[IC/Reroll] The UNbOUND: First case-The Unseen

[Notus]

Sound

Again, the place was empty. The machinery was still running, the desks were on place and although the floor was a mess of printing paper all around, the owner of the place swore that was the normal state of things in the shop. Actually the only weird thing was the abscence of people.

It didn´t even look like a crime scene.

The rest of that street was just like that: small illegal factories who would usually be running through the night, only that at some moment everybody went missing. Now the workers´ houses would be checked - a tough job, considering that none of them was registered, and most lived in the slums and streets of the Steam district - but the result would probably be the same as the six other ocurrences of this kind that happened in this month: no sign of them.

As the group went back to the streets, a static noise came out of the intercomm device in the wrist of the young woman ahead of them, followed by a male voice. The man sounded bored, but had a tone of authority nonetheless. "So, at first we weren´t even going to investigate this. After they are all just illegal aliens and we have more pressing stuff to do but... Hell, now the count is over one thousand missing people. If you guys want anything, call my assistant in the headquarters, though you should have everything you need for an investigation by now. I expect you can deliver what we expect from you, Bryth. Now get to work, UNbOUND."

With that Chief Carlsey of Derraton´s Police Department ended his instructions, if one could call it that way. It was an weird case indeed, but that´s what the Unusual Ocurrences Unit of Derraton was made for, after all.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

"Copy that." The dark haired woman didn't even look down at the device wrapped around her wrist as she surveyed the area. "Actually, Boss? Tell us again about the previous cases-- any consistent clues, or something like that?" Naturally, the team had been briefed on this earlier, but just to be sure, Brythit wanted everyone to hear the information again. Especially herself. Just because you were endowed to have a "genius IQ" didn't mean you had a perfect photographic memory of things. It didn't mean that you could take one look at just one crime scene and figure everything out. But anyway, before she would delegate tasks to each member of the team, it would be best to run over the details again... especially when this scene looked completely normal when it really was anything but.

[Notus]

The static once again sounded, and after what sounded like a sigh from the Chief a new, younger voice adressed them. "Oh hello. I´m Will and I´ll be assisting you with the case´s data... Not that there´s much to tell about it. This is the seventh case like this as far as we know, and they all present the same pattern: people simply go missing through the night. It happened on several small factories in the Steam District, mostly ones that employed unregistered workers. There are few cameras on the streets at this part of town, as you know, and the little footage we´ve got only shows the regular traffic, and at late hours the public trash and street repair service of course. We are... a little bit at a loss here. We don´t know how they disappeared like that, there are no signs of violence... So... yeah, that´s it."

[Yash]

Lia stood in the corner, her eyes shut and her mind elsewhere. The chatter over the intercom serving as a background noise for her thoughts.

"So... yeah, that's it."

Well, that was helpful, she thought sarcastically. "Hey, Will. What can you tell us about the other sites. Any similarities between these seven places? What kind of work was being done in the other factories?" I really don't get why I have to be here, but I may as well get to work. She walked up to the owner and looked him dead in the eye. "What can you tell me about your workers? Any of them seemed like trouble makers or suspicious to you? Let me remind you, I don't want to hear your bullshit. Give me the short answer." Saying this she pulled a small pistol and pointed it at his head and pulled the trigger. The end of the barrel lit up and she pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from her pocket. She took out a smoke and lit it, completely ignoring everything else. After a deep drag, she blew on the man's face and said, "Now. I don't have all day."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Hehehehe..." Bom laughed at the sight in front of him. He was currently hiding within the shadows, staying unseen. He preferred to not be seen by humans if he didn't have to be. Silly creatures humans were. Silly and driven by emotion, or driven by a lack of them. He liked watching them...studying them... it was interesting to see what drove each one and how each one reacted to situations. It was like a kind of game to him, seeing how different people were, and yet how the same they were too. Infinitely entertaining for one such as he.

"You folks should probably consider... less than conventional means. I don't know why you think every crime is so... how should I say? Mundane." Bom said, mostly to himself in musing, but he didn't make an effort not to be heard.

[Notus]

"...Well, if you wanna know that badly then ok, missy: I didn´t ever have any problems with my workers - after all, problems means getting fired, and when you live in this part of town you wont want that, for worse the job is." The owner of the factory tried pretty well to not react to the gun o his head, after all one would be kinda used with this sort of stuff in the Steam District. Still, it was not a confortable situation by any means. "We did receive a new worker last week though, but I didn´t get the time to even talk to him, and the guy I had as personel supervisor is missing too."

"Uhmn yes, there are similarities between the attacked sites: they all worked with either making parts for weapon or computer factories. That might be a coincidence though, since most of the establishments in that district seem to make that kind of stuff." Will´s voice rang again on the intercomm.

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The way Lia handled the man didn't faze Brythit even a bit, although she waved away whatever smoke drifted her way, a bit irritably. "Any bright ideas then, Bomoriel? Otherwise, see what you can find out. Haggard, scan the area with your drones. Might as well put both conventional and unconventional means to the test." Turning her eyes like deep, dark wells to the owner. "Exactly what were the missing men's jobs here, sir? Positions?"

[Yash]

"Hmm.. Do you think you could give a description about him at least?" she asked the owner. "Also what exactly did you make here? Which company were you manufacturing for and what products were being made?" She turned to Brythit and said, "Can you ask Will to check with the other factory owners regarding any new employees?"

Then she heard Bom speak from the shadows. "That is why you are here Bom. To find any non-mundane clues and suspects. Considering the scenario in front of us, it does seem likely that some of your friends may have a hand in this."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Just because I am... "special" doesn't mean I am friends will all "special people" you know?" Bom said jokingly. Lia and the others couldn't see him, but he would have made the most sarcastic movements ever known to man. ((and "Special People")). "Besides, it wouldn't be as fun if I had to do all the work... nice to see you folks squirm a bit first." he hissed in a strangely delighted way. "I suppose I shoooould help though, I will be back, I have... things to investigate."

Bom stayed within the shadows... if he left now the owner would probably die of fright. Hell, the rest of the UNbOUND probably would too. Though they knew he wasn't exactly human he never let on to the fact he didn't truly hold a human form. Actually no demon truly did. They were merely disguises to hide in the world of men and observe... or to find food. Bom was here for the prior. However, most people upon seeing a demonic hellbeast didn't really care what it was there for. This forced him into taking a human shape most of the time. He loathed it a little, in fact because of that every time he took that appearance he always changed it in some weird way, typically doing things that were unsettling, but not so much that it blew his cover. It was his weird way to rebel against something he was forced to do. But now... now he was in a different form, not a human one. Something more true to his character. The others could not yet see it, but they would see a pretty strange figure if he did step from the shadows. A giant black creature with the skull of a wolf overtop it's own muzzle. He stood on two legs still like a human but was much bigger. This form, would be useful for smelling foul magics, traces of other demons, and scents humans couldn't detect normally. He begin to search the shadowed areas for clues, making sure to not reveal himself to any of the others... lest him scare them half to death.

[Notus]

"Well..." The owner of the little factory started. "There were various workers here, and different positions, but they were all kinda qualified. We produce AI chips for drones here, so I had people for operating the machines involved in the process, and even three programmers - actually the new guy was one of them, hella good one it seemed. He was nothing out of the ordinary in looks actually, typical cyberworm: skinny, black hair on the face, black shirt of some game... " He ended the sentence raising his shoulders, and left the explanations at that.

"Oh, ok miss Morris." Came the voice out of the intercomm. "I´ll take a look at that. It might take a while though, since there isn´t a proper registry of these workers: I´ll have to call the owners of the places and ask them one by one." Will said in an apologetic tone.

As for Bom´s search... At first it didn´t reveal anything. There were the usual low-level demons on the darker alleys around the factories, but those were normal to see just about anywhere, feeding on animals´ souls. They had not the intelect nor the strenght to pull off something like this.

One thing he did notice though: there was no scent of any dead human soul near the place. That could mean two things: either the workers were not killed - or whatever did them had emptied the dish, so to speak.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Hmmm, no trace... moved to be killed elsewhere? No... too much work, no demon would go to such lengths if their goal was to feed." Bom thought to himself. He kept sniffing around to see if there was any clues among the lower demon scent... as always it was pungent... and gross... lesser demons... a lot like what humans called rats. Just pathetic vermin really. They sustained off the souls of small animals and other things they hunted. They were base, animalistic and disgusting. Not to mention they were stupid and driven almost entirely by instinct or some pre-programmed desire. They were jokes compared to the Bom... and yet they were still pretty dangerous to unprepared humans. However that was the reason they rarely attacked, in groups humans had a great advantage as they could work together to defeat the beasts.

The only thing the good for nothings were doing now was hiding the scents of magic and genuinely being a hassle. Whatever mystical source did this... the Lesser Demons were unwittingly covering it up. It was beyond frustrating for Bom. Next time he saw one of thsoe stupid things he needed to remember to kill it slowly and painfully...

"Back to what I do have..." he begin to regain his train of thought. "The souls... are not here and there is no trace residue or leftover essence of them. therefore the were not killed here at the very least. Knowing what I know of my ilk... when hungry enough to prey on intelligent life for food... they typically aren't going to wait around and kidnap them first. So... they must need them for something. Clearly a group of coordinated ones or one very powerful demon to move all of these people in this manner."

Bom waited to reveal his findings. It would not be wise to pop out now as he was stuck in this form for a little while longer, and there were humans present. Once again... horrifying hellbeasts weren't really all the rage at parties, well... except for one time at a convention... were people were convinced he was a cosplayer, but that wasn't the current situation. ((and a story... for a later time XD.))

[Yash]

"Got it. If you could give an approximate height and ethnicity it would help. Thank you for your help." She told the man. Absolutely useless information to be more precise. Skinny, black hair and black gaming t-shirt. You just described pretty much every teen geek boy in the world. I think this is a dead end, even with a more detailed description but there doesn't seem like much else. I think I'll have a look around the factory. Maybe somebody missed something.

After speaking with Will, she started roaming the factory, trying to find something that may have been overlooked. She knew the drones could search the factory, but she trusted her own eyes more.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Bom noticed Lia coming towards him while in the shadows, luckily she couldn't see him... at least so Bom hoped, he wasn't sure. Lia was a strange one to Bom. She was fiesty all the time, bombastic and rude... basically the situation that unfolded before him where she blew ask in the owner's face etc... was enitrely on point for her. Bom found it interesting...He wondered why she was this way. Sadly... being an intelligent demon Bom had no desire to force his way into her mind... too brutish. Well that and people typically weren't fond of the pain and forced entry. Besides, it was more fun to play "human" and try to figure them out from that level. It was something he learned and picked up on pretty quickly. He could act a wide-range of emotions and actually feel others. That was rare for even intelligent demons. They didn't usually have emotions quite like humans. They mostly had broken warped ones or those that were pure unbridled hate or rage towards mortals. Bom was slightly different, as he understood empathy... even if it was hard for him to act on it. Either way... he wandered what Lia would find that he had not at this point. While he was looking for magic and soul residue, his wolf senses most likely would have pointed out other notable things, or he might have seen them. "Keep and eye out for any paper records or documentation. It might help get names and help us get the identities of some of the workers. Anything at all will do." Bom said under his breathe basically sneaking up on Lia as she moved away from the Owner. One emotion Bom didn't understand was fear, so to him... he wasn't aware what he was doing could scare the the ever living hell out of Lia. ((He knows about it if he shows his true form from past experience.)). He tried to make sure not to get near her to much though, because she would feel fur if she brushed up against him even while he was shadow-dwelling. Shadow-dwelling only masked his form, it did not make him incorporeal.

[Yash]

Lia got a little spooked by Bom sneaking up on her, but she didn't let any reaction escape her. Before anything else, she had a gun pointed in the darkness, approximately where she thought Bom was. She felt something hairy and knew he was nearby. She turned to look towards him, trying to spot him in the darkness. "Don't sneak up on me again if you want to live. I'll blow your fucking brains out." She wasn't one to take pranks and other childish things easily. She didn't believe in fooling around and playing with things any more. Fucking idiot, if I didn't know it was him I would've emptied my mag in his face before even turning to look at him. She thought she saw a tall hairy figure in the shadows, but then there was nothing. Bom didn't know her past, thus not knowing how much she hated people who fool around. She had paid the price of foolish games a long time ago and had never been fond of them since. "I'll go through them once I take a round of the place." Saying this, she walked off into the factory, stopping every now and then to search boxes. She started collecting a few papers from here and there, things she felt may have been useful. I'll ask somebody to check up on these papers.

She walked around the different machines looking for anything that shouldn't belong in the factory.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Things don't go well for those that attack me. Not that I would try to do something in retaliation... it would automatically happen." Bom said to Lia rather coldly. What Lia didn't know... was demons weren't like humans. Especially not Higher demons. They rarely could be killed by ordinary conventional means. Bullets weren't effective nor was much else. Though they could certainly kill lesser demons eventually, Higher demons would be able to shrug it off. And the defense he mentioned? He was being truthful, it wasn't something he could control. While in the shadows... harming Bom would cause those around Lia... to attack her. She didn't know she was standing with a semi-sentient being at the moment. The shadows melded to Bom still were like normal ones in every other way... but one. They could solidify at will, their own will. They automatically did it as well, slashing and cutting at those tried to harm the one they were melded to. They did it by instinct as well so Bom wouldn't be able to stop it from causing horrible damage if not outright killing the woman.

"Not sure what you would shoot me for either. Not like I would have a reason to attack you at a crime scene... or anywhere really." he said musing to himself more. Clearly... he didn't understand what he did wrong. He was pretty oblivious to fear seeing as a higher demon as himself rarely had to feel it. He had followed her to a degree ((close enough that she would still be in earshot.)) as he walked around just seeing if he missed anything he needed to give a once-over with his now much more powerful demonwolf schnoz.

[Yash]

"Are you a moron Bom? Sneaking up on somebody in the middle of a dark factory, specially after a whole bunch of people have gone missing, isn't really a good thing. If I hadn't known it was you, I would have shot at you by instinct. You know, kill or be killed. Of course my assumption would be that the person trying to sneak up on me was a human, and well, not you. You may not realise it but I don't like childish pranks, and specially hate being caught off guard. So don't do it again. Also why are you following me? Didn't you take the tour already? Did you find something new or are you just being a stalking pervert?" She asked Bom, wondering what he was looking for. Freak or not, I know he is on the team for a good reason, but that doesn't mean I trust him much. Sure it doesn't seem like he has done anything wrong, but there is no reason to trust somebody like him. Understanding him isn't going to be easy, specially since I don't even know the truth about him. She was hurrying now, going through a few crates kept along the walls. She kept collecting any invoices she could find. They will help us find a connection between the other companies. Suppliers, service providers etc. who are common will definitely help point us in the right direction. Plus it also gives us an opportunity to predict the next target, if we can get a pattern established. That reminds me, I need to ask Will for a timeline of events. She moved on from the crates, stopping every now and then to take a good look.

[Notus]

As Lia kept looking through the papers she realized how unorganized the companie was - probably on purpose. As an illegal producer, there were no names for the third parties who worked with them let alone their client´s names. Probably the owner couldn´t have the luxury of having someone find who he was selling to... The information was all scattered and incomplete and some of the papers were stained with something blue. At first it seemed as if it was ink, but there were too many stained in the same way.

At the same time, Will reported back to Brythit with the results of his research. "It was a bit tough to convince them, and some really didn´t respond but... All the stablishments I managed to talk to did hire at least one new worker on the week before the disappearances. None matched the description of the one from here though."

[Zephyrus the Priestess]

The little quarrel between demon and human didn't go past Brythit unnoticed. "Knock it off," she said, without a visible sign of irritation on her face. Forced patience emanated from her, though, and the calm in her voice did little to mask it. "Bomoriel works best in the dark, but I'm sure he wouldn't appreciate getting shot, and that'd just be a waste of ammo. Lia's the best damn shot out there and wouldn't like being attacked by unknown, possibly demonic forces. I don't want to lose two of my team on the first job or any goddamn day for that matter. We can definitely meet each other halfway and agree, yeah?" Her steely tone left no room for arguments, despite her ending with a question. She allowed the silence to ring for a while before replying to Will. "Were they affiliated with anything other than weaponry or computers?" Whoever's got these missing workers mightn't just be into making WMDs or a droid army or something like that.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Bom only had one thing on his mind after that exchange. One thing and one thing alone, and he spoke that aloud. "What is a prank...? Is this some human concept? If so, what is its purpose... and why does it annoy you so?" he asked rather politely. He actually really wanted an answer. Human ideas and concepts rarely made sense to him. So, in an effort to understand the weird hairless, scaleless, and otherwise mundane beasts, he always asked about something he didn't understand. He probably had asked the group countless times already about things he didn't know. His curiosity always got the better of him. Lia would note the genuine confusion in his voice, as if she said something in a foreign language, or at least Bom would hope she did. That was when Bom noticed the blue stains on the papers Lia was collecting. He didn't want to grab at them yet, cause he wanted his question answered, but he figured he could possibly have a inkling of what it was. Sadly, due to the overwhelming stench of lesser demon... he would need to put it to close to his nose to smell anything. And even then it was a crapshoot. He might end up having to eat it... Bom's least favourite way of identifying objects. However, it was a useful method of information gathering, available to him as a demon. Unless he ingested something dangerous to demons he had no risk of dying for good. A lot of things would certainly be unpleasant to have to pass later. He had a wonderful memory of tastes though and could tell substances by their flavour. He once ate an entire vat of mercury in an attempt to retrieve something of importance... let's say his bowels weren't happy with him for the next two weeks.

((I am retconning it that Demons can ingest other things even though they subsist on Souls. Greater Demons have this so that they can blend into society better. Though it doesn't actually do much in the long run.))

[Yash]

Lia heard Brythit telling them to get along. Do we look like children to her? "Yes, mother. We can." I'm ignoring her now. Lia was a little surprised by his questions, even more so by his tone. It seemed that the demon didn't have a clue of what she had been talking about. "You really don't have an idea what a prank is, do you? Let me explain. When a person tries scaring another or making fun of them by means of a practical joke, it is called pulling a prank on somebody. In essence, when you trick somebody, but in good humour, you prank them. It is a source of amusement for children. Most people also tend to enjoy pranks. My reason for not liking them is personal. As a child I loved pranks, always trying to joke around with others. Even now I sometimes end up doing one, as evidenced a while back. Though I try not too. Anyway, one day I took my dad's gun, in an attempt to prank him. Can you guess what happened?" Her voice had turned emotionless by the end. She made no attempt to explain any further, hoping Bom had understood and wouldn't need it. She noticed the stains on the papers in her hands and started wondering what they were. Though they were blue, there were too many stains for it to be ink. She found a table where she could lay out a bunch of them. "Hey Brythit, I think I found something. Come take a look at this. You too, Bom." She ran her fingers over the blots, trying to judge the texture if possible. She even tried smelling the stains. Then it struck her to try something else. She tried arranging the papers in such a way as to figure out a pattern or shape from the blue stains.

[leocain]

"Never a dull day with you guys" A new voice commented, making everyone turn to the older human member of the team, who made a mocking salute to everyone in the room with his right hand, obviously a cyber prothesis "Anything new so I can go and shoot someone, or Bom's relatives are smarter than they seem?" The former military man heard most of the talk from outside, so he had an idea of what's going on. A hand ran through his blonde hair, which he still kept short from his war days, when his arm and leg were flesh and bone, instead of a piece of metal.

"Bom and Lia,stop acting like idiots, I find you amusing, but I'd rather not see bullet holes and blood everywhere"

[K_H]

It was now that Indy spoke up, even though she was still looking at her Drone Controller, which contained a Video Screen and Speakers that were giving a live feed of what the Drone was seeing and hearing.

"Unfortunately for you, it's probably the second statement that's true. I've seen no trace of any humanoid life currently here other than us. I've had to go through the windows of the buildings, since my Drones can't open doors."

There immediately came the whine of tiny helicopter blades and then two crashes of shattering glass in quick succession, the first one from the Controller and the next one from the just-shattered window. A few shards fell to the pavement, where they shattered into dust, and the whine disappeared as the drone went through the window into the building.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Bom still didn't really understand the purpose of these... "pranks", but he figured he shouldn't press Lia about it. Clearly something happened in her past she wasn't too proud of. Bom understood those feelings pretty well, even if he rarely felt it himself the concept was easy to grasp. Humans were very protective of their past and the things they considered mistakes within them. They hid them as if their were wounds out of fear of being judged or thought weak. Even if he had more questions more wants to understand, he figured it not wise to continue pressing it towards Lia. Besides they and a job to be doing.

He walked closer to Lia trying to check out the papers she had and was now arranging on the space in front of her. He eyed it to monitor her progress for now, knowing that discussing it would not lead to much while she was trying to focus. He now instead turned to the others that had just arrived. "Leftenant." Bom said regarding Rob. "Demons aren't related. To say that they are is a fallacy on many levels, though I am not sure you are aware of such." The demon began a mini-rant, obviously missing the joke and having it fly straight over his head. "Unlike Humans, demons aren't born. We are created. We do not breed... or have... relations like humans." He went on for a little while speaking technicalities and droning on for a little while. He eventually ended his meandering speech.

[Yash]

"Relax Grampa." Lia told the ex-military man. "Come take a look at these papers. Can you identify what these blue stains are?" That was when Bom went on in his rant about demons. Lia completely ignored that and was still examining the papers. Finally he finished and Lia turned to him. "Bom, remember when I told you about pranks and practical jokes just 5 minute ago. Well, we humans also have a tendency to make verbal jokes, which I realise you may not understand. Just know this, we rarely talk in a literal fashion. Unless somebody actually says the word literally, they don't mean exactly everything they say. In fact often people even use the word literally incorrectly. Basically you should just try and understand what we mean and not pay so much attention to what we say." She was wondering if she would have to explain everything that people said to Bom.

[leocain]

"He still struggles with what he learns of humans, so give him some time between lessons so his little mind doesn't explode" Rob interrupted her thoughts. "Of course, I am talking to someone I feel I should pick up from the day care, so what do I know?"

With that, he turned to Brythit, "No one worth following, so I'm just going to be in the corner, yell if you need me" He said as he turned and pulled a sandwich out of seemingly nowhere.

Edited April 29, 2015 by leocain