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

This whole thing was certainly something. A lot going on and quite honestly a lot to manage. Dealing with feelings was still something Allen was normally good at managing.

SO when he saw the face of someone he had helped not to long ago, he assumed this might be the same case. Except he couldn't think of what help one might need or want right now.

"DO you need some help?"

Daia's face feels hot. And Allen's question feels like this is making his mini-mission more difficult.

"Uhm... n-no. Not really..."

He fidgets with his hands for a bit. He feels something inside pushing him to do this. And for a moment, he internally retaliates, resulting in a frustrated frown forming on his face as he tries to squash the pressure to talk to Allen. And he's failing miserably.

Eventually he takes a shaky breath to try and steady himself for this.

"I... I just wanted to tell you something..."

Allen didn't really understand what was going on, nor did he understand why the other could be so nervous for simple wanting to say something.

It just made him wonder what bit was they wanted to say. Would he understand what it meant? Not necessarily.

"Okay. What is it you need to tell me?"

Daia has to force himself to take a few deep breaths. He halfway convinces himself that if he does this, it'll be over, and they can go back about their business.

...Why is there still a lump in his throat, though?

"I... y-you're so nice to me, and... I... I kind of..." he averts his gaze. He can't make eye contact and keep talking.

He wishes he didn't feel like he still needed to do this. But even if he could back away now, wouldn't it be more awkward? Now Allen knows he wants to say something. Daia would look strange if he tried to drop it now.

Daia's voice lowers, not quite to a whisper.

"I... I think you're cute... and I kind of like you..."

There, he said it. Can he go hide now?

Allen paused, he didn't exactly understand why the other seemed so nervous. Maybe that was the way they always were for the most part. Maybe there was a reason behind it. Either way the obvious answer wasn't necessarily the conclusion he was getting at.

He was quickly to focus more on one aspect of the confession than the other and to Allen it seemed like nothing more than something a friend would say to another friend, right? You like friends after all. It was pretty decent logic.

"And I like you. As much as we don't know each other we could be great friends." And there it was. He didn't understand what Daia might have meant.

For a second, when Allen said he liked him too, Daia's face lit up just a little, only to be crushed. Did he just get friend-zoned? He's pretty sure he got friend-zoned. Not quite where he was expecting that to go, but then, what else could he have expected?

He just wished that Allen hadn't started with And I like you.

And then he remembers he's looking like someone took his dog away, and forces himself to smile. (Are those tears forming in his eyes? He tries to ignore them, and hopes Allen will, too.)

"Y-yea! Great friends!" He's right. They don't really know each other. "I'd... like that."

Allen paused, he felt like he may have said or done something wrong, but didn't know the what. The face gave it away even if it wasn't for that long really and he couldn't help but instinctively feel bad about it.

"You seem upset. Did I do something wrong?" Allen was always happy to make a new friend, but if he did do something wrong he wanted to at least know what it was so he could work on it.

Allen noticed, and Daia stiffens a bit.

"I... I just thought... when you said you liked me, too..."

What is he saying? He confessed, didn't he? Why does he feel compelled to answer Allen's question? He's not obligated to like him back. He's allowed to be just a friend.

"...I just thought it meant, that we could be more than friends. That... maybe I had a boyfriend, now... But, it's okay. You don't have to like me back. I mean, like me, like me. It's okay if... we're just friends..."

He doesn't want to make Allen feel guilty for basically rejecting him.

"I am going to guess I got something very wrong..."

There were two kinds of like, Allen was more use to the friendship one than anything. So it was odd to him in any other aspect. So overall Allen still feels bad for misunderstanding.

"So that is what you mean. Don't be sorry but... you know. Would not be wise to like me anyway. But also make sure when you do you really get to know that person and find the things you really like about them." Allen figured he would try and be nice in his own way, but still feeling bad about the whole thing.

He wonders what it means, when Allen says it wouldn't be wise to like him anyway. But when he compares it to himself, the secrets he doesn't like sharing, but he's obligated to provide when there's a chance he could really be with someone, he can't help but go pale.

Maybe Allen already knows what he is. Maybe Allen is being polite, like Kuro. And maybe he's wrong. But now, he has to ask.

"Are you... a hunter?"

Did he lose Kuro and yet somehow the hunters even managed to follow him here? To keep an eye on him?

He's trying not to be afraid of Allen until he hears his answer; but the possibility has him uneasy. He can worry about the rest of what Allen said after.

"Hunter? No. I'm an exorcist. Someone who saves the souls trapped within Akuma." Did that help any? He didn't know, but he was always happy to call himself as such because he was doing what he needed to. At least until he had to leave the Order of course.

But he was still an exorcist regardless of being at the Order or not.

Into the Unknown Part Two

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