The motorcycle slows as it enters the alley, having lost their mad pursuers.
Familiar faces poke out from nearby, marveling at the new arrivals.
Plumber: Hahahaha, J, where did you get this chick? I hope you aren't looking for a babysitter!
Waitress: Hey, J, you say hi to Pioneer for me! Those heels he recommended helped me land a big role.
Brian the Beggar: Hey, uhm, Mr. G, right? It's me, Brian. I've been looking for you. All thanks to you and that badge you got me. They finally gave me a room down at the shelter. They even offered me some dishwashing work tomorrow!
Brian the Beggar: No more sleeping in tents or under the overpass! Bless you, Mr. G. I owe you my life!
J stops his bike, reaching out to grip Brian's hand.
J: Oh, come on, Bri-Bri ... Brian! Weren't you the one that helped me get that girl's number? You help me, I help you! That's the deal.
From the distance, a man leading a critter approaches.
Critter Babysitter: Hey, if isn't my favorite customer, J! I got the latest edition of Motor Babe, you interested?
Critter Babysitter: I swear they're not pirated!
J offers only a warm smile as a reply, before kicking up the stand and twisting the throttle on his bike.
J: See ya, guys!
Critter Babysitter: Hey, HEY! I'm talking to you, J! Want it or not?
Matilda: Isn't that man calling you?
J: What are you saying? Sorry, this kitten here purrs pretty loud!
Matilda: Um, this thing you have behind your back, is it not troublesome? Why do you take it with you?
J: Oh, my dad gave it to me. Carried it around for years.
Matilda: What is it?
J: Hold on tight! We're almost there.
...
Items are strewn on the table, as those present stroke their chins pondering over them.
Cateye Wisen: Here's everything that was in that Bell-Ringer guy's pockets. Think I got everything, except anything that he was wearing under that get-up, but there ain't enough money in the world to get me to rifle through some s**t-stained cultist undies.
Cateye Wisen: Hey! Hollick, what was that for?!
Hollick: Sorry, kiddo, J said I gotta knock you on the head any time you cuss.
J: Exactly, Hollick. We gotta teach this potty mouth some manners, especially when there's a lady present.
Pioneer: Well, seems I have you to thank, Ms. Bouanich! Years of wasted effort trying to cultivate gentlemen out of these cads, and you manage it in hours!
The girl nearby is fiddling with a complicated device, unfazed by their commotion.
SPF-I: SPF-I Portable Contact Device activated. Welcome.
SPF-I: Verification success. Registered user: Matilda Bouanich. Access level: B.
Matilda: It worked! Humph, I have a higher rank now. I won't be making the same mistake twice.
SPF-I: "Emergency Support"—Apologies, as there have been no abnormal arcane fluctuations detected, the emergency support team is currently occupied.
SPF-I: Please provide further details, so that we can evaluate the necessity of emergency assistance.
SPF-I: beep Message sent.
SPF-I: Support will be arranged in order of priority.
Matilda: sigh I knew I should have applied for an expansion to our team.
Matilda: They will be of no help at all. I will have to send my entire team back just to deliver my report to the Foundation.
Matilda: So we must count on them to bring support back.
J: Oh, yeah? Support?
J: You wanna be a part of this, French Fry? You finally taking an interest in all of this? Hahaha.
Matilda: This is a central part of our mission! The Foundation will deal with this, without letting nosey civilians like you get involved.
Matilda: If you must insist on helping us, I suggest you provide what information you know, and then, I, Special Investigator Matilda Bouanich, will solve the problem and save the day!
She reaches out to the key on the table.
But a large hand covers it before she can grab it.
J: Yeah, not going to do that.
J: There isn't one of us here on Haight Street that would stand aside while someone else "saves us."
J: You wanna get a clue about this place, then the first thing you gotta know is that we deal with our own problems.
He makes no move to remove his hand, staring at her intently.
Matilda: Umm.
Matilda: This would defy regulations. I would need to file for a special approval.
J: Well, you can have the key, little Investigator Bouanich, since you're so dedicated to your job.
J: Whether you get your "special approval" or not ...
J: We're going to be the ones to take down those bastards.
J: It's not about vengeance. It's that the people here, they'll never trust someone to do this for us. We have to do it ourselves.
J: Judges, police, your Foundation ... One rat's nest after another promised to bring us change, and then left us to the wolves.
J: Nah, worse than rats. At least they know how life here really works.
J: At least they see us. At least rats don't claim to be our saviors.
He withdraws his hand and allows her to take the key.
J: We can only trust someone who's been through the trenches with us.
The key feels heavy in her hand, as if something weighty were attached to it.
Matilda: Thank you, J.
Matilda: This must be the key to Manus's "Elysium."
J: Mercuria, would you?
He looks up, signaling for her to continue with the explanation.
Mercuria: Yeah. This will be the key to wherever their hideout is, a place of dark revelry. They've kept it a close secret.
Mercuria: But I've seen those that have come back from that place. They're transformed into something unnatural.
Mercuria: Their flesh and their spirit ... it wasn't their own anymore.
Mercuria: Big-shot businessmen groveling and sobbing at the feet of their Apostle; and the most loving mother I know, she abandoned her kid by a dumpster.
Mercuria: The friends we've lost ... It's like they're gone. They aren't them anymore. They're possessed.
Mercuria: Until one day, they just vanish. Never to be seen again.
She shakes her head.
Matilda: So, we must find this gate, and flush out their nest of vipers before they can open it once more.
Matilda: Otherwise, our mission here and your chance to avenge your friends will fail.
She bursts up from her seat before falling back down.
J: Gets even better from there, French Fry. That ceremony of theirs is set for the day after tomorrow. They're planning something big, bigger than anything they've thrown at us before.
The boy raises his hand, eager to answer.
Cateye Wisen: Yeah, I heard that big guy mumbling stuff like "the last revelation" or something.
Cateye Wisen: Kinda weird seeing a big dude crying like that, hahaha.
Matilda: "The last revelation"? Perhaps then this is the last time Manus plan on opening the door to their "Elysium"?
Everyone knows what is implied.
Mercuria: And then, they will be gone, perhaps for good.
Mercuria: J, you got a lot of friends there still. What'll you do when they point their knives at you?
Mercuria: How do we keep their sacrificial lambs from leaping off the cliff?
He does not shy away from his answer.
J: Not my business to save someone who doesn't wanna be saved. Never even really thought of saving everyone, not in a long while. It's not worth the pain.
While the answer weighs heavily on the others, it brings her some relief—borne out of trust, if nothing else.
Mercuria: I see.
The girl from the Foundation pipes up.
Matilda: Unfortunately, I cannot disagree this time.
Matilda: Still, we have time to make preparations in advance! Support is on the way, so until then, we must stay below their attention.
Matilda: I'm thinking that maybe we may try collecting more information by infiltrating their followers. Perhaps then, we will have a better chance to find this "gate" of theirs.
She supports her chin as she stares out strategizing in her mind.
Mercuria: Sure, Tildy. Tomorrow I'll show you around the New Age Market. You can meet some of my friends, figure out how to fit in.
Mercuria: Uh, but maybe a change of outfit first. Who knows who might recognize you.
Mercuria: And the St. Pavlov Foundation is not the most welcome organization around here.
Matilda: I see. Thank you very much, Ms. Mercuria. Oh! And I remember you know that, Gio! We might collect some further information from him!
Mercuria: Gio? I don't know who you mean.
Her voice is sincere.
Matilda: But, but, do you not remember? It was just as I arrived, you had a visitor, and you called him Gio.
Mercuria: I haven't had any visitors all day.
Matilda: Ah. That cannot be. J, you saw him, yes?
He meets her eyes with a blank expression.
J: Only thing I remember is some weirdo investigator poking her head into this tent.
Matilda stammers in bewilderment at their answers.
Matilda: ...
