The police were on the scene where the Ones of Rite had a manhole that led to their hidden room.
They saw Ariel with the family they captured and all officers walked up to her.
"Hello sir. This family could use medical attention," she said pointing at them, and the officer nodded affirmatively and looked at her in askance.
"What happened here?" he asked when he saw how there were signs of slashes all over their bodies.
Ariel was about talking, then realized Weber and Josh hadn't told her what they encountered down there.
"I... I don't know. I just saw them here and called," she said with her heart racing.
The officer looked at her, then the family, then back at her.
"You'll be coming with us," he said, putting cuffs on her hands, which made Ariel's eyes widen.
"I was just passing, what did I do?" Ariel asked.
The officer turned to her with a scowl, "can you explain why we're sensing mana that caused their injuries on you?" he asked, and Ariel couldn't answer because she had no idea how that was possible.
"Oh no..." Weber said, watching on top of a roof, "which mana art allows sabotage like that?"
Josh was on the sidewalk and looked both left and right and Weber wasn't there and he sighed.
"What's he doing now?"
Weber sent him a text, "go home without me."
Josh looked back at the direction they left, "I hope there's no problem."
The officer opened the door for Ariel to enter, "this is crazy," she said and went in.
The officer got into the car and drove off for the Police Department, and as he looked at the rearview mirror, he saw the apparition of Weber for a second.
His body shook and he whipped his head behind to look out the car, but saw nothing.
The officer looked at Ariel and the spot he saw Weber for a second and cleared his throat.
They arrived at the police station and the officer led her to a cell.
"You'll be here till it's time for interrogation," the officer said and locked the prison cell, "no point using mana, you'll be electrified." He said and left.
Ariel sighed. Seeing he left, she channelled mana into her palms and spread them forward.
Ariel used the combat mana that amplifies strength and creates blast, but rather she used the revealing art that allows her to see what others might miss.
Sending her mana to the bars, it revealed that all of them were charged with electric magic, but once this was revealed, electricity was shot at her hands faster than she could dodge and a deafening scream escaped her throat, and she quickly covered her mouth.
Her hands were burnt and a tear rolled down her eye.
Usually in Vespera, once you enter a prison cell, you never get out even if innocent. This was the police's way of forcing many to pay high amounts to be bailed out. Because the country was in peace unlike most, there was no exploiting and they received less money since there was little to no crime.
Ariel sat down on the floor and gritted her teeth at the thought of how Weber virtually abandoned her.
"Hey, what do you take me for?" Weber said on the prison cell bed behind her, his form becoming solid.
Ariel turned around and Weber's breath hitched when he saw the tears in her eyes.
"I guess I came late. My apologies..." Weber said standing up.
Ariel turned away from him, "go away!" she said to him.
Weber looked around and held his chin, "this would have been easier if I could make you intangible, but that isn't possible."
Weber walked through the prison bars and to Ariel, "I'll be back," he said and left.
Ariel rushed and grabbed the prison bars, "don't cause trouble! Weber!"
A female officer came and hit the bars with her baton, "quiet! You haven't been here for an hour and you're already running mad!"
"Excuse me, madam," a girl said behind the officer.
The officer turned to her with a scowl, "who are you? How did you get here?"
The young teenager, Gabrielle, shrugged, "I think I'm lost," she said. And she didn't have the usual paranormal look, but looked more human and had color to her skin.
The officer squinted at her, "that's odd, because I don't think someone your age should make such a mistake," the officer remarked.
Gabrielle put her hands behind her back, "you're right," she said, then turned pale and floated into the air and made a gray aura, "it wasn't a mistake," she said and flew through the officer and the officer gasped before fainting.
Weber materialized through a wall, "maybe you could be more creepy next time," he said, talking to Gabrielle, and she shrugged.
"Like, show your real self faster, make the temp rise! That'll creep her out better," Weber said using demonstrations of making himself tangible with his eyes and hair white in one moment, then in the next he was normal.
"Thanks for the advice, master," Gabrielle said with a scoff and tossed Weber keys.
Weber caught them while smirking, he turned to Ariel's cell and unlocked the bars.
Ariel stepped out and caught Weber when he nearly collapsed.
Weber's heart was racing as he felt his body being quickly exhausted. Ariel gasped and sat him down.
"What now?" she asked, but Weber raised up his hand.
"My power is mostly instinctive so I could unlock a new ability that's pricey on short notice," he said and looked at Gabrielle as she vanished back to his pocket dimension.
"I'm guessing making my ghosts look human for a few moments drains me," he remarked.
Ariel patted Weber's shoulder, "you're not alone in this. We just need to leave... But how with security footage?"
Weber staggered on his feet, his body trembling as he rose, then he hissed, "I didn't think about that... Gabrielle, any ideas?"
Gabrielle manifested and held her chin in thought, then folded her arms and grimaced, "think for yourself!"
Weber rolled his eyes and sent his power to his fists and a black aura enveloped them. Ariel looked at them in askance.
"What are you going to do?" she asked, but he only walked back, his eyes turning white, and he became intangible and went through a wall.
Minutes later, she began to hear screams and Weber came through the wall, solidified and his eyes back to normal hazel, "let's go," he said, snatching her hand and leaving quickly without giving her time to think.
Ariel looked around and noticed the halls were empty and all the surveillance looked like they were covered in black smoke.
"Did you touch them with Grasp of the Unmourned?" Ariel asked and Weber nodded with a smile.
They snuck out of the police station and as they got into a taxi, Weber laid down what he did.
"Grasp lets me put paranormal fragments into inanimate objects I touch, so let's say that the people watching the surveillance were... spooked."
Back at the police station, all the officers and staff were shuddering at the sight of what the computers connected to the surveillance cameras were showing.
They showed pale humans that were bald with hollow eyes, thin, banging at the camera trying to get into the surveillance room, and they could hear the ghosts scream and the banging of glass as they hit the cameras.
"It's part reality, part illusion," Weber remarked. Ariel sighed, because for once she was without words.
Because without that distraction, staff would have seen them leave. But using such distraction will lead to attention sooner or later.