Part 1: First Day Back in London

Tooth Fairy: I'm ready to go.
Driver: Please fasten your seat belt, Miss. We're setting off now.
Driver: You ever been to London, Miss?
Tooth Fairy: Yes. A long time ago.
Driver: Long, eh? Five years? Ten years?
Tooth Fairy: Longer than that.
Driver: Come on then, how long? You don't look a hundred years old.
Tooth Fairy: Heh heh.
Driver: The hospital is two streets away. Oh, by the way—
Driver: It's been arranged for you to meet Mr. Fog first, and then he'll show you around the hospital.
Tooth Fairy: I don't see why we need to make a big deal out of a simple visit.
Driver: Couldn't agree more, Miss. But as this is an official visit by Mr. Fog as a servant of the crown, you can rightly expect that they're going to have the whole place decked up like Christmas.
Tooth Fairy: Thank you for taking me there directly.
Tooth Fairy: I will go to Mr. Fog's office after my visit. You can leave without me.
Tooth Fairy: I think I'd like to take the underground.
Driver: The Tube? You won't like it, Miss. Not the kind of place for a decent young lady.
Driver: I'll wait here for you, love. I'll do my best not to crack into my flask of whiskey while I wait.
Tooth Fairy: Thank you. I'll be back soon.
Tooth Fairy: ...!
Madam Z: How are things at the SPDM, Tooth Fairy? I'm hearing rave reviews about their school physician.
Tooth Fairy: I'm glad to hear it. Young children are particularly easy to soothe. A few candies, and they'll behave just fine.
Tooth Fairy: A little toffee, or a nibble of a fruity sweet, and they've forgotten all about the toothfairy's taste.
Tooth Fairy: A proper dose of sweets serves to calm the nervous system, and that doesn't just apply to kids.
She pulls a piece of milk candy out of her pocket and softly places it beside Madam Z's mug of strong tea.
Tooth Fairy: Your work here is undoubtedly busier than mine at SPDM. Besides, you're directly responsible for our Timekeeper—the little troublemaker.
Tooth Fairy: But I am sure you didn't summon me here all for a little chit-chat.
Madam Z: ...
Madam Z unwraps the candy and places it in her mouth, allowing it to slowly dissolve. Then, she places a stack of papers on the table before Tooth Fairy.
Madam Z: The Foundation has now confirmed a correlation between social turmoil and the emergence of the "Storm." Our branches around the world are now making efforts to collect information on these key social movements.
Madam Z: As you may know, there was a strike that has only just ended in London, and there's something I'd like to show you besides the strike itself.
Tooth Fairy rapidly flips through the papers. She quickly spots the crucial element.
Tooth Fairy: Tuberculosis.
Madam Z: Indeed. There appears to be abnormalities concerning air pollution and the reported cases of TB.
Madam Z: Compared to our records before the "Storm," TB morbidity rates are extraordinarily high, approaching levels that shouldn't be seen until the Great Smog of 1952.
Madam Z: Our Mr. Fog, the Fogwalker, has also reported that there's something unusual about the composition of the fog.
Tooth Fairy: So, we need an insider with knowledge of the "Storm" to visit London, ideally one with a medical background.
Tooth Fairy: I see.
Madam Z: I know your winter vacation just started, but I'm sure you understand the dire situation we find ourselves in. I'll apply for a special allowance for this field mission. What do you say?
Tooth Fairy: I'd be happy to go. Perhaps I'll collect some rare teeth from this era.
Madam Z: Good luck then. Mr. Fog will contact you when you arrive. He is our liaison between the Foundation and British Government.
Madam Z: He'll take you to the hospital, handling many of these respiratory patients.
Madam Z: You will be given full trust to resolve this problem.
Madam Z: There is something else: The Uluru Qualifier will soon be held in London. It may factor into your investigation.
Tooth Fairy: Uluru Qualifier?
Tooth Fairy: "Uluru London Qualifier Coming Soon, Arcanist Fair in Cross Street ..."
Tooth Fairy: "Support your favorite competitors ..."
Tooth Fairy: "... Winners will represent Great Britain in the Australian finals."
Driver: Australia? They shipped my uncle off to Australia back in the day. I always figured he got done in by a kangaroo.
Driver: But if the smoke here gets any worse, I think I might chance it. Maybe I'll find him in the outback there, or at least avenge him.
With a tense frown, Tooth Fairy folds the flyer. The Uluru Games are not her current focus.
Tooth Fairy: That smoke seems to have severely damaged that hospital, but you don't seem concerned.
Driver: We've seen worse, Miss. You wouldn't believe how many houses we lose in a year to gas line explosions.
Driver: Nothing much can shock us Londoners. It's a city where you can meet arcanists from all over the world.
Driver: Arabians, North Africans, Indians, and Japanese ... Who knows what kind of arcane skill they can cast?
Tooth Fairy: The police are on the scene now, but can they really do anything to clean up the hospital?
Driver: Well, the police have got their own way of dealing with things. None too friendly. I think you should bring this up to Mr. Fog.
Driver: He's one of the few folks that look out for the working man, and he's never afraid of calling out the upper class.
Tooth Fairy: I suspect Mr. Fog will have known before we did.
Tooth Fairy: Let's follow the path of this dark soot on the street. Maybe we can find it or its owner.
Driver: As you like, Miss.
The car makes its way eastward, weaving through the increasingly narrow streets.
Driver: Seems it's leading us to the East End.
Driver: Only thing that comes out of the East End are drunks, tramps, and Jack the Ripper.
Tooth Fairy: ...!
The brakes screech as the car comes to an abrupt halt. The car shudders from some impact as a child's scream fills the air.
Driver: Bloody!
A sudden, stabbing pain strikes the nerve in Tooth Fairy's temple. She almost stumbles as she rushes to exit the car.
The driver pokes his head through the car window, scrambling to justify his mistake.
Driver: Miss, I swear to high heaven that I have not had a drop of drink today! This is the East End for you!
Driver: Either you hit someone or someone hits you.
Driver: Please, Miss, take a look for me. Tell me if I hit anything. I can take it.
Tooth Fairy: It appears ... there's no one in front of the car.
Driver: No one?
???: I'm up here!
Driver: Look up there, Miss!
Tooth Fairy looks up to see a flurry of papers fluttering and spinning through the sky. A particularly vibrant bundle of fabric resembling some kind of burlap sack hurtles through the center.
"Sack": Can you catch me?
Tooth Fairy: ...?
The little girl's skirt catches the wind, and she drifts weightlessly through the air.
The colorful scraps of paper spiral through the air and swirl around her. They're all Uluru flyers still waiting to be distributed.
Tooth Fairy: She's being lifted up on the wind. Is this her arcane skill? If so, she's amazing for her age.
She gently descends, seemingly headed straight into Tooth Fairy's arms, but at the last moment, she shifts direction and lands softly a few steps away.
"Sack": You lose. You ain't goin' to qualify for nothin' like that!
Tooth Fairy: Are you hurt at all?
"Sack": Why would I be? It's not even as high up as a canary nest. It's no sweat with the help of a little wind.
"Sack": But the Sootikiki was hurt. The car hit his waist.
Driver: Is this Sootikiki your friend?
"Sack": Yes. But he ran away. He's probably angry. I'd bet he's still around. He don't forgive easy!
She points toward the shadowy alley to her left, where, in a dark, smoggy corner, a pair of glowing eyes peek out from behind a garbage bin.
"Sack": See? Over there. That's the Sootikiki, and I'm Flutterpage.
Driver: Could you bring your friend out? I'd like to make amends if I hurt him, especially if he can't work.
Flutterpage: Oh, he doesn't work. But you still need to apologize!
Flutterpage turns toward the alley, waving into the shadows to call over her friend.
Flutterpage: Come on out, Sootikiki! This bloke here wants to apologize to you.
The Sootikiki stirs in the shadows, disturbing the pale yellow smog before suddenly leaping forward.
Sootikiki: roars
Driver: That thing doesn't even have a waist! And he's as big as a kangaroo!
Flutterpage: Nuh-uh! His waist is right there! Can't you see?
Tooth Fairy: A frightened critter is dangerous. Please stay back, child.

Driver: Bollocks! Bollocks! Turn over already, you stupid car!
The engine roars to life again, its pistons drumming the retreat as the car careens through the streets.
Flutterpage: Why did Mr. Driver run away like the Sootikiki?
Tooth Fairy: He was worried for his car. If it got damaged, it could cost him his job.
Flutterpage: Lose his job? Oh, got it. I don't want to lose my job, neither.
The little girl gives an empathetic nod. But a child her age has no place in anything to do with the word "work."
Flutterpage: He has a car, so I wager he makes more than six pence a week. How did he get that job? Can I do it too?
Tooth Fairy: I suppose you could, once you grow up. Here, open your mouth.
Tooth Fairy produces a shimmering jar of ointment made from ground golden fairy and lanolin—a concoction capable of soothing one's fear of swallowing a toothfairy for the first time.
Flutterpage: What's this?
Tooth Fairy: You were hurt. It's a kind of ointment. It will numb the pain if you ingest it, or reduce the inflammation if you rub it on your wound.
Flutterpage: Was I hurt? I feel a little pain. But whatcha mean by in-flame-ation? Does that mean I'll catch on fire?
Tooth Fairy: Take it, and you will feel much better.
Tooth Fairy: Doctor's orders, kid.
The little girl's curiosity easily trumps her hesitation toward the unfamiliar. She stretches her neck and sucks Tooth Fairy's ointment-covered finger.
Tooth Fairy: ...
Flutterpage: Hmm. It's a bit sour, like a moldy raspberry, but still sweet. Why aren't other pills as sweet as yours?
Flutterpage: I see! So, you're a witch doctor, aren't ya? I can tell from your metal mask, teeth necklace, and the golden fairies in your jar.
Tooth Fairy: That is a reasonable assumption.
Flutterpage: So, you're here for the Uluru Fair, then! Must be, you even got the flyer with you.
Tooth Fairy: Actually, I'm here as a doctor to investigate a tuberculosis outbreak. But this strange black fog damaged the hospital I was heading to.
Tooth Fairy: I followed the trace it left behind to this area.
Flutterpage: Black fog? There ain't no black fog. 'Round here, the smog is yellow. And sometimes I've seen black smoke puffin' up from the factory chimneys, but never in Cross Street.
Flutterpage: As like to be an arcane skill, Miss. Lots of us arcanists here. That's why we're all chuffed up for the Uluru Qualifiers.
Flutterpage: There's herbalists, psychics, diviners, magicians ...
Tooth Fairy: Thank you, Flutterpage. I think I've got the idea.
Left to her own devices, Flutterpage could recite the job of every arcanist on the entire street.
Flutterpage: Great! Then I'll show you 'round. You'll like it here.
Flutterpage grabs Tooth Fairy's hand and drags her toward the heart of Cross Street.