needed.

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.

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.

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.

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.

MEMORY CAVES: BONDING

Shortly before arriving they will receive some information on their SCA. It will explain how those who once lived on this island went about making life bonds. Both people would bathe in the hot springs and then dress simply, barefoot and walk to one of seven rocks on the island. Their maps will pin point these, which is good because there's no real indication of what makes these rocks different to any other on the island.

Here they must offer their wish to know the other deeper and share food and drink. They can then go about their day. Sometime in the hours after they will receive their first memory, seen through their partners eyes.

However it seems that in envoking the ritual they have woken something on the island. Even those who did not take part or chose to bond to someone find themselves seeing a glimpse of another life.

On the second day they see another memory, through the eyes of their pair. When they come out of it they find themselves in a cave with their partner, chosen or not. The same happens on the third day, except for this final memory both pairs see both memories, watching from the sidelines as it plays out. They find themselves in the cave once more and this time, for many there is only one exit, to leave through together.

Please go here to play out the bonding process!

MEMORY MAZE: TRAIN'S MEMORIES

On the third day the train sends another message to their SCA.

"Activating the caves that share memories has been successful. I know this is a lot to ask of the voidtreckers, but any who wish to assist in discovering what it is that I have forgotten, the path is open now.

Those who wish to may go to the sacred rocks. Please be warned, I do not know how voidtreckers will fare. Please only go of your own free will."

Their SCA's once again show the rocks on their maps and when they get there, this time they are faintly glowing. It doesn't take much. One touch and their minds are drawn away from their bodies, into a labyrinth of caves. For anyone who comes across these people on the island, they look like they are in a deep trance, breathing, safe but far away in their mind.

The labyrinth is made of cool, dark rock. The walls have a glow coming from crystals in-bedded in them, allowing everyone to see as they move through.

At first there's no more to this labyrinth, or so it seems. But then they turn a corner, and they are no longer in cavern as it just was. They may be in their childhood bedroom, or in the middle of a battle they once fought. Perhaps they are not in their own memory, but someone else's. Scenes move rapidly and often merge, one persons into another, mixing to make strange scenes.

These visions don't attempt to ensnare them like some illusions, and those with protection from illusions and such techniques, will be able to find their way forward through the cave, and away from this triggered scenario.

Time barely has meaning. Indeed, when they finally emerge from the caves only a few minutes will have passed. But in that time they will have seen much, and eventually they may stumble across a fragment of memory that belongs not to a voidtrecker, but to the Voidtrecker Express itself.

OOC NOTES

OOC Post ~ Questions
~ You can either write memories in your tags or if they are longer/require a lot of content warnings you might want to write them in this post and link to them. Just start a top level with your character name to keep things organised!

~ For those taking part in the memory share bonding the cave post is here. Characters arrive in the cave after the second and third memory but it is obviously up to you if you play out the conversations after each or both! For those who do decide that their characters will bond- the cave after the third memory will only have one exit for them to leave together.

~ For those who signed up for train memories you will receive the snippet that your character sees- use these in tags as you will. There will be a conclusion post on the 24th which will put all of those memories together!

Art Credits: Header: Tropical Jewel by Steven Power, Thumbnail image 3.

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Yugi---

[ Apologies, Ryou, but seeing his husband in distress is a bit of a distraction for Kaiba. It takes a few moments for hm to process that this is the past...and that he had no idea that this ever happened. How many other scumbags did Yugi manage to attract the ire of? And how many others were hurt? ]

...Bakura? What does Otogi's father think he's doing?

[ His voice pitches up in alarm. Here he thought he'd pegged all the scumbag fathers in the vicinity. ]

He wanted revenge. Yugi's grandpa beat him at a cursed game, so he tried to have Otogi get revenge by beating Yugi at Dungeon Dice Monsters so that he could claim the Millennium Puzzle. Otogi couldn't do it though, so he decided to get revenge himself.

[As Ryou speaks, the memory continues, with memory!Ryou and Otogi at the locked door.]

"Shit! This door won't open once it's locked from the inside!" [Otogi tugs at the door, trying uselessly to get in as Ryou watches.]

"Is there another way in!?"

"No! Dad's going to play the Devil's Board Game with Yugi on the other side of the door! I have to stop him somehow!!"

[As Ryou and Otogi struggle to get in, smoke begins to leak out the crack in the door and Otogi's dad can be heard inside, crying out for help. At the same time, Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda, and Yugi's grandpa arrive, apparently still searching for Yugi after he never left the store. Jonouchi calls out to Ryou, asking where Yugi is, and Ryou quickly explains what happened (or at least what he can remember happening). From there, Jonouchi and Honda break down the door, revealing the hidden room full of flames, and Otogi helps his father out. But Yugi...]

"Yugi! The fire's spreading! Let's go!!" [Memory!Ryou can't see what's happening inside the room as Jonouchi and Honda try to get Yugi to leave, but he's hesitating, staring at the table.]

"What're you doing?"

"C'mon, Yugi!"

[Yugi still doesn't move.]

"I can't...I can't leave without the Puzzle!"

[As everyone rushes to see what the problem is, it quickly becomes clear. The Puzzle is disassembled, the chain nailed to the table so that it can't be removed from the room.]

He couldn't leave it behind, Kaiba. [Ryou states the obvious, knowing this has to be rough for Kaiba to see.]

...revenge. Sounds familiar.

[ Not that Seto regularly does that or anything. He sucks in a breath as he watches, listening to the frustration and fear in the group's voices. Oh, Yugi...loyal, loving, absolutely stubborn Yugi. ]

Of course he didn't. The pharaoh was his best friend. More than that. And he'd never leave anyone to die.

[ Even at the cost of his own life. Seto personally knows that too well. ]

You couldn't have done anything to deter him, so don't go blaming yourself.

I know. It was stressful to watch him refuse to leave, though.

[As Ryou and Kaiba talk, the memory continues on. Yugi refuses to leave the puzzle behind in the growing blaze, insisting on rebuilding it to talk to his other self again, even if it's for one last time. Everyone is arguing for Yugi to come with them, Jonouchi goes briefly quiet, and then-]

"Everyone get outta here! You guys will be in danger if you stay!" [Jonouchi's statement is met with confusion, memory!Ryou not sure what Jonouchi means, but he continues.]

"Nothing we can say will make Yugi let go of the puzzle. Leave this to me!" [Ryou doesn't like leaving both of them behind, but he knows that Jonouchi's right about this. Honda tells Jonouchi to take care of Yugi, make sure he gets out alive, and then the group leaves, Ryou glancing back at Jonouchi and Yugi as he goes.]

[It's a tense escape from the store, Ryou clinging to his Millennium Ring all the way out as if the spirit inside can help, but they soon get out and are left to watch the firefighters do their work to put out the burning building while waiting for Jonouchi and Yugi. Otogi and his dad are already out and waiting amongst the crowd, the older of the two admitting he was wrong before telling the firefighters that Yugi's still inside. But the firefighters can't get inside, the path blocked by flames, and Ryou can only watch in horror as the building starts to go, pieces of the inside starting to crumble in the blaze. For a moment it looks like it's over, that they can't get out-

-and then Jonouchi appears, carrying an unconscious Yugi with him. Everyone runs up, worried about them after the time spent in the burning game store and wanting to know if Yugi's okay.]

"Don't worry, he's fine. Look, he built the puzzle while the building was burning down around him. He held onto it the whole time. He wouldn't let go of the chains."

[And indeed, even unconscious Yugi still clings to the completed puzzle, just as Jonouchi described.]

[The memory ends, putting Ryou and Kaiba back in the cave. Ryou himself is quiet, thinking about what had happened that day and what could have happened had things gone wrong.]

Until they made it out, I thought we'd left them to die in there.

[ Kaiba pales when he sees Jonouchi and Yugi. He remembers the unusual burn marks on his hands...ah, now he understands. But this isn't about Yugi, as distracted as Seto is....the caves pulled this out as a defining memory for Bakura. Which means it meant something to him. ]

...he lived. Yugi tends to bounce back. But...I know that feeling too well. Not being able to help him.

[ A little shadow falls over his face. ]

All we can do is try to be better prepared next time, right?

I guess so. [Ryou looks away, uncertain. There wasn't really much he could have done, and it turned out okay in the end with both Yugi and Jonouchi making it out of the burning building with the puzzle, but...]

...I don't even remember what happened between looking for Yugi and finding myself there. [He'd trusted the Ring Spirit to have turned good back then, but obviously that wasn't true. All the memory gaps where he can't account for what the spirit was doing are deeply unsettling in hindsight.]

...was it the ring.

[ And Seto's expression darkens some. There's a lot he doesn't know about this part, but he knows enough to know it's not good. ]

Yes. I usually don't remember the possessions, so I usually have no idea what the spirit did unless someone tells me. I know the spirit went to find Yugi that day because I was told about it, but I don't actually remember it.

[It's disconcerting, not actually remembering what happened.]

And I'm guessing he couldn't have told you...and Jonouchi probably didn't want to talk.

[ That is a pickle. Seto exhales sharply. ]

What matters is that everyone survived, right?

Jonouchi didn't get there until after the possession stopped, so he didn't see it. Yugi only told me that the spirit said he'd turned good and had told Otogi that he wouldn't be able to solve the puzzle. [In other words, he still has no idea what the spirit had actually been up to that day.

But in the end it is true that everyone made it out alive, so that's what Ryou focuses on.]

...Yes. Everyone got out of there alive even if it was close, that's the important part. [Just focus on that part, not the stuff he can't change.]

[ Kaiba looks frustrated, and maybe a little disgusted. But maybe he's a bit biased against the spirit. ]

I hope we find the memories we actually came for soon. Some things are best left unknown.

...are you good to keep going?

[As much as he dislikes not knowing what the ring spirit did, Kaiba's right. It's probably better that he doesn't know.]

I'm fine. Let's keep looking. [And hope that the next memory is the one they're looking for.]

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Event: 12 of Beetroot

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