Loggerhead: Scott's ward, Scott's ward. Did I take a wrong turn?
Loggerhead: Oh, excuse me, doctor. Could you tell me where Constance Scott's ward is? I'm kinda lost.
Doctor: You're in the wrong area. You need to go straight forward this way, take a left at the corner, and a right at the next.
Loggerhead: Forward, left, then right. Okay. I'll remember it now. Thanks for the help.
Doctor: Sure.
Loggerhead makes her way down the hallway, muttering the directions to herself as she goes.
But then, she stops and turns back in confusion.
Loggerhead: Hm, that's odd. Why do I feel like I talked to that doctor a few days ago?
Loggerhead: Must just be my bad memory. The lady last time was more friendly.
She tilts her head before quickly, deciding to let it go.
Loggerhead: Wait, which way did she say again?
Arcane Affairs Officer II: Sorry, doctor, it isn't time for the routine checkup yet.
Doctor: You're right, but yesterday's medical report showed some concerning fluctuations in the patient's data.
Doctor: It's probably nothing serious, but we should conduct a clinical check on the patient just in case.
Arcane Affairs Officer II: Please wait a moment. Let me verify this with your superior.
Doctor: Of course, officer. You can never be too cautious, especially when the patient's involved in a sensitive case.
Arcane Affairs Officer II: Yeah. Thanks for your un ... der ...
Arcane Affairs Officer II: Ugh ...?
The patient inside the ward hears the conversation outside the door come to an abrupt halt.
She sits with her hands cuffed to the railing, turning her head away from the window and toward the closed door before her.
Scott: What's wrong?
There is no response from the other side.
Several seconds later, the doorknob turns. Standing in the doorway is a doctor. She looks vaguely familiar.
Doctor: Good afternoon, Ms. Scott. How are you feeling today?
Arcane Affairs Officer II: ...
Before the door is closed again, Scott catches a glimpse of the Arcane Affairs Officer staring straight ahead. He doesn't so much as glance in her direction.
Something is wrong. Scott shoots up straight.
Scott: Who are you?
Doctor: Someone brought you these flowers.
Scott: Flowers?
Only then does she notice that the doctor is holding a glass vase filled with pure white flowers, fresh and delicate.
Scott: No. Something's not right.
Scott: I heard what you said to the officer. How are you supposed to do a medical check with a flower ...
Scott: ... vase ...
Scott: ...
Scott vaguely hears her own voice being swallowed, but somehow, she doesn't care. All her attention is locked on the vase.
Not the flowers, but the vase itself. At first glance, it looked like any other glass item. But now that it's under the sunlight, it is shimmering like crystal, refracting dreamlike colors around the ward.
Scott: Is this ... crystal?
A barrier blocking off her memories suddenly bursts.
Scott: It's you, madame.
Scott: You said you wouldn't contact me unless something bad happened. Is there something wrong with the object you bought?
???: No, it is perfect. You have been of superb help.
Scott: It was my honor to serve you, madame. And I must say, you have incredible foresight.
Scott: The Vigiles caught me, but they couldn't get any useful information, because I can't remember any.
???: But you still seem to be in a rather precarious situation.
Scott: Y-Yes, but you needn't worry. I can handle this myself.
???: That is good to hear.
The other end of the communication incantation falls silent. If not for the light still refracting from the vase, she might have thought the other party already hung up.
Scott: By the way, I met Matilda not long ago.
Scott: She was worried about you. Have you not contacted her?
???: That is not necessary.
???: Were she more perceptive, she would have already discovered me herself. She will find me when she's ready.
The voice on the other side shows little interest in the topic.
Scott smirks to herself but struggles to find another excuse to prolong the conversation.
But her moment has already passed.
Scott: Hm?
The colors twist, and her consciousness begins to spiral.
Scott: sigh What was I doing again?
???: I am contacting you to express my gratitude.
???: Thank you very much, Ms. Scott. And please believe me, you are far more gifted than you think.
The woman's voice rings out from a particularly distorted and colorful spot in the room. It is elegant, dignified, and strangely familiar.
Scott: Wh-Who are you?
The voice does not answer.
???: However, those black dogs have a keener sense of smell than I thought. I'm afraid our relationship has come to an end.
???: Goodbye, Ms. Scott.
Scott: Huh? W-Wait!
A bullet shatters the vase, shattering the dream and crashing her back to reality.
At some point, the door was silently opened. A pair of black leather boots steps over the shards of the broken vase and comes to a stop at Scott's bedside.
Black Ibis: Ha, they run fast, that's for sure. Looks like this fish is bigger than we thought.
Black Ibis: Have you figured out what happened to the two officers?
The woman turns to her cadet.
A man, also dressed in the same black uniform, is dragging the unconscious body of the doctor who visited earlier beside that of the DAA officer who had been keeping guard outside.
Black Ibis's Cadet: They're under some kind of hypnosis. Caster's no amateur, either. Arcane fluctuations are impossible to trace.
Black Ibis: Not bad. Not bad at all.
She crouches down to pick up a shard of glass. As she examines it, her mouth curls into a smile.
Black Ibis's Cadet: Not bad? This is really bad. We already knew Scott was the culprit, but you just had to use her as bait to "reel in the fish hiding in the darkness."
Black Ibis's Cadet: Now all we have is Scott with no memories of what happened and a stone-cold trail. Truly genius!
Black Ibis's Cadet: And I still don't get why you're keeping all this from Liáng. She's your cadet and right here in the city. We should've had her join the investigation.
Black Ibis's Cadet: Ha, I can't wait to see her face when she finds out what's been going on. And I'm not defending you this time, either.
Faced with her cadet's accusations, the woman feigns innocence.
Black Ibis: Defending me? There's nothing to defend.
Black Ibis: If we'd told her about our plan, she would've started acting differently and spooked our fish.
Black Ibis: Besides, the whole point of her field training program in the LAPD was to see if she could handle things on her own. And she's proven that she can.
Black Ibis: The Division of Arcane Affairs seems to adore her, so I'm sure the Deputy Chief will give her an excellent write-up. Everything's turned out great, hasn't it?
Black Ibis: See how considerate I am? How I always do things in my cadets' best interests? How could you make me out to be such a heartless, irresponsible monster?
She exaggerates a sorrowful expression, which only makes her cadet roll his eyes in exasperation.
Black Ibis: Oh, don't give me that look. Anyway, I think I've got an idea as to what's going on.
Black Ibis's Cadet: Really?
The woman drops her act and smiles knowingly.
Black Ibis: Our big fish got away, yes, but just confirming that a fish this big exists has already made this worth our time.
Black Ibis: Now, back to the stolen arcane items. There are five in total, including the cursed film reel and the wind-up toy that the Timekeeper shattered.
Black Ibis: Tell me, Bob, does our fish need all five arcane items?
Black Ibis's Cadet: It's Alan, not Bob. How many times do I have to tell you?
Black Ibis's Cadet: And to answer your question, no, I don't think so. The wind-up toy's already been destroyed, and the film reel's been recovered by a fellow cadet.
Black Ibis's Cadet: These items did cause a few problems, but I don't see any common thread between the incidents they caused.
Black Ibis: Correct, Brian. Those two items were probably just decoys to divert our attention.
Black Ibis's Cadet: Again, it's Alan.
Ignoring her cadet's correction, she goes on.
Black Ibis: A clever fish knows how to muddy the waters to hide itself. Of the five objects, they probably only need one.
Black Ibis: Take a guess, Buck. Which one do they need?
Black Ibis's Cadet: It's Alan! A-L-A-N! There isn't even a single B in it.
The cadet sighs, half in reluctance, half in realization.
Black Ibis's Cadet: Well, out of the three, which one is—Wait, could it be?!
Black Ibis: Bingo.
From the way her cadet's face darkens, she can tell he has found the answer.
Black Ibis's Cadet: Does that mean the legend's real? It can really be used in "that" ritual?
Black Ibis: It would seem so.
Black Ibis's Cadet: So, it's Manus Vindictae again.
He speaks the name, his expression grim.
Black Ibis's Cadet: They must've planted a mole somewhere among the Foundation's elites, someone with clearance to the Arcanum Containment Department.
Black Ibis: Hm. It seems our fish doesn't wear the black robe.
The woman taps her chin. This response makes her cadet's eyes widen in disbelief.
Black Ibis's Cadet: Huh? So you're saying there's someone behind all this who wants to perform "that" ritual and somehow has the means to steal from the Foundation? There's just no way.
Black Ibis: The stolen items would probably go to the Manus eventually, but I have a hunch that our wily fish isn't totally on their side.
Black Ibis: Manus Vindictae obviously considered the succubus a valuable asset before she got away, right?
Black Ibis: So if our fish was a die-hard loyalist, they would've delivered the wind-up toy to their master straightway, rather than letting it be passed around all over the place.
Black Ibis: While our fish is in collusion with Manus Vindictae, they're swimming in murky waters. They may be pursuing their own agenda.
She curls her lips into a smile and flicks the shard of glass from between her fingers.
Black Ibis: Things are starting to get interesting, aren't they?
Black Ibis: Like I said earlier, not bad at all.
With that, the two figures in black vanish out the door.
