Tuesday, Sept. 15, Leone's Headquarters, PsykoNet; Afternoon
"FUCK! My head hurts! What the fuck did you do to me!?" Luke shouted, holding onto his head with both of his hands.
"Oh... sorry..." Heather gasped, reaching out a hand and placing it gently on the hurting boy's shoulder.
"Don't fucking touch me!" he shouted.
Heather quickly retracted her hand. "Sorry, I forgot that it's really disorienting the first few times."
"Greeting, Master Rose, and Agent Belle," greeted a robotic voice. "And who would you be?" Seven asked, gesturing to Luke, who was on his knees holding his head.
"What the fuck is that thing!?" Luke screamed, taking his hands off of his throbbing head and using them to push himself to his feet.
"My name is Android 07, though Master Rose has assigned me the secondary name of Seven," answered the android. "I am an Android developed to assist users of PsykoNet."
Luke looked around with pure terror in his eyes. "Where am I!? Where did you take me!?"
Seven answered again, for Agent Rose and Agent Belle. "This is the location of the Headquarters belonging to Leone D'Archangelo, a location within PsykoNet."
He shook his head, which wasn't hurting as strong now, and tried to calm himself down. "Headquarters... of Leone?"
Agent Rose, Agent Belle, and Luke all walked forward a bit, so they could get a good view of their surroundings. It seemed they were standing in an alcove between tall concrete buildings. As they exited the alcove, they were blinded by lights. As their eyes readjusted, they saw huge buildings and various spotlights pointed in all directions, many of which were shining up into the sky. In particular, a handful of the brightest spotlights were pointing towards a tall skyscraper, on the side of which was a screen displaying Leone's face in what looked to be some sort of movie trailer.
"Hey, why is Leone on that screen?" Luke asked. "And, while I'm at it... How the fuck did we get here!?"
Agent Belle decided that since it was her idea, she should attempt to explain. "Luke... Thorne and I are... well... spies, I suppose you could say."
Agent Rose nodded in silent reaffirmation.
Agent Belle continued. "And this is an H.Q. An H.Q. is a place within PsykoNet where someone's Shadow is equipped to operate a scheme which involves manipulating the public's perception."
"Okay... I guess..." Luke was responding fairly well, considering the outburst of anger only moments ago. "And... PsykoNet is?"
Agent Belle struggled to formulate a proper answer. "Seven?" she asked.
"Of course, Agent Belle," Seven responded. "PsykoNet is a psycho-digital dimension connected to the one you came from, in which the form and nature of the world is determined by the perceptions of society as a collective group."
Luke growled under his breath. "That's a lot to take in... I guess the proof is right before me, though, and I don't really have any other options but to believe what you guys are saying..."
"Wow, you're taking this really well!" Agent Belle sighed with a smile.
"So... did you guys change clothes, or...?" Luke asked, eying up Thorne and Heather, who were both wearing different outfits than they had been only minutes ago.
"Oh, these?" Thorne asked. "These are our spy uniforms. Our clothes change into these uniforms automatically when we enter the PsykoNet world."
"So... why didn't mine change? And also, I recognize that robot's voice... wasn't it coming out of your phone?"
Thorne rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a long story... Basically, Seven is made of entirely digital matter, so he can't exist in reality. So, when I go back to reality from PsykoNet, he stays in my phone."
"And the outfit thing?" Luke asked again.
"That's the long story... You only get a spy uniform when you awaken to a Persona," answered Agent Rose.
"And what the HELL is a Persona!?" Luke's face scrunched up with great confusion.
"You'll see, okay?" Agent Belle promised, noticing the flustered look on Luke's face. "We should investigate... but where do we start?"
As if on cue, she heard a squeal that sounded like an excited woman. The same woman's voice then proceeded to exclaim, "Is that really Leone D'Archangelo!? Oh my gosh, I need to get close to her!"
Everyone turned their attention to the 'woman' who was screaming. In truth, it was a Role, as evidenced by their lack of distinct facial features. Surprisingly, Luke wasn't off-put by the sight of a faceless woman in business clothing. Perhaps he subconsciously understood that they were no threat to him.
"I think that's where," Agent Rose noted. "If we follow that Role, she'll probably lead us to Leone's Shadow."
"Leone's... Shadow?" Luke inquired.
"You'll see in just a moment, if my hypothesis is correct." Agent Rose nodded. "Stay close to me so I can defend you."
"Defend me?" Luke scoffed. "I can handle myself!" Then, he noticed the pistol holstered right under Thorne's tuxedo. "Holy shit! Is that a gun!?"
"It will all make sense soon enough," Agent Rose promised. "Just stay close, okay?"
Luke simply nodded. "Lead the way, Thorne!"
"Call me Agent Rose," he insisted.
"Do I get a cool agent name?" Luke said, face brightening.
"We're going to lose sight of the Role if we don't get moving!" Agent Belle reminded.
The group of four kept a safe distance away from the Role they were following, as they followed her a ways down the street, where there was a huge crowd forming. From a glance, they were all Roles without faces, which meant they were representations of real-world observers but not actually active parts of Leone's manipulative scheme(s). There were a wide variety of Roles gathering around the front of a business building. There were very young-looking onlookers and adult onlookers, and a fairly even gender distribution as well. Something that all of the fawning Roles shared, though, was their fancy style of dress, and their obsession over a black limousine.
The Agents of T.R.U.T.H., and their escortee, Luke, all approached the crowd, hoping that they would blend in among the great number of fawning Roles. The limousine's door was opened by what was unmistakably a Shadow.
"Why does that one look different from the others?" Luke asked. "No one is reacting to them, even though they don't even look human."
Android 07 responded, as if reading from his database, "That is a Shadow, a servant of the Headquarters' Boss with the sole task of defending them and serving them. As spies, we attempt to avoid them at all costs."
"Hm... surprisingly, I think I'm wrapping my head around this stuff," Luke chuckled.
"But this one looks different from the ones we saw in my own Shadow's HQ," Agent Belle noted.
It was true. Whereas the ones in Heather's Headquarters were dressed like servants at a ball, the Shadow before them looked like an actual bodyguard. It even wore a bulletproof vest which was very different from the fabric party vests that the Shadows from Heather's HQ wore.
A wave of loud cheering interrupted their conversation. A sparkling black high heel was the first thing that emerged from behind the limousine's half-open door. As it lowered to the ground, the stone from the sidewalk transformed into a red carpet just in time for the shoe to land softly on the velvet. As the celebrity emerged from the vehicle, so two did a second Shadow. She walked forward, and the Shadow who had opened the door for her closed it, both of the Shadows rushing to her side.
It was undoubtedly Leone D'Archangelo, except she was dressed in vintage celebrity fashion. She was wearing a bedazzled black mermaid dress which stuck close to her Barbie doll-like body. Over her shoulders, she wore a shawl of snow-white fur. Her hands were covered in long white satin gloves, and a huge silver and sapphire necklace was strung around her neck elegantly, with a magnificent pendant resting right upon her chest. Her blonde hair was pulled to one side, allowing unobstructed view of a huge silver and sapphire earring. Surely, there was a matching earring hanging from the other ear, though it was covered by her meticulously ringleted blonde hair.
Just the sight filled both Agent Belle and Luke with a particular breed of anger, though they both kept it in, only snarling.
"Is that really Leone?" Luke asked.
"No," Agent Belle explained, trying to keep her voice down, even though the crowd they were blending in with were screaming with adoration for Shadow Leone. "That's Leone's Shadow. It's a manifestation of what people see when they look at her."
"It's certainly not what I see," Luke growled.
"Me neither, trust me," Agent Belle sighed. "But a majority of people fall for her little-miss-perfect act, so that's the form her Shadow has taken."
"I think I get it," said Luke with a nod.
As Shadow Leone walked forward, the red carpet which had materialized under her feet continued to materialize, and it faded into nothingness from behind her, almost as if there was only enough glory for herself to walk on, no one else.
"Oh, your fawning is so flattering, my adoring fans," Shadow Leone said, in an almost flirtatious tone. "You know how much I appreciate your attention. I'd say I wouldn't be here without your support, but we all know I have an inherent right to fame and glory."
Despite directly talking down to the Roles who were showing adoration to her, the Roles unanimously let out a roar of praise.
Shadow Leone opened a very fancy handheld fan and began to gently fan herself with it. "My, you all make me blush. Continue to adore me."
The Roles continued to shout words of love and adoration to her, as if trying to be the loudest voice in a sea of loud voices. As they did, Shadow Leone giggled flirtatiously, continuing to fan herself.
"Oh, you all flatter me," she admitted. "As you know, I'm here to begin consulting for my upcoming film. I bet you're all dying to know what it's about. And I bet, in particular, you're all dying to know what part I'll be playing!"
"Please tell us, Leone!" one of the louder Roles practically screamed. "We'll die if you don't!"
"Well, well," Shadow Leone chuckled. "It wouldn't be any fun if I told you everything, now would it?" She held up one arm, and raised her voice, speaking as if she were reciting lines from a play. "I have directed yet another marvelous film that I'm sure you'll all eat up without question! Not only that, but I'll also be the star of the film! I will be playing Leone D'Archangelo, a beautiful, innocent teenage girl with a bright future, who is one day attacked and raped by a vicious, wild monster of a man. Hm... it may be a little too early to tell you who will be playing the monster, but I assure you all, it will all fall into place."
The Roles let out such a cheer so loud that T.R.U.T.H., along with Luke, had to back away from them to avoid getting headaches.
"Innocent... my ass!" Luke shouted.
"Try to keep it down," Agent Belle said calmly. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves. We're kind of spies, remember?"
"Sorry..." Luke sighed. "I mean... I knew that Leone was planning on framing me for something worse than what happened, and turning herself into the victim... but still... Hearing it come right from her mouth makes me particularly... fuckin' angry."
"I understand," Agent Rose said with a nod. "And to see the Roles that represent the onlookers cheer so loudly at her outrageous behaviour... I know it hasn't actually happened yet, but it fills me with anger as well."
"For now, my adoring fans," Shadow Leone continued after the rambunctious cheering quieted down, "I must bid you adieu." She waved flirtatiously to her fans as she walked towards the doors of the building that the limousine was parked in front of. It was so clear that she was leading them on, but the Roles were so convinced of her perfection and glory. Worse, too, it seemed to be true to reality.
Shadow Leone and the two Shadows guarding her entered the building, and the crowd of Roles began to diminish. Agent Belle was the first to speak after the crowd had dissipated. "We need to follow her!"
"It would be wise to follow her... but how do we get in?" Agent Rose inquired. Everyone turned their attention to the door. It was guarded by a Role in an immaculate tuxedo. "That guy looks like he'll probably stop us..."
Seven interjected. "That Role is giving off strange readings... I believe, if one were to put it on alert, it might transform into a particularly powerful Shadow."
"That doesn't sound good..." Agent Belle sighed. "But still, maybe if we talk to him he'll tell us more information about Leone. Permission to commence operation, Leader?"
Agent Rose considered Agent Belle's proposed operation. Ultimately, it seemed like it was of least consequence. "Granted. Let's proceed. Luke, continue to stay by me."
"I told you I can handle myself," Luke snarled.
"You haven't seen what Shadows are capable of!" Agent Rose shouted back. "Just trust me on this!"
Luke stood there for a short moment, silent. "O-okay..." He lowered his head and followed the Agents of T.R.U.T.H. as they walked around the red velvet rope and up to the Role standing at the door.
The Role was the first to speak as he noticed the Agents approaching. "State your business, and agency."
"Um..." Agent Belle fumbled. "We're with... the, uh..."
The Role, even though he had no facial features, seemed unimpressed. He was about to lift his hand to shoo them off when it noticed Luke. "Luke Daniels! Please, do come in. Consultation is about to begin, and Leone, the director and the starring actress, is right inside."
Luke stepped forward. "Uh, me?"
"Of course, Luke! Your part is essential to the film! You are welcome inside." the Role requested. He stepped out of the way of the door, to let Luke inside.
"Um... these are..." Luke racked his brain for a way to sneak Thorne, Heather, and the robot from Thorne's phone inside with him. "They're my bodyguards! They will be coming in with me."
"Nothing to worry about," the Role assured. "Please, go right on ahead. The cutting room floor is located just down the east wing of the lobby."
"Um... thanks." Luke proceeded through the glass door, with the Agents of T.R.U.T.H. following behind him.
"That was... unnervingly easy," Agent Belle commented.
"We have successfully avoided putting the Role on alert," Android 07 confirmed.
"An honest miracle, if you ask me," Agent Rose said, wiping his forehead.
"But it checks out, doesn't it?" Luke surmised. "It seems like Leone's 'film' is about framing me for assault, so I'm one of the lead roles in it. I want to take advantage of this while I can."
"That said," Agent Belle said. "The Role might have been fooled, but I don't think we'll be able to fool Leone's Shadow the same way. We should proceed with caution still."
Everyone nodded in agreement, as they headed towards where the Role had said the 'cutting room floor' was.
As T.R.U.T.H., led by Luke, headed into the cutting room floor that the Role from outside had mentioned, they attempted to quickly take in their surroundings so they could assess them. Shadow Leone, as well as her two bodyguard Shadows, was standing over a man who was sitting at a large control panel of some sort. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be film editing equipment. Before anyone turned around to see who had entered, Agent Belle, Agent Rose, and Seven all ducked behind desks to avoid being seen. Then, Leone's celebrity Shadow turned around.
"Ah, the villain of my story has arrived," she said, clearly hostile towards him, even though he was playing a lead role in the film she was directing. "Here to assault and rape me again?"
"I didn't assault or rape you in the god-damn first place, you manipulating bitch!" Luke shouted, not even bothering to feign civility after Shadow Leone's rude remark.
"Watch it," Shadow Leone hissed. The Shadows acting as her bodyguards stepped forward, putting their hands on batons clipped to their belts in perfect unison. Shadow Leone sighed and shrugged, making her fur shawl ruffle. "I suppose it doesn't matter whether or not you're here. I was just checking in on how the editing for the film is going." She turned to face the two men sitting at the control panel. "Now, Daddy, about Thorne and Heather..."
The man turned around in his chair. It was apparently the Role of Leone's father. His nametag said 'Emmett D'Archangelo.' "You wanted them out of the shot, correct, Director?"
Shadow Leone responded with a nod. "Yes. I wanted to deal with their parts separately. It's really inconvenient that they ended up in the same shot."
"Nothing to worry about, Director!" the Role of Emmet said excitedly. "At your request, I have taken them out of the picture. No one will even know of their involvement in the film until you say so."
"You sure are going to quite the length to frame me for this..." Luke growled. He clenched his fist.
"In this industry, success is determined by how many people you can climb on top of to reach the top," Shadow Leone explained. "Don't be jealous that you don't have any adoring fans that will believe what you say without question."
"I can't believe people don't see you for who you really are!" Luke yelled. "A cruel, evil, manipulating piece of shit!"
"That's quite enough!" Shadow Leone claimed, putting her foot down. "Now that filming is complete, I don't even need you anymore! For all I care, you can rot in a hole, as long as your corpse makes me money!"
Luke bit down on his lip, trying to control his anger. He bit down so hard that it began to bleed.
"Guards, dispose of this misbehaving pawn!" Shadow Leone ordered.
The bodyguard Shadows both began to transform into their true forms before everyone's eyes! One of the Shadow's heads burst open as a hefty-looking film camera pushed its way out. A hand reached up from the hollow neck and pulled the headless body down, revealing its true form: a man holding a huge film camera, whose eyes were blindfolded by the camera's own film. The second Shadow started to choke as a long chain was forced out of its mouth. Its body was punctured from the inside multiple times before the Shadow's true form was able to tear the bodyguard façade off of it from the inside. This Shadow's true form was of a concerningly skinny-looking man with purple skin and eyes that looked like TV colour bars, chained by each ankle to a vintage TV which hovered behind him, its screen displaying a static-plagued normal-looking human face.
Luke wanted to throw up at the sight, but stood his ground and refused to back down. Agent Rose, Agent Belle, and Android 07 jumped into action to defend Luke. Agent Rose pulled Luke behind him, and Luke didn't fight him over it.
"Oh great, you brought spies with you," Shadow Leone said with an exasperated sigh. "It's time you learn... in this industry, people aren't SUPPOSED to see things that don't make it to the screen." She put a hand to her temple, clearly growing frustrated. "If you must, guards, just kill them all."
"Yes, ma'am!" both of the transformed Shadows said in unison. The strange-eyed Shadow chained to a television introduced himself first. Or rather, the staticing figure on the television screen did. "I am a Messenger of God! You desire to expose the truth behind The Director's film!? Such a desire is of the greatest of sins, for which I personally shall assure that you are punished!"
The second Shadow, blindfolded by the film from his own camera, introduced himself next. "I am a Blind Oracle! Your failure to understand The Director's true depth of talent is inexcusable. The world will be better when you're gone!"
"I summon you, Persona!" Agent Belle called. Upon being called, the elegant Madam Madcap materialized behind her in ethereal blue fire.
"It's time! Persona!" Agent Rose called, summoning Hamlet from the depths of his soul.
"Persona," Android 07 also said, causing Golem to materialize.
Even though Luke was unfamiliar with what a Persona was, he could immediately tell that Android 07's Golem wasn't the same as Agent Rose's Persona, Hamlet, or Agent Belle's Persona, Madam Madcap. It clearly lacked the ethereal blue flames that flared from both of the humans' Personas. Furthermore, though he wasn't sure how to explain it, he couldn't sense the same aura of 'truth' coming from Golem as he could from the other summoned Personas.
"So... those are Personas," he said, nodding. "Awesome!"
The self-proclaimed Messenger of God was the first to attack. It launched a wave of energy from its television screen. Reality itself seemed to distort around the wave of energy.
"Careful, Agents of T.R.U.T.H.!" Android 07 called. "That is a psychokinetic attack. You may become strongly disoriented if you're hit by it."
"Thanks for the tip!" Agent Rose said, giving Seven a thumbs-up. Since it seemed to be aimed at him, he assessed his options. He could attempt to dodge it, but then the defenseless Luke standing behind him would likely be hit by it, and he didn't want to risk that. Then, he had an idea. He grabbed Luke's waist, and then launched his grappling hook at a set of stage lights which were hanging in the air. The grappling hook latched around the lights and pulled him and Luke out of the way of the attack just in time!
"Persona." Seven synchronized with Golem. Golem aligned its rectangular body parts and released a nuclear attack in the form of a ball of nuclear energy launched between the two Shadows. The shock wave which resulted from the nuclear energy hitting the ground actually hit both Shadows. On the Blind Oracle, it appeared to have struck a weakness!
As the Blind Oracle recoiled from having its elemental weakness hit, Agent Belle saw an opportunity to attack. She pulled out her already-loaded crossbow from off of her back and shot three rapid-fire bolts right into the Shadow's chest with impeccable aim!
"Great aim as always, Agent Belle!" congratulated Agent Rose. "Hamlet, show them your power!"
Hamlet reappeared behind his other self, and smirked coyly as he snapped his fingers. The skull attached to the tip of his rapier detached itself, and the ethereal rapier slashed multiple times in the direction of the Messenger of God. The slashes from the rapier turned into blades of crystal ice which flew at the chained Shadow, hitting it in the screen.
The Blind Oracle took its opportunity to attack, and threw multiple balls of fire at Agent Belle. She managed to dodge a few, but the majority of the fireballs actually hit.
"Ouch!" she screamed. "I think I've been burned!" Indeed, a small, ethereal red flame had ignited in the middle of her chest. "It doesn't look too bad, but if you could spare an item, I'd really like it!"
"No worries, I planned ahead!" Agent Rose reassured. He rushed over to Agent Belle's aid, Luke following closely behind, and handed her a bottle of burn ointment.
"Wow, thanks," she smiled. "This should do the trick!" She squeezed about a palmful of the ointment into her gloved hand and applied it to the ethereal fire which was burning away at her very soul. Like it had never happened, the fire was gone, the burn healed. However, there also wasn't enough ointment left in the bottle to use it a second time, leading to Thorne disposing of it.
Just then, Luke felt his skin getting hotter. Watching Thorne and Heather, or as they called themselves, Agent Rose and Agent Belle, getting attacked by creepy-looking logic-defying entities filled him with anger. He lunged into the battlefield, pulling his fist back.
"Luke!" Agent Rose called out. He attempted to grab his new acquaintance before he could get himself into danger, but was too late.
"Take this, asshole!" Luke shouted as he dug his boney fist deep into the Blind Oracle's jaw. Despite just being a simple punch, it was enough to knock the Shadow over. Luke sprinted back out of the line of fire, standing next to Agent Rose.
"I'm... impressed," Agent Rose smirked. "That was fricking powerful!"
"Sorry..." Luke said, face slightly red. "I just got... so angry seeing them try to hurt you...!"
"Apology accepted!" Agent rose smiled. "Here, watch this!"
He summoned a different Persona from the one he had just summoned, and it appeared in a wisp of cyan fire behind his back.
"Excalibur!" he ordered. "Show no mercy!"
"I know not what mercy is!" claimed the voice of a warrior which rang through Excalibur. It charged up its own magical power, bright heavenly light and void-like darkness flooding into it in equal measure. Using the charged power, it slashed through the Messenger of God, knocking it down by striking its weakness to darkness.
With both the enemies knocked down and defenseless, the three Agents of T.R.U.T.H. and their escortee closed in, pulling out their weapons. "Let's get some info out of them by interrogating them!" Agent Belle suggested.
"My thoughts exactly!" Agent Rose lunged forward, and with great momentum and elegance, tied the two Shadows together using a rope which materialized in his gloved hand.
After tying the Shadows up in such a way that they had no chance to escape, a set of four walls rose up from the ground surrounding everyone, and the surroundings faded into an unmistakable interrogation room.
"I'm... not even gonna question this," Luke shrugged.
"What do you want from me?" the Messenger of God snarled, the television which was also the source of its power now detained and making it vulnerable.
"If you tell me about 'The Director', maybe I'll show you some sympathy," Agent Rose explained, tightening his gloves.
"I know better than that," the Messenger of God sighed. "Whether or not I tell you what you want to hear, you'll still kill me."
"You're just accepting death?" Heather asked. "It's not like we owe you sympathy. You attacked us first."
"That's because you are filthy spies!" hissed the Shadow. "I won't further your aimless rampage!"
Agent Rose sighed, "We need to know more about Leone so we can protect our friend... Him." He gestured to Luke, who was standing a bit farther back. "He was framed by her after she attacked us in the real world and he came to our defense. Collaborate with us, and prove you're capable of sympathy."
The Messenger of God seemed to consider its options in sullen silence. "No. It is not what The Director would have me do. I refuse to cooperate with you!"
Agent Rose shrugged. "In that case... sorry, I guess." He proceeded to release a bullet right into the Messenger of God's chest, killing the Shadow and making it disintegrate into black smoke.
"Holy shit-!" Luke gasped. "I mean... I guess he had it coming."
Agent Belle walked over to where the Blind Oracle was tied up, and rested her weight against her crossbow, which was pointed against the ground. "So... are you going to accept the same fate, or are you going to cooperate with us?"
The Blind Oracle remained silent.
"Are you really an oracle if you don't even know the true nature of your high-and-mighty director?" Agent Belle asked, moving some hair out of her face with great nonchalance.
"How dare you insinuate I am not as I say!" the Blind Oracle shouted. Evidently, Agent Belle had found a way to get it to talk.
"Then prove it. Tell us what we want to know," she dared.
The Shadow growled. "Fine then. What would you like to know? I will not be made a mockery!"
Agent Rose stepped in. "Why is Leone doing this? What does she gain from framing someone who was protecting others from her own cruelty?"
The Blind Oracle sighed, as if it found it difficult to admit the truth. "The Director has a great concern for... reputation. Maintaining her own is at the forefront of her priorities. If she were to be found the villain of any story, her empire of popularity would be threatened."
"Hm..." Luke thought out loud. "It's not as simple as I thought... Still, it's not right. If she wants to be so popular and beloved, why doesn't she just be a nice person?"
"She believes it to be impossible to be both popular and kind simultaneously," the Shadow explained. "Furthermore, she has never faced consequences for her actions until recently, when a friend abandoned her for the first time after she offered that friend a second chance at popularity."
"Is that how she sees it...?" Agent Belle snarled, clenching her fist.
"So... she doesn't believe that she can be both kind and popular, but she realizes if she's found to be cruel, she'll become unloved..." Agent Rose recapped to himself, stroking his chin. "Thank you, Shadow. You're free to go. Under one condition."
"Y-yes?" the Blind Oracle stuttered, squirming against its restraints.
"No one hears of this," Agent Rose said, pointing his pistol towards the Shadow to show he wasn't playing games.
"I agree to those terms," the Shadow said, nodding.
Agent Rose untied him. "You've proved yourself to be a true oracle after all. Thank you for your cooperation."
The Shadow escaped into what could only be described as the digital ether of PsykoNet, and the interrogation room disappeared. However, as they looked around, they noticed that Shadow Leone and the Role of her father also disappeared.
"I am impressed by your interrogation skills, Masters Rose and Belle," Seven vocalized. "Unfortunately, we were only able to extract intel from one of the two Shadows, though. However, I do not surmise the other Shadow would have cooperated, even had we tried."
"Shit!" Luke hollered. "While we were fighting, they must've snuck off!"
"We know a little bit more about what we're dealing with now," Agent Rose said with a nod. "Let's look around this building and see what else we can find."
"Good idea, Leader," Agent Belle said with an enthusiastic nod. "If this is the building where her 'film' is being edited, maybe we can find out more about what's going on, too."
They exited from the room, and immediately heard a jingle come over the speakers. A generic-sounding voice rang out over a PA system wired throughout the building. "The talk show interview will be starting in ten minutes. Would the shining star, Director D'Archangelo please proceed to the backstage of the live stage."
"They're holding a talk show interview?" Agent Belle repeated. "Guys, this could be an amazing opportunity to gather intel right from the horse's mouth without her noticing us!"
"Agreed," Agent Rose said perceptively. "Where would the show stage be, though? I suppose we have ten minutes to find it, but still... This is a pretty big building. Seven, is there any way you could locate it for us?"
"Unfortunately, Master Rose, that is beyond my abilities. I am able to record a map of the places within the Headquarters where we have already been, though I unfortunately cannot view an entire Headquarters' layout."
"Maybe you guys are overthinking it a little bit?" Luke said, shrugging nonchalantly. "If there's a public show stage, it'll probably be near the entrance right? So audience members don't wander off into confidential areas?"
Everyone was silent for a bit, before Agent Belle broke the silence. "No, you're right. We are so overthinking this. Let's just... uh... go, okay?"
"Agreed," Agent Rose sighed, putting a hand over his face as if to hide it.
Indeed, the doors to the show stage were located down a short hallway connected to the main lobby of the building. There were still a few people rushing to get into the seating area, but for the most part, it looked like everyone was already inside. The Agents of T.R.U.T.H. and Luke proceeded to the doors of the seating area, where they were stopped by another uniformed Role.
"May I see your tickets, please?" the Role asked.
"Um..." Agent Belle dug around in the cargo pockets of her spy catsuit. "Crap, I must have lost it somewhere." Her on-the-spot acting was actually quite impressive, despite having almost blown her cover to the Role in front of the door.
"I'm sorry, I can't let you in without tickets," the uniformed Role explained, no room for sympathy in his stern voice.
Luke stepped forward. "Can I go in? I'm Luke Daniels, after all. I'm in the interview the film is about."
"Wow! Luke Daniels!? I'm so excited I get to meet you!" the Role cheered. "But... no... Even if you were a special guest, you would have been given an invitation by the host."
"Who is the host, anyway?" Agent Rose asked.
"Why, the host is Michael McCampbel, of course," the Role explained. "I would expect you to know that, if you came all the way here."
"The Role appears to be growing suspicious," Seven informed, keeping his volume down so only Agent Rose could hear him. "Avoid putting him on alert, or our covers may be compromised."
"Right..." responded the Leader of T.R.U.T.H. "Well, thanks for indulging us, at least, sir."
The Shadow dismissed them, shooing them away.
"It does not appear that the Role has reported any suspicion to the HQ's owner," Android 07 confirmed. "I am unable to detect any changes in the Headquarters' security level."
"That's a relief," Agent Belle said. "Still, we can't get in."
"Are we just going to ignore that that guy said that the talk show host is Principal McCampbel!?" Luke asserted. "What's he doing here!? Working with Leone!?"
"Likely, the Michael McCampbel the Role was referring to is just another Role," explained Agent Rose. "Like how the version of Leone's father we saw wasn't actually her real father. Seven, would you please briefly explain Roles to Luke?"
"Of course, Master Rose," Seven accepted. "A Role in PsykoNet is a being created when a person from reality is involved in a Headquarters' Boss's manipulation of public perception. Roles who don't have any recognizable features are not directly connected to any one real person, though Roles who are representative of people will look almost exactly like that person."
"Okay... I think I get it. The name 'Role' seems fitting, then," Luke nodded. "In that case, I'm not surprised that Principal McCampbel plays a Role in all this."
"The talk show interview will be beginning in five minutes," reminded the same voice from the intercom system as before.
"Only five minutes..." Agent Rose sighed. "We've got to find a way to get in!"
"I don't think we're going to be able to B.S. our way in either. Even Luke isn't invited in. And I highly doubt we can get an invitation from the principal in just five minutes," Agent Belle sighed, defeated.
"Maybe we can sneak in from somewhere else," suggested Luke. "Like, the vents?"
"You're really getting into this spy thing, huh?" Agent Belle joked. "That said, not a bad idea. Seven, did you chart down any vents anywhere that we've been?"
"Actually, yes," Seven explained. "I located a vent in the editing room where we encountered Leone and her father's Role."
"Perfect!" cheered T.R.U.T.H.'s Leader. "Let's not waste any more time then."