Vetmera snorts.

::Affection:: she sends to Aleks, privately. More the word, than the feeling, because he gets the impression she is still trying very hard to be gentle, but he can definitely feel the affection.

"Volunteers for a mind adventure, then? With the knowledge that this is absolutely risky and mixing numenera and could explode and whatnot."

"Pass, it's probably bad if I get brain eaten while being the person sort of... holding it together." Also, someone needs to keep the squishy caster telepath safe. That is, typically speaking, her job.

do you need to ask PICK US PICK US PICK US

"Ya heard 'em," says Tahir with a shrug and a half smile.

"...I think I might actually be of help," says Theboros, despite himself. Dhama doesn't smile at it but Theboros shoots them a half glare as if they had.

Aleks is... uncertain. On the one hand he wishes to be better able to protect her, but on the other that would leave no one from their party outside.

...is he considering Tahir to be in their party now. Fuck him.

Aleks is adorable, and Vetmera will go over there and hold his hand over it. Carefully avoiding the ghost's line of sight, because another murder attempt would rather kill the mood. Fortunately, she's back to staring at the corner, so this isn't hard.

::I could see either being arguably the best bet, depending on how much we do or don't trust these people::

"It does matter if you want to go," she points out to Theboros, a little wryly. "Yes, you could be of help, but. Don't feel obligated to tangle with strange numenera and mind bullshit for some random stranger you've never met?"

Theboros snorts. "Hey, helping someone who's allowed to know I did it and might be grateful, 's a nice change from the usual."

(Dhama does not bring up the fact that actually mostly they're helping the random girls getting mind replaced, not Vetmera. Whatever Theboros needs to believe to feel good about helping other people.)

"I'll stay here," Aleks decides. He does not in fact trust these people and he feels like his comparative advantages work best in the physical world.

"Sure." Handsqueeze. "Well, thank you, Theboros. I appreciate it. Is there anything in particular we need to do for the mind link thing? Hold hands or something?"

"Holding hands helps but isn't necessary, I mostly just need the mental motion of, hmm, giving me permission."

"Permission granted," she agrees, just a little wryly.

The mental motion of giving permission is reasonably intuitive once Dhama comes knocking.

ADVENTURE

"We should be ready. I believe it is your show now," they tell Vetmera.

"Right. Time to go fall unconscious again. Aleks, please keep her from strangling me while I attempt to eat her. With my brain."

Back in front of the ghost lady! Knock knock, she wants to eat you, nom nom!

Ghost lady twists in Aleks's grip, but is held fast, glaring venomously. When nothing immediately happens, Vetmera gingerly touches her cheek, and then she disappears.

And down goes the castoff! Again! This time with friends!

The castoff and friends find themselves on a cross-shaped metal platform floating in the middle of a green void. The four arms of the platform are not all the same size, and they all vanish into the void in a way that looks—glitchy. Like the platform is fighting to keep existing, and its edges occasionally flicker out of sight before reasserting themselves.

The ghostly woman is in the middle of the platform, no longer looking angry—merely very confused—and behind her is a strange cyllindrical machine with a strange symbol glowing green on the flat side and a computer terminal on the curved side.

"... Huh," she says thoughtfully, looking around. Then, like a good hostess, she immediately checks on her guests. "Everyone get through okay?"

"Fine here!"

time to kill RESCUE when do we get to the killing TRUST TAHIR ...sounds bad

Theboros rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "Yeah, fine."

“Good! Glad to hear it.” She looks around thoughtfully, notes the flickering incomplete maybe-paths, and decides this implies she probably needs to find additional… mind shard things… to fully complete this puzzle. That seems like how this logic goes.

“What about you?” she asks, of the ghostly woman. “Are you more coherent in here?”

The ghostly woman looks... confused. She's looking at a nearby machine with a puzzled expression on her face, wondering how she knows it and why it frightens her so. When addressed, she startles a little.

"Ah? ... I don't know, this is so confusing. Where are we? Do you know?"

"My mind. Or, well, a construct my mind is attached to and has some control over. What it's representing, I don't know."