middleofsomewhere | Into the Unknown Part Two

On day twenty-five of the month of Symphony, everyone is gathered together, at least everyone who follows the request for a meeting to be held.

One of the head scientists - named Till - stands before the group, a look of excitement on their face.

"We have found something, an anomaly in the void. We are not sure what it is exactly, but there is a lot of activity coming from its coordinates. More penitently, initial investigations have picked up readings that are constant with a void storm.

I believe from your own reports you have experienced void storms before, and you know they can be dangerous, but always fleeting, never lasting more than a few days. However, this storm seems to be static. It has not moved or changed since we first detected it.

We understand there may be people who do not want to venture into this storm, and we understand. The loops we have added to your tethers will allow you to stay on the base long enough for those investigating to return. You may experience some discomfort and disorientation during the time your craft is away, but it should only be mild and temporary.

For those investigating, we know little of what you will face. Every storm is different, and this one is already stranger than anything we have come across before."

The scientists stick around to reassure people and help them make their decisions. Those going to investigate are told to report to their craft in the morning.

INTO THE UNKNOWN: PART 2

SYMPHONY 26-29 ~ OOC POST ~ QUESTIONS ~ FIRST PART

JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN

Those willing to go will leave on the Voidtrecker Express first thing the next day, with only warnings and well-wishes to be careful to go with them. There is an estimate for how long it'll take them to reach the anomaly, about half a day's travel by the train's clock, give or take. But there's no telling the true time it'll take, nor the effects of the void that will be waiting for them. Keeping away from the windows or putting up blinds is advised as a precaution, just in case, and to monitor each other's health.

"Warning: Approaching Voidstorm, please take precautions." The train warns as they arrive on the edges, all the usual train precautions have been taken, the lab cart has been shut down, the ovens in the kitchen are disconnected. The train begins to shake as it enters the first layer.

LAYER ONE: CHANGING SHADES
They first experience changes by sight - literally. Around them, objects start emitting an aura that's unique to each passenger, colouring it to match their mood towards that particular thing. Coffee machines? Amazing, paint that gold. A boring book? Ugh, the entire thing is turning grey.

It's a small effect at the start, yet objects aren't the only things being affected - so are the people on board. Their own moods are changing their hair colour, eyes, and skin, shifting more rapidly than the furniture's paint job. And as time goes on, passengers will be able to affect one another's colouration and aura, giving away how they may feel about that person at that moment, if their feelings are strong enough. Never noticed how fondly one feels about you? Now you do.

LAYER TWO: LOOSE LIPS
Going into the next layer, there's an itch that starts to gnaw at everyone - an itch to talk. To friends, to strangers, to anyone; you have a need to chatter, and it has to get out. Attempting to isolate yourself only makes the need worse, and you won't be able to sleep it away. It doesn't matter if you don't know what to talk about - you'll find something.

A good chat will subdue the need for a while, but it will eventually return. So while listening to others talk might help keep it at bay, it won't forever.

LAYER THREE: CONFESSION - I THINK YOU'RE OK
The changes become stronger, and with them the urges. Passengers will feel compelled to tell those they know their feelings for them, whether it's as simple as finding them okay, to having stronger inclinations of friendship, dislike, or even love.

These urges can be held back on for a time, but it's easy for it to slip out; and many may still be suffering from the previous layer, where they get the sudden need to talk.

LAYER FOUR: A CAKE FOR MY BELOVED
Talking is simply not good enough in this layer: actions speak louder than words. You want to create ways of expressing your desires, regardless of how creative you actually are. Building a shrine to your loved ones, challenging rivals to duels. You can't stay idle, and your hands and brain need to be at work! What can you manage on this train?

EYE OF THE STORM

Finally, all of it stops. The colours, the emotions, the compulsion of dramatics; their minds go from being caught in the storm to completely calm (or, as calm as they ever are). It is much like waking from a dream, or going from one very noisy overwhelming place to complete silence.

A second passes, and then another, and then... there's a feeling. Fear, terror - even those who normally have no ability to feel the emotions of others can feel it, emanating from the train itself.

With it comes an invitation. Hard to describe, but a tugging at their mind. They can push it away no problem, but if they accept...

They are looking out. The familiar colours of the Void are all around them, but they can't turn to look. Ahead is a hole where space should be, nothingness curving and spiralling out from a point deep within that wound in reality, tearing and tugging at the unfortunate observer. The chaotic nimbus at the edge of their vision spins inwards to meet it, and vanishes at the edge of the hole. A void within the Void. And within that terrifying chaotic darkness there are shapes.

The train rocks as energy rushes past it, tossing the craft from side to side. It spins, lurching out of control, the connection snapping as everyone is thrown back into their own awareness as the train starts vibrating to at full speed.

But the tell-tale signs of movement isn't there, and a creaking of metal can be heard. The train shakes more as the view outside the windows shows them inching forward towards where the hole had been, and parts of the roof start to bend inward, water pipes burst and the electricity fails in multiple carriages.

Until there's a rush, a shaking and twisting, and the void flashes violently in the windows. The ever distant choral singing becomes a roar as a kaleidoscope of colours fills the interior of the train itself.

Then there is stillness. It calms, and there is no storm, no terrifying darkness. Just the void, as it ever is, ever changing.

OOC NOTES

NOTES: They will be in the storm for three days, each layer takes about half a day.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Layer 1-OTA

"OK, this is really trippy," Lea said. Everything in the kitchen had developed auras of color. Ingredients he liked and equipment he used frequently were covered in an overlay of warm reds and golds. Things he was less keen on were in purples and greens, and a few things he actively disliked were dull gray. And it wasn't just in the kitchen; everything in every car was like that, but in the kitchen it was more noticeable due to the sheer number and variety of objects.

"I wonder if we're all seeing the same colors for the same things?" he asked. "What color does that pot look like to you?"

Layer 3-Roxas and Xion and maybe later Vexen

Talking with Roxas and Xion- and some other people- had been easy. He did that all the time anyway. But this new urge welling up in him? This was something else. He hadn't quite know how to express all of it. Still didn't, really. But now? The urge to try anyway wouldn't be denied. "There's... something I really need to tell you guys..."

Layer 3-Taiki

And Xion and Roxas weren't the only ones he felt the need to talk to. He also sought out Taiki, because there were some things his kirin friend needed to hear. And likely a few hugs he needed to be given. Fortunately, he wasn't too hard to locate. "Taiki?", Lea said as he approached. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

Layer 4- OTA

It felt... weirdly good to get those feelings he'd confessed out, but it wasn't quite enough. He needed to make something for his friends, for everyone, to show how much he cared. So Lea could be found in the kitchens, busily cooking. Currently he was simultaneously making a big pot of vegetable stew, while also monitoring some grilled fruit skewers. "C'mon in," he said cheerfully. "I already made some ice cream; it's in the freezer in the next car and should be all set by now, and the fruit skewers'll be done in a minute."

Eye of the Storm- OTA

That pull... Lea'd felt it before. Or something like it anyway. That stark empty terror that only some form of Nothingness could produce. But there was no time to think about that. He could freak out and be terrified later. Right now the train was in bad shape and the same was likely true for some of those aboard. They needed to act. Panic could wait.

"Everyone still in one piece?", Lea called out to anyone within hearing range as he clambered to his feet. The only light in the car was the swirling glow of the Void, but he could make out a burst pipe near the ceiling. If he could climb up on something he could probably weld it shut with his hand. But checking on people took priority.

Taiki is someone who holds his feelings deep inside him, hidden behind walls and barriers. He lowered them sometimes, more often now, around those he knew well but there was always a wariness, an expectation of hurt.

But now it's hard to reign it in, to hold it close when he wanted to speak of his feelings, tell people, declare how he feels about things.

He smiles when he sees Lea, "Of course. What do you want to talk about?"

It's politeness that stops him blurting out his feelings right now, to wait for Lea to speak first.

"How did you manage to make ice cream?" How did she not even know that was possible of all things? If she had known she probably would have made so much with the fruit she could summon.

Looking into the Void is, to Vexen, an incredibly painful experience at the best of times. Coupled with that concentration of Nothing that was so horribly reminiscent of Xemnas' magic, it left him leaning against a wall, eyes squinted shut against a headache and trying his hardest not to let fear get the best of him.

He was marginally successful, but not enough to keep it out of his voice.

"For the most part, although my head is attempting to convince me it has been split in two."

Fear is not something Roxas often indulges, unless it involves fear for his friends. So he takes the voidstorm mission without much convincing. The first layer is strange enough with its sudden color spree. The second isn't much better with everyone chattering away as if they can't even think fast enough to come up with their next words. But it's the third layer that has him particularly on edge, as it brings with it a new strange feeling in his chest, as if something is paining him...

He's half-relieved, half-apprehensive to hear Axel suddenly speak up. His hand is still pressed against his chest, as he turns to him. "What's wrong?"

Into the Unknown Part Two

Lea | OTA/Closed prompts

no subject

Layer 4

Eye

Layer 3