Archive of Our Own ^beta

Prologue: Red Giant

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN- You are marinating in the darkness. Black as it’s always been. Black as can ever be.

LIMBIC SYSTEM - A Harry soup, waiting to be consumed by the masses in greedy gulps, until there is nothing left but sludge.

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN- A frog, willingly crawling into the pot to be boiled alive. Where did your instinct to survive go, Harry boy? Why do you crawl into the pot every day?

1. Because people need me.
2. Because I need people.
3. I don’t know, why do I crawl into the pot?
4. [Just continue to stew.]

YOU - Because people need me.

LIMBIC SYSTEM - LIES.

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - LIES.

YOU - [The blackness, a comfortable nothingness, warms up. The stove has been turned on. It would be comfortable, if you didn’t know what came next.]

1. Because people need me.
2. Because I need people.
3. I don’t know, why *do* I crawl into the pot?
4. [Just continue to stew.]

YOU - Because I need people.

LIMBIC SYSTEM - Do you, Harry? All other people do is make you hurt. They die, they argue, they *look at you*. It’s hell out there, and every person is a demon made to judge you for your sins.

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - And you’ve certainly sinned plenty, Harry boy.

LIMBIC SYSTEM - You’re the *original* sin.

LIMBIC SYSTEM Damned by your very existence to hurt the people you say you love.

YOU - [The heat continues to climb. The fires of damnation caress your nerves like a hug and like handcuffs. It hurts.]

1. Because people need me
2. Because I need people.
3. I don’t know, why do I crawl into the pot?
4. [Just continue to stew, because you deserve it.]

YOU - [Just continue to stew, because you deserve it.]

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - Oh, Harry. Harry, Harry, Harry. How do you not understand? The fire isn’t cleansing. This isn’t a purity ritual. You are just a corpse that hasn’t realized it’s died yet.

LIMBIC SYSTEM - You’re a stinky, char broiled corpse. You cannot escape your body. No Stations of the Breath will free you. Your remains will never be at rest. It’s too late for that. Too late for Harrier Du Bois,-

ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN - too late for Disco,-

LIMBIC SYSTEM - And too late for Revachol.

SHIVERS [Godly: Success] - IT IS NEVER TOO LATE. YOU ARE MORE THAN YOU REALIZE. GREATNESS COMES. YOU CANNOT STOP IT. I CANNOT STOP IT. IT BEGINS TONIGHT. I LOVE YOU.

YOU - [The heat, it’s too much. It’s tearing every cell apart, denaturing you. You are being unwound, turning from a man into proteins. From proteins into mud, from mud into nothing. But still you feel it. You feel it *all*. It never stops.

YOU The heat rises further. You are in the center of a supermassive star. You are the core, failing under your own gravity. You’re so hot, *so hot*, and yet it just gets hotter. You must be something else, you *must* be. There is no way but down. Down and down and down and down until-]

??? - “-rry! You’re thrashing in there, I need an answer!”

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Trivial: Success] - The voice of Kim Kitsuragi, Lieutenant Yefreitor of the 41st precinct, echoes through a closed door.

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - He’s frantic.

YOU - Your eyes fly open.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Hard: Failure] - You are in the passenger seat of a motorcarriage. The only light is from the moon and the flashlight in the lieutenant’s hands. It is pointed directly into your corneas.

1. “Huh? Wha…?”
2. [Reaction Speed - Heroic 16] Cover your eyes before you’re blinded by the flashlight.
3. [Logic - Medium 10] Remember where you are.
4. [Drama - Impossible 18] Say something smart, literally anything.

YOU - Cover your eyes before you’re blinded by the flashlight.

CHECK FAILURE

REACTION SPEED [Heroic: Failure] - By the time you raise your arm to cover them, it is too late. Your eyes are ruined.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - There is a new sun on the inside of your retinas, and it’s going to be there for at least five minutes. Hope you don’t have to see for a while.

1. “Huh? Wha…?"
2. [Logic - Medium 10]: Remember where you are.
3. [Drama - Impossible 18]: Say something smart, literally anything.

YOU - Remember where you are.

CHECK SUCCESS

LOGIC[Medium: Success] - You can piece this together relatively quickly. You’re in a motorcarriage-

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Failure]/ INTERFACING [Medium: Success] - not the Kineema-

ENCYCLOPEDIA - Huh- What?

INTERFACING - Yeah, I thought it was the Kineema too, but look at the dashboard. It’s missing the nitro and suspension dials.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Success] - Yes, I see it now. This is a Coupris 43’. Manufactured the same year as the Kineema, this model has a few upgrades from the 40’, but is no sports vehicle like its fraternal twin. Most of the upgrades had to do with fuel efficiency and improved traction on slippery or poorly paved roads. The most important thing about the 43’, however, was not those upgrades, as much as it wasn’t a carriage model that “looked” like a cop cage. Almost every vehicle in possession of the RCM is a Coupris 40’, making the make very recognizable, for both good and ill. Pryce had decided it was a good investment for undercover and surveillance work, and had paid for half the vehicle out of his own pocket. The ICM had begrudgingly paid for the other half.

LOGIC - It also, technically, belongs to the 57th. A replacement for the vehicle they surrendered to Kitsuragi when the lieutenant transferred.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Pryce convinced the 57th to let you borrow it for a stakeout. They couldn’t really say no.

LOGIC - And now you are here. On said stakeout.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - *Lieutenant Yefreitor Kim Kitsuragi is on a hill above an abandoned gas stop, prone. He has binoculars in one hand, and his notebook in the other. Someone has been siphoning gasoline out of here and smuggling it, and it’s a dangerous amount. Enough that the RCM wants to track it down.

ESPRIT DE CORPS There’s movement by the stakeout vehicle. ‘It must be Harry.’ Kim thinks. But he doesn’t see the hand adjust the side mirror, his signal that the suspect has been spotted. In fact, it looks like thrashing. Like the motorcarriage is seizing.

ESPRIT DE CORPS ‘Not good.’ He thinks, getting to his feet in a flash. He packs the binoculars and the notebook into their pockets instinctively, and in the same motion retrieves his flashlight from another. His right hand hovers over his holster as he jogs down the hill as quickly as he can. ‘Very not good.’

ESPRIT DE CORPS He arrives prepared for a shootout, but all he sees is his partner writhing in the passenger seat, eyes closed and sweat drenching his face.

ESPRIT DE CORPS ‘Shit.’*

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Trivial: Success] - You are brought back to the present as you hear the driver side door open and your partner asks you another question.

KIM KITSURAGI - “Detective, are you okay? Do you need me to call the Lazareth?”

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Impossible: Failure] - Your eyes are still shot, so you can’t make out his expression.

EMPATHY [Formidable: Failure] - Judging by the tone, he’s either very worried or very pissed. Probably both.

KIM KITSURAGI - “Please answer me.”

1. “Shit! The stakeout. I fell asleep at a stakeout. Fuck!”
2. “Sorry Kim, I think I must have dozed off. Won’t happen again.”
3. [Drama - Heroic 16] Convince him you were getting rid of a tracking device, like a cool cop.
4. [Composure - Hard 12] “Fine, let’s just get back to the job. We can salvage this.”

YOU - “Shit! The stakeout. I fell asleep at a stakeout. Fuck!”

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Hard: Success] - The other detective lets out a breath he’d been holding.

EMPATHY [Hard: Failure] - A sigh of relief? Or frustration? It’s hard to tell.

KIM KITSURAGI - “If it makes you feel better, there’s been no activity all night, and it’s well past when our witness says that they saw our suspect the last two times. They simply aren’t going to arrive tonight, I think.”

RHETORIC [Easy: Success] - He’s trying to convince himself as well as you.

1. “You wanna call it?” (Explore)
2. “Was still a stupid way to botch a stakeout. Sorry.”
3. “Well, a bust’s a bust, I guess. Let’s just get back.” (Proceed)

YOU - "You wanna call it?"

KIM KITSURAGI - “Normally I wouldn’t, but…”

EMPATHY [Very Hard: Success] - ‘But I just saw my partner have a seizure, and I think that’s more important.’ He thinks.

KIM KITSURAGI - “But if our target was here, they certainly wouldn’t be after the commotion we, or rather I, just raised. There’s no real point in staying.”

1. “He could be late, we might still have time.”
2. “Was still a stupid way to botch a stakeout. Sorry.”
3. “Well, a bust’s a bust, I guess. Let’s just get back.” (Proceed)

YOU - "He could be late, we might still have time."

KIM KITSURAGI - “No. Not with the amount of gasoline they appear to be siphoning per night. There would be no time. They’re not here.”

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success]: An oil barrel has a volume of 158.98 liters, and a gasoline pump can pump on average 30 liters a minute.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Hard: Success] - That itself averages to five minutes and twenty seconds per barrel. Several barrels’ worth, at least ten, have been getting taken from this station each night for the last month, according to the billing receipts received from the oil company. They’d need to be more obvious than they’ve been to have been transporting all that gas all at once, and the tire tracks around the scenes show no industrial-size lorries have been here. They’re filling it piecemeal. If the evidence is correct, whoever did this, they did this slowly and carefully over several hours.

RHETORIC - In short, he’s right.

VOLITION [Hard: Success] - Go home, Harry. Take a rest.

1. “He could be late, we might still have time.”
2. “Was still a stupid way to botch a stakeout. Sorry.”
3. “Well, a bust’s a bust, I guess. Let’s just get back.” (Proceed)

YOU - “Well, a bust’s a bust, I guess. Let’s just get back.”

KIM KITSURAGI - “Let’s.”

KIM KITSURAGI Kim enters the driver’s seat, closing the door gently behind him. With what’s left of your eyesight, you see the flashlight disappear into the darkness.

INLAND EMPIRE [Hard: Success] - Oho! Kim has access to pocket dimensions! Why has he not shared this with you before?! You could be pocket dimension buddies!

LOGIC [Trivial: Success] - No, he just has *pockets*. Not *pocket dimensions*. Like you do.

SAVOIRE FAIRE [Medium: Success] - I mean, if we can teleport, why can’t Kim have a pocket dimension?

LOGIC [Trivial: Success] - We didn’t teleport! Harry just closed his eyes and climbed a ladder! We’ve been over this!

COUPRIS 43’ - The engine wakes up with a whine as Kim puts the key in the ignition. A couple of seconds pass before it relents and settles into a purr, its halogen eyes devouring the darkness in front of it.

INLAND EMPIRE - You should ask him about his pocket dimension!

RHETORIC - You really shouldn’t.

VOLITION - You really shouldn’t.

LOGIC - Do not fucking ask him.

1. “Oh my god, I didn’t know you had pocket dimensions too, we can be pocket dimension buddies!”
2. [Drama - Medium 11] Ask about the pocket dimensions, but in a plausibly deniable way.
3. [Composure - Formidable 13] Don’t comment on Kim’s pocket dimension.

YOU - “Oh my god, I didn’t know you had pocket dimensions too, we can be pocket dimension buddies!”

KIM KITSURAGI - Kim is unflappable in the face of your suggestion. “I do not have ‘Pocket dimensions’ Detective. I have pockets. They have defined dimensions. I assure you.”

KIM KITSURAGI He guides the clutch into first gear, then continues, “We need to contact the station and inform them we’re returning an hour ahead of time."

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - He means *you* need to contact the station and inform them.

HALF LIGHT [Easy: Success] - He wants the blame for the failed operation to fall squarely on *your* shoulders.

1. “Yeah, lemme pull out the shortwave.”
2. “You mean ‘I’ need to contact the station. Tell them ‘I’ ruined the stakeout.”

YOU - “Yeah, lemme pull out the shortwave.”

YOU You unhook the microphone from the speakers and tune in to precinct 41. You are greeted by a woman’s voice. The night operator.

GRAYNELLA PACKER - “10-2 (Connection clear), 10-5 (Relaying message), 41st on the line, come in! Over.”

1. “10-4 (message received). Operation unsuccessful, 10-29 (time is up for contact). No sign of suspect. Over.”
2. “Firewalker and Crackshot reporting in. Stakeout’s a bust.”

YOU - “10-4 (message received) Operation unsuccessful, 10-29 (time is up for contact). No sign of suspect. Over.”

GRAYNELLA PACKER - “10-4, message received. 10-23, please stand by.”

SHORTWAVE - The gentle whisper of static and clicks populates the motorcarriage as Relay Officer Packer takes down the information.

GRAYNELLA PACKER - “10-19 (nothing else necessary, return to base), You boys are free to go. Anything else? Over.”

1. “10-4 (message received), 10-10 (transmission complete). No, nothing else. Have a good morning, Graynie. Over and out.”
2. “Nah, all clear here. Peace!”

YOU - “10-4 (message received), 10-10 (transmission complete). No, nothing else. Have a good morning, Graynie. Over and out.”

YOU You place the receiver on the hook as the 43’ pulls out of its hiding spot. A sigh from deep in your diaphragm falls out of your lungs as you sink back into the passenger seat.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Easy: Success] - At the rate you’re going, it’ll be 15 minutes before you reach the precinct.

STREETS OF JAMROCK - You and Kim spend a couple minutes in silence, watching the streets of the outer Jamrock merge into Jamrock proper. It gives you a moment to catch your breath, which you know is the intent.

EMPATHY [Hard: Success] - Kim’s worried. Something seemed different about this nightmare. He’s never seen you struggle like that in your sleep.

1. I don't see how it's different from all the other nightmares I've had.

YOU - I don’t see how it’s different from all the other nightmares I’ve had.

HALF LIGHT [Hard: Success] - Don’t lie to yourself. You KNOW that was weird. It was too clear. Too vivid.

PAIN THRESHOLD [Impossible: Failure] - That heat…

HALF LIGHT [Heroic: Success] - A taste of the Gloaming, gifted by the city herself.

KIM KITSURAGI - Kim takes a slight left onto one of the tributaries of Boogie Street.

RUE DE CLAIR - The street is as empty as it will ever be. The pre-dawn is a no-man’s-land between the daylight businesses and nightclubs.

HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success] - The lieutenant is gearing up his first assault. Ready your defenses.

KIM KITSURAGI - “That was… quite a nightmare. I was concerned it was a seizure at first.” Kim begins, clear and level. His voice cuts over the engine and the patchwork pavement.

1. “Just the usual, nothing to worry about.”
2. “Aww, you worried about me Kim?”
3. “That’s none of your business.”
4. “Yeah. It was bad.”
5. (Stay silent.)

YOU - “Just the usual, nothing to worry about.”

KIM KITSURAGI - “No, detective. It was not the usual.”

AUTHORITY [Hard: Failure] - It’s said so matter-of-factly that there is no room to argue. It is a fact as immutable as death and taxes.

SUGGESTION [Hard: Success] - Alright, new tactic. Redirect. Make him feel like he’s overstepping boundaries.

VOLITION [Heroic: Success] - Why do you feel you have to lie to Kim? He’s asking out of genuine concern, not to challenge you. Just be honest.

1. “Just the usual, nothing to worry about.”
2. “Aww, you worried about me Kim?”
3. “That’s none of your business.”
4. - “...Yeah. It was bad.”
5. (Stay silent.)

YOU - “... Yeah. It was bad.”

KIM KITSURAGI - “Do you want to talk about it?”

YOU - “I…”

1. “Yes”
2. “No”
3. “I don’t know.”

YOU - “No.”

KIM KITSURAGI - Kim says nothing for a moment, and suddenly the silence is deafening. Thankfully, he fills it in again as he says, “Very well. You should take some drouamine when I drop you off. I suspect you might have a fever that could be contributing to any nightmares. You’re coated in sweat as well, which is another sign of fever. Drouamine will lower it. If you don’t feel better in the morning, let me know. I have a mandatory three-day weekend that I’m getting out of the way starting tomorrow.

VOLITION - See? Kim respects you enough to back off if you’re honest with him.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Trivial: Success] - Why stop at one? It’s no opioid, but downing a package of those can create a serviceable high in a pinch. Dei knows we’ve been looking for an excuse.

VOLITION [Hard: Success] - Ignore that guy. You’re better than that. You’re over a month sober, you’re doing good. No reason to ruin that for a shit high.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Man, fuck you. Fine, if that’s ‘too much 'fun’ for you, at least down some toffees alongside the pill. We could use some sugar.

TASK GAINED: Take a dose of drouamine.

KIM KITSURAGI - Kim turns the radio on to RealRevacholFM, a station featuring local musicians and a wide variety of genres. While you both have channels you prefer more, it’s one that you both enjoy readily enough to be a staple.

REAL REVACHOL FM - The song is a soft but hopeful one, sung in the same key as the old Revacholian anthem. A piano croons gently as the singer caresses the lyrics.

SHIVERS - Three young Revacholians- a male pianist and two female singers- sit in a studio that’s been rented out for fifteen minutes. They had to spend the first ten minutes tuning the grand piano provided by the location. They have one chance to do this right before their 200 reál investment goes to waste. On the other side of the glass, their mixer gives them the go-ahead. The countdown reaches zero, and for four minutes and 36 seconds, the world is condensed to a record studio in La Delta. The piano sings. The lyricists pluck and warble and ring. They pour their souls onto the reels, and it’s the best moment of their lives.

YOU - You smile, and you see Kim do the same. This is what you both fight for.

KIM KITSURAGI - “Let me drop you off first. I need to return the 43’ to the 57th, and there’s no need to do the trip twice.”

1. “Only if you let me pay for the kebabs next time we get lunch on duty.”

YOU - “Only if you let me pay for the kebabs next time we get lunch on duty.”

KIM KITSURAGI - the corner of his mouth quirks slightly as he speaks, and his eyes sparkle with the barest hint of mirth. “Deal, Du Bois.”

SAVOIRE FAIRE - Damn, how does he look so damn *cool* all the time?!

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - It’s a gift given to him by the gods. There’s no other explanation.

KIM KITSURAGI - “- Now get out of my MC.”

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Easy: Failure] - You hadn’t even noticed that Kim had pulled up to your apartment building.

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant puts the motorcarriage in park on the side of the road, and waits for you to exit.

1. “Okay, okay. Fuck you too, Lieutenant.”
2. "Aye aye, captain!" (Salute the lieutenant and exit the motorcarriage.)

YOU - “Aye aye, captain!” You salute, and open the door to leave. It takes you a moment to actually get out, as your thighs fight pins and needles from sitting in the same position for so long.

ENDURANCE [Trivial: Success] - You will not be cowed by minor nerve pain! You are an unstoppable force!

PAIN THRESHOLD [Hard: Failure] - Combined with soreness from today’s physical therapy and an old gunshot wound though…

DAMAGED HEALTH -1

YOU - A hiss escapes your teeth as the aches and pains of the day reassert themselves by force. You have to grip hard on the carriage door for support while it subsides.

HEALTH HEALED +1

1. "Fuck, I'm old."

YOU - “Fuck, I’m old.” You wince.

EMPATHY [Heroic: Success] - Kim Kitsuragi is a professional, and so does not laugh. Even though he dearly wants to.

KIM KITSURAGI - “That we are. Good night, detective.”

YOU - You close the door, and as you turn towards your apartment door, the sound of the Coupris riding off into the distance gives you the strength to turn the key in the lock, and walk inside.

YOU - The door creaks sadly as you close it behind you.

1. [Look around]

YOU - [Look around]

REDEEMED APARTMENT - What you see is a serviceable living quarter, a far cry from the artistic representation of the People’s Pile it had been when you first arrived from Martinaise. That had been a sight burned into your skull for weeks afterwards. It made your hostel room in the Whirling-in-Rags look positively pristine in comparison.

RECOLLECTION OF THAT DAY - “Dei’s tits, shitkid, you didn’t tell me it was *this* bad." Vicquemare had said, stepping over piles of take-out boxes and bottles of commodore red. You had watched in a mix of horror and amazement as he went so surefooted into the apartment like it *wasn’t* irradiated. He paused in the center of no man's land, taking it all in.

RECOLLECTION OF THAT DAY He turned around to face the audience. “Well. You can’t sleep here tonight." He said, kicking a bottle of Pilsner by his foot aside for emphasis.

RECOLLECTION OF THAT DAY“Agreed." The lieutenant affirmed, having made his way beside you at the apartment entrance at some point while you’d been marvelling at the squalor. Kim’s expression had been iron, cast into a mold of quiet neutrality, but you could tell by the way Kim’s hands clenched each other rigidly behind his back- like they too were cast in iron- that he was shocked, maybe even horrified, by the state the apartment was in. Or maybe it was the smell that had Kim reeling. Probably both. Kim continued, tone carefully level, “Do you have any suggestions, Detective Vicquemare?"

RECOLLECTION OF THAT DAY “Can’t stay with Judit, she’s got a husband and kids to get back home to. Definitely can’t come fucking home with me, hostels are too expensive…" Jean ran a hand through his hair, the other resting on his hip as he went through possible solutions to the ‘Harry Du Bois Conundrum.’

RECOLLECTION OF THAT DAYKim spoke up, “I have a couch I can spare. He can stay with me until a more permanent solution is found."

RECOLLECTION OF THAT DAY You had looked at the detective with no small amount of shock. “You’re serious?" You asked, baffled that Kim, of all people, would let you pollute his home with your presence.

RECOLLECTION OF THAT DAY Kim had simply side-eyed you with the barest quirk of *the eyebrow*. “I would not offer such a thing as a joke, officer."

YOU - And so you had spent the night on Kim Kitsuragi’s couch. And the night after that. You were there for a week in total, until your apartment was deemed “safe for human life."

YOU It’s taken two months of refurbishing, thrifting, and repairs, but it’s starting to become a place that you actually like.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - The apartment, much like yourself, has become a patchwork of ideas and convictions with varying levels of follow-through. It was too small to really hold all your *you-ness*, but you’ve made do with the room you have.

REDEEMED APARTMENT - All around you are photos and paintings covering the walls, and where there isn’t, there’s shelves and cabinets, similarly filled to the brim. To your right is your kitchen, countertop stacked high with pots and pans, your stovetop the only clear space, and a small sink with a single bowl inside.

YOU - You only use that bowl, really. You put the rest on top of the dish cabinet because cleaning one was a lot less stressful than cleaning multiple.

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - It was probably a lot easier when your dishwasher worked, but that had apparently been a casualty of one of your rampages. It was on the list of things that Kim planned to repair on one of your mutual days off.

EMPATHY [Easy:Success] - He enjoys the challenge.

REDEEMED APARTMENT - Directly ahead of you is the door to your room, recently replaced. The original had not been salvageable.

YOU - You remembered why not long after the repair effort on the apartment began. You had taken pyrholidon on a day off and painted Dolores Dei on your door during the high. When you stumbled back from the bar the next day, the sight of her flaxen hair and reproachful mein had so enraged you that you tried to tear out her lungs. You ripped the door off its hinges and tore at it like a dog. You remembered a sick sort of satisfaction surging through you as you had driven your heel into her plywood lungs, puncturing the left, then the right. You had then used your hands to dig into the wood and demolish her whole chest cavity. When you had realized what you’d done, you covered your mistake with several feet of aluminium foil wrapped over the door, and tried to reseat the door on its hinges. It didn’t work (You had known it wouldn’t, you ripped the door off its hinges like it owed you money, you fucking lunatic.) When Gottleib had asked what you did to ruin your hands so thoroughly that you needed twenty stitches, you couldn’t answer.

YOU You want to paint it again, something new to cover the memory, but you’re still deciding on what.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - Revachol wasn’t built in a day. True art takes time.

YOU - you nod to yourself. This is a long term thought project. The breakthrough will come to you when it’s ready.

REDEEMED APARTMENT - To your left is the living area. Two chairs sit close to the opposite wall, one is an old dining chair, and the other is an office chair stolen from work. In between them is a nightstand with a video projector on one side, and a radio on the other. Behind the chairs are two bookshelves with books of every genre populating the shelves. Many had to be tossed, but many more had survived. It was reassuring to know that something survived the months leading up to martinaise.

THE REDEEMED APARTMENT In the corner is your record player, as well as your records in the sleeve on the top of the record stand.

INTERFACING - It’s one of the few truly nice things you own.

REDEEMED APARTMENT - On the leftmost wall is a small window. All you can see out of it is the brick facade of the building next door. It gets some ambient sunlight, though, so you have a small stool and your art easel next to it for more light. You keep your paints on the sill, since you don’t have room for a proper desk. On the wall connected to the apartment entrance is a large blackboard. When you want to watch videos, you cover it with a white linen sheet. When you have a case, it frequently becomes somewhere you plaster your thoughts in chalk and see what sticks. For tougher cases, you flip it over and use the corkboard side and actually string together the pieces of the case with yarn and thumbtacks.

REDEEMED APARTMENT Apparently you and Jean spent several evenings looking at this corkboard when you couldn’t justify staying at the precinct to the captain, but you were both too wired to stop thinking about a case. There were a nonzero amount of cases solved after several sleepless nights in a row staring at this board, according to him.

REDEEMED APARTMENT And so you return to the start, with the entrance to your apartment behind you.

1. Put something on the record player.
2. Go to bed (proceed)

YOU - Put something on the record player.

YOU - You shuffle over to the record player and thumb through your collection.

INLAND EMPIRE- How does a little Sea Power sound?

CONCEPTUALIZATION - I do love a more abstract sound when we’re winding down.

EMPATHY - Something soothing sounds nice, how about the B side of their second album?

HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Medium: Success] - You know the one you’re thinking of, and pluck it seamlessly from its spot in the accordion of vinyls.

YOU - You set the needle on the record player and spend a couple moments enjoying the opening notes of “Stay with Me" before taking a handful of strides back to your bedroom door.

THE BEDROOM - The door opens silently on its hinges and you enter the small bedroom. The bedroom walls are covered in newspaper clippings from the era of disco and posters of Contact Mike or Gillaume le Millione. Beyond that, there’s a messy nightstand and an unmade bed that you don’t really fit, but you needed something-*anything* that wasn’t that wreck of a mattress that was in here before. You slide your favorite snakeskin shoes off onto the shoe rack to your right of the bedroom door and get dressed for bed.

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - Don’t forget the drouamine.

1. Take a drouamine.
2. Don’t take any drouamine.

YOU - Take a drouamine.

YOU - You stop yourself before you fully sit down on the bed, and go into the bathroom to take a drouamine.

YOU - You turn on the light to the bathroom and are greeted by your own reflection. You look better than you did in Martinaise. The redness has been receding bit by bit, and the swelling has gone down. Both might never fully go away, but it’s progress.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Starting to lose a little flab in that beer gut too. We might make a real man out of you yet!

1. Shoot finger guns at your reflection.
2. Retrieve the drouamine from the medicine cabinet. (Proceed)

YOU - Shoot finger guns at your reflection.

YOU - You fire off a round at the mirror, and get a volley returned to yourself in kind.

SAVOIRE FAIRE - Who’s that handsome motherfucker firing finger guns? That’s right, it’s you, baby.

MORALE HEALED+1

VOLITION - We are, but we came in here for something else.

1. Retrieve the drouamine from the medicine cabinet. (Proceed)

YOU - Retrieve the drouamine from the medicine cabinet.

YOU - You reach into the medicine cabinet to the left of the mirror and grab the single blister pack of drouamine from the lowest shelf before closing it again.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Hard: Failure] - Is this really all we have? That’s basically nothing! How are we supposed to get high off this?!

LOGIC - That was the point. All downing a single blister pack of four pills would do is cause dizziness and hurt your kidneys. No point but taking the recommended dose.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - BOO. BORING.

1. Open a single blister.

YOU - Open a single blister.

YOU - You open a single blister of drouamine and put the pill on your tongue, then chase it with water. The water is lukewarm, but it’s refreshing all the same.

HEALTH HEALED +1

TASK COMPLETE: Take a drouamine

YOU - Your gaze returns to the mirror as the pill slides down your throat. Task complete, you turn around and -

REACTION SPEED [Impossible: Success] - Wait.

1. ‘Wait?’

YOU - ‘Wait?’

REACTION SPEED - There was something weird in the reflection. For a nanosecond.

YOU - You turn around and look at your reflection again, more carefully.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Impossible: Failure] - You look like how you’ve always looked.

REACTION SPEED - I, no. That’s not right. I KNOW I saw something.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - Care to share with the class what it was, then?

REACTION SPEED - I can’t really describe it, I just know there was something… weird around the head area.

INLAND EMPIRE [Impossible: Success] - The answer can be found down Motorway South.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Success] - “You can find something down Motorway South" is a phrase meaning that searching for something is pointless, often with subtext implying that the time to look for it was long ago.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Godly: Failure] - AKA, there’s nothing to be done about it now.

PERCEPTION (SIGHT) - Well, things seem fine here. Probably a false alarm.

REACTION SPEED - …Yeah, I guess so.

YOU - You tear your eyes away from the mirror and turn off the light to the bathroom. Turning around to the bed again, you slide under your sheets. The second you let your head hit the pillow, exhaustion hits you like a sledgehammer. You barely have time to set your alarm for noon before you sink into the darkness.

~~~~~~~~~

YOU - All at once, the heat returns. It is even more agonizing being put into the middle of it out of nowhere. Every nerve ending is screaming, begging for mercy. Nothing you’ve ever felt can compare. Even your inner demons have fled under the onslaught. You have to do something, ANYTHING, to escape the agony. This cannot continue. You would rather die than experience this.

SHIVERS [Godly: Success] - For the briefest moment, there is a coolness brushing your spine.

SHIVERS YOU CANNOT DIE, HARRIER DU BOIS. YOUR DEATH WOULD MEAN MINE AS WELL.

YOU - You cling to the sensation, a desperate lifeline, but no sooner is it there that it is gone again.

YOUIf you could you would feel it somehow crueler to have been given taste of relief before falling back into the pain. But you cannot. You are no more than receptacle for pain.

SHIVERS [Godly: Success] - YOU MUST SURVIVE, HARRIER DU BOIS. REACH, EXPAND, GRASP.

YOU - You barely have time to register the reprieve before it burns away. You forget the next moment it even happened. Burnt away, burnt away.

SHIVERS [Impossible: Failure] - …

SHIVERS [Impossible: Failure] - …

SHIVERS [Impossible: Failure] - …

YOU - You feel something, somewhere, but it’s not enough. How could anything be enough? How could anything come close to the center of a dying star? You are an impossible point. Compressed into infinity.

SHIVERS [???]/ ESPRIT DE CORPS [???] - R E A C H .

YOU - You don’t think, you just do. You reach, reach, reach, and then-

??? - A soul. A shape? A shape you know. It’s a good shape. You like this shape.

SHIVERS [???]/ ESPRIT DE CORPS [???]/ INLAND EMPIRE [???] - E X P A N D .

YOU - You… You like things. That’s right. You are real. You occupy space. You are a “you". You *are* you. You will not wither into nothing. You will grow and be and more and more and more and more and-

SHIVERS [???]/ ESPRIT DE CORPS [???]/ INLAND EMPIRE [???]EMPATHY [???]- G R A S P .

YOU - The good shape, you grasp it.

YOU And the hand of Kim Kitsuragi grasps you back.

CHAPTER 4: COMBUSTION

NIX GOTTLIEB - “Well, get over here, Du Bois. Leftmost bed, please. I don’t want to waste more time on this than I have to.”

1. "You don't have to be a dick about it." [slowly walk over to the sickbed.]
2. “Oh, yeah, of course.” [Quickly walk over to the sickbed.]
3. [Silently walk at normal speed to the sickbed]

YOU - “Oh, yeah, of course.”

You scuttle over to the bed he describes, having to hop a little to get properly on the navy stretcher/bed. The protective wax paper on top crunches loudly as you get situated.

THE LAZARETH - The room is chilled, and the only light is coming from the morning sun through the frosted window above.

Gottlieb is grabbing supplies from the medicine cabinet while muttering something to himself.

1. Kick your feet while you wait, ignoring the mumbling.
2. Try to listen in.

YOU- Try to listen in.

CHECK #)(^%%&*

INLAND EMPIRE - Another anomaly.

1. I can't believe this...
2. Fuck, *another* one? Which one?

YOU - Fuck, *another* one? Which one?

THE LAZARETH - You are interrupted by Gottlieb approaching your spot. He puts on a set of rubber gloves as he approaches, each one producing a light slap as they’re pulled on.

NIX GOTTLIEB - “Let me see your hand.”

1. Hold out your hand.
2. Don't hold out your hand.

YOU - Hold out your hand.

NIX GOTTLIEB - He takes your right arm above the wrist and turns it this way and that.

“Open and close it for me.”

1. Open and close your hand.

YOU - Open and close your hand.

NIX GOTTLIEB - The Lazareth watches you impassively as you do so a couple times, then, seemingly satisfied, he announces “Alright. Seen worse coffee burns. Come over here and run your hand under the tap for a couple minutes.”

He leads you over to the sink behind his desk, running the tap and testing the temperature before moving away to let you in. The water is just barely chilled, although it’s hard to tell through the burn. Behind you, you hear Gottlieb scratching away on an incident form.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Medium: Success] - Psst. Hey. Harry. You should look for some rubbing alcohol. Doctors keep that shit everywhere, right? He’s busy with his report, you can sneak a bit when he’s not looking!

VOLITION [Medium: Success] - *Rubbing alcohol?* Seriously? Are you *trying* to get him killed?

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Hey, I’m just trying to loosen us up. We’ve been having a rough few days with these “anomalies”.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - Gottlieb keeps all forms of alcohol or substances locked away, having learned his lesson decades ago with previous alcoholics employed at the 41st. The keys are on his person at all times for the same reason.

VOLITION [Easy: Success]- Just do as the Lazareth says.

1. Do as Gottlieb says.
2. [Electrochemistry - Heroic 15] Look subtly for some rubbing alcohol.

YOU - Do what Gottlieb says.

You let the water continue over your hand as the chatter in your head intensifies. This is the seventh time you've specifically tried to get input from the peanut gallery, and had it come up empty in the last four days, and now the second time in ten minutes.

1. And none of you guys have any idea what’s happening?

YOU - And none of you guys have any idea what’s happening?

INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] - I told you the first time. It’s plasmic manifestations, Harry.

1. Okay, but what do I *do* with that? Isn't there anything more… Logical I can work off of?

YOU - Okay, but what do I *do* with that? Isn't there anything more… Logical I can work off of?

...

1. I said, is there anything more LOGICAL I can work off of?

YOU - I said, is there anything more LOGICAL I can work off of?

CHECK #%^&&#?

1. So there’s still no signal there?

YOU - So there’s still no signal there?

DRAMA - That seems to be the case, sire.

REACTION SPEED - Hey! At least the cop radio’s back!

ESPRIT DE CORPS - ‘Back?’ I’m not sure what you’re referring to.

1. Oh, yeah! I hadn't even noticed! Glad to have you back, buddy!

YOU - Oh, yeah! I hadn't even noticed! Glad to have you back, buddy!

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Glad to... be back? I'm sorry, I'm still confused as to what you're referring to.

ENDURANCE - You were down for a while, brother.

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - We were worried you left the team for good! I knew you hadn’t obviously. The others wouldn’t believe me though.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - I don’t recall any such 'downtime'. What happened?

SUGGESTION - Well, nothing. That was the problem, it was like you disappeared. We’ve been having issues with the others too, but so far you’re the only one who’s come back.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Like whom?

NIX GOTTLIEB - “That’s enough. Over here.”

YOU - You are jolted out of your rumination by the Lazareth calling you back over to the examination sickbed.

1. Hold on, this seems thought project worthy. Can we update the old one?

YOU - Hold on, this seems thought project worthy. Can we update the old one?

VOLITION - Seems like a good idea.

THOUGHT U?D#T3D:LUDONARRATIVE DISAPPEARANCE

PROBLEM

1. What the fuck?

YOU - What the fuck?

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Hold on, I’ve got this. Just gotta apply a little percussive maintenance. HUWAGH!

1. *OW!* That just made it worse!

YOU - *OW!* That just made it worse!

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT - Hm. Well, I’m out of ideas.

NIX GOTTLIEB - “Du Bois!”

COMPOSURE [Medium: Success] - Nix Gottlieb is not a man who'll be kept waiting.

1. "Damn, take a chill pill, my man- I'm coming!"
2. "Fuck off, I'm in the middle of figuring out why my brain is breaking."
3. "Right, sorry."

YOU - “Right, sorry.”

You turn off the faucet with your good hand and walk back over to the stretcher.

NIX GOTTLIEB - Gottlieb wheels over a small rolling metal table with gauze and some lotion.

“Open your hand. Palm up, fingers spread.”

1. Open your hand as instructed.

YOU - Open your hand as instructed.

NIX GOTTLIEB - He leans in and looks at the palm of your right hand again.

“Well, the interior joints between your index and thumb might have some issues, but the burns on the top of your hand are looking superficial. It’ll hurt like hell for a few days, but you’ll live. The interior one is going to be an issue though. Partial thickness, so expect blisters. Don’t pick at them, and redress them every 24 hours for a week. One drouamine- ONE, Du Bois- every day in the morning for a week starting today.”

1. "Wow, really feeling the love."
2. “You got it, doc.”

YOU - “You got it, doc.”

NIX GOTTLIEB - “I hope you do for your sake. Now watch how I dress this so you can do it at home.”

YOU - Before he applies any bandages he squirts out some lotion from the tube on the table and applies it to the back of your hand. Then, he wraps the gauze expertly over the reddened hand, starting at the wrist, making a loop around each finger a couple times before wrapping back to the wrist. By the end, your hand feels like it’s inside a tight pair of weird fingerless gloves, where the palm is exposed, but the back is completely covered.

HAND-EYE COORDINATION - Sequence memorized and ready for deployment when necessary, boss.

NIX GOTTLIEB - “You’ll have to get the drouamine from one of your coworkers or the store, I’m not handing out painkillers like candy. Other than that, you’re all set.”

1. "Sorry about this, by the way."
2. “Thanks, Nix.”
3. [Leave.]

YOU - “Thanks, Nix.”

NIX GOTTLIEB - “Thank me by staying out of here for longer than a week.”

1. "Sorry about this, by the way."
2. “Thanks, Nix.”
3. [Leave.]

YOU - [Leave.]

YOU You get off the sickbed and shuffle out of the Lazareth.

REACTION SPEED [Formidable: Failure] Wait, someone's-!

YOU - You don’t get more than two steps out the door before crashing face-first into Jean Vicquemare.

PAIN THRESHOLD [Easy: Failure] - Your nose recoils off the cheekbone of the Lieutenant like a deflated dodgeball against a concrete wall. Ow.

JEAN VICQUEMARE - “Augh! Shit, shitkid! Watch where you’re fucking going!” He rubs his cheek where your deflated dodgeball nose insulted his face.

1. “Watch where *I’m* going?! You’re the one who ran into *me!*”
2. "I'm sorry, Vic. I'm a trash human being and I should never have been born. Please burn me on a pyre."

YOU - “Watch where *I’m* going?! You’re the one who ran into *me!*”

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - His eyes narrow dangerously. *Oh, here we go.* He thinks. *We’re doing this? Here? *Now?*

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Formidable: Success] - The Lieutenant reigns himself in just before his temper *really* flares. He has two new cases he has to work today alongside his other two. He doesn’t have time for this.

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - But he’ll *make* time if you continue to be a prick.

INLAND EMPIRE [Medium: Success] - Don’t be a prick. The worst timelines happen when you’re a prick.

AUTHORITY [Heroic: Success] - You are still his superior. Being a prick is your RIGHT. Put him in his place!

1. "Sorry Jean. it's been a morning." (Don't be a prick.)
2. "Sorry Jean, I had nothing better to do than ruin your day. Glad I can check that off my list, now." (Be a prick.)
3. "Fuck off, man. I have more important shit to do." (Be a *huge* prick.)
4. "Don't you have better things to do that insult your superior officer?" (Be the BIGGEST prick.)
5. What the fuck is all this?! Why am I even thinking any of these?! I like Jean!

YOU - What the fuck is all this?! Why am I even thinking any of these?! I like Jean!

VOLITION - Old habits, even forgotten, die hard. The good news is you don't have to be that man anymore.

1. "Sorry Jean. it's been a morning." (Don't be a prick.)
2. "Sorry Jean, I had nothing better to do than ruin your day. Glad I can check that off my list, now." (Be a prick.)
3. "Fuck off, man. I have more important shit to do." (Be a *huge* prick.)
4. "Don't you have better things to do than insult your superior officer?" (Be the BIGGEST prick.)
5. What the fuck is all this?! Why am I even thinking any of these? I like Jean!

YOU - “Sorry Jean. It’s been a morning.” (Don't be a prick.)

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - His hackles visibly settle. He’s grateful this isn’t going to become a whole Thing. He came here to check on you, not tear you a new asshole.

1. Aww, he came to check on me?

YOU - Aww, he came to check on me?

ESPRIT DE CORPS Medium: Success] - Always has, always will. He hates it, but he worries about you.

JEAN VICQUEMARE - “Yeah, heard from Kitsuragi.” He stops rubbing his cheek and instead rests his hand on his hip while he sizes you up.

ELECTROCHEMISTRY - Damn, he looks hot when he does that.

1. What?

YOU - What?

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Easy: Success] - Aesthetically. The way a sunset or a statue is.

1. I don’t know if I’d call a sunset “hot”...

YOU - I don’t know if I’d call a sunset “hot”...

CONCEPTUALIZATION - It’s the sun, isn’t it? The sun is very hot. It’s the ORIGIN of hot.

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - The sun is responsible for almost all the energy on Elysium in some form. The surface is estimated to reach about 10,000 degrees, and the core could be close to 30 million. So yes, it's very hot.

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Failure] - We’re zoning out, guys. He’s asking us a question.

JEAN VICQUEMARE - “-hand?”

1. "Say that again? I missed it."
2. Infer what he said with context clues.

YOU - Infer what he said with context clues.

CHECK ^&_*@&^

1. Are you *shitting* me?! Guess I'm stuck with the other option?

YOU - Are you *shitting* me?! Guess I'm stuck with the other option?

DRAMA [Heroic: Success] - Hold on! I can come up with something with just "hand"... Yes! try this on for size, my liege.

1. "Say that again? I missed it."
2. "Huh? Oh, my hand's gonna be fine."

YOU - “Huh? Oh, my hand’s gonna be fine.”

EMPATHY [Trivial: Success] - His natural scowl rakes ever deeper furroms across his face. Oops. Wrong answer.

JEAN VICQUEMARE - “Host in-” He cuts himself off. “Case! Lend him a hand with the *case*!”

1. "Say that again? I missed it."
2. "Huh? Oh, my hand's gonna be fine."
3. [Composure - Formidable 13] Look like you have any idea what he's talking about.

YOU - Look like you have any idea what he's talking about.

-2 One of those mornings.

CHECK FAILURE

COMPOSURE [Formidable: Failure] - Uh... Um...

1. “Who? What?”

YOU - “Who? What?”

JEAN VICQUEMARE - “I-? Do you even-? No, of course you don’t. Just go get the debrief from Kitsuragi, shitkid.”

And with that he storms off, shooing off a junior officer loitering by his desk like a seagull before he sits back down with a hand against his temple.

REACTION SPEED [Trivial: Success] - I think he was asking you to give Kim a hand with a new case.

SUGGESTION [Trivial: Success] - *Really?* What gave it away?

VOLITION [Easy: Success] - Just head back to your desk, Harry. Kim can fill you in and you can forget about this uncomfortable little exchange.

1. [Return to your desk.]

YOU - [Return to your desk.]

YOU You walk back to your desk at the end of the bullpen following a similar path to Jean, your snakeskin shoes joining a chorus of footsteps marching on the worn wooden floorboards until you reach the area designated for C-wing. Once there you see your partner reading through a file.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - That’s probably the one Lieutenant Vicquemare was talking about.

1. "Yo, yo, yo, Kim! How's it hanging?"
2. “Heya. Jean told me we have a new case?”

YOU - “Heya. Jean told me we have a new case?”

KIM KITSURAGI - “Mhm. Did he tell you anything about it?”

1. “No, he was too busy hitting my face with his face to tell me.”

YOU - “No, he was too busy hitting my face with his face to tell me.”

KIM KITSURAGI - Kim locks up for half a second.

COMPOSURE[Challenging: Success] - It’s taking everything in him not to laugh. You’ve just said something hilarious without even realizing it.

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - OH.

1. OH???
2. OH.

YOU - OH???

SUGGESTION - Oh, and you said that in earshot of -

CHESTER MCLAINE - “Mouth-jousting Vic in the middle of the precinct Mullen? Careful, or you’ll be rubbing one out for him by Thursday!”

MACK TORSON - “HA! Mouth-jousting!” Mack Torson is doubled over, barely able to get enough air in between wheezing brays. “Fuck- oh, wow! That’s good! I have to use that now!”

1. OH???
2. OH.

YOU - OH.

SUGGESTION - YEAH.

DRAMA [Medium: Success] - A shame you’ve been typecast, but a little wordplay will help save face.

1. Just wait it out.
2. [Drama - Easy 9] Act like it was intentional.

CHECK FAILURE

DRAMA [Easy: Failure] - You fail to school your mouth before the words fly out in a panic. The sound of the pair’s amusement only grows louder as they tumble out.

1. “I-! We ran into each other! It just happened- fuck, not like-”

YOU - “I-! We ran into each other! It just happened- fuck, not like-”

JEAN VICQUEMARE - “Yeah he fucked me good in the ass, real nasty shit. Got the taser out and everything. Can we move on? I have too much work to do to listen to this shit for however long you morons find it funny.”

SUGGESTION [Medium: Success] - This is his way of coming to your rescue. They'll never shut up if he doesn't beat them to the punch.

KIM KITSURAGI - “Khm.” Kim clears his throat. “Lieutenant Vicquemare is right. We have a case to get to that’s time sensitive. I’ll explain on the way.”

He stands, posture immaculate as ever. You tail him as he makes his way to the garage. It doesn’t take long for both of you to make it there. The second the door slams shut behind you, you hear a soft chuckle escape your partner.

KIM KITSURAGI - “Was that intentional, or…?” A smile pricks the edge of his lips and rests in his crows' feet.

1. “No! No, I- we just crashed into each other as I was leaving the Lazareth! Ugh…”

YOU - “No! No, I- we just crashed into each other as I was leaving the Lazareth! Ugh…”

KIM KITSURAGI - “I see. Well, no real harm done.” He looks at you warmly.

REACTION SPEED [Heroic: Success] - Something flickers behind his eyes.

COMPOSURE [Challenging: Success] - And then it’s gone again.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Challenging: Success] - A leak, quickly filled.

INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success] - But water still got in.

EMPATHY [Medium: Success] - The mirth in his eyes is gone.

KIM KITSURAGI - “Let’s drive. You can read the file and ask any questions on the way.”
He passes you the manila folder and begins to walk quickly to the Kineema.

1. Well, that was out of character. What’re we thinking? Push, don’t push?

YOU - Well, that was out of character. What’re we thinking? Push, don’t push?

VOLITION - Don’t push.

SUGGESTION - Not yet. Don’t push.

REACTION SPEED - Push.

AUTHORITY - Push.

DRAMA - Push.

EMPATHY - Don’t push.

INLAND EMPIRE - Push.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - Don’t push.

CONCEPTUALIZATION - Don’t push.

1. Anyone else have strong opinions? No? Then the nay’s have it. I’m not pushing him.

YOU - Anyone else have strong opinions? No? Then the nay’s have it. I’m not pushing him.

VOLITION - Good call. Let’s read that file instead. What are we working with?

UNASSUMING MANILA FOLDER - You open the folder, and inside is the familiar sight of the RCM logo and title page. A purseclip is clamped to the top-center of the page, holding the stack together.

1. Examine the cover page.
2. Flip through the pages.
3. [Close the file.]

YOU - Examine the cover page.

UNASSUMING MANILA FOLDER - There's room for the case title and the working detectives. There’s no case title yet, alphanumeric or titular. You’re the first detectives on this case.

1. Examine the cover page.
2. Flip through the pages.
3. [Close the file.]

YOU - Flip through the pages.

UNASSUMING MANILA FOLDER - The first page with actual information to glean is a transcript of five emergency line calls for three different fires across central Jamrock from times 4:02 am to 4:26 AM. First responders on each scene found evidence of gasoline being used to accelerate the growth of the fires. The last of the fires had a casualty, a woman, but beyond that identification was unsuccessful. All sites have been cordoned off and there are at least two patrol officers minding each scene, with six sent to station the final one.

1. Examine the cover page.
2. Flip through the pages.
3. “What are we thinking, Kim? Last one first?”
4. [Close the file.]

YOU - “What are we thinking, Kim? Last one first?”

KIM KITSURAGI - “Yes, that’s what I was thinking as well. Speaking of, we should be there in a couple minutes.”

~~

THE SKELETON OF THE ARTS AND CRAFTS BUILDING - The building is a relatively young one, built on top of the remains of an older building. The acrid smell of burnt paints, wood, and aerosols are the first thing that hit your nose when you and Kim pulled up to the building.

You exit the back seat and the two of you walk up to the officers managing the scene. The first ones to greet you are a pair of patrol officers from D-wing who introduce themselves as Officers Robin Porcher and Benjamin Lawson.

ENCYLCOPEDIA - Nominative determinism at it's finest.

YOU - You shake hands with both (having a brief moment where you had to switch hands before shaking because of the burn), and are amused by the contrast between the firm, confident handshake of the Aeropagite woman’s grip, and the sweaty, jittery one of her partner’s.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - *I can’t believe I’m shaking hands with THE Detective Du Bois!* He thinks, *He’s just as cool as I thought he would be!*

SAVOIRE FAIRE [Easy: Success] - He’s enamored, superstar! Shaking hands with his idol! You know what you have to do!

1. Give him a nod of respect.
2. [Pain Threshold - Medium 10] Shoot him your patented .9mm Villiers Fingerguns!

YOU - Shoot him your patented .9mm Villiers Fingerguns!

PAIN THRESHOLD [Medium: Success] - You power through the discomfort in your hand with ease, some things are more important than pain. This is one of them.

SAVOIRE FAIRE [Medium: Success] - as soon as you finish shaking his hand, you quickdraw Sinister and Dexter and- *Bang, Bang!* Your pistols fire!

BENJAMIN LAWSON - His face splits in a dopey grin.

EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - He’s trying not to swoon. He’s genuinely *that* much of a fan.

1. How?! Why *me?* What about any of the other less insane officers?

YOU - How?! Why *me?* What about any of the other less insane officers?

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - Oh, he worships a few other officers too, but you’re in a class all on your own.

SHIVERS [Challenging: Success] - In a battered tenement at the edge of Couron, a little girl is stacking blocks. She’s forgotten many things as she’s gotten older, and thankfully many of them are of the Bad Times. The Bad Times were scary, and she didn’t like them. But there’s one thing she doesn’t ever want to forget. It’s the funny loud man in the green jacket. He saved her when she was scared, and she promised him she would get him a Greta doll to thank him. She likes Greta dolls! She hopes he will too, one day.

By the ruins of a burned building, the funny loud man in the green jacket remembers a little girl, with a love for dolls.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Heroic: Success] - She is your niece by association. Your brother here is hers as well- though more literally.

1. "How's your sister?" (Holster your finger pistols.)

YOU - “How’s your sister?” (Holster your finger pistols.)

BENJAMIN LAWSON - His brows fly up in surprise. “You- you remember her?! I thought...”

ESPRIT DE CORPS - In the bowels of the Silk Mill, a pair of junior officers are delivering two boxes of completed case files to the evidence lockers, whispering conspiratorially to each other.

"They say that the Disco Detective completely lost his memory in that case with the Debardiers. Even forgot what *money* was!" Says one.

"I dunno, do you think they'd keep a liability like that on the force?" Says the other.

"Are you kidding? He's unfireable. I've seen him *drink* evidence, Klaus- Just to spite McCoy. He's been off his gourd since WAY before the strike."

"But complete memory loss? How could he even be a detective in that state?"

"Clearly detective enough to discover a damn crypid. And he's already cleared another, what, ten cases since he got back? Him and the new guy?"

"That just proves my point though!"

"Fine, killjoy. Something else, then. Did you hear about that spat between Berdyayeva and McCoy the other day? What do you think up's with them?"

"Sex. Easy."

The first one laughs. "Oh, man. You have a *lot* to learn about the 41st."

The two of them gossip amicably for a while longer, enjoying a brief moment of frivolity in each other's company.

1. "What, forget? Nah, I remember her!
2. "Oh, I did- forget almost everything I mean. But the City likes to catch me up on what I missed every now and then.”

YOU - “Oh, I did- forget almost everything I mean. But the City likes to catch me up on what I missed every now and then.”

BENJAMIN LAWSON - “Really?! I mean-! Um, she’s good! She’s… She’s really good.” His nervous smile of hero-worship fades into a gentle warmth of care as he speaks about his sister.

KIM KITSURAGI - “Khm.” Kim clears his throat. “Detective, I don’t mean to interrupt, but…”

SUGGESTION - ‘You’re getting off track.’

1. “Oh, oops. Yeah. Case first.”

YOU - “Oh, oops. Yeah. Case first.”

KIM KITSURAGI - “Yes.” Kim readjusts his glasses, then pulls out his trusty notebook, pen wielded expertly in his other hand.

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Easy: Success] - His sword and shield.

KIM KITSURAGI - “The report mentioned that you were the first two officers on the scene?”

ROBIN PORCHER - “That’s correct, Detective. By the time we got to the scene, the fire had been through the whole building, and blasted out the windows. Someone called it in only once the fire could be seen a few blocks away.

1. “Odd. Why did nobody call it in before it got that bad?”

YOU - “Odd. Why did nobody call it in before it got that bad?”

ROBIN PORCHER - “We don’t know, sir. We didn’t have time to canvas the neighborhood between evacuation and assisting the fire team.”

KIM KITSURAGI - “Do you have a list of the people evacuated?”

BENJAMIN LAWSON - We do! Give me- hold on…” He runs over to a *very* old Linnea and grabs a small sheaf of papers from the glovebox.

“Here. I had one of the Junior Officers catalogue names and addresses of as many of the evacuees as possible, plus phone numbers if they had a phone line.”

YOU - You scan the papers, Kim hovering beside you to take a look.

COMPOSURE [Formidable: Success] - You hear his breath stutter for half a second.

REACTION SPEED [Challenging: Success] - He was startled by something.

1. “You okay, Kim?”
2. [Don't comment on it.]

YOU - “You okay, Kim?”

EMPATHY [Challenging: Success] - A flare of anger flickers ominously across his face. He’s quick to smother it, but it takes significant effort.

KIM KITSURAGI - “Of course. Just reminded of something.”

1. “What?”

YOU - “What?”

KIM KITSURAGI - “Nothing important.” Kim closes his notebook with a little more force than normal and returns it to his jacket, stepping away from you and returning his focus to the two officers. “We’ll be heading inside for our initial investigation. Is there anything we should know beforehand? Signs of toxic fumes, gas leaks?”

ROBIN PORCHER - “No, sir. Fire team declared it safe to enter about half an hour before you got here.”

KIM KITSURAGI - “Very good. Thank you both for your assistance, and we’ll let you know when we’ve completed our initial investigation.”

1. “See you in a bit, fellas.” (Proceed to the crime scene with Kim.)

YOU - “See you in a bit, fellas.” You serve both of them a casual two-finger salute before entering the crime scene with Kim at your back.