Joe shook off the electrical damage, the 'fight' still in him.
Median searches mentally around the corner, trying to sense thoughts or find out who is there and why they have stopped.
If she senses something, then she will decide what to do based on what she finds...
If she senses nothing, she will call out, asking who is there and raising her rifle just in case.
Nurai senses it doesn't care enough about her, her companion or her shadow to lie, and is only talking because it's amuses it.
From her position on her hands and knees, Jennifer twists her neck and shoulders to look up at Syar'ammag.
"Please. This isn't what I want."
Solomon stands still in a moment of shock. So surprised was he at this arrival, this voice, that he opened his eyes. What he saw was... confusing. Yet almost familiar. Almost.
Whatever the case, Jennifer did not appear overly confident in the situation, which he found unsettling. His thumb twitched near the latch on his hand case, but the time had not yet come.
"Would someone care to explain what's going on?" Solomon asks with a mostly steady voice. Analytical detachment can only take a man so far, and though he has a superhuman amount of mental discipline, this one is a bit much to process.
Median walks to the corner and points her gun at the person there.
A sense of humor. I like that. I'm not especially inclined to kill you, so why don't you tell me what you're after, and what you know about the previous thefts here.
Be aware though that if you do anything that makes me think for even a nanosecond that you are going to attack me, I will take you down. Even though my inclination is to keep you alive, I was trained to kill, not to wound. So be careful, move slowly, and tell me what you are doing before you do it.
Joe shakes off another electrical charge. The big man mutters in the language of his ancestors.
-or-
"Alright. Now you're just making me angry, bastard!"
Zaoth scowls, "What do you offer? Speak quickly, for my patience grows thin."
Jennifer begins to panic at Syar'ammag's words as it seems he is leaving her behind, but his offer to re-negotiate replaces her panic with... anger.
"You never negotiated! You just took!" She unsteadily climbs to her feet and pointed at him. "You took everything! And now you're leaving, and taking everything again."
Grunting at the force of the blow, the figure muttered, "Just stop and go to sleep already," the voice sounding...off.
Joe changes tactics and goes to disarm the attacker.
Mixed emotions rippled through Nurai and her shadows. Bonds meant more to them than anything. Bonds made Nurai who she was, the multitude who they were and what made them who they were together. There was no reason to trust anything from someone who would talk about bonds...and about that kind of severing, that kind of loss so...callously - but they also clearly don't care enough to lie, also probably not to tell the entire truth as long as they were entertained.
As they turned their attention from to Zaoth and Ross - Nurai meandered back around the case with her shadows close beside her - away from 'the thing' as she considered her concerns. At the mention of Jennifer, Nurai stopped cold. The smug tone of him trying to negotiate with someone whose name he hadn't even bothered to learn.
Not even looking at Syar'ammag, "You sure put a lot of blame on her. Kinda funny for a demon to pretend a human had such absolute control of such a bond, like you couldn't have chosen to help her maintain it as the stronger party -- well, unless maybe you were weakened as well. That creature does seem powerful and to have unfinished business around here of their own, tearing up the place, possibly not alone... there is a lot of dimensional damage for just one... either way, how can you make any offers without proving what you can do? Ross only just met Jennifer, and I've only seen what she can do with you prior to your turning flaky.
She didn't expect any reasonable response or help from Syar'ammag, for now she needed to find Jennifer and close these rips. Last Nurai knew she was leaving but...Syar'ammag showed up in this room. She pulled out her phone, ignoring the blinking messages to text Jennifer, Anyway I can help? ~<3N*A
Salim detours into the art exhibit. It's not like he has any better idea of what to do.
"Yes? Me here!" he calls back.
The creature shrugged. "There are four mortal souls here. I can take one of you as my new, ah, partner, or I can go and seek out someone else. If you doubt my powers then don't take the deal. If none of you do I'll see out someone else."
The thing sniffed. "Ah, smell that? Some poor bastard of a wageslave is just marinating in his own rage at how his boss is treating him like something to be stepped in, and how powerless he is to change it. But I can change it. And there? I can taste the tears of a woman being beaten by her lover for daring to look at another. So much pain and hurt there, and he's cut her off from everyone who can help her. But I can help her. Oh, and there? Do you hear those sobs, little shadow? A child's tears, so sad, so sad. She's thinking of ending it all, because of the pain she goes through, and how bitter those thoughts are. I am the will she needs to go on." The demon sneered a grin. "Need I go on about how little I need any of you? So many choices, and here I am, giving you all the first chance."
Shrugging in a way that made its wings flare, it continued, "There are four mortal souls here. I can take one of you as my new, ah, partner, or I can go and seek out someone else. If you doubt my powers then don't take the deal. If none of you do I'll see out someone else."
The thing sniffed. "Ah, smell that? Some poor bastard of a wageslave is just marinating in his own rage at how his boss is treating him like something to be stepped in, and how powerless he is to change it. But I can change it. And there? I can taste the tears of a woman being beaten by her lover for daring to look at another. So much pain and hurt there, and he's cut her off from everyone who can help her. But I can help her. Oh, and there? Do you hear those sobs, little shadow? A child's tears, so sad, so sad. She's thinking of ending it all, because of the pain she goes through, and how bitter those thoughts are. I am the will she needs to go on." The demon sneered a grin. "Need I go on about how little I need any of you? So many choices, and here I am, giving you all the first chance."
Solomon blinks and adjusts his glasses. "Fascinating." He says without any trace of excitement. He approaches Jennifer to help her up even as she struggles to find her feet on her own. "So, you're the reason Jennifer can be so... hm." Solomon cuts himself off, deciding not to finish that sentence in case he's not the reason. "And what is it that you want, anyway?"
"Oh...okay." Salim says to the talking painting. "I'd better go check that out then."
Salim enters the storeroom.
Jennifer clings to Solomon's outstretched arm. She has already realized this, but it now becomes apparent to Solomon: most of her supernatural strength is gone.
"It... it always told me it was looking for something that I was supposed to find. But I never found out what."
The big guy will attempt to trip the attacker prone.
Median says
I'm afraid I need to keep it aimed where it is for now, but if you follow instructions, then you should soon be able to breathe easier.
Median instructs the man to precede her into the room where the curator is, and then has the curator tie his hands (she throws him some zip ties if he needs something to do it with). Once this is done, she lowers the weapon, checks to make sure he is secure, and then prompts him again.
Okay, you're not in immediate danger of a bullet. Please tell me who hired you, what they hired you to steal, and what you know of the previous robberies.
Nurai worried over her phone, though snorted at some of the demon's remarks.
"Comparing yourself to non-sentient Earth creatures? "Mortal souls"? Little shadow? How powerful you are and how little you need... no wonder you're weasling out of finishing what you started with her and eager to run away."
A half laugh, half sigh. "Another bleached demon who has obviously spent way too much time with other humans in their narrowly short-term focused social systems that you sound like them. Pity you didn't learn more from Jennifer on persistence and creative big picture problem solving..." she trailed off as she reconsidered the problem with the rips. As fun as it was chatting with an odd demon, finding a solution to the rips and finding Jennifer was both more important and likely to be more interesting long-term...
Zaoth, what are your thoughts on these interdimensional rips?
”If we can, we seal them shut.”
He looks at the demon, ”If it must die, it must die.”
"Let's focus on the first part, Zaoth - try to find the newest and work back, see if there's a pattern. Nurai said as she continued looking, "Syar'ammag's not a problem, the creature that breaks bonds might be...and may not be alone."
With the intruders focus on the ground, Joe attempts to knock out ther man in black by raining fist down upon his exposed neck.
Zaoth sighs, ”Yes, I suppose. Mighty as I am I cannot take it alone. Mark my words, Syar’ammag, if we meet again on the other side I will devour you.”
He says to Nuri, ”I tire of this chitchat. Ross can manage, weak as he is. Should the need arise again, you know where to find me, and I can always find you.”
Ross convulses briefly, his eyes rolling back down and letting out a heavy breath as if he had barely breathed for all the time Zaoth had been in control, ...God, I always tell him to remember to breathe but no, that’s just too inconvenient.”
He rubs his eyes before looking over at Nuri, ”Well, uh, that’s Zaoth. Sorry about him.”
Nurai gives a sympathetic look, "You never need to apologize for Zaoth, that's on him, I rarely do for my multitude... Not sure with your type of partnership how your awareness works, but big guy is entertainment, there's is at least one less visible creature that may be an issue, and I'm trying to find the newest rip so we can work backwards to find any patterns.
"I can see things, feel them too. I'm just...trapped. Let's find that tear though."
So which other robbery did you do, and would you share your name with me? I keep mentally calling you impolite things, so it might improve the witty banter.
She texts the others that she has a thief in the curator's office and asks them to protect the cup, and that she needs backup if possible.
She also (by text) asks the curator what is in the room that the thief was trying to open.
The thing looks like a Nabasu, a type of demonic being that co-habits with a mortal soul, slowly devouring the mortal under most conditions until the soul is gone and they can return to there own dimension, to begin the cycle again and grow ever stronger.
The fact that this one is clearly trying to find a new soul to inhabit suggests that it's on par, but this one seems off. Nabasu are typically the corrupt souls of those with a monstrous hunger, and what you know of Jennifer certainly suggests that the spirit is monstrous. Either this one is acting well to try and get a 'deal' or something else is up.
Unfortunately, it resists the attempt to read its mind.
Looking at Nurai, it added, "Thankfully, something else I didn't pick up was human ego. I am what I am. I was what I was. You are a little shadow, and I suppose if you want I can figure out what you're a shadow of."
The demon hauled the Nothing off the ground with one hand. "Still, as amusing as this has been, I do have my needs. If there's nothing else..." The demon gestured towards the door, making it's intention clear, but didn't move.
It seemed off to Nurai that the demon was lingering. If it had the means to go home, or to go elsewhere, why wasn't it?
Looking at a different empty patch of air, it continued, "Thankfully, something else I didn't pick up was human ego. I am what I am. I was what I was. You are a little shadow, and I suppose if you want I can figure out what you're a shadow of."
The demon hauled the Nothing off the ground with one hand. "Still, as amusing as this has been, I do have my needs. If there's nothing else..." The demon gestured towards the door, making it's intention clear, but didn't move.
Where is the book now?
Jennifer's having a lot of big emotions. She's gotten pretty adept at ignoring managing them, but right now they are threatening to overwhelm her. Shame, fear, loss, and rage. That last one she's familiar with, at least, and as she focuses on it, she feels the stirrings of something familiar. It seems the demon's taint still lingers, and mostly in an attempt to hide from her other emotions, she embraces it.
"No," she manages through gritting teeth as she shakily puts her hands into her clawed guantlets. Armed, she charges Syar'ammag, losing herself in the bloodrage. While she still grows to tower over the others, she no longer takes on her demonic qualities.
Median's phone *pinged* as the reply from the curator came back. That would be the records room. Do you need assistance?
The demon blocked the first claw, but the second ripped a noticible gouge out of its midsection. The Nothing fell from its hand as it laugh, sprouting claws of its own. "Ah, there you are. But I can play too."
Suddenly the demon rocks back, long gashes forming in its stomach. Claws spouted and it dropped the Nothing it had been holding "Ah, there you are. But I can play too."
Median texts back to the curator
Yes, that's the room he was trying to break into. Are you going to call the police, or do you want to let him go. Also, if you would like to accompany him to the restroom, that would also be great. He only did one of the robberies, and he won't give the name of his employer, so up to you what you would like to do next.
Median raises her gun again.
You know, "Ash," if you are going to make my life harder I don't see any reason to make yours any easier. You can just pee your pants as far as I'm concerned, although someone else might be willing to escort you.
Salim isn't entirely sure what's going on, but he's pretty sure the suspicious black clothed man isn't his ally, and Joseph is, so steps in to help.
Pulling out a pocket watch, he waves it around in a circle before, with a flourish, tossing it at Joseph, where it adheres like glue. The man in black suddenly seems to move slower to him, now.
"Good work, Joseph! ...I think. Punch him faster!"
The second the pocket watch adhered tom Joseph, the big guy felt like he was in Bullet Time: every move the other guy did felt telegraphed. So the black smoldering orb is a problem. Joe attempts to wrestle or knock back the intruder, maybe even into Salim.
Ross groans before that sickening feeling in his stomach that always comes when he uses his powers returns.
He extends his hands and the lurking forces follow, trying to wrap themselves around the demon to entangle it.
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Nurai's heart lightens on the ping, though it takes a confused moment when it wasn't the name she suspected.
A thief caught... well, that's nice. And now the entertaining demon seemed to be injured by...something. That's...
Backing up from the grappling mess, she sends a quick reply while her shadows stretches their claws and stood protectively next to their summoner, watching the fight...
Median texts back.
Weird. I have an invisible creature up here too, but seems harmless. It was leading me somewhere when we ran into the thief. As for the questions... he isn't being very forthcoming, so unless someone wants to come up here and scare him more, doubt we will get answers, but I will ask. Stick with what you are doing, sounds like you are dealing with more trouble than I am.
Standing where the prisoner can see her but not see the curator, Median asks the curator So, you want to call the cops, or something... else?
Then she holds her hand up as though she had received a visual answer, and says, okay, that's a possibility, but let's give him a chance to be cooperative first.
Looking at Ash she says
So, one of my friends downstairs wants to know if you know anything about rips and hopping creatures. Got anything to say?
Before Joseph could shove the attacker the ball erupted in a cloud of rapidly expanding smoke with a thick, cloying smell. Despite the sudden cloud Joseph was able to spot and grab the figure.
However, those strangely long arms moved oddly, breaking the figure free from Joseph's grasp.
Disappointed that she doesn't have any leverage to get the prisoner to speak, and having no one else coming to help, she reluctantly tells the curator to keep a close eye on "Ash" the thief, and to knock him out if he struggles. Then she walks back to the corner where the thief was caught to pick up whatever he dropped and see what it is that he was trying to get to.
She texts Valda, explaining about the thief and that they couldn't reach the police, and asking if she could get through to them.
She also reaches out telepathically to see if the invisible presence is still there.
Salim looked over at a angry and frustrated Joe. Tossing the taser over the head of the attacker, The big guy called out. "Use it! On HIM!!"
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"Uhhh..." Salim says, then shrugs. "Well, I always do like to try new things!" he says, then ties off the weave spends a Spell Point to maintain the Haste.
Finding himself still conscious, he moves in to flank and tase the...monster?
With a curse the figure withdrew into the smoke cautiously, quickly disappearing as the broke smoke capsule billowed out the thick, cloying smoke.
It seemed to be an electronic card device designed to pull information out of a card reader lock. Someone has added some runes in silver, scoring the case and filling it with silver. The little LCD display, rather like a large calculater screen, has a smiley face.
It isn't hard to sense that the spectral creature is still in the corridor.