"Huh. Okay. Let's see if I am in fact the protagonist, I guess."

Towards the ghost she goes.

The ghostly woman stares listlessly into the distance, not even responding. Presumably this is why she's kept in the corner.

"Hmm," muses Vetmera. "Well I don't think she's thinking, for one. Which is most likely a mercy. This is more like a sleeping mind than a waking one. Helloooo, oh ghost lady, do you respond to stimuli at all..?"

Maybe it's the result of this ghost being made up from lots of pieces pulled off of lots of victims, but it looks strangely... familiar. That's probably bad, right?

You know what else is probably bad? The ghost suddenly focusing its (her?) full attention on Vetmera, her face twisting into a mask of rage. She snarls silently, then lunges forward to wrap her ghostly hands around Vetmera's throat, clearly intent on murder.

No you fucking don't, if this speedster teleporter has anything to say about it. Which he does.

Ghost versus speedster teleporter, speedster teleporter wins! The ghost is pulled away from the castoff and turns limp and listless near immediately.

"What the fuck," says Ziobe.

"Oh, damn it," sighs Vetmera, who is honestly way less freaked out by the attempted murder than she should be, really. "Thank you, Aleks. Who wants to bet that sire-dearest is responsible for this, somehow."

"Oh. Oh, that would make sense."

"Everything is their fault," grumbles Aleks.

WHAT WERE WE SAYING about what ABOUT LOVE INTERESTS

Yes, nanites, Tahir agrees that Aleks is really hot but this is not the time.

"But how did it do that, I didn't make the body with anything to move it, it's just the appearance of one except for the bits that might make it talk, how did it...?"

"Tidal bullshit, I bet. It seems to be a theme, with them. Who wants to take bets on if I eat it with my brain and fall unconscious to have exciting mind times if the ghost loses its scaffold?"

ADVENTURES I don't think we can follow her in there BUT WHAT IF WE REALLY WANNA

Aleks just frowns at the ghost some more, silently.

"That... seems like it might be the sort of thing where you should get some backup?"

SEE? ADVENTURES! you may have a point

"I would love backup. How do I have backup with mind bullshit."

"I can... probably... link our minds together. And create projections of our selves into your—I believe you called it a shared space, did you not, that would help."

"Oh!" Vetmera perks up. "Well, I feel compelled to preface any attempt with the clarification that we're doing the equivalent of throwing a couple strange numenera together and hoping they play nice just because they look alike, not because they work on the same systems. It could in fact explode and might literally unravel minds if given the chance or something, but. ... I would really love backup. So. ... Yes, if you think it'd be safe, but probably only with knowingly expressed consent that this could in fact be a horrible disaster, somehow. And also, regardless, you should probably stay out of the link so we have a spotter if it all explodes."

"Yes, I was going to say, one of us should definitely stay out and under the circumstances it should probably be me. I'm more confident than you, though, I did manage to interface with you earlier and with the, uh..." They blush a bit. "Little unasked-for thing I did earlier, it should be stable."

Dhama was sufficiently penitent about that that Aleks does not feel like further threats of punishment are needed but he does look over his shoulder to frown at the man. It would end very poorly for him if Aleks thought he was doing more unasked-for things in Vetmera's mind.

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.