nebula 2, morning

[blue_ice]

[ Seto looks tired. Someone's only been having his mandatory sleep and nothing more, and that shows. His frown is etched deeper than usual too. ]

We have to talk about the people we've lost. And I don't mean in a 'let's all gather and mourn' way, though that might be...beneficial to some, and I'm not against the idea.

I mean that I refuse to accept that they're gone forever and there's no way we can see them again.

Remember when we visited the void river, and we were told that our emotions, allegedly, would travel across spacetime and reach the people we've left behind? Remember Diagad, when we walked the void to bring people home? The people we've lost are still out there---they have to be, a small handful have returned, right?

If my suspicions about how this all works are correct, all we need is full control of a voidcraft...and that, of course, is the thus-far insurmountable obstacle. So I'm researching as much as I can when we touch down, and I'd like to ask for your help. If you have any other clues or theories about how reaching our lost allies would be possible. Share, please.

Comments

[blue_ice]

[ Seto's head jerks up. He'd been sorting cards downstairs in the gaming car, as usual, and he didn't expect company. Or a colorful concoction from a blender.

But he answers with a nod, carefully shuffling the cards out of the way. ]

Any special occasion?

[blitzcheer]

A guy early in the morning talking about how we're going to find everyone we met here. [ He comes down, first placing the drink on the table, before lowering himself. ]

It's strawberry and coconut. We've got a bunch left over. [ The coconuts, obviously. ] Who was it?

[blue_ice]

Hm. Never tried it.

[ But he takes a sip, and...it's pretty good. Nice, refreshing. He smiles for a moment. Makes it a little easier to talk. ]

It was Atem. I don't know if you met him...he was the one with the same hairstyle as Yugi? The two of us have a long history. I didn't take it well when I lost him back home, and now Yugi's worried I'm going to nearly kill myself chasing him again.

But it's different this time. I'm not going to charge off alone.

[blitzcheer]

[ Ah, that guy. Tidus remembers him, from the dual chat he and Seto had, and later during the Red Team meeting. He rests his arms across themselves, as he sits in his place. ]

Good. You don't need to. [ Charge off alone. ]

Back on Jinnjar, did you help with the tethering? Getting a craft's an idea... but we're linked to the train, right? Can we get rid of the link?

[ He didn't get to talk to Anan much, then. He isn't sure if there was anything important about the tether brought up. ]

[blue_ice]

I did. Felt like death for a week after.

And that would be the problem, but Yondu told me to ask Senku about it. He has the most information about the tether.

[blitzcheer]

He's better remembering about this stuff than me. [ Details, facts. But Tidus takes a silent breath, leaning his weight on his arms. ]

Getting a craft's good, but what we really need is to get untethered. We'll need to talk to people, whenever we can. Someone who can do the job. [ ... ] I'd ask Senku about the rocks we got from that place with the river the train took us to, the one that went up. [ He lifts his chin. ]

There might be something you two can do with them. Study them, or whatever. I don't really have an idea, but- You two have a good pair of heads. You should stick them together.

[ He shakes his own head. ] Maybe the answer's making something and forcing the train to listen to us. Who knows? But we should be ready to try whatever we can.

[blue_ice]

Absolutely. I'll go to him, work on a conceptual plan. But I'm worried about his safety. I'm hardly one to talk, I've taken my own stupid risks...but untethering at the wrong time or place could be extremely dangerous.

[ He takes another sip of his smoothie. Senku is unafraid of risks, to a scary degree. ]

Though...untethering is what causes people to leave us at platform, right? If we make the wrong move, we could be the next ones mindlessly wandering off.

[blitzcheer]

[ There's something - like the topic - he should keep to, but he's frowning, his brow dipping. ]

Doesn't that bother you? When we had that Q&A, the train told us that people who disappear - they're not on the train anymore. But then we see them all leaving on the platform, totally mindless.

How's that make sense? Isn't that weird to you?

[blue_ice]

It is. Like they're...artificial intelligences, or illusions. That the person they were isn't there anymore.

But that person can't be entirely gone, because some have returned.

[blitzcheer]

No, but none of them remember anything in the time they're gone, right? What does that mean?

Wouldn't someone remember being home again? Or...anything?

[blue_ice]

They could be unconscious. Comatose, suspended animation...those of us who anchored people back to their worlds were exhausted, being tethered for the first time could cause an even more extreme reaction.