14332/The Lower East Side poltergeist

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The Lower East Side poltergeist
Date of Scene: 22 April 2022
Location: Abandoned Warehouse, Lower East Side
Synopsis: Willow and Nick investigate a reported poltergeist in an abandoned warehouse.
Cast of Characters: Lucas Farmer, Willow Rosenberg, Phantasm (Drago)




Lucas Farmer has posed:
The Magic Box is well known for being THE place for all things magic. Such is the reputation of the specialized store that someone, wishing to remain anonymous, had left a short handwritten note in the store's mailbox. The note said:

/Please rid this place of the poltergeist!!!/

The exact address was provided, which matched the location of an abandoned warehouse in the Lower East Side in New York City.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow was actually on staff the day that the note was stuffed in the mailbox.

"Huh?" Beyond an address, there was nothing to go on. "Could be a joke. Could be a trap.. Could be a real poltergeist." But what? Really, Willow didn't think it was necessary to drag Buffy out. But she could phone up Nick to see if he was around.

(Probably not.. didn't he have a tour?? Still..)

She got his answering machine. Bummer! But she left a message:

"Uh.. This is Willow. If you get this before tomorrow, I've got a poltergeist I'm going to get rid of. If there is a poltergeist." Followed by the address. "If not, I hope your tour is doing okay! Bye!"

And she headed off.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
It's been awhile since Nick has last been to the Magic Box. So when Nick found a voicemail on his burner phone from Willow while he was contemplating his next visit over, it seemed like great timing. But instead he was asked to meet elsewhere. Called for a favor.

It's nice to know some things don't change. And speaking of not changing for attire, well Nick's back to his tried and true Goodwill's finest but with the knit cap replaced with a ball cap. Considering the general nature of the last second meetups from the Scoobies, Nick did not show up empty handed. Ok, technically he did but that's because the stuff he brought is in a bookbag he is wearing. Judging from the lumps from the contents inside shifting around, it is quite clear that they're not books.

If there is a perk to the address given it's reasonably close enough to where Nick can get there in a timely and discreet manner. Hmm. Considering Willow still thought he was on tour, there seems to be a lot to talk about.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
The large door of the warehouse is slightly open, enough to allow someone to enter. Peeking inside, one can see that the abandoned warehouse is mostly empty, except for some debris here and there, a few broken wooden crates and metal drums. Here and there, chains and hooks hang from the beams and their supports. Although the floor is made of concrete, it might feel a bit shaky here and there. There is no saying when and where it might give up.

In the wall on the side is a very old elevator, the kind with a door splitting in the center to allow access. Up on the beams, chains are slowly swaying, as if some wind was gently rocking them. Thing is, there is no wind in the warehouse.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Well that is disappointing! Really, Willow pouted. (Just a little bit. Un petite peu.)

Since she was out here anyways, she may as well look around. After all, it might not be a poltergeist, but it could be a robber! That would be good!

Except as she got closer, she noticed the swaying of the chains. Hrm.. Could be a robber still; or back to the initial looking for a ghost.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Finding Willow already in the process of looking into the building entrance, the musician makes his way over. By the time he gets to the doorway, Willow's already inside. Of fo-

He steps quicker, coming up to the magic practicioner, "Hi. Willow." Nick greets lowly, making it to where Willow should be the only one that hears him. Best let her know he's there so she's not startled out by his previously invited presence later.

He glances around. And upon seeing the elevator, he glances up. Hmm. So there's a second floor. He certainly doesn't trust the lift so he glances around for an interior staircase that might lead upwards instead.

So. How does one SEE a poltergeist?

Lucas Farmer has posed:
On the side wall, the elevator has only half of the door open. From the appearance of its outside command panel, which had been smashed open, this elevator made its final trip long ago. From the half open and stuck door, one can see inside and note a wall covered in mirror, of which the lower half remains in place. Another basic feature of any decent elevator is missing: its floor. There is no other visible door or staircase.

Attached to the beam near the ceiling, chains start to shake, the longest of them suddenly extending as if it was trying to reach the floor. For a moment, it remains rigidly extended, motionless, it being too short to touch the floor. Then an invisible hand seems to release it, and it returns to its initial hanging state.

A large metal drum lying on the floor then slowly starts to roll towards the elevator, filling the empty warehouse with the grating sound of metal rolling on concrete. When the deafening sound stops with the drum now resting against the closed door of the elevator, a very weak whimper can be heard. It seems to come from below, but the echo in the large empty warehouse makes it difficult to pinpoint the source of the sound. It is also difficult to determine its nature. It is human, animal, or... otherworldly?

There is no one around other than Willow and Nick. So, what is it? A robber? An evil spirit? Poltergeist?

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
For a moment she /was/ surprised. Then she grins. "You were here! Oh my goodness, so much is going on!" She points out the swaying chains. "This is the only thing that could be a poltergeist so far."

Of course, once she says that, everything goes to pot.

The chains started moving. The drum begins to roll.. And nearby the elevator there was a whimper - as though a child was trapped?

"Did you hear that?!" It was fairly faint though. "It sounded like a child?" Of course poltergeists often pretended to be someone else to entice the victims.

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
So busy looking for a way up that Nick doesn't really notice what's going on at his level. Although the snapping of the chain was interesting, all it really does is remind him of the last warehouse he was in with dangling chains. And someone was dangling from that.

HOW ODD.

"Huh." Nick comments, "Maybe it is a poltergeist." He brings up his voice, "HEY GHOSTIE! ARE YOU A GOOD GHOST OR A BAD GHOST?" Hmm. Apparently all that time stuck in safehouses and the Trisk didn't help his sense of judgement.

Or it could be fatigue.

Most friends would probably agree that Nick does stupid shit when tired.

Hearing Willow's question, he looks to her. "Hear what?"

Lucas Farmer has posed:
As if in response to Willow's question and Nick's shouting, everything seems to freeze in place. The chains suddenly stop swaying. The place is dead silent. And now the sound that Willow heard before is repeated. This time, the whimper is followed by a couple clear yapping sounds, which are abruptly muffled. The sound seems to come from the elevator shaft.

Whatever or whoever heard Nick's question doesn't seem happy, as the previously inert metal drum starts shaking, then rolling directly towards the young man. At the speed it is rolling, it visibly doesn't aim at hurting Nick. But maybe a message is sent by this mean.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow *looks* at Nick.

"Why? Why did you do that?" Talking quietly. Definitely not a robber! "Come on! I think whatever we are looking for is over by the elevator. Heck! It could be broken and someone has fallen down it."

Mind you, it doesn't explain the dancing chains, or the rumbling about drum.

Though it could be a mutant?

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Well being that the drum gets a bit louder as it gets closer. Even Nick on his least attentive days would likely notice the metal drum rolling towards him. His head tilts, looking to the drum. It's moving slow enough that he steps out of the path of the drum's roll.

"Ok. Not bad." Be it a compliment or an assessment of the percieved ghost's alignment Nick looks over towards the self-appointed ghost buster, "I don't think it is malicious. So maybe we can leave it alone?"

Nick looks over to Willow and gives a shrug to her question. "I don't know, kind of gets to the point quicker?" And then she has to point out that someone might have fallen down the elevator. Cautiously he makes his way over, peering down the hole, "Hey! Anyone down there?"

And this is why you look for the stairs instead of using the elevator in unmaintained buildings

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Light is sparce down the elevator shaft, the only source coming from the only open half of the door. It is a twelve foot drop and no visible means of ascending or descending are visible.

What is visible, though, down on the basement floor, is a blur of fur running around on the dusty floor. The puppy seems quite excited to spot someone up there, the only way out the critter knows of.

And then, a human silhouette appears, taking the puppy. It then takes a moment, before a voice finally replies.

"Yes." No request for help, just an answer to Nick's question.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"Could be? But what if they didn't mean to?" Meanwhile, Willow tries to peer in the elevator shaft. "Look! A puppy!" Awwww. Then the boy.. man.. pops out. "Eeeek! Nick!"

She forgot two things:

She kinda expected a person. (D'uh.) She shouldn't have screamed. And, Nick was blocked off so that she was the only person who could see him.
Doing her best to calm down, she inquires, "Do you need help?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Willow's scream triggers one reaction which is for Nick to reach out and pull her away from the open shaft and towards him as a precaution. But as quickly as that's done, another look to Willow's face and the lack of anything flying up out of the shaft to accost them causes for him to let her go. Once he's sure she's on sure footing.

When an answer is shouted bak to his question, a hurm escapes Nick's throat.

"That. Is definitely not a poltergeist." Nick assesses before looking over to Willow, "Powered maybe...Possibly a squatter." But then again, there's the question of how he got down there.

As Willow asks the boy the question that needs asking, the musician glances around for any signs of stairs to a basement level. There has to be some, right?

"Ask him if he already has a way out of there." He recommends to Willow.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
There a few more yapping from the puppy, which is still held by the young man. Looking up at the elevator door above, the young man then retreats into the darkness, returning after a brief moment.

"I am trying to get out of here, but the chains are too short," the young man replies after a moment, again not specifically asking for help. So it was him moving the chains from below?

"There is a door a few feet away, but it's padlocked. We've been here for almost two days, and Puppy is thirsty." The young man seems quite calm for someone stuck in the dim light at the bottom of an elevator shaft for two days.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
"No it definitely is /not/." Willow has to agree with Nick. "Could be a mutant. Maybe he doesn't know it yet." All the while she looks like she got a conversation with herself.

Ah! The chains. He knew then that was what he was.

"We can take you two out of there." Regardless if he was a squatter, or trying to get them to feel sorry for them then steal from them - Willow couldn't leave them down there. To Nick, "I can probably lift them with magic?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Or I could just go down there and break the lock like I did with that cage." Nick suggests, referencing the rescue mission where they saved a bunch of high schoolers.

No. The other one.

No. The one where Dawn was-

Right. JUST there was a cage at one of them.

"I'm guessing the padlock is on the door that leads to the stairwell."

Nick looks to the opening, "Hey! Is the padlock on your side or are you assuming there's one on the other side of the door?"

Lucas Farmer has posed:
The reply from the young man doesn't come right away. It's obvious to him that the padlock is on his side of the door. What can be found on the other side is a total mystery to him.

"It's on my side of the door, sir," comes the quiet reply. Still, no sign of panic in the young man's voice.

Then Lucas gently scratches the puppy's head, before holding him above his head. The yapping puppy is then lifted in the air, slowly ascending the shaft, floating up to the door. "Please take him," Lucas says, "He is thirsty."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
All right, he has some kinetomacy then. Willow smiled to herself. "If your going to help with the padlock, I'll take the puppy. Deal?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick gives a nod, glancing down the staff to see the puppy floating up the shaft. His facial features shift, bringing about a mirrored image of himself. Once the puppy makes its way up to the opening, Nick reaches over to grab on to it. He turns, handing it over to Willow. "I'll be back." He assures, giving a bit of a smile.

He turns, running forward to leap over to the other wall before planting a foot and jumping to the other wall. Continuing this until he reaches the bottom. Now one COULD argue the physics of such a maneuver but-

Eh, Nick's not really thinking about that.

Feet landing on the ground, he turns, looking around. "Ok. Where's the padlock?"

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Now, that was unexpected! Startled, Lucas jumps away from Nick, his back to the wall of the shaft. The young man watches the man who just appeared, trying to determine if he's a friend or foe. Why did this man jump down the shaft and how does it help Lucas? Shrugging, the young man answers the question.

"The padlock is on the door."

And the door is about ten feet away from the elevator shaft. "I tried to break it, but there's nothing down here to help with it."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Ok. So rather than be directed in the direction of said door, Nick ends up exiting the elevator shaft and turning around slowly. It takes a little longer as he of COURSE starts looking the wrong way.

And then the door comes into view. Nick's head tilts as he gives a smile. "Ah." He strolls over, putting a hand under the padlock. Gripping it, he tilts it, studying the portion that comes in contact with the door.

"Ok...I think I got this."

Lucas Farmer has posed:
Lucas steps forward to look at what Nick is doing, making sure to keep his distance from the stranger.

"I tried to break it," he states in a quiet and calm voice. And then he glances at the floor around him, lots of dust, but no rocks, no pipe, nothing to help break the padlock.

"Maybe we could try to break down the door?" He had tried that too, to no avail. But the two of them might succeed?

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Now that she got the puppy in her hands, Willow peers down the shaft. "You know, we could just get you out of there up the shaft, instead of trying to break the lock?" Of course she was curious herself!

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"I'VE GOT IT." Nick carefully shifts the padlock, maneuvering it to where it's not touching the door. There's a breath, and he loans his ability to the padlock.

Closing his eyes, he turns around. Opening them again to look over to Lucas, "Here you go."

Nick holds out to Lucas the still locked padlock.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
"Oh," is all Lucas says as he stares at the still locked padlock in his hand. "You are a magician," he adds, moving forward to open the now unpadlocked door.

Now that the exit is available, the young man starts walking along the dark corridor, his eyes used to the dim light. As he moves forward, the darkness becomes more intense, still he keeps walking without hesitation as if he was used to walks in dark corridors or tunnels.

Soon, Lucas discovers a ladder and, looking up, he notices a very faint glimpse of light indicating the presence of a trapdoor. There might be a staircase further away, but Lucas tries the trap first. Climbing the ladder, Lucas tries to open the trap, which resists the first attempt. With a good shoulder push, the trap finally yields, opening in the middle of the warehouse floor with a creaking sound.

With squinting eyes against the onslaught of light, Lucas quickly looks around and finds Willow with Puppy.

"Hi," he says to her, offering a shy smile as he stands there, waiting to make sure Nick is following.

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow worries at first when they disappear into the dark beyond the elevator shaft. But is relieved after a while when they reappear in the warehouse, via the trap door.

She holds out the puppy. "I guess this is yours? You gave us a scare." Not in the poltergeist way! "How did you fall down there in the first place?" Remembering she adds, "I'm Willow by the way. Nice to meet you."

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
"Well...something like that."

Obstacle out of the way, Nick hangs back behind Lucas, letting the younger man take the lead. In the darkness, his features shift back as he goes back to Human mode. Unlike Lucas, Nick's exposure to the dark here is a bit more recent so he takes his time going up the path. The outline of Lucas on the ladder is enough to let him know to not progress any further.

When the door is opened up allowing for a bit of light to filter through the opening, Nick moves towards the ladder. He waits for Lucas to make it onto the floor with Willow before he starts climbing up.

Once he's topside he looks over to Lucas curiously.

Lucas Farmer has posed:
The young man gently takes the puppy from Willow, holding it in his arms. He steps back, offering the same shy smile to Nick as he emerges from the trapdoor.

"I did not fall," Lucas explains, looking back at Willow. "Bad boys were chasing the puppy, and it fell down the shaft. Once they were gone, I climbed down to help the little dog." He pauses, frowning, "Because they are smaller, or they be animals, doesn't mean people should be cruel to them."

Gently scratching the puppy's head, he adds, "I will feed it then find it a nice home where people will take care of it." And he too remembers, or mimicks what Willow added, "My name is Lucas."

Willow Rosenberg has posed:
Willow has the same idea about people. Good thing she happens to do things to prevent it in cases. Mind you, that's probably not quite the way he meant it. There were bullies, and then there were BULLIES.

Willow beat up on BULLIES. Ahem.

"I'm glad he had you to look out for him. Really! Can we help you with anything?"

Phantasm (Drago) has posed:
Nick listens to the explanation Lucas gives for how he ended up in the lower level, giving a small tilt of the head in understand. "Not a fan of bullies myself either." He admits.

The talk of getting food for the dog does bring up a topic, "...How about food for you? You must be hungry too. Can't very well help the puppy if you're passing out."

Lucas Farmer has posed:
The smile on Lucas' face grows wider at the offers for help and for food.

"Yes, I am hungry," he admits. "And I have some money, I can pay for my food."

The young man seems to hesitate between leading the way or waiting to follow Willow and her companion. "Do you know a place where we can bring a dog in? Or we could buy something and eat outside, they call it a picnic."

Either way, soon the three of them will be on their way to eat.