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Owner Pose
Ainsley     South Canyon Magitech Company - Factory

    An immense facility seemingly made of blackened steel with shining blue windows. The sky above is overcast, and there's signs that it has been raining in the form of puddles and damp roads and walkways. Numerous hover vehicles -- company cars, perhaps -- have been parked outside, of varying colors and shapes. There is a constant stream of glowing yellow light coming from the 'smoke' stacks that jut up here and there on one edge of the structure. There's a front door that leads into a lobby that has sterile white floors and walls, and some rudimentary company security measures that look like what one might find in a modern world. The lights are pale crystals that hover above black pipe-like structures that border the room, efficiently lighting the windowless lobby.

    Ainsley arrives in a magitech vehicle of her own. It's a plain white vehicle with a bar of police lights on top and it's covered in Paladin symbols. If anyone was unclear on what faction she was from, they wouldn't be when they see the car. The drive into the parking lot is uneventful, and to the others in the car she says, "We're here."

    She climbs out of the vehicle and adjusts her Paladin uniform. It looks like a modern police uniform, with a belt that has her book hooked into it, and her sword on the other hip. It has hand cuffs and a place for a note pad and other such minor bits and bobs. Her left breast pocket has her badge, which clearly displays the Paladin symbol on it. She is wearing white ribbons, and thick white leather gloves on her hands and sock-like shoes for her inhuman feet. She has gone out of her way to look like a police officer.

    "Form up in the lobby and I'll hand out assignments," she tells the others over their personal radios or in-person if they're walking alongside her as she steps inside and walks up to the reception desk to greet the colorfully-dressed woman sitting up front.

    "Judge Ainsley," she greets, holding up the badge for the receptionist, "Paladins Cursebreaker Division. I have a warrant here to search the premises." She pulls the paper out of her belt and holds it up to show the receptionist after the badge is put away. "Your offices already received a copy for their paperwork needs."

    "Right. I'll let the boss know you're here to look around. She's in a meeting right now, otherwise she would've come down to meet you." The otherwise bubbly-looking woman is all business after she's been addressed. The woman with the colorful sweater and the pointed ears leans forward and asks, worriedly, "You don't think you'll find anything, do you...?"

    Ainsley gives a gentle smile back, and replies, "Hopefully we don't. Rumors aren't always true, and we're here only because the government wanted officials to make sure everything here was clean and legal."

    "Alright." Ainsley turns to address people as they come in.

    "I'm going to need a group to investigate the factory floor. Berserker, I want you going with that team. The other team will be interviewing the employees." She turns and lifts a hand to point to the clear signage along the walls, plaques with great big golden lettering telling people to go down a given hallway or use an elevator. "The living quarters will be down that hallway and to the left. The factory is on the right."

    "I'll be in the upper offices looking over their contracts. If you find anything word, report it over the radio immediately. Beyond that, you know what to do." She salutes them casually and turns to walk off to one of the nearby elevators so she can head to the offices. Her feathers puff up and she breathes a sigh as she waits for the very slooooow elevator to arrive...

    The security scanners seem to be turned off. The receptionist hit a button after she talked with Ainsley and their red lights faded out.
Mel Brock     While Mel Brock's vehicle of choice isn't run on magical power, it is still unmistakably a police vehicle, so shares that much with that of her direct superior. It sets down beside Ainsley's own, and the Marshal slides out with her usual longcoat on, giving the place a brief lookover before turning to fall in beside Ainsley. "Uniform looks good on you," she offers as they head in. She's quiet while the Judge addresses the front desk, and only afterwards does she ask, "So what's the text of the warrant, and where do you want me?" Knowing what's on the warrant is important, after all; it does govern what they can search for and where.
Rebecca Chambers Rebecca Chambers is prompt to respond to calls for assistance. Meaning that not long after Ainsley gives the call, Rebecca arrives in only a couple of minutes. When she does arrive, she looks to Ainsley and salutes respectfully. "I came as quickly as could," She explains, before watching and listening attentively to what Ainsley says to the others. She only nods her head occasionally, acknowledging what is being said.

After Ainsley gives the two team options, Rebecca responds with, "I'll join the investigative team if that's all right? I believe that I could do fairly well handling with something like that. Just tell me where we're needed and I'll check it out right away."
Maya Maya didn't wear anything really different from her days with the Union, save she has a new bit of collar armour which does have the PAladin's symbol on it. It seems the slap daehd logo carved into the old one with her knife? Has since been replaced, she's used to magitech given her home and she's comfortable enough as its. Maya gets out of the vehicle and follos Ainsley out her hair swishing in times with her steps.

Maya looks ot the woman for a moment and nods in agreement.

"Rumours get started, I hope that's just the case of a rival or someone else trying to muddy the water."

there's no hostilty here on that.

"I'll take the factory floor then, Ma'me if that's not an issue?"
Reiji Arisu     Where there's the walking dead, there're people whose body of work involves cutting them down. Shinra may not necessarily have to deal with /too/ many zombie outbreaks, but they're not exactly unheard of. Reiji puffs idly on a smoldering cigarette as he makes his way towards the others. "I'll head down to the factory too," he says over his smoke. "Seem to fit my talents better than just... You know, talking it out."
Ainsley     Ainsley is smiling thanks to the compliment she just received, but seems to answer Mel's question with the business-like ease. "We're here looking for illegal enchantments or devices, unusual activity on the part of the employees, and signs of foul play or the manufacture of magitech weapons. Since you're great with talking, I'll need you in the living quarters, Marshall. We're allowed to question the employees, but we can't push it, and we can investigate their individual rooms but I recommend leaving them undisturbed until you're sure something is odd. As for the factory floor," she glances at the ones handling the factory, "Just look around. If there have been signs of accidents that have been covered up, we need to report them. There's been three workplace deaths here just since the upheaval and it has people spooked."
Faruja Faruja, of course, took the car with Ainsley. The rat has passed the ride with a light round of prayer and some idle banter towards those riding with them (Even Berserker!). He's dressed in his Inquisitorial robes, with a Paladin's badge hanging off of his neck alongside his cross. The rat, even now, is a staunch traditionalist.

Once they're on site, he's all business though. Any employees they pass in the lobby get a suspicious gaze. The Burmecian is basically wearing 'Bad Cop' on his sleeve. He might be playing it up a bit.

Warrant served, the rat gives his traditional crossing of the chest to the Judge Lizard. "Time to stretch the windpipes then. Living quarters 'tis. Go with Faram, keep the Law, and sharp eyes good arbiters."

The rat will wait for those also heading that way, and off he goes.
Seras Victoria A paladin transport lets Seras off near the meeting place. She's donned a pink raincoat over her Hellsing uniform, but drops the hood as she reaches Ainsley. Said uniform now displays the Paladin emblem as an additional patch!

    The police girl isn't dressed for battle, but there's no doubt she's carrying a pistol in there somewhere. Possibly two or three?

    When Ainsley splits the teams, Seras heads off with the factory inspection!
Frankenstein     Berserker's there, currently intangible to help her Master save on Mana unles she's actively needed at least, until she was called on to ehad down to the factory floor. She reappears and nods, giving a light smile to her Master. She soon looks to Maya, Seras and Reiji and she starts walking forward, "Come. We shall... go explore. No... damage... things. Just. Look... and explore." she gives a soft smile as she hefts the Bridal Chest over her shoulder, walking forward.

    She looks to her Master. "I shall.. keep in... touch." continuing to walk towards the factory floor, hoping that imposing weapon will keep people from asking questions. "Berserker... helping." she looks at the badge upon her dress, "Please... careful..."
Ainsley     The Living Quarters

    The living quarters main room is very large. It's like if someone repurposed a modern prison and made it look comfortable and lived-in. It's bustling with people in jumpsuits covered in grease and dirt as well as people in robes with magical gauntlets. A few of the mages seem to be tweaking their gauntlets with various tools, and a lot of the people that aren't on their shift seem to be doing alright, relatively speaking. There's one man at the end of the room, a cat man that must be six feet tall with a variety of scars that has left his jumpsuit opened and tied around his waist. He pokes at some food on a plate and stares at a television boredly.

    At a glance, everyone seems to be calm and happy. But the air grows cold, so to speak, as they realize that the Paladins have showed up. Many of them pack up what they were doing and wander to other spots in the room, clearly not willing to talk to any cops that show up. In fact, some of them move without even looking at the Paladins, as if their very presence warned these employees away... They start shuffling off to their rooms in a chaotic crowd. And there's that cat man. He turns his gaze away from the magical TV floating there in the center of the open room, and raises his brows in interest at Faruja and Mel, stuffing a big piece of neatly-cut steak into his mouth and slowly chewing it in the bored way a housecat would.

    The Factory Floor

    The factory is incredibly busy.

    Machines like fifteen foot tall humanoid mechanized units are being slowly pieced together, repaired, examined or otherwise moved along the massive tracks in the middle of the room that can lower into the floor as needed for access. Mages, engineers and other factory workers work on the next machines to be distributed to the local construction companies, of various race and demeanor. There's a luxury magitech car being worked on in one of the corners. At the end of the room, a mage in red robes is currently using a shovel to transfer sickly yellow gemstones from a great big magitech truck bed to a furnace-like device, where the gems hit a hovering magical circle and seem to evaporate. He moves with an unhurried ease, like someone who gets paid by the hour and doesn't feel like putting in the effort. His lizard-like tail waggles from under his robe every once in a while, but he seems otherwise human-like.

    There's a foreman on the factory floor with a clipboard, the elf-like man walking to follow a machine along its track. He ignores the team like everyone else does, but it's clear by his presence that he's the ranking factory floor worker. He gives out orders and even pauses to check on the 'furnace' and have a small workplace chat with the mage. They seem pretty friendly with each other.

    It is too loud to hear anything from more than fifteen feet away. The room is well-lit by a set of windows along the walls and the ceiling, and while everything seems pretty grimy and greasy, it doesn't look like there's anything wrong here.

    There's a storage room in the back where the track ends, where the vehicles are apparently stored. Glimpses of that dark room can be seen.
Mel Brock     "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Marshal Mel Brock, with the Paladins. We're here serving a search warrant, but I want to stress, first and foremost, none of you are in trouble. I'd just like to conduct some interviews for the moment, if anyone is willing to talk." Mel's hands come out of her pockets for this, palms flat in a half-subconscious soothing gesture. She can feel the change in the air. Either the culture in this business is distinctly anti-authority, or these people are nervous about something.

    And the catman looking right at them is a great first candidate. So, the Marshal heads over that way, and as she walks, a datapad and stylus both float out of her coat and into her hands. "Evening, sir. To whom do I owe the pleasure?"
Frankenstein     With the factory very busy, the Berserker-Class Servant lowers her weapon, making sure to keep it out so she can keep herself charged, and out of the way so no one gets hurt with it. Everyone else seems to be better at this whole talking thing, while Berserker is very good at the smashing... but for now, she's going to make her way towards the storage room, poking the door open more with her Bridal Chest. The sparks from the fan on the Bridal Chest to her ear fin...

    If she's not stopped, she'll go ahead and enter the room, taking small feels around, and looking intently at the room around her if it gets remotely lit up with the electricity "What... does berserker.... have here?" she questions to herself, poking here and there. "So... much magic out there, but... not here..."
Faruja Faruja's used to these kinds of reactions. Cold shoulders are common enough, but the sheer sudden coordination of everything is a red flag to a mage like the rat. With Mel handling the feline that looks a little too interested in the both of them, Faruja drops the Bad Cop act and puts on his best priestly face.

"As the good Marshal stated. Investigator and /Priest/ Faruja Senra. Lord be with you all this day!"

He doesn't slow down one bit though, walking over towards one of the 'fleeing' employees. Already, he's trying to get a magical sniff of the person and those nearby if he can catch up.

"You there, good fellow! Spare a moment for the faith, hmm?" At least the rat's being polite. It helps that in all likely hood these are either innocent people, or worse, victims.
Rebecca Chambers Rebecca moves in behind Berserker, keeping an eye on things as she does so. The whole place is totally unique to her, as it's not the type of factory she'd see everyday. "It's quite fascinating," Rebecca comments to herself, before realizing that she's talking to herself, and with a blush, she covers her mouth with a sigh. She rolls her eyes upwards, as if reprimanding herself silently. Then she attempts to look into the room again, trying to get a good look at how it's situated.

However, the loud noise makes it hard for her to focus at first, so she has to step to the side and cover her ears for a moment. "Unh, that's annoying..." She mutters, before looking up again, then looking to the others. "Anyone notice anything yet? I'm drawing a blank here..."
Reiji Arisu     The factory certainly seems like... A factory. The noises of industry are unmistakable, rumbling on all around him. But there are no automated machines here; it's all done by hand. Or at least, the machines are all moved into place by hand. Magitech assembly seems to be quite advanced! If not exactly the most mass-producable thing.

But that's not precisely the first thing that hits Reiji square in the jaw when he steps out into the factory floor.

That is a... Possession? No-- maybe something close though.

    Though he can't exactly tell if that's unintentional. Not with his relative unfamiliarity with the way things work in these parts. But he can fix that, can't he? "Excuse me," Reiji says to the man who's obviously a foreman. "Would you have a few minutes to answer a couple questions for an investigation?"

"I'm just wondering if you could explain what exactly goes on in this particular room. Has anything unusual happened specifically in and around the factory floor? Perhaps some... poltergeist activity, or something like that?"
Maya Maya walked out over the work floor as her green eyes looked around trying to take it all in, at first glance nothing seemed wrong but given the comm chatter? Something else might might be amiss with the okay to sniff around magically? Maya pulls a single tarrot like card out, it's got a blue back and some strange runes upon it. There's a brieg burst of blue fire from it as she caststhe spell. she then looks out at the workers trying to see what the simply name scan spell might reveal such as them being under magical effects of some sort she'll look at ech worker she can spot long enoough to get a feel for them before they move on while Faruja, white and the others are contiuning with their own work.
Ainsley     LIVING AREA

    The felinoid blinks slowly when Mel approaches and addresses him. He watches as Faruja walks over to catch one of the employees. The rabbit girl in the red robe stops to give Faruja a wide-eyed look, and clutches her magitech gloves to her chest protectively. She doesn't seem particularly wordy, beyond a simple "Hello... how can I help you?"

    The felinoid only answers after he's measured that little interaction carefully. His mouth was wilted into a subtle frown, but he goes back to lazy neutrality when he addresses Mel. "Nnh." He reaches down to pull his nametag from his jumpsuit and lay it on the table. "Call me Growl," he tells Mel, though he has some fairly typical eastern european name. His accent is vaguely of that nature. "What do you want?" He doesn't seem standoffish, just gruff, his tone calm enough despite the apt growly voice. His tail does a big flop off the bench he's seated on, sliding into place behind him and curling once or twice. One of his ears tilt to keep track of the conversation between Faruja and that other employee.
Seras Victoria Being surrounded by so much strange magical wonders is enough to have Seras feeling like a kid in a candy store! But she holds in the urge to squeal at the sights. She's here on a mission after all!

    It doesn't stop her from stealing a few glances here and there though. There's some NEAT things happening around her. A part of her wonders if Alucard would like seeing such odd industries in action. There's nothing on Earth like it!

    But no, to business. Seras' path is a bit zigzaggy and uncertain across the grounds... the overwhelming presence of magics in the air seem to a bit much for her fledgling spirit. But the zigzag brings her near the construction tracks. The girl's nose twitches a few times... and eyes open sharply and wide in horror. "What's that...?!" Sniff, sniff.

    She can't seem to help but travel along the track and periodically sniff. Never mind the grease and grime... she's on a particular scent that spells trouble...!
Faruja Faruja gives the bunny woman a concerned look. And it's an honest one. She looks terrified. A little priestly sigh, and he offers the most gentle smile he can muster.

"My Lady, at the risk of sounding rude, you look as though I am going to snatch those from you. That would be both dangerous and tantamount to theft." He offers quietly.

That voice drops to a whisper. "What terrifies you so? I will listen to whatever you may have to say. On my priest's robes, tell me truth and you shall be protected."
Ainsley     FACTORY FLOOR

    Rebecca and Berserker investigate the dark room. Oddly enough, it's peaceful in there. There's a lot of machines lined up and locked together like connecting toys or trains, with their mechanical limbs interlocked. The room is very cold, due to a lack of the heating of the other room. It's pretty easy to see with a flashlight or with the Bridal Chest.

    Seras discovers something. Blood. The scent is in a specific spot in the tracks where it seems to be set up to lower into the floor. It's impossible to tell that there's blood here, but Seras would have picked up an awful lot of it.

    The foreman looks away from his chat with the mage he was talking to. He raises his blonde brows at Reiji and reaches up to adjust his safety helmet. He smiles and helpfully says, "This is where we build the big scary machines that do the work building houses and skyscrapers," gesturing to the track, "And where we build the custom-order vehicles that're requested by our wealthy benefactors." He points with two fingers at the car over there. The cat-tailed employee working on it pauses to take a drink from a canteen, and raises a hand to wave at him.

    "Aah... ghosts? I can't say I've seen or heard anything," he says, turning his head to look away from Reiji and riiight over to Seras. He looks distracted for a moment, though not any moreso than someone would be while they're keeping an eye on their workplace. His smile seems stressed, and he repeats Reiji in a casual voice, "I really can't say."

    Maya's spell is cast. She looks for magical effects, and it appears she only picks up the ones that are already obvious at a glance. The furnace, the gauntlets, and so on. Except for the foreman. The foreman is odd. Really odd. There's some sort of magical effect there.

    The burst of blue catches the foreman's attention. He stares in that direction. His hands tighten on the clipboard and his smile goes from cordial to incredibly tense, forcing himself to remain calm. The look he gets in his eyes is almost glazed over.
Mel Brock     "Growl," Mel repeats - opting to go with the man's name of choice. "Well, my first question is whether there's anything you can tell me about why everyone seems so skittish all of a sudden. You're the only person who hasn't developed a sudden case of 'oh no, the cops'. I'd also like to know about your contract of employment. Anything about it that dissatisfies you?" Already, she's scribbling away at her datapad; already, she's considering other ways she might get answers, from him or anyone else, in ways that avoid whatever contract clauses might be keeping them mute.
Maya Maya pauses for a moment at the man as she looks at him for a moment looks as he's trying to not panic and his eyes are looking almost glazed over? She'll take a moment as she walks towrds him making no hostile moves. "Sir are you all right? I was merely checking the floor and staff for magical signatures. Are you all right? If something's wrong...please tell me I'm here to help."
Ainsley     LIVING QUARTERS

    The bunny girl looks down at her feet. Faruja's questioning makes her want to turtle up, clearly. She doesn't seem willing to speak much. She bites her lower lip, her big front teeth especially prominent as she does this, and her ears droop. She then turns and runs away when asked what terrifies her. "I can't say," she quickly tells Faruja as she goes.

    Growl looks at the others as they're indicated. He breathes a sigh through his nose. Then he looks back over to Mel and tells her, "No. New prospect all given very careful talking when given contract." His accent bleeds through, and it's obvious he tries not to let it overpower so he can remain comprehensible. "We sign non-disclosure. It very clear, but it only coverrr the job. Protects interests." He straightens and pops his neck, just stretching a little since he was slouched. "I like my job. It gives me purpose. I would leave if not like job."

    "Some of the others, though... Like dead fish," he tells Mel. "Very strange. I only work here for a month. It pay well, but it true, people not very friendly in here." He looks aside balefully at the fleeing bunny girl. So Growl is the new guy, it seems, and he's not privy to the reason they all made themselves scarce.
Faruja The Burmecian lets the woman go. He'd have to be a bit rough to stop her, and that would /definitely/ be going beyond legality. Not for the first time, Faruja Senra inwardly curses mortal law.

Still, judging by the radio, he has a pretty good idea of what might be causing it. He'll soon join Mel with the good New Guy Growl.

"I do hate to eavesdrop good Ser, but I must ask. Might you direct me to the dwelling of one of these so-called 'dead fish' of yours?" Seems the rat is going fishing.
Mel Brock     "Interesting," Mel replies, still quickly jotting down notes. It's also recording his testimony, of course, but there's other notes she wants to make. "Is there any sort of probationary period that you're not past yet, maybe?" she asks, waiting for his answer - and watching the bunny girl start to beeline away from Faruja in the meanwhile. Once Growl has given his answer, she gives him a nod, and offers a quick, "Thank you for your time. And thank you for making the effort to speak in my language."

    Then she's off towards the bunny, moving swiftly - but acting quite gently. A light hand on her shoulder. A gentle tone of voice. "Hey. Hey, relax. It's okay. I'm not gonna ask you any questions you can't answer, okay? I promise. I'm just here to help. My name's Mel." She puts her datapad away, and offers a reassuring smile. "Tell you what. I'm a telepath. Licensed by the Commonwealth and everything. You look pretty worried about something, yeah? If you want, I could read your surface thoughts, see if there's any stray thoughts in there causing you stress. Little bit of psychic counseling for the holidays. I can only do it with your permission, though, okay?"

    While she makes this particular offer, she's careful to give the girl a significant look - 'This is your chance to show me anything you can't say out loud.'
Seras Victoria WHY is the Foreman looking at her? Seras stands tall again, now quite certain she's found the blood near the track's ending. This is after rubbing her gloved fingers against the ground a few times and sniffing that. Yup, blood. Try as anyone might, blood leaves nasty stains and remnants.

    Maya's lightshow is momentarily distracting, causing Seras to briefly lose focus and just stare dumbly... but she shakes her head to clear it and continues on with the investigation.

    Over towards... the furnace. And the furnace worker.

    She does wait until he's in-between shovel scoops to ask, "Pardon me, I'm with the inspectors. What happens over in this corner? I see we have a furnace of some kind..." And it feels... odd over here.

    Odd in that, unlike the rest of the factory, it DOESN'T feel odd...
Rebecca Chambers It seems Seras has picked up something, and she's got skills that Rebecca doesn't, which makes the investigation a bit easier for her partner. Rebecca decides to let Seras take the lead for the time being. When she starts following the scent, Rebecca follows behind her, frowning a little as she does so. Even though she can't sense things the same way Seras Victoria can, she still has a gut instinct that something isn't quite right here either.

When she gets to the furnace, she spots the furnace worker, but doesn't say anything, since she figures Seras would be better off handling this. After all, she's the one who figured out something wasn't right here.
Frankenstein     With the command from her Master, she gives a brief nod finding nothing wrong here in the room. Though with the noise going on in her radio, she hmms, making her way towards Seras with a curious hum on her voice. Or it could be the lightning between Bridal Chest and Fin. "What... is... going on?" she questions a bit openly.

    She stands there, dropping the Bridal Chest on the ground gently as she tries to take in what magic she can, maybe she can figure out what's going on this way... be of some use.
Ainsley     "Yes. All employees go through prrrobationary time. Mine end next week." Growl looks up at the rat man. He actually smiles at him, because he didn't harass the bunny lass like he was worried the inquisitor might. He then turns and points up at the railings that surround the edges of the room, where each of the hotel-like doors are set up. "Foreman's room. He's on factory floor... always on floor. Never seen him go to room. He smiles ALL THE TIME. Who smiles like that?" Growl shudders and his fur puffs up a little, sneering in discomfort in that way cats might do when they're expressive like that. Then he resigns himself to his meal.

    The bunny girl twitches under the hand. She stares up at Mel helplessly. She stares very intensely up at Mel in her measuring of whether she should answer... and there's this impression that some of her expression just grew colder. She clutches the gauntlets even tighter to her chest. But then she decides to say... "Okay."

    What Mel would get would be startling.

    This employee was there when something happened. The surface thought is of a workplace accident. A magitech machine had suddenly come to life and run wild, and several mages tried to stop it, with the foreman helping to advise them during the process. The foreman was killed, along with several mages, before it was stopped.

    But then, just as the memory melts to what happened afterwards, Mel would get shunted out of her mind and not under her own power. The bunny girl goes tense as if being zapped, and then crumples. A magical symbol on her face glows bright red. Everyone in the room turns to look at what just happened, and the room goes silent. Not even the whispers of the shuffling employees.

    There's only the raspy breathing of the bunny girl and the soft hum of the air vents and crystal lights.
Reiji Arisu     There's... something wrong. Something about the foreman strikes as distinctly unstable, though it's difficult to distinguish whether that's because he's lying, or because he's under the control of something... Else. Something that's making him act as he is. Something holding in the anguish. Or maybe, just maybe.

Maybe this is how this place is cutting costs? Spirit workers. Don't need to pay them, don't need to feed them, just need to keep them around.

"...Sorry, foreman. You seem to be a bit distressed. Is something wrong?" Reiji asks, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Something you need to... tell me about?"
Mel Brock     "Thank you," Mel replies, her tone still soft. "This will feel a little weird, but I promise it won't hurt."

    And then, she reaches out with her mind. Her telepathy is not subtle; even the most oblivious of people would be able to feel the brush of her mind. But she does keep it at only that. She is careful not to push, not to provoke any instinctive push-back.

    Her brow furrows faintly as she reads the girl's thought, carefully taking in what she sees, and-

    -and down she goes.

    "/Shit/," Mel swears without thinking about it, immediately dropping down to her knees next to the bunny. "Hey. Hey, stay with me. Are you alright? Can you hear me?" She's checking for pulse, breathing, consciousness, anything - and she's got the training to administer first aid if need be.
Ainsley     FACTORY FLOOR

    "No... no no NO NO NO NO!!!"

    The clipboard snaps and the foreman just /flips the hell out/ on the spot under such scrutiny, tearing his helmet off and tearing at his hair in a psychotic seizure-like fit. And as he has this meltdown, several others just seize up and collapse, then seem to vanish like smoke. And then he does, too. And the room goes quiet. And several employees, including the man Seras was questioning, take this cue to run.

    Why? Because there's a fog of blood rising up from the tracks, and it's snaking its way into one of the enormous magitech machines. The blood makes the device twitch and spark, and then at a certain capacity it just starts sucking ambient magic and electricity right out of the air. Its chest cracks open and the gemstone in the center becomes exposed, turning a deep, deep red. It hums and arcs with electricity and ominous glow. The magic becomes very clear when this happens. This isn't quite necromancy. This is something else. It's...

    Demonic. The magitech construction machine has been possessed by the demon that was trapped under the track just a moment ago, and it's really REALLY mad.

    The magitech machine turns to pick up the nearby expensive car, crumpling it in its massive metallic hands, and then pivot its torso in a full circle and throw the car at everyone gathered near the furnace. The cat-like engineer shouts, "HEY!!!" at the machine, but ducks out of the way when the machine tries to take his head off with a punch on reflex, and runs on all fours to get out of there. Which is going to be difficult, because...

    The door to leave has been sealed shut by a wall of strange acidic red liquid, like suspended blood. The employees are trapped. The Paladins are trapped. This looks like it's gonna get violent. Very violent... because the thing starts rotating its arm like a dynamo and preparing to emit a blast of electricity after its done charging up. The electricity arcs from the gem in it's chest area, where a pilot would normally go. The gem appears to have torn itself from an engine compartment deeper in the machine, the innards are practically gutted by the possession process.

    It slooowly pivots and re-aims for the employees...! It's gonna try to kill them!
Faruja With the poor bunny girl collapsing, the rat can't really do much. A swift nod to the Marshal as she sees to the woman. Similarly, the Burmecian gives a short bow to Growl.

"Bless you Ser. Kindly watch the girl with the good Marshal, hmm?"

Then, the rat breaks into a half-limping swift jog towards the Foreman's Room. He'll try the door first. If there's no luck, then he'll simply teleport into the place. Already, he's hunting for any enchantments in the place or evidence of what the Foreman might be up to. And hurriedly so, given the commotion.
Ainsley     LIVING QUARTERS

    The bunny girl is unresponsive but alive. She is also completely limp. Whatever happened to her is clear on her face. Magical symbols pulsate painfully around her eyes and on her brow, her eyes wide and empty as if she's been rendered catatonic by whatever enchantment this is. Mel is being stared at by a lot of people... and one of them opens his mouth to speak, and then /he/ collapses too, as if the enchantment hit him. People make a wide berth around him and they kind of huddle up against the furthest wall from Mel.

    Faruja would get to the Foreman's room without a problem. The room is covered in dust, and has very little in the way of personal possessions... except for a journal resting in plain sight. The journal is left open. The last entry is as follows:

    "Great strides have been made today. The company is saved. Our weapons licenses were taken away, but thanks to this book I've found something that can bring us back. I've gotten a few of the others to help me. One of the higher ups gave me some contracts to adjust, but I have my doubts about it keeping anyone quiet. I'll transfer the entity into the machine soon, and then we can have automated magitech. We can finally create machines that can create infrastructure on their own. I just need to get the bindings right. If I screw this up, people could die, and then the company will go under. The first one goes on the factory tomorrow."

    It's dated for the day before the Multiverse Upheaval...
Maya Maya watches in abject horror as things start to occur right out of the deepest darkest parts of Shell Three on her homr world where the undead and worse run rampant. She moves to try an help him but the forman just vanish and Maya's not feeling to well either. A demon makes itself known and Maya has to bite down certain things about herself, as one of first urges is to level most of her full magical fury upon demon. Thankfully she does notice there are bystanders still and the plan on the comm should work.

Maya ends up jumping backwards to get back from the demon and more cards are coming out as Maya now aims to start a combo of support spells the first is a warding spell to better protect the workers she can spot, and two Maya now also tries to get up in it's face a bit and then draws another card out moving to focus on the demon casting a haste spell upon herself and she's now moving to help those who can't get free to get free by whatever means she has to do and she will be more than willing to take hits for them.
Frankenstein     Berserker's watching the whole shenanegans happen, the Bridal Chest is now at the ready and Berserker looks ready to swing it hard at the magitech machine, at least, until she sees the electricity arcing off of it and into a dynamo. She looks between it and the employees and then back at the thing in front of her. Reiji's going to exorcise it... it's Berserker's job to keep it from killing others. And then there's Seras down here helping as well. "Berserker... likes lightning." she comments before rushing up towards the thing before...

    Jamming the Bridal Chest into that electricity generating thing in its chest, huge ball first, hoping to disperse or even ABSORB that electricity with Galvanism. "Feed... me... energy..." she groans out towards the machine, "Berserker... wants... to have... your electric energy! Ruaaaaah!" once the Bridal Chest makes contact, she'll start trying to suck out that electric energy, attempting to drain it like an electric vampire. "Charge... me."
Reiji Arisu Well.

Things just got nasty.

    Reiji's brow furrows as everything on the factory floor goes positively Exorcist. The taste of demonic energy in the air is unmistakable. He's fought enough of them to know, even when dealing with one from a completely different world. "This is about to get ugly. Orders are in- prioritize civilians, secondary target is the demon. As soon as we get them clear, move in to reinforce the front line. I--"

Am about to dodge a tossed car. Reiji curses softly, leaping bodily over the lump of scrapmetal. "Alright. Exorcism. Wonder how tightly this thing's bound up in there."

    Reiji lands. His hands fish into his pockets, and leave with great mounds of salt. The exorcist darts around the machine, spreading a wide, white circle with the demon at its center. "I'm setting up a perimeter. Make sure those civilians stay outside the circle!"
Mel Brock     Mel's response is immediate when the other man drops. "Nobody speak!" She's up onto her feet, leveling a calm gaze at the rest of the employees. "None of you say anything! I /don't/ want you hurt. For the time being, I want everyone to calmly take a seat where you are. Just... sit right down. Don't move, for the time being don't talk, okay? I'm calling medical attention for these two, and then I'm going to stay here and make sure nothing happens to them, /or/ any of you." The Marshal pauses for a moment, then adds in a gentler tone, "It's gonna be okay. We're here to help all of you."

    Having so declared, the psi takes out a handheld radio unit, and begins transmitting. "This is Marshal Brock at the South Canyon Magitech investigation. Several officers under assault by demonic presence, factory employees in danger. We also have incapacitating negative magical effects on two employees, with possibility of more. Probable demonic origin. Requesting backup and skilled magical medical attention, as soon as possible!" From here, that's just about all she can do; and as much as she wants to go running to the others, only she and Faruja remain to protect the rest of the employees. She's gotta stay here.
Rebecca Chambers When things go crazy, the most important thing to do is evacuate. Unfortunately, there are those who can't always evacuate by themselves or need help in doing so. Rebecca adopts a commanding voice as firmly as she can, saying, "Attention everyone, please do not panic. Follow me and I will get you all to safety! Stay calm please." She's used to evacuating people in situations like this, but whether she can get them to follow her is another story. Regardless, she tries to round everyone up and get them to follow her.

Once she's rounded up everyone (or at least what she believes to be everyone) she directs them towards the exit, keeping a watch to make sure nobody is missing. "Go! I'll be right behind you!"
Faruja Yoink! After snapping on some gloves, the rat is sure to put that journal into an evidence bag. One more glance around just to be sure he didn't miss anything and then Faruja is heading back to check on Mel.

Whereupon more people are dropping like flies. Mel thankfully is getting the situation under control. Concentrating, he casts a spell, three fuzzy pom-pom'd creatures popping into existance. The Moogle summons go to work, starting to heal all that they can. It wouldn't be much, but maybe he can at least stabilize them!
Seras Victoria ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE and Seras can feel it. Her whole body freezes up for an instant as a nauseating feeling runs through her. Terror. Anticipation? Things she's not used to feeling.

    She spins around in place, a hand ducking into her clothes and drawing a pistol that's DEFINITELY loaded with the usual Hellsing-standard rounds: Blessed silver.

    Might actually come in handy against a demon! If they weren't piddly caliber.

    But spinning around brings her gaze straight at the CAR FLYING TOWARDS HER and the others near the furnace.

    It happens in an instant. Largely without thinking. One moment Seras is paralyzed with fear... the next, her eyes flash crimson and stay that way. She WHIPS forward speedily enough to cause wind to rush in behind her, and... her free hand?

    "RUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOAAAAAAAHHH!!!" CREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUNK!!

    With a thunderous cacaphony it comes to a CRASHING halt against her strength. ALMOST a halt, anyways. Most of its momentum is canceled... although Seras deals with considerable backlash from the impact. She and the car that her arm's now EMBEDDED into rather painfully go skidding back several meters. Blood's dripping down her arm, but the police girl doesn't seem to notice this very much. She's too amazed at what just happened!

    Amazed... and staring. Staring not just at the car she now has an impromptu, half-crumpled 'shield-club' of sorts - she shrugs an arm and the whole thing creaks along in her grasp as if it were nothing more than a cumbersome giant club or bastard sword in a normal person's hands - but at the monstrous demon-machine that's turning away from her and towards the workers!

    With another panicked yell, Seras dashes. The crumpled-car scrapes along the ground at terrific speeds and the result's sprays of sparks and a nasty gouge in the floor... but she swerves to put herself in the path of that machine.

    And use the car as cover and shield. "This is crazy, what am I doing?!" She questions herself a moment later. It seemed like common sense, but when REAL 'common sense' kicked in she can only be gobsmacked at how crazy it is that she's DRAGGING A CAR AROUND.

    Nevertheless, with that thing as cover, she takes a few potshots for the Demon-Machine to see if she can get its attention!
Ainsley     FACTORY FLOOR

    The demonic magitech armor was not ready for what White Berserker was prepared to do. As it only had the ability to shoot lightning, the moment she tried to absorb it, the lightning SURGED from the arm it was using to try to zap the employees, and into the Bridal Chest. So much of it that the machine actually ROOOOARS in agony, and the limb suddenly shatters as it tries to pull away and the magnetic tension rips the limb apart in a shower of white-hot metal shards. It is prepared to swing at Berserker with the other arm--

    And slams right into an invisible force. The circle of salt actually stops it dead in its tracks, and the creature's roars grow more muted. As the sealing works...

    LIVING QUARTERS

    The two employees that collapse groan, and struggle to push themselves upright. The red symbols start to fade off their faces. The others obediantly sit down and keep their traps shut. The two that got whammied by that demonic magic start to look a little better when the spirits come in to provide healing magic.

    FACTORY FLOOR

    The red wall of blood vanishes in a cloud of mist! It smells TERRIBLE, like burnt blood, but it isn't dangerous. This lets the Paladins help the others to safety, with the employees filtering out en masse. They do so as calmly as they can manage, the collective efforts of Rebecca, Seras and Maya putting their nerves at ease.

    The demonic magitech machine howls and wails and slams against the invisible force that prevents it from leaving the circle of salt. It may have looked really scary, but apparently that was a testament to the magitech itself and not its own innate strength. The demon then turns and prepares to emit another electrical zap toward Reiji himself!! If it can't leave on its own, it'll just throw the crystal's power at the offender that trapped it! Except it is abnormally difficult to aim when getting shot by bullets that disrupt its ability to control the machine. The silver actually visibly pains the possessed machine, making it jerk away from it and slam against the barrier to try to escape the sensation of Seras' shots.
Mel Brock     "Hey. Easy now, take it easy." Mel crouches down beside the bunny girl again, concern etched into her features even while the moogles are doing their work. "We've got people on the way, we're gonna take care of all this. Just take it nice and easy. That was really brave of you," she adds. "It helped a lot. Thank you."
Faruja Faruja continues to concentrate, starting a short litany of prayers with Mel handling keeping everyone calm. The moogles will dance about with their magic, both rat and fuzzy creatures not being at all shy about burning through mana.

Every now and then, the Burmecian quaffs an ether to keep at it.
Reiji Arisu     Blessed salt is one of the most valuable tools in an exorcist's arsenal. Not only do a surprising number of supernatural creatures find salt unappetizing, it's also /pretty easy to get/ when you live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. You just need to have a bit of patience and some heat. Reiji lands at the exact same spot that he began, ensuring that the circle actually closes. A sealing circle with a gap is kind of unable to seal much of anything at all.

The beast thrashes, it smashes right into the barrier demarcated by the trail of salt-- and gets nowhere. Good. It can't get through.

    ...Though the barrier does little to prevent it from flinging completely mundane electricity at him. Reiji curses under his breath and leaps back at the assault. Against something like this, an ordinary exorcist would likely find himself defenseless, but Reiji Arisu is hardly an ordinary exorcist. As he retreats, he kicks a veritable arsenal of weapons up into his left hand. An electrified tendril sweeps close--

    And then shatters against another. Blue lightning meets red. Reiji's favorite wakizashi cuts through the electrified air, meeting lightning with lightning and transforming the gap between demon and exorcist into a veritable lightshow of crackling, energetic arcs.

    "You're just a show-off, aren't you?" Reiji mutters, sheathing Chirai once he's clear of the demon's assault. "Acting big, but all you've really got is what you're plugged into. A monster of steel with a heart of glass. Well--" He reaches back and levels an enormous, golden handgun with the demon's center of mass. That great, red core at its heart. "Let's see what we can do about that."

He fires.

    A slug erupts from the barrel, sanctified by the sutra delicately scrawled across its full-metal jacket. Then Reiji sends another down-range. Then another and another, each one imbued with spirit-slaying might and the raw penentrating power of elemental METAL.
Maya Maya keeps moving to get the people out once the people aare out though Maya's going to make sure they have escaped the threat of the Demon and now Maya is getting into the thick of things as she pulls out a fate card and makes ready to engage the demon. She really wished she had her rifle with her right now. So now comes the spells of her own as she attempts to cast a hydro spell sening several streaks of fast moving high pressure water at the demon.

"Seras! Reiji! Rebecca do not let up!"
Seras Victoria That gem in the magitech's center. It looks... important. Seras' glowing red eyes fixate on it as the thing focuses on Reiji. And doing that might be a mistake. She has only a few bullets in this clip left... but.

    Now that the workers are being evacuated she can take time to aim and focus.

    Although seeing Reiji -SWORD LIGHTNING- back at the machine DOES distract her focus for a second there. Her eyes are WIDE at that. WHO ARE these allies of hers? HOW DID HE DO THAT?!

    And the strange spirit called Berserker, too.

    She has got to learn who these people really ARE later! Or how can she really work with them?

    It seems that Reiji and Seras both have the same idea. Right when he fires so does she, aiming for that red gem with her blessed silver rounds!
Rebecca Chambers Once she's sure the civilians are evacuated, Rebecca takes action like she's been instructed to do in situations like this. Quickly, she draws her MP5K and slaps a clip into it while activating the laser sighting on it to increase her accuracy. Setting the fire rate to semi-automatic, Rebecca nods to Maya and the others. "I'm not going to let up at all! We're going to take that thing down, no questions asked!"

Rebecca moves a little to the side to give herself a little extra space, then proceeds to open fire with several three-round bursts of gunfire. She prefers to shoot like this since it's more accurate. "We've found the source of the problem, and now we'll take it down!"
Frankenstein     Berserker groans out as the lightning courses through the Bridal Chest and amplifies her own abilities, powering the bridal berserker up even more. "RUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" she groans out incredibly loud, shaking things around her as she pulls the Bridal Chest out and to slam it right in! "Master... said... to end... you!" she drones out before pulling out the Bridal Chest once more, hearing the gunshots from Seras and Reiji shoot off towards where she was smashing.

    She jumps back away, an attack stance just in case something happens or it tries to attack someone else, putting out the Bridal Chest as a veritable lightning rod in case it decides to shoot lightning at her allies. "No... hurt... allies!"
Ainsley     The demon was not prepared for the power of five powerful Paladins hitting it at once.

    The sacred bullets do a lot to it, slamming into its core and shattering its body. Reiji's shots crack the gemstone core, over and over, and Seras' own blasts do a similar amount of damage. The possessed magitech armor roars at them, the barrier visualizing under the demonic wrath that billows out from the pain being induced in the spiritual creature. Rebecca's semi-automatic fire help keep it stunned and the water jets fizzle out a burst of electricity as it tries to fill the room with several arcs at random. And one of those arcs, a lucky shot, hits the Bridal Chest instead, utterly neutralizing the attack.

    The demon core EXPLODES in a shower of yellow shards and light, and the machine shudders and collapses. The red mist floats there in the air, until it hovers down and lands atop the shattered machine. It makes soft monstrous rumbling noises, like the growls of deep beneath the earth, but it cannot escape the salt line and has been otherwise neutralized. It seems like it isn't even trying to escape now that it's clear its only method to do so has been destroyed.

    LIVING QUARTERS

    The employees suddenly start to seem a lot healthier. The rabbit girl that was being helped by Mel and Faruja, though, looks up at Mel and says, "... this was my fault..." She puts her hands against her face. Another one speaks up, "Not just yours. The foreman did this, and I know who helped him do it. I was helping him, too, but I was being forced to, just like her." He steps forward. It seems that their demonic prison being shattered has granted them the freedom to act upon a very important life lesson and the desire they've had to tell the truth for a while now. "It was Persephone. The boss' secretary. She helped him doctor our contracts. She even told us she did it afterwards!" The dwarven man's outrage is palpable. The murmurs of the crowd seem to agree with him. "Lorded it over us whenever she could!" The murmurs grow to full on chaotic mob noise, but it dies down, because of Faruja and Mel's efforts to help them.

    "I hope she gets worse than the foreman did," the bearded dwarf sourly mutters, rubbing at his face with one hand, as if knowing she probably won't get smushed by a demonic force like the foreman did.
Mel Brock     She seems fine at last; Mel is quite happy to help the rabbit girl up. "None of you will be held accountable for anything you did under magical duress. The law's crystal clear about that. I promise you we're gonna make this right. But we're gonna need your help. The more of you are willing to step forward and act as witnesses for us, the better chance we'll have. And I'd /very/ much like to put this Persephone away for a very, very long time. But before that, is anyone hurt or feeling dizzy? Any lingering effects from the enchantments? We've got paramedics on the way."
Reiji Arisu                         --THE DEMON WAS DESTROYED--                          

    Reiji stands silent as the demon quite literally comes to pieces. He maintains his aim for a moment longer, before he's sure that the salt circle has properly contained the threat. "Well then, it looks like we're almost done here. Nearly, anyway."

Reiji glances over at Maya and Rebecca, "Keep the workers outside for now. I've got a demon to question. Don't want it getting any smart ideas and possessing one of them."

    He holsters his firearm and fishes around in his many pockets for what looks like a long set of prayer beads. With a slight flourish, he wraps one hand in them and makes his way to the edge of the salt circle. "Reveal yourself to me, demon and speak truthfully. In the names of the Five Wisdom Kings, the Five Guardian Beasts and the Four Heavenly Kings, you will speak the truth of what transpired here. You will speak your name. You will reveal to me the fate of those souls who were bound to this place-- and if you hold them in your thrall, you will release them."

"Speak, now, demon. This priest demands this of you."
Seras Victoria DOWN goes the machine... and Seras is left staring with her mouth ajar (and fangs on display) at the hovering mist. IT's just... hovering there. "Good thing it can't escape that circle." Although she probably couldn't cross a circle like that either...

    Yep. That's happened to her. And the memory triggers a rather heavy SHIVER down her spine. Wards. Wards are scary!

    She tries to turn around but *SCREEEECH*!

    Oh right, the car on her arm. That doesn't want to be just dragged off. That has her arm DRIVEN THROUGH ITS ENGINE BLOCK.

    She struggle-hops making a hell of a clatter and goes tumbling end over end after losing balance, coming to a rest against the construction track looking horribly, nauseously dizzy. "Owwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...."

    A moment later she clambers upright, braces one hand against the engine and PULLS.

    The metal mass doesn't come free quietly. Oh no, it squeals and SHRIEKS as it's bent in ways it was never designed to be twisted, crumpling steadily. Seras' groaning turns pained for a moment, her embedded arm's flesh protesting by splitting open and spilling more blood... but with a final *CRUNCH* her hand's free... minus her glove. The glove's been shredded, and her fingers are awfully bloodied... but she just waves the arm around as though it had fallen asleep.

    "OWww ow ow. Hope that doesn't happen again..."

    With that over with, she takes one more innocent and amazed look at what's been DONE to that car... then to her arm.

    The arm that has already stopped bleeding, the flesh mending closed right then and there as if the injury never happened.

    But then Seras drops to her knees, legs splaying out under her. "God... it's over. Finally over!"
Maya Maya pockets her cards and nods to Reiji for a moment.

"Right make sure to deal with it properly after, though."

Maya wants to purge it she's just seen too much with such things in the past but he trusts Reiji on this he knows what he's doing with this far more so than she does. She'll leve it to him and Maya head out to go deal with the workers and make sure they don't come back in, yet more imporantly tht if any need help she can aid them with that they may be in need of medical aid so that's what she's going to do for now.
Ainsley     In the LIVING QUARTERS, the employees come together and begin to tell Mel anything that they know, so that she can get it written down. One at a time. It's more than enough just based on witness testimony that it can get Persephone put away for a long time. A lot of them are very happy to talk to her.

    Growl the Catman stares over in that direction, picking his teeth with a claw in a thoughtful way. "Find new job, I think," he says, standing up from his seat and just leaving, never to be seen in this area of the Multiverse again. He has better things to do than work at possessed factories.

    On the FACTORY FLOOR, the demon collects into a vaguely humanoid shape with a frowning mouth. It's like a human-shaped bloodstain floating in the air. It's got little horns. "Fine," it rasps, and waves its hands. It then speaks a name that is incomprehensible except to those that recognize the scraping tones of a demon. Apparently it is a demon of metal and industry, which is why it can possess machines and blood. The spiritual feeling in the room gradually fades as the enthralled spirits are released. It knows it has no room to negotiate. The faster it can cooperate, the faster it can get out of here. "Simple: I was trapped here by an amateur's pet project, and I didn't like it, so I killed him. Do you know how much it hurts to get sealed into something without the proper rites?" He huffs, bubbling gross red ichor from the hole in his shape that is supposed to be a mouth. "So I trapped him and all his friends. Taste of their own medicine." Kind of a biased view of events, but it's a lot more understandable than some demonic motivations.

    UPSTAIRS

    "Sorry to interrupt your meeting, folks," Ainsley says as she walks into the room. "Which of you is Persephone?" A woman looks up in confusion. The building has really good sound-proofing and none of the people in the room are enthralled. She has no idea. "Present~" the secretary says, "Sorry, you're gonna have to wa--" "Persephone, you are under arrest." Ainsley had done a quick stride across the room. Persephone can't get away fast enough. She is a spry woman, being a half-elf by blood, and manages to clear the entire table in a mad dash for the exit. She then slams face-first into White Berserker's body as she's scrambles to get free, and promptly gets tackled onto the floor by Ainsley. A long snake-like tail binds Persephone's legs, and the half-elf squeals and begins protesting and cursing.

    "You are under arrest for the unlawful magical binding of South Canyon Magitech Company employees and doctoring arcane contracts for illicit purposes, the illegal binding of a demonic entity without proper authorization, and conspiracy to conceal the unlawful deaths of multiple people..." she goes on and on with a calm droning despite the struggle of the suspect, which grows less and less motivated as the charges are listed. There'll be even more when the witnesses give their full statements. Handcuffs are clicked onto the woman's wrists. She recites the woman's local equivilant of Miranda Rights, and finishes, "You will be remanded to the custody of local authorities for a proper trial for the charges placed against you."

    "I would say something about your gods having mercy on your soul, but what you did with demonic binding might preclude that from being possible," she calmly states, smiling with a smug satisfaction at the angry frown she gets in return for that. She then pulls Persephone to her feet to bring her to the police vehicle she brought, to bring her back to the nearest jail for booking. Gotta get all the paperwork handled.