Scene #8167: The Return: Fuuto City Det. Agency

Owner	Pose
Timespace Riders	Fuuto City--the Windy City, as it's also called. A far cry from the rustic sights of the American Pacific Northwest, this place nevertheless has shadows and secrets of its own. Shotaro Hidari has called for a meeting of the Twin Peaks investigation team at his office in this city. At Xion's behest, an invitation was also extended to Sougo Tokiwa, the would-be Demon King of Time. The most prominent landmark in the city, to rival the breathtaking waterfall of the Great Northern Hotel, is absolutely the tower in the center of the city, itself a gigantic windmill. The detective agency itself is located inside another building--a billiards hall, of all things.
Shotaro Hidari	The entrance to the detective Agency is next to the entrance to the Billard hall, to be fair. The door is what you might expect from a detective agency's entryway, with the words 'Narumi Detective Agency' on it. Opening the door reveals a room with green-painted walls and red stone flooring. There is a red leather couch to the right as soon as you enter, and a small table with four chairs in front of that with a small coffee table for the couch. There is a small statue of a dog near the entryway to the partitioned area. In the second area is a room the same size as the first room, with a desk in the back. Behind the desk is a white and black checkered wall, with various boxes of paperwork. Above that is a made bed. The walls that aren't in the checkerboard pattern are white. There is another chair and table set up, but this one is taller. There is also a coat rack in the second room. A white fedora rests on it, as well as Hidari's coat and fedora. Leaning against the desk in the second room is Shotaro. He's reading through various documents, probably his notes and what he's managed to record about the case so far. Probably seeing if he can't make any logical connections before the others arrive. Shotaro is dressed as he normally is, in a light pink dress shirt, with a black vest. He's got black dress pants and black shoes which are shined. He's also got a short red tie on. Sitting at the taller table is a young man dressed in a yellow with green stripe shirt with a blue sleeveless 'coat' over that. He has a pair of green pants with normal-looking tan boots. He's currently reading a book, and his hair has two hairclips in it to keep his shaggy hair out of his face. There is also a woman, with brown hair tied in a ponytail. She has a white shirt with blue jean shorts with a pink overcoat. She's got a pair of white and pink tennis shoes on, but someone can probably notice a green slipper tucked away in a pocket. Right now she's preparing coffee for the guests which are coming. The door is open and you're expected.
Hellwarming Trio	The inside of the Narumi Detective Agency might start feeling a little cramped sooner rather than later, as a trio of guests show up outside all at once... Or at least it would, if the caretaker of the two other members of that trio didn't already predict that sort of problem ahead of time. Instead, they only take up about as much room as one would expect from a raven, a cat, and a petite woman in a flowy blue and pink dress with a creepy red eye floating at her chest. "So this is your place! Neat." "Yo! Oh, that's coffee, ain't it? I could smell it before we even came in!" "Thank you for inviting us here. I hope none of you are allergic." As Satori carries Utsuho and Rin on her head and shoulders, respectively, she wastes little time in shuffling around the agency's rooms. She doesn't do a great job hiding the fact that she's enamored with the look of the place, touristing it up and gawking at everything. It probably doesn't help that her pets are calling her attention to all sorts of documents and things, too, and she even stops to stare at that white fedora for a while. "So. What were you able to find since our last visit?" "Anything on Cooper?" "Or that Mister C?" "That was Cooper. Heh... I thought I was supposed to be the dumb one."
Timespace Riders	Stepping into the office proper, Sougo sheds a comfy-looking navy peacoat and hangs it on the coat rack. "What an interesting abode, detective," says Woz with a catlike smile, entering right after Sougo. "You truly live this way?" Sougo crosses his arms and gives Woz a look, though it doesn't seem to have much effect. They both take seats, one next to the other. Sougo's canary yellow dress shirt shows the wear and tear one might associate with a fight. Crossing one leg over the other in the chair, he rests his hands in his lap. "Thanks for inviting me," says Sougo to Shotaro. "I know you didn't have to agree to Xion... so I appreciate being able to help." Turning in his seat to face Utsuho, Sougo shakes his head. "Mr. C is his reflection. Or his negative image, to put it like Mr. Tsukasa would. It looks like him, but it isn't." He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, frowning. "I know all of those things he said, and everything he's done, come from some place. Even so, I wouldn't want someone pointing at my darkest points and saying they're the same thing as the complete picture."
Lilian Rook	Lilian's first impression of this detective agency is-- "Hideous." It comes with a grimace. "Red leather and green walls? Vertical tile? Sleeping in the office? Fedoras?" She flinches as if the location is physically painful for her to occupy, which seems as if it should be an overdramatic insult, but somehow looks unfortunately genuine. She glances down, subtly aghast, at those tennis shoes, and then just sort of bewildered and frightened by a slipper in her pocket. It actually takes Utsuho, of all people, talking, of all things, to snap her out of it and get it on task. "Ah, right. Yes. Agent Cooper especially appears to be a critical loose thread. But . . ." She looks aside. "What exactly have you been hiring them for?"
Shotaro Hidari	People start to arrive, and the lady with brown hair perks up. "Hello~, I'm Chief Narumi, but you can all call me Akiko, or Chief if you want to be formal! Come sit down, the half-boiled detective is taking forever to get ready..." she pauses and asides loudly enough for him to hear, "But he's just posing, and trying to look important as you came in." Shotaro comes around the side quicker than he has any right to be, "Hey, I heard that!" he says, as the two exchange a glare and a smirk. Akiko is obviously very amused at all of this. The man with the hair clips in his hair stands up and walks over to take a seat in the main room. He looks across at Woz as he enters. "Do you have a problem with that, Woz?" Philip says, the other voice of W. "I rather enjoy living here. Though I suppose everyone has their own choices.." "Ah yes, coffee!" Akiko says, grabbing the tea set and setting it down on the table. She begins pouring coffee for everyone that wants one but also leaves out things to dress it with. "Wait, is that a talking bird and cat..?" "We discussed this, Akiko, they're familiars..." Shotaro starts, but she isn't listening to them, instead leaning down to Rin. She begins trying to play gently with Rin, because Akiko is a massive cat person. Shotaro nods to Sougo, "Xion is a good friend of ours and this detective agency. It's hard to say no to any request she has, and besides, we are all working together. Even if some people were born in a barn with the manners they show.." he's obviously looking at Woz. Lilian entering causes him to nearly spit out his coffee. "I've worn one in front of you all of the time, and now's the time you're going to insult them," he says to which Philip leans into her, "The white one is the former boss's..." said in a way that obviously means 'he's not here anymore.' "Yes, I had this information confirmed by Ms. Tamamo. But the Black Lodge is a place you don't easily return from...and in this case, Mr. Cooper did not. Before I wasn't sure about the evidence I had found, because it ran counter to the character of the man you all described to me. The man who is currently Drive Alternative," Shotaro starts. Philip picks up from here, "Let's start at the beginning. Two other crimes were related to this 'Alternative Drive' The link between all of them is the study of extradimensional spaces. The first two victims seemed to be where Alternative Drive first showed up, they were in a lab where a doctor was researching other dimensions. Ray Monroe, a informant for the FBI, believed that using lots of drugs could allow you to unlock liminal spaces. General Briggs, seems much simpler on the surface, but he was also linked to this...Project Blue Book investigated several things, including interdimensional beings." Shotaro takes back over, "There is one other thing. A phrase Fake Drive said while on the burner phone. 'Dugpa'," Shotaro stops, "Dugpa is a very specific phrase, a word referring to a kind of indigenous mystic in the pacific northwest. Cooper apparently had people look into this, and Deputy Hawk had a VHS of Cooper's old partner, Windom Earle, describing them. To a very specific degree that even the best scholars on it have not reached," Philip steps in, to explain Dugpa. "They were sorcerers who partook in 'evil for evil's sake' and drew upon the power of 'a ring of trees' for their rituals.
Shotaro Hidari	Shotaro picks it back up, "Earle, as you can imagine, was not a sane person. "Right now Earle is on the lamb in the current time. This is where the oddness in Cooper came apparent to me. In 1985, Earle claimed his wife had been kidnapped. With Cooper they found her in Manhattan where she'd been arrested. They put her into a safe house, and Cooper stayed with her while Earle left." "But...Cooper and his wife had an affair. Earle found them and attempted to kill them both. He failed to kill Cooper, but managed to kill Caroline. After that he was institutionalized. However, in 1990 he escaped. I'm waiting to get a meeting with Earle in '89 to see if we can gleam anything about this from him."
Hellwarming Trio	"So he really was messed up!" "Well, duh. He wasn't acting anything like... Him." "But wherever it came from still warrants investigation. I imagine that's why we're here today." With Sougo shedding some much needed light on Mister C, the raven and the kasha both breathe heavy sighs of relief that shouldn't really be possible for animals their size. They're rather good at emoting even in their animal forms, too, snorting lightly at Akiko blowing up Shotaro's spot. Satori at least has the sense to look away, although her shoulders are still shaking despite her attempt at hiding it. Rin relishes in the attention, of course, going along with Akiko's playtime and even posing as directed, both tails flicking this way and that while Utsuho is content to stay on Satori's lap. Lilian's question, though, helps get their minds back on track, and they listen closely as Philip starts giving the details on both the hat and the case they're actually following. "So the Black Lodge doesn't want people looking into these... Uh. Liminal spaces?" "Li-mi-nal." "Lim-in-al." Repeat five times. "... And these evil sorcerers. They were targeting those investigating these spaces, but for what?" "Maybe they wanna hide where Drive Alternative's from!" "Or... That Dugpa thing. If they know Earle knew they were the ones behind it, maybe he'd blow their cover." Satori still looks unconvinced, stroking her chin lightly while peering at Shotaro's notes idly. "A meeting with Earle should help us uncover more of this, but... If he knows about who these Dugpa people are, would they not have already tried to kill him to silence the greatest threat to their secrecy?"
Xion	The aformentioned 'person that Shotaro and the Agency would rather not refuse', Xion, does not actually make a timely appearance. Considering Lilian, perhaps nobody could make a fully timely appearance compared to her, but Xion is outright a little late. Coffee had already been poured! And spat! At the door in black slacks, black shoes, a white collared shirt, and a black vest over it, Xion wears what Lilian had also already insulted: The noble fedora, in black with a white band, rests atop her head. She's just in time to hear herself get talked up, and her outfit: talked smack! "Wow, I didn't think the Trio would beat me." Xion sighs, a little fatale husk to her tone that she isn't in-tentionally trying to put on but because she's in Fuuto, she's a bit more noir detective than normal. It's just fitting in. And she definitely, certainly, wasn't going to try racing the Dame-onic Commander Lilian Rook, nor the Demon King Of Time Tokiwa Sougo. At least, not in a punctuality competition! Striding in to step into the talking group, Xion's white-sleeved and black gloved hands slide into a light cross, finding the high-top to hover about. "I'd actually like to ask something different than simply going back:" Xion begins. Then, she looks at Sougo and Lilian specifically. "When -can- we go back? Can we go back to right after we left, and just... fix it? It's Mr. Cooper, something got to him, and twenty five years later, it's said it's replaced him. I don't... Want to believe that lying, vicious darkness, but I couldn't sense any of Mr. Cooper in there. If he's gone around using and hurting people with Mr. Cooper's face, if we can go back all the way to the start, that's the solution. So. Can we do -that-?"
Lilian Rook	"Now is indeed the time." Lilian replies drily. "Well, it's at least a real fedora, and not a trilby hat, god forbid." she says with a sigh. Still, she does actually listen. Someone figuratively paid good money for a detective to do work other than verify claims of cheating, so it's only polite. And besides, since last she heard about Cooper, he's become a rather pressing interest. Lilian grimaces at the tail end of the divulged findings. "That makes it rather more difficult to deal with 'Another Drive'." she says. "Ideally, we could have just eliminated it and be done with it, but we can't reasonably dispose of Cooper even in this state." A pause. "Why this? From the Black Lodge, that is. That place was a sort of crucible of mind and soul. Not a printer for knockoff Rider belts for already low-tier Riders." She does her best to take the mention of native American evil sorcerers in stride. The bookhouse badge feels as if it weighs heavily in her pocket. "I'm unsurprised to hear about the general. In the first place, it was Twin Peaks' deep space listening outpost that caught wind of the first incident. Rather than a message from aliens, it appeared to have tapped into something from the local spirits. BOB in particular. And there was a second transmission. General Briggs has been working that project for a long time, of some unspecified but likely terribly unwholesome and equally irrelevant interest to the US government. I'm not entirely certain how much my inroads with him will matter, but we can't rightly let these assassination attempts continue." Another, more plaintive sigh follows. "Still, chasing and insane murderer from nineteen-ninety. You've done excellent work, but I do wish it had revealed something easier." Lilian smiles in a far-off way to Xion. "I'd like to know the same thing too. If this truly is an alternate timeline and all --and it must be-- it'd be nice if the original were still accessible. Perhaps that should be my priority." The vague smile falls. "But I suspect this won't be quite so easily solved. Toying with timelines should likely come once we're certain of the impossibility of recovery. And once we do, we should assume it likely that events will largely transpire as they have, and some other unfortunate soul will reprise his role for him."
Timespace Riders	"I believe the expression is 'raised,' detective, not 'born,'" Woz smugly replies with his chin upturned. Only Woz could hear someone insult him and correct them for having used the wrong expression to do it. "Nevermind that," says Sougo, accepting coffee from the Chief with a gracious nod. "Another Drive also has it out for me, besides just General Briggs. When Decade showed up to help us, the fake Drive tried to coerce him into killing me. I think it's safe to say, based on what Philip found, that he wants information from the general, or maybe access to something only he can give." >Can we just go back and fix it? Xion's arrival has the Demon King fidgeting nervously, still unsure of where he stands with her--but he can at least provide answers to questions about his area of expertise. He nods, uncrossing his legs and twisting in his seat to look at her. "Ordinarily, no. But when one of those counterfeit Ridewatches is made, it forms a kind of bridge, both ways, between the present and the moment they were given their Ridewatch. That's why his armor has '1989' written on it. We can cross that bridge, but... that's the easy part." >Why this? From the Black Lodge, that is. "It wasn't from the Black Lodge. I don't know anything about places like that, but I know where Another Riders come from." "There are numerous parties who may be responsible, says Woz, further elaborating. The tyrant Nobunaga, or any of several actors known as 'Timejackers,' who manipulate the timestream to frustrate Nobunaga's efforts and on occasion those of my Demon King. The hooligan Naoya Kaido is ostensibly among them, though he doesn't seem given to their usual chicanery. If anything, his primary motive seems to be ensuring the survival of those Orphenochs that remain." >I suspect this won't be so easily solved. Sougo nods, frowning. "The people who can make those watches know how easy it is to cross the bridges that come with them." "According to this book," says Woz, procuring the mysterious tome of future sight to read from a passage, "Nullifying Another Drive will not completely rid us of the doppelganger, as the dark Ridewatch was created after he escaped. However, the true Agent Cooper will be ejected from the Black Lodge in one week's time, at which point the doppelganger will attempt to kill him in Las Vegas. The false Cooper has created a 'tulpa' which will be sent to the Black Lodge in his stead. If this tulpa were to be destroyed, his scheme would thus be foiled without need of another battle to banish him. I trust this is forthcoming enough for you, Dame Commander?" >So the Black Lodge doesn't want people looking into it? Sougo touches his index to his lower lip thoughtfully. "I think... based on what Woz's book says, the doppelganger wanted information only they could give him. Probably so that he could set up this switcheroo he's planning to do with that tulpa he made, and keep himself from being dragged back. Ray Monroe was killed for being an informant--he said so himself, when we fought. No idea how the dugpas play into it, though..."
Shotaro Hidari	"I'm not sure, we're still trying to piece this together the best that we can," Shotaro answers Satori. "Right now we can't see where the connection with them is, besides with Cooper and his partner. Though I feel an ill wind blow if we do not look into this Dugpa thing. Something is at the heart of this related to that...something I fear is important." The three detectives greet Xion warmly. Akiko waves from her spot in front of Rin, and if Rin doesn't object she'll start cat-dancing with her. Philip gives her a smile and a simple bow. Of course, Shotaro nods towards her, trying to maintain the air of 'cool'. Though her question is beyond him...but it does start another thought. Philip seems to accept Lilian's revision of her hate for Fedoras. Shotaro however, returns the compliment about their detective work with a short, but respectful bow of his head. "Yes if all these cases could be as simple as belting and kicking it...but alas, sometimes these things take a lot of extra work." Philip exchanges a glance with Woz, "Here I thought you just appeared into existence instead of being born. Too much drama and bad writing happened at some high school play, and Woz appeared," Philip says with a slight smirk. There is only room for one book carrying Rider around him, and Philip wasn't going anywhere. Shotaro works passed this, listening to what the book of space and time says. "So Cooper wasn't destroyed in the Black Lodge...which makes me wonder how he got out. So if the tupla can be destroyed, it'll stop Another Drive...so either we would need to do it by the time of his attack on Cooper, or have one team work with the real Cooper and another inside the lodge." "Nevermind the issue with the time watch," Philip says. "I feel it's important to check out the lead we have about his partner. Perhaps his spurned partner may have information that could lead to his downfall?"
Xion	"Well... I have a plan, the next time we fight the corrupted Mr. Cooper." Xion begins, synthesizing the details that everyone is putting down. She knows. Tokiwa Sougo can't even hide a bit from Xion. Every time his kingly eyes, furtive or otherwise, find Xion, she's looking back at him. It's eerie - he can hear her changing focus, find her change topics and targets in her flow, but every time he's looking her way: she's looking back. Piercing blues under a brim of black. It's a bit like a hood, but with a firmer top line to declare the bottom one. Woz, first, gets a uncurling-fingered gesture from Xion's left gloved hand. "We still have to stop Another Drive. It's not something just as simple as beating him until his transformation fails - he can just use it again, it seems like, and the spirit doesn't really care about Mr. Cooper's body as much as we do. If we have Mashin Chaser with us, we can probably assure that we at least end the transformation without killing Mr. Cooper. If we can't get Chase to help, I might be able to borrow his power - but that still doesn't solve the problem." Lilian and Sougo, now, equally. "There's some sort of time-based power at work. He was so easily able to transform again, stop us all while he did it. If Zi-O," She doesn't use Sougo's actual name. "Or Lilian can take advantage of the precise time where Mr. Cooper's transformation item is exposed, we can probably take it away." . . . Xion sighs, lifting her gloves to rub her face and cheeks annoyedly. "But then he's just not super-fast and able to use Super Heaviness. He's still Agent Dale Cooper, and we can't just kill him. Once he can't transform and run away, we can..." Now, hopeful, towards the Fuuto Detectives. "Start the... ah... exorcism? Philip, go ahead and let me know everything your library knows about how to use..." Xion's hand drops to her vest pocket, where she draws a ring that is still subtly dirty, as if it had been pulled fresh from the earth and fingered clean - not sat in her pocket for however long and tumbled mostly-clean. "I got this ring from Twin Peaks in 2014, and... I think it's the last step in stopping what's possessed Mr. Cooper. But we'll still have to stop whatever that Tulpa is."
Hellwarming Trio	"We almost didn't, Xion!" "Maybe if we made a quick stop for snacks." "We can get them later. We've still got work to do." Satori appreciates Xion's attempts to fit the detective mold, at least. "Nobunaga?" "A warlord from centuries past. He supposedly had some rather fetching facial hair, if the common depictions are to be believed." "... Heh." As Satori gives Rin a look at that last bit, the trio go back to listening as Woz starts listing the suspects behind these incidents. Shotaro seems to share her own suspicions about the Dugpa's importance in the matter, and she nods slowly in turns while tapping a finger against her elbow. "It's certainly an ominous matter, despite the lack of... Wait." Satori furrows her brow in deep concentration while closing her eyes and considering both the case and Lilian's and Shotaro's shared disdain for trilby hats. "If Earle had spoken to this Deputy Hawk about the Dugpa before, then it stands to reason that Cooper might also have information on them as well." That's enough to get Utsuho's wings flapping up once as she, too, gets an idea., "And if Woz's book is right, he'll come out of the Black Lodge next week! We can get him back, and we can find out what he knows about this Dugpa thing!" Rin manages to keep her head in the conversation as well, even though she's busy catdancing with Akiko. She's actually pretty used to this, too. "And if we beat up his tulpa thing, we can get rid of the fake with that exorcism while we're at it!" A beat, and then she looks over at Xion with another flick of her tails. "... Do we know any priests?"
Shotaro Hidari	Philip looks up from his catfight with Woz, taking the ring from Xion. "Ah...this might in fact be the final keyword," Philip says after a moment and pauses. He makes a motion with his hands, opening them wide, and then closes his eyes. For a moment he's not exactly here. Those that can see into his mind will see a large white room. The room has books. Shelves and shelves of books, as far as the eye can see. It's almost like every ounce of information across the world was stored here. He sorts through what they have so far...and then uses the ring as the final keyword to see what remaining books remain...and will go read the book and access the information from there. Akiko doesn't seem bothered by this, and at some point will have pulled Rin into her lap to provide pats and attention. Shotaro nods once at Satori, "Our first step would be then to find his partner in '89, and then see what we can find out from him."