My LEGO Nexus Organization

Welcome to Rosewater Academy. We hope you enjoy your stay. But don't dig too deep into the history of the school, or you might never come out...

Rosewater is a Mystery RPG. The RPG ends when the mystery is solved. Players can share their discoveries with others if they want, but they don't have to. But, just because one player knows a clue, other character do NOT know the clue unless it is told to them IC.







Student List:

PM Admissions Officer Truth to join.


Rosewater Academy Student Application #X96-1031: Edward Martin

Username: Flipz (I think that's what he said it was...what is a "username" anyway?)

Name: Edward Martin

Gender: Male

Age: 16, but he turns 17 on Halloween.

Appearance: Edward wears Seafarers, a blue, tan, or white shirt, a leather jacket, and an Indiana-Jones style fedora.  He has long brown hair that he wears in a single braid, but the rest of his hair is neatly trimmed, almost military style.  He has trick eyes that go from green to blue and back again, depending on the light and his mood--he got those from my side of the family.  I rarely see my grandson without a book.  But you'll see him in person soon, anyway; why do you need this again?

Bio: I raised Edward out here in the California desert after his parents died in a mysterious accident.  I don't think it would be right for me to say anything else about him, except that he has a genius-level IQ, he's a whiz at mathematics, and he asked to transfer to the Academy because no public school education has challenged him at all.  I should warn you, though, he has a terrible fear of spiders, and dislikes bugs and dirt in general (ironically for someone raised in a desert).  When not studying or reading, he enjoys cultivated gardens and the occasional cup of Earl Gray.  He's otherwise very quiet, preferring to think instead of speak, though he enjoys thoughtful discussions with others.  He's a wonderful young man, and the kind of guy you tend to trust...but do be kind to him; he's already distrudtful of others since his parents died, and I'd hate for him to go through life alone.

Course Selection (Choose one class per period)

Breakfast

First Period Options:

Math, Chemistry, Biology
My grandson doesn't need any basic math, he already corrects his teachers' mistakes there.  He's also not a big fan of creepy-crawlies or getting dirty, so I don't think Biology's right for him, either.


Second Period:

World History, American History, Physics
Edward has always loved our coutry's past, so I think this will be perfect for him!

Lunch Break
His favorites are Italian and Mexican food, if you have them.  He's also allergic to dill, so be careful.

Third Period:

Advanced Math, Advanced Physics, Advanced Biology
You wouldn't happen to have a teacher there who specializes in quantum mechanics and theoretical or speculative physics, would you?  Edward says he'd like to talk to him through...e-mail is it?  These kids and their technology...though to be fair, email is pretty much the only thing he does on the computer...well, besides his Nancy Drew games.  Oops!  I don't think I was supposed to mention that...pretend I never mentioned it.

Fourth Period:

Computer Science, English Lit, Art
Edward says that if you have a theatre program, he'd be thrilled to join; otherwise, he'll study computers.  I think he just wants to talk to smart professors...shoot!  I'm doing it again.  I never said anything.  Why do you I always have to fill out these things in ink...

Dinner
Ask Edward to give you my recipe for lasagna; he can't resist it!

Free Period
Do be sure to show Edward to the garden when he gets there, will you?

Bedtime

Academy Rules:

NO CELL PHONES.
No whats?  Never mind, I don't think he has one.

Use only Rosewater-approved computers.

Rosewater reserves the right to block access to all "inappropriate" websites, including Chat Rooms, Forums, and Email (other than the official Rosewater email).

No psychics. Unless another student tells you something, you don't automatically know it.
No physics..?  But I thought your classes include--oh, PSYCHICS!  I need new glasses...no, we don't believe in silly superstition like that.  Wait, was I supposed to write something in here?  Oh, dear...




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







Username: Blade

Name: Tomas Greyson

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Appearance: Tomas has black messy hair and bluish grey eyes. He typically wears black and green shirts, with a similarly coloured armband, and blue jeans. He also typically wears black shoes.


Bio: Tomas recently transferred to Rosewater Academy, and so hasn't had the chance to familiarize himself with the location. However, he has had experience at other schools, and will step in to try to stop any bullying that goes on.


First Period: Math

Second Period: Physics

Third Period: Advanced Physics

Fourth Period: Computer Science


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Username: The Truth

Name: Kitten

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Appearance: Medium length lavender hair, brown eyes, about an inch shorter than average. Has what TvTropes calls "cute little fangs" (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CuteLittleFangs).


First Period: Math

Second Period: American History

Third Period: Advanced Physics

Fourth Period: Art

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Username: The Truth

Name: Joshua Rend

Gender: Male

Age: 15

First Period: Biology

Second Period: Physics

Third Period: Advanced Physics

Fourth Period: Computer Science

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Username: The Truth

Name: Kaitlen Cazz

Gender: Female

Age: 14

Appearance: Long brown hair, average height, green eyes.


First Period: Biology

Second Period: World History

Third Period: Advanced Physics

Fourth Period: Art


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Username: Flipz

Name: Wendy Cran

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Appearance: Wendy looks like this image: LINL (http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii33/poochythegenius/ND_Blurry_Face.jpg).  Brown hair, dark eyes, kind face.  For some reason, any photos taken of her turn out blurry and/or her face is obscured.

Bio:  Not much is known about Wendy, but her transfer file from Waverly Academy shows her as intelligent, friendly, and curious.

Course Selection (Choose one class per period)

Breakfast

First Period: Math

Second Period: World History

Lunch Break

Third Period: Advanced Math

Fourth Period: English Lit

Dinner

Free Period

Bedtime


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Username: The Truth

Name: Sally Finch

Gender: Female

Age: 15

Appearance: Sally is short, with medium length blonde hair and pale blue eyes. She always looks rather uneasy.

Bio:  The mysterious Sally has a habit of spying on everyone at Rosewater.

Course Selection

First Period: Biology

Second Period: World History

Third Period: Advanced Physics

Fourth Period: Art


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Student Application

Username: Flipz

Name: Rod Jahey

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Appearance: Rod has light blond hair, blue eyes, and a muscular frame.

Bio: As compared to his cousin Hank, Rod is more impulsive, wanting to jump straight into a situation. He often goes by his gut feeling and is usually right.  Rod may not do quite as well in school as his cousin, but he still gets good grades. Phys Ed and History are his best subjects.

Course Selection
First Period:
Biology

Second Period:
American History

Third Period:
Advanced Biology

Fourth Period:
Computer Science

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Student Application

Username: Flipz

Name: Hank Darfry

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Appearance: Hank has dark brown hair and eyes.

Bio: Compared to his cousin Rod, Hank is the more logical, rational one. While Rod wants to jump straight into a situation, Hank is the one to hold him back and think through all the logical possibilities.  Although Hank spends his mornings exercising—doing weight training and karate workouts—and Rod usually gets out of bed about an hour later and stays in shape by simply playing a little football or baseball, Rod seems to be at least as athletic as Hank, if not more.  Hank is said to be a bomb buff, and has diffused an atomic bomb saving the town of Halifax.

Course Selection
First Period:
Chemistry

Second Period:
Physics

Third Period:
Advanced Math

Fourth Period:
Computer Science


Sonny Joon is a wild, crazy, fun guy who loves to draw and do doodles and often does this more than actual WORK.  He also appears to be addicted to Koko Kringle candy bars.

Sonny Joon's Resume:
Objective:
To get any job in a really cool old school with a mysterious reputation.

Skills:
Excellent art skills.
Ability to work in a team.
Ability to caricaturize team members' personal quirks into drawings.
Strong interest in exobiology.

Work Experience:
Research Assistant (Krolmeister Industries)
Tour Guide (Paranormal Tours, Salem)
Archaeological Assistant (Kingston University (New York), Memphis, Egypt)
Field Assistant (Dread Isle Primate Behavioral Research Center, Dread Isle)
DJ Intern (The Wolf Show, Chicago)
Carnivale Apprentice (Maschere di Rovati, Venice, Italy)
Personal Assistant Apprentice (Minette's House of Design, Paris, France)
Lab Assistant (Science of Tomorrow Today, Colorado Springs)
Office Aide (Mystery Cruises, Miami)
Assistant Curator (Beech Hill Museum, Washington D.C.)



Student Application

Username: Flipz

Name: Nic Noskreden

Gender: Male

Age: 18 (as in, Senior in HS)

Appearance: Nic is a handsome and athletic young man who stands six feet and two inches tall, with dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Bio: This field was left blank on the application.  Records indicate good grades at a fancy East Coast school, but no personality description was ever given.

Course Selection
First Period:
Math

Second Period:
Physics

Third Period:
Advanced Physics

Fourth Period:
English Lit



Student Application

Username: Flipz

Name: Tina Bremss

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Appearance: Tina is slightly short and round. She has short, brown hair and seems to smile a lot, even while trapped in dark caves. Men seem to find her quite attractive.

Bio: Tina is smart and spunky with a strong belief in girl power. She seems to have a thing for guys, especially firemen, author's assistants, and men who slay dragons.  Tina has an immense worry for Wendy and fears that she might one day get severely hurt during one of her mysteries, but is always willing to lend a hand when Wendy needs it.  She also has issues with snooping without Wendy's help. Tina also reads fashion magazines. She loves food and is slightly over-weight.

Course Selection
First Period:
Math

Second Period:
American History

Third Period:
Advanced Math

Fourth Period:
Art



Student Application

Username: Flipz

Name: Frenya Gogee

Gender: Female

Age: 17

Appearance: Frenya has short brown hair and is light skinned. She seems to have a much taller frame than her cousin Tina. Frenya has dark eyes.

Bio: Frenya is practical, steady, and very much an athletic tomboy, and is not easily scared when involved in Wendy's sleuthing.  After one incident when she was kidnapped while posing as Wendy, she took up judo, and remains good at the martial art.
Frenya is often concerned for Wendy's safely, but is not easily panicked like Tina. However, she seemed to break down much more when Tina had been kidnapped. This shows that the two have a bond more like sisters than distant relatives. She is often optimistic and loves technology. It has yet to be seen how well she can sleuth on her own.

Course Selection
First Period:
Math

Second Period:
American History

Third Period:
Advanced Math

Fourth Period:
Art

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked at the school, and sighed.
Great; looks like one of those schools for rich kids. Tomas thought, as he walked toward the gate. The gate master glared at him, and then gave an audible sigh.
"Name...?" The guard asked, as if he was already bored.
"Tomas Greyson." Tomas responded in a similar tone, which caused the guard to raise an eyebrow.
"Alright. Place any cell phones you have here." The guard stated, which made Tomas look at him curiously, but did so anyway, and the guard simply tossed it to the ground and stepped on it.
"Hey!" Tomas said, a stunned and shocked look on his face, as the guard shrugged.
"Welcome to Rosewater; hope you enjoy your time here."

OOC: =P Thought it was a fitting opening. =P

OOC: I like it, except that Rosewater is completely automated. No living staff. Though, the guard can be an exception.

IC:  *Automated Voice*: "All new students, please come to Auditorium."

OOC: Someone has to take the stuff away, and make sure no-one smuggles things in. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, but shrugged, and paused, as the Guard sighed, and rolled his eyes.
"Down the hall, to the right, up the large staircase, back down, and then to your right again." The guard said, and Tomas nodded, and then walked in those directions.

OOC: Nice. Rosewater is HUGE, BTW.

IC:  *Automated Voice* "New students, be seated for opening presentation."

OOC: Exactly why I gave a complex instruction set. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas entered the auditorium, and then took a seat, though wondered why the voice seemed automated subconsciously.

A giant screen appeared in the wall. An old man was shown on the screen, standing in front of the academy.

The caption read: Our Founder, Alan Rosewater.

(Screen): "Welcome to Rosewater! I would have preferred to be here giving this lecture in person, but if you're seeing this, then I am no longer among the living."

~~~~

A brief history of Rosewater.

(Automated Voice): "Alan Rosewater founded this academy shortly after the death of his daughter Veronica in 1994. Everything was controlled and financed by him, with no outside involvement.  He died in 2006, only a week before the school opened."


(Alan): "Now, let me just review the rules: No phones. No online Chat Rooms, no Online forums, no email other than the official Rosewater email. Have fun here at Rosewater, even if you don't attend class!"

-==IC: Edward==-
"Even if you don't attend...but that's insane!  Why would anyone not want to attend class?!?" He murmured quietly, a look of horror on his face.

OOC: He's in the row behind Tomas, BTW.  ;)

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow at that, but shrugged.
What school let's you skip classes? Ah well... Let's me ignore some stuff. Like that first Physics class... Tomas thought, as he waited to see if there was more. However, Tomas heard something, raised an eyebrow, and turned around to see another student who had a look of horror on his face; likely at the 'even if you don't attend' comment, which caused Tomas to smirk and chuckle mentally.

The auditorium doors opened.

Edward rushed out the doors; he had to get to his Chemistry class, and he didn't want to be late.  What were those directions again?  Start at the auditorium, select a hallway, up the first staircase, up a hallway with windows, down another staircase, down the next hallway, left at the T, right at the cross, left at the painting of the apple, right around the corner, then select a door, hold for 30 seconds, then left, left, back, ahead, and right.  Edward tries his best to follow the directions the guard had given him, but ended up hopelessly lost.  "Hello?  Is anyone here?  I knew i shouldn't have trusted that security guard; he gave me that glare when I told him I didn't have a cell phone..."

OOC: Four different references plus lots of typos equals: "your session has timed out while you took so insanely long to post.  Pleasy try again..." :P  Cookie if you can get the references. ;)

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas had been attempting to get to his math class as well; but also got horribly lost.
Knew I should've opted for getting a map... Tomas thought with a sigh.

Both Edward  and Tomas ended up bumping into a girl. (two different girls, though)

-==IC: Edward==-
"Oh, I'm dreadfully sorry.  I'm new here, and...say, you wouldn't happen to know the way to the chemistry classroom, would you?"

(Kitten): "Why would you want to go there? Kaitlen hacked the screen in the bio lab to show movies."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas stumbles backwards slightly, and blinks, as he looks to see who he bumped into.
Why does this remind me of something?

OOC: Just referencing the fact that that happens in nearly every RPG/story I'm in, without actively mentioning anything or breaking the fourth wall. =P

(Kaitlin): "Sorry!"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"It's okay; I should've been looking where I was going, this school's got a confusing layout..." Tomas said, and then extended his hand.
"I'm Tomas Greyson. You are?"

"Kaitlin. Are you single?"

-==Edward==-
"But I don't have Biology.  And anyway how are you supposed to learn anything if you watch movies instead of paying attention in class?"  he said, not quite having "got" how the school works yet.

OOC: Anyone want to take a stab at that cookie?  Hint: two of the references are just one word. ;)

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting question, but yeah, I am." Tomas said, taken slightly off guard by the sudden question.

OOC: xD

Flipz: Is one 'Hold For Thirty Seconds'?

And that glare comment?

"Great! I am too!"


OOC: The girls at Rosewater are kinda desperate. :P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I see." Tomas said, not sure how else to respond, as the conversation had kinda turned awkward for the moment.

OOC: =P

"So...You new here?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Yeah; just transferred in today." Tomas said with a nod.

"Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy it here."

OOC: slightly sinister tone when she said "enjoy".

OOC: No, but the "Hold" is part of one reference...in fact, it's the second word in the string of the second reference.  The guard thing is just about the guard you mentioned being mad about not being able to break another phone. :P

-==IC: Edward==-
"Anyway, I just realized I never introduced myself.  How rude of me.  My name is Edward, and you are...?"

"The name's Kitten. Well, not legally, but..."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I-I see..." Tomas said, taken aback by her sudden sinister tone, but shook his head.
"So, how long have you been here?" Tomas asked, curious about that.

"A few years."

Edward sweatdrops as an unfortunate thought entered his mind.  He buried it quickly, thinking of the note on the brochure about psychics and how this girl seemed to enjoy breaking rules.  "Right.  Well.  I'm just going to try doors until I find the chemistry--"

The door opened to a supply closet.  A badly packed arts supply closet.  The contents of which knocked off his hat and buried him.  When he got back up, he was covered in glitter.

OOC: I am just WAITING for the obligatory name joke.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I see." Tomas said with a nod.
"So, what grade are you in, then?" Tomas asked, curious about that.

OOC: I'm assuming there are actually no grades. =P

/EDIT: Please, please let me have an NPC walk by right now. D= I might make said NPC into a character later, if you let me. =P I can't pass this opportunity to make a joke up. >=P

"I dunno. I haven't attended a single class in two years."



*Random student walks by*



OOC: @Flipz: What name would that be?

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded at that.
"I see. What do you do with your free time, then?"

OOC: Still waiting on the joke...

OOC: I edited my prior post.


IC: "I watch...ahem...movies....I play video games...play pranks on the others..."

OOC: His name is Edward.  And he now sparkles. XD

OOC: Let me; I know exactly what he's referring to. D=

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded then.
"Games and pranks are cool." Tomas said with a slight smile.

OOC: How did I miss that? :headdesk:

IC: (Kitten): "Graceful, Mr. Cullen."


~~~~

(Kaitlin): "Last week, Joshua found a lizard his..heh."

OOC: Spoil sports. =P </jk>

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas blinked at Kaitlin, not knowing what she meant.

"He needs to lock his door when I'm around" Kaitlin explained.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Okay then." Tomas said with a chuckle, even though he didn't exactly understand the prank yet.
"So... What now?" Tomas asked, as he wasn't sure, and also wasn't quite sure what time it was, either.

"First period. Or, as I call it, Video Game Time."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded.
"Alright then... What's on the list of games to play then?"

"Hmm...Smash Bros, Mario, Zelda, Hiding snakes in Kitten's bed, and...ehe...never mind."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked at Kaitlin curiously, but thought for a second.
"What about smash bros? I've never actually played it before." Tomas said with a slight smile.

"OK. The console is set up in what most people call the 'Biology Lab'."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Alright then. Let's go." Tomas said, and started to walk again, before he paused.
"... You may wanna lead the way."

*Laughs*

"Follow me."

-==IC: Edward==-
"It's actually Martin...you know what, fine.  I'm Edward Cullen...just...Not legally."  He sighed.  "Well, since I'm obviously not going to be learning anything academic this period...where should I go?"  He asked, putting the art supplies back as best he could.  The glitter would likely never come out of the carpet, though...or his hair.  He sighed again.  "Before you answer that, though, I have to ask...please tell me most of the girls at this school are not desperate Twi-hards."  They'd better not be...or at least, they'd better be Team Jacob.

"Nah. We moved out of that phase about a year ago. Well, except for Sally. But you probably won't see her much. She's...weird."

-==IC: Edward==-
"O...K...well, since I have no idea where I'm going now...lead the way."

OOC: Oh greta, a weird girl named Sally. I thought that was over with in an RPG when FotT 2 closed. xD

Flipz: xD

-==IC:Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, and followed Kaitlin to where they were supposed to go.
"Do people eventually memorize the pattern of the school? Because well... It's confusing." Tomas said, with a slight chuckle.

*Kitten leads Edward to the Bio lab*

*Kaitlin does the same*

(Kaitlin): "Yeah. After a few months."


OOC: FotT?

OOC: Fall of the Titans, a BZP RPG. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I see... What's the record amount of time it's taken to memorize the layout?" Tomas asked, curious about that.

"Sally learned it in a day."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded.
"Well; I better hurry then." Tomas said with a smirk.

OOC: And Tomas doesn't know who Sally is. :P

IC: *Opens door to bio lab*

OOC: So? Unless she's some uber kid genius like Kora. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas then walked into the lab, and looked around.

OOC: No. She's the weird kid that spies on everyone, and hides whenever someone comes near her.

IC: *Kaitlin plugs in the Wii*

*automated voice*

"Rosewater students, enjoy your complimentary Wii. The Wii Internet Browser has been disabled."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas blinked at that.
"Why's the browser disabled...?" Tomas asked, as he was not sure why that happened.

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward raises his hand, then inwardly facepalms for his stupidness; obviously there's no teacher in here.  "Uh...Professor?  Why is there a Wii in a biology classroom?  Not that I'm complaining..."

(Kaitlin): "The browser is disabled because the Rosewater Firewall doesn't work on the Wii. Hi Kitten!"

(Kitten): "No professor here, vampire boy. Kait, got room for two more players?"

(Kaitlin): "Sure."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned at the firewall comment, but shrugged.
Why does a school need a firewall so badly that they block off the browser of a video game console, though...? Tomas thought, as he paused.
"Question, I hear that this game works with Gamecube controllers... Are there any of those here?"

*Kitten pulls out a box filled with gamecube controllers*

"They provide everything."

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward shrugs, and picks up a Wii-mote and numchuck.  Then something comes to mind.  "Hey, do you already have all the characters and stages unlocked, or do I need to break the world record on a SSE speedrun again?"

OOC: For added fun, even though he doesn't look like Robert Pattinson, he sounds just like him. XP

OOC: xD

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow, as he looked over at Edward.
"Who invited a famous kid to the party? Specifically that actor who plays Cullen? ... Then again, given the fact that he sparkles; it might just be him, but the question still holds." Tomas said, as he connected a Gamecube controller to the console, and prepared to start when ready.

(Kaitlin): "Yep. And Sally hacked it and made custom brawlers that look like us. Of course, she made herself invincible..."

-==IC: Edward==-
"And she knows what I look like...how?"  He catches a glimpse of the look on the girls' faces, a look that practically shouted, Do you REALLY want that answered?  "Never mind, never mind, I don't EVEN want to know."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas didn't hold back, however.
"Given that you at least sound like Edward Cullen, what do you think? Likely some fangirl or something."

OOC: =P

*Kitten headdesks*

"Of US. as in, the students that were here long enough to get to know her."


(Kaitlin): "Good thing you're cute, because you certainly aren't going to impress anything with your brains."

-==IC: Edward==-

I am SO gonna Final Smash that guy into next century...and then I'll join the others playing Wii.  What he said, however, was, "Well, at least SOMEONE at this school is interested in me.  I doubt the same is true of you."

OOC: Wasn't how I first imagined Edward would meet Tomas, but... :P

EDIT: ninja'd.  Assume this happens before Truth's post.

OOC: It's still awesome. And allows Tomas' initial first impression to be true. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Yeah; about that..." Tomas said with a smirk.

*Someone tiptoes past outside*

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy Cran was lost.  But that was OK.  Being lost gave her a chance to snoop.

Wendy had just found a door that looked like it hadn't been opened in ages, when she spotted someone else sneaking around.  She quickly hid behind a statue and watched to see what this mysterious person was doing.

OOC: Name is a clue to her personality.  Two simple transformations of the name will reveal the name of a very famous character who acts just like Wendy. ;)

OOC: ... You didn't.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Meanwhile, Tomas had picked up his controller, and was selecting his character, as he frowned, not sure which was which.

OOC: PM me your guess.  ;D

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward selects Lucario and waits for the others to choose their characters.  "Kaze Hikari..." he reads from the screen.  "Wonder who he is?  Oh, well, he wouldn't stand a chance against my leet skillz with the POWER OF AURA...Aura...aura...."  Seeing no one was paying attention, he began singing the Super Smash Bros Brawl theme word for word in time with the music.

*Kitten selects herself*

*Kaitlin selects Zero Suit Samus*

~~~

Sally turned to the statue. Whoever was watching her, they were behind it.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas had selected Kaze, but still had no clue who he was, or his powers.
"Alright, let's go." Tomas said with a nod, as he locked his selection in.

-==IC: Edward==-
"Spear Pillar, Spear Pillar, Spear Pillar!"  He said, and since he had grabbed the Player 1 controller, he got the choice.

"3...2...1...FIGHT!" He said in time with the announcer on-screen.

-==IC: Wendy==-
While hiding from the figure, which appeared to be female, she noticed a button on the statue.  Of course, she thought, there's always something hidden on the statues.  I'll have to take another look at all the statues around here.  She jotted some notes down in her journal and on her checklist, and pressed the button...

OOC: Anyone want me to list what's on her checklist?  I have a pretty detailed idea of what's on it... ;)

Hitting the button caused the door to open.


OOC: Yes, please post the checklist.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas smiled, and had his character run forward, as he jumped, and then used an air side smash attack, which swung Kaze's sword at Lucario quickly.
I wonder what special attacks this guy has? He feels like a faster Ike almost. Tomas thought, as he had Kaze land, and waited, thought he tested out the Down Special, which put Kaze into a similar pose to Ike's down move, along with seemingly creating a barrier around him.

OOC: I'm putting restrictions on his power. But when he unleashes Final Smash... I'd say bye bye to your chars. =P

A smash ball appeared. Kitten guided herself to it.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, and had Kaze jump up toward it, and do a Side Special, which sent out an energy arc at the Smash Ball, which caused Tomas to raise an eyebrow.
How interesting. Guess he has some differences from Ike after all.

Kitten collected the smash ball.

"Wait 'till you see MY Final Smash..."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas, however, didn't give her the chance, as Kaze landed right next to her, and then aimed to Side-Smash her off the stage.

Kitten quickly activated her Final Smash, which was...smothering the nearest player with hugs.

OOC: Like a souped-up Peach FS, then? :P
OOC2: Wendy's checklist:

[X] Enter Rosewater Academy.
[X] Attend the meeting with the rest of the students.
[  ] Explore the school.
[  ] Find out who's in charge here.
[  ] Talk to the other students.
[  ] See if any of the new students have noticed anything strange.
[  ] Find out who that girl is and what she's doing.
[  ] Investigate the statues.
[  ] Explore the passageway opened by the statue in the Biology corridor.

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy decides to slip into the opened door, instead of confronting the girl who was sneaking around.

EDIT:
-==IC: Edward==-
While Kaze gets smothered to death, Lucario picks up an Assist Trophy.  He breaks it open, then grabs a nearby Pokeball and throws it at Zero Suit Samus.

OOC: ZSS is toast.  I've tried Lucario versus ZSS...ZSS is toast. :P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked at the screen with a '0_o' expression, and attempted to break out of the hold however, as he mashed buttons, and attempted to use Smash Moves to get out of the Final Smash.

OOC: Depends on the player. =P You play Ike yet? In fact; you got Wi-Fi? =P

Zero Suit Samus -1 life.


~~~~
Sally followed Wendy into the Janitor's Closet.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas finally had Kaze break free, and used the Side Special(Slash Arc) on Kitten's character again, while Tomas kept an eye on Lucario, ready to knock him off the platform soon if he could.

OOC: Ike is actually my main. XD  And yeah, I do have wi-fi, but I never use it.  I'd just get owned. :P  When a level three computer can own you...  :/

-==IC: Edward==-
Lucario then grabs a Screw Attack item and jumps toward Kitten and Kaze, but accidentally sets off the Smart Bomb that spawned above them.  Meanwhile Dialga roars, and a Hyper Beam begins to add further to the pain...

OOC: Don't forget, the stage does random stuff too.  It's part of why Spear Pillar with Lucario is one of my favs. ^_^

-==IC: Wendy==-
"So...I don't suppose you're just looking for a mop...?"

OOC: Well, you could fight me. =P I get owned by pretty much everyone; ask truth(Though I got lucky a few times). That, and I haven't played in a while, so my skills are rusty again. =P Plus, Ike Vs. Ike would be... interesting. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas smirked, as he used the neutral special; a charging blast similar to the one Samus or Lucario used, and then fired that at Lucario, aiming to send him blasting off the screen.

OOC: As I remember, our fight kept crashing.  ^^;

IC: Kaitlin made Zero Suit Samus grab Kaze, but missed. Zero Suit Samus then fell off the edge.

~~~~

(Sally): "No. And neither are you."

OOC: That too. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas blinked, as he had Kaze whip around, and then attempt to side-smash Kitten off the stage as well.

Kitten was apparently a very light-weight fighter, as she bounced off the wall and crashed back into Kaze.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned as Kaze was knocked back slightly, but got up quickly, and Tomas used the Side Special on Kitten this time.

Kitten crashed into Samus, giving Kaitlin a game over.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Hmm. She has a floating type character, huh?" Tomas commented, with a smile, as he had Kaze spam the Side Special.

OOC: He's gonna get her to 999%, isn't he? =P

OOC: Yes. :P

IC: *Kitten crashes into a smash ball and activates her final smash*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas, however, noticed who the closest character was at that time, due to character placings... Lucario.

OOC: Sorry Flipz. =P

-==IC: Edward==-
Lucario uses a dodge-roll to avoid the blast, then charges an Aura Sphere and blasts it at Kaze.  Since both were at over 300% damage, this was going to hurt...

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy was a bit unnerved.  "Well, I guess this would be as good a time as any to get to know each other.  Hi, I'm Wendy Cran.  And you are...?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas thought for a second, and simply shrugged, as he unleashed yet another side special at Lucario, aiming to knock him away before he could use the blast.
"I'm half tempted to keep yelling out 'Getsuga Tensho' when I keep using this move." Tomas joked, as they continued fighting.

OOC: One of the recolours has to be Kaze with orange hair and black clothing. =P

"My name is Sally Finch. You're the new student. You're in Dorm 53."

~~~

Kitten: "Yikes. 999%."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas smirked, and then had Kaze run at Kitten's character, and used a side smash to knock her off the stage one way or another.

OOC: Ocarina of Time Medley is awesome. =D

Kitten's character bounced back into Kaze, knocking both of them off the stage.

-==IC: Edward==-
"Meep."  Edward realizes that damage from Dialga's Roar of Time left him at 553% damage.  "How am I even still on the stage?"  Ignoring that, he has Lucario stand on one of the moving platforms, just begging to be attacked...

-==IC: Wendy==-
"I...see," Wendy says, sweatdropping.  Maybe that's where my luggage went, she thought.  "So, how long have you been at Rosewater?"

"One year. And this is the longest conversation I've had so far."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas granted that wish, as he had Kaze use an Air Down Smash from the Respawning Platform on Lucario.

-==IC: Edward==-
Lucario uses his down-special on Kaze, hitting him with the counter-strike just as Kaze's mercy invincibility wears off, sending him flying off the screen.

OOC: Recap on stock, please? ;D

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy's voice grows much kinder, more nurturing.  "Really?  I'm sorry to hear that.  Maybe I can help you turn that around."  Sally doesn't respond, and Nancy decides to move on to the next question.  "So, what do you think of the other new students?"

OOC: I have a list of names to PM you, Truth, but I'm still working on the profiles.  None of them will have very complex (listed) backstories, though, just about as simple as Wendy's. ;)

(Sally): "I don't form any opinions without careful observation."

OOC: Kaitlin's out; Kitten's -1, I assume Kaze's out, though I could do this...

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas smirked again, as he used the Up Special to teleport to the right, and then did a ledge grab by using a 'whip' made out of Ki. Tomas quickly had Kaze jump up, and used the Side Special once more.

OOC: Also; you know 'HIS WORLD' from the Green Hill Zone? I just realized that it sounds a little like the ending theme from Megaman Zero 2. =O Only part of it; but that's enough for me to make the connection. =P

OOC: I think Kaze has 1 stock left, and Lucario has 2.  I wasn't sure about the others.

-==IC: Edward==-
While Kaze recovers, Lucario grabs Kitten, intending to throw her; instead both get caught in another Hyper Beam, which Kaze just managed to miss by hanging on the ledge instead of climbing up.  When both respawn, Dialga roars, and the whole stage goes into slo-mo...

OOC: There we go, 1 stock all around except for Kaitlin. ;)

-==IC: Wendy==-
"I see.  What about the ones who have been here a while?  What can you tell me about them?"

"They've all got a secret...Kaitlin only barely avoided the death sentence. Kitten changed her name for a very good reason. Joshua is an illegal hacker, though he only hacks for causes he believes in. And trust me, I'll know all your secrets soon too."

OOC: Flipz: Actually, you just offed Kitten; she had been knocked off the screen before, and just respawned. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow, but then smiled.
"Just you and me now." Tomas said, as he focused, and waited for Lucario's first move...

OOC: Now I want an RPG similar to SSBB in fight mechanics, but with a Megaman Battle Network-type story(Characters are sentient partners, you can merge yourself with your character, world's in danger, and so forth). I think the Full Synchro is playing a part in that. D=

OOC: @Flipz: How about a response to Sally?

OOC: I thought 3 stock was standard...

-==IC: Wendy==-
"Well, if you're going to know anyway...I like to snoop.  I look around for things that are out of place, listen to peoples' stories to find details that don't add up...that sort of thing.  I try to keep it under control and hidden from everyone else, but..."  She gestures to Sally and the room.  "Anyway, if you ever need someone to talk to, or you just need help with something, I'm your girl!"

OOC: Seriously, it's scary how well I know what Wendy's going to say.  I don't have to think at all, it's weird...

-==IC: Edward==-
Lucario grabs a Pokeball and throws it at Kaze, then jumps to the lower level to grab the capsules that spawned there.  He grabs a pair of stickers and a CD along the way.

OOC: Truth decides which Pokemon comes out, deal?

OOC: Well, given that Truth ended the match for Kaitlin after only two KOs... =P

Flipz, second OOC: It is. =P

Just waiting for Truth to post about the Pokemon.

An Arceus came out.

OOC: Sally hacked it. :P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas stared at the Pokeball's contents, and gulped.
"... Is that..."

OOC: Kaze's dead.  :P

-==IC: Edward==-

Lucario moved out of the way as Arceus unleashed Judgement on Kaze.

OOC: And Sally says...?

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas simply had a bead of sweat run down his face, as, although he used the Down special, he still was hit and KO'd.
"... I call hax."

OOC: =P

(Sally): "I do the same thing. I'm sorta a spy."

-==Wendy==-
"Cool," she says, her voice not betraying that she's kind of weirded out again.  "Well, I guess we can be spys together then!"

-==IC: Edward==-
"Dude, the game has custom brawlers and Arceus appeared from a Pokeball.  What part of that does NOT scream 'hacked' to you?!"  He suddenly realizes what's going on.  "Wait, why am I sitting here playing a video game when I could be in class, learning?!"  He drops the controller, jumps up, and heads for the door...still trailing glitter.

OOC: Think Pigpen from Peanuts crossed with the whole Edward Cullen thing. :P XD

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas sighed.
"Yo glitter boy, I understood that; I meant the fact that you randomly pulled out Arceus right when you needed it!" Tomas called out with another sigh.
"Kids these days, don't even know their competitive Pokemon terms..."

OOC: =P

(Kitten): "There's no class in the bathroom, vampire boy!"

(Kaitlin): "And FYI: it is hacked. How else could we be playing as these custom brawlers?"

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward turns around, but can't think of a response.

OOC: :P
EDIT: OOC2: Throw a couch cushion at him! :P

OOC: I want to, but what would be the reasoning? =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas sighed.
"When I said 'hax', I was referring to the term in Pokemon that refers to someone getting very lucky, like landing a critical hit right at the precise moment it was needed. Just to explain a little." Tomas said with a slight smile.

OOC: Throw it at him and tell him to lighten up.

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward is torn between wanting to hang out and play video games and to go out and find his assigned class.  He compromises by walking to the most uncomfortable-looking chair in the room, sitting in it, and pulling out his chemistry textbook and beginning to read.

OOC: Sally?

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas rolled his eyes, and grabbed one of the pillows from a nearby couch, and then tossed it at Edward.
"Lighten up, vampire boy." Tomas said, and smirked.

OOC: =P

-==IC: Edward==-
A cloud of glitter exploded into the air as the pillow hit Edward in the face.  He sat, stunned, until he saw...
"My book!  You got glitter in my textbook!  Do you have any idea how hard that stuff is to get out?!"  He picks up the pillow and throws it back at Tomas.

OOC: Pillow fiiiiiiiight! :P

-==Tomas==-

A bead of sweat ran down Tomas' face, as he attempted to duck, but instead still got nailed in the face, as he nearly fell backward, but caught himself. Instead, he threw another pillow at Edward quickly.
"You could always use your magical vampire powers to get it out." Tomas suggested, having fun with that.

OOC: Never should've let me get a hold of that. =P

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward snaps the book shut and uses it to club the pillow back at Tomas.  However, it misses and hits Kitten instead.  Edward drops the book and looks for another pillow to throw. 

OOC: Oh wow. Same time post, but in two different topics. =O

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas smirked, and then grabbed a second pillow, and threw it at Edward quickly.

Kitten grinned and tackled Edward.


~~~~


(Sally) : "I work alone."

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward went bright red, not knowing what to do in this situation.  He froze, ignoring the pillows that Tomas continued throwing at him.

-==IC: Wendy==-
"OK.  Well, if you ever need me, I'm sure you know where to find me.  Actually, speaking of that...you wouldn't happen to know where my room is, would you?  I'm kinda lost."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow, not sure what to make of this situation. As such, he wasn't quite sure what to say at that moment either.

*Kitten laughs*

*Kaitlin walks up behind Tomas and beans him with a huge pillow*

~~~~


(Sally): "Follow me."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas fell comically to the floor, as he was not expecting to be randomly hit from behind.

OOC: =P

Kaitlin tackled him and pinned him to the ground, as Kitten did the same to Edward.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas' face had a '0_o' look on it, as he attempted to roll out of the way before he was hit, but that didn't exactly work, as he attempted to quickly figure out what to do now.

(Kaitlin): "Gotcha."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"What are you doing...?" Tomas asked, confused by now.

"Hehehehehe."

OOC: Like I said: the girls at Rosewater are desperate. :P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Could you, uh, let me up?" Tomas asked, still confused.

"No, I don't think so."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas sighed, and thought for a second, as he tried to move away from Kaitlin slightly.

OOC: Kaitlin is lying on top of him. He can't just "move away". :P

OOC: Well, he rolled before Kaitlin pounced, so theoretically he could. The effect of getting away from her just wouldn't work. =P

(Kaitlin): "You can't escape that easily!"

OOC: Is she talking about escaping from her...or from Rosewater? >:D

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Just let me up, please?" Tomas asked, as this situation was kinda awkward.

*sighs*

"Fine."

*climbs off of him*

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy follows Sally.

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward turns redder still, and tries to roll out from under Kitten.  It doesn't help.

OOC: This is really awkward for Edward; I don't know if the profile made it clear enough, but he has limited social experience in general, let alone... :P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, but nodded.
"Thanks." Tomas said, but paused, and turned to Edward and Kitten.
"I think you should let him up; any redder and he might turn into a lobster." Tomas said with a smirk to Kitten.

Kitten giggled and got off of him.

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward was relieved and, oddly, a little disappointed.  He tries to talk, but gibberish comes out. "Ulb.  Welm, thadduz akkad, aniloe veeb taco?"

OOC: Essentially my reaction if that happened to me. XD XD XD

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy followed Sally through the twisting halls.  "Boy, this place sure is confusing...would you happen to have a map I could borrow?"

OOC: i just got and interesting idea, I'll think it through and PM truth for approval...

OOC: I made out the first part of that sentence, but 'taco' is throwing me off. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas once again smirked, but paused.
"Anyone up for trying to memorize the school?" Tomas asked, curious of that.

OOC: Question, can our characters have perfect memories? It's a real thing. =P

OOC: When I was ten, this really pretty girl asked me my name. My answer: "Um...Um...Um..Chandelier?"

IC: (Sally): "Sure. But it'll cost you 50 bucks."

BOOC: @Blade: The term is "photographic memory". And why not?

OOC: Nice. =P I believe I might have had some scenarios where I epic failed in some way. =P

Memory stuff: Just checking; didn't know if it'd break stuff. I thought it'd help for Tomas. =P

IC: (??): Hmm...These new students seem to be fairly weak-minded. And to think, I was worried they'd be a threat to my operation...

OOC: ?? is a character that you have already met. ::)

OOC: Oh no, don't tell me it's the guard! =O

Also, what do you mean by weak minded? =P

OOC: 1: YOU created the guard!  :P

2: "Stupid". =P

OOC: It's still a character we've seen before. =P

Otherwise; there really isn't any characters we've all seen before, unless that supposedly dead guy... isn't dead. =P

OOC: OK, let me rephrase this...it's a character that has appeared (in person) in the RPG so far.

But...Mr. Rosewater's death was NOT natural.  ;)

OOC: Okay, who's the Butler? I know the Butler did it. =P

On that note, you accepting guesses in PMs? =P

OOC: 1: No butler. :P

2: I'll accept them...but I might not tell you if it's correct. :P



IC: *A teenage boy walks in*

"Kitten, do you know how some....websites...got into my browser history?"

*Kitten sweatdrops*

1. Darn. =P

2. I'm still trying to gather evidence out of game. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow, but then turned to the newcomer.
"Who are you?" Tomas asked with a slight frown.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Joshua. Rosewater's first male student, and expert hacker."

OOC: PM sent!

-==IC: Wendy==-
"OK," she said, and pulled fifty dollars from her purse.  Good thing Dad's a lawyer, she thought.  She saw a door at the end of the hallway she and were walking down.  She couldn't see any other exits from the corridor.  "Is that my room?" she asked.

"No. That leads TO the dorms."

*opens door*

Behind it were 55 more doors.

Sally led the way to one of them. "This is your room."


OOC: Three new character profiles.

-==IC: Rod==-
An athletic-looking blonde-haired boy opens the door and sticks his head into the Biology classroom.  "Excuse me, but do any of you know where the Biology classroom is?  I seem to be lost."

-==IC: Hank==-
Meanwhile, in another hallway, Hank sighed.  "Well, Rod said we were going to get lost here.  I guess we just underestimated HOW soon."  Just then, he saw two girls walk down a hallway.  One of them pulled a stack of cash from her purse...and she looked VERY familiar.  "It can't be..." he decides to follow them, just in case.

OOC: *Chuckles to self*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded.
"Tomas Greyson; new student; expert gamer." Tomas said with a smirk.

(Kaitlin): "This is the Bio Lab."


(Joshua): "Ah. Did you win this round of Brawl, then?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"No; Cullen here pulled an Arceus out of a Pokeball right when he needed it. Needless to say, he barely won." Tomas said, gesturing to the sparkling kid.

*Joshua looks at Edward*

"Sally is gonna love you. She loves sparkly vampires."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas smirked, and thought for a second.
"So, again, anyone up for looking around the school to try and memorize the layout?" Tomas asked, curious about that.

(Joshua): "Sally can give you a map...if you can find her. Sally is always hard to find."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Who needs maps?" Tomas asked with another smirk.
"No, I want to memorize the layout without Sally's help." Tomas said, as he thought for a second.
"Would be interesting to know who this Sally person is, anyway."

(Joshua): "Well, I can-"

*Kaitlin shoves him aside*

"I'll show you around!"

-==IC: Tomas==-

A bead of sweat ran down Tomas' face, but he nodded.
"Alright then..." Tomas said, as he smirked.
"Allons y, then."

OOC: Let's go, in french. =P

*Kaitlin grabs his hand and drags him out*

-==IC: Rod==-
"Wait, you're playing Brawl?  And I wasn't invited?"  He grins.  "I think I'm gonna like this place.  The name's Rod.  Rod Jahey.  Athlete and history buff.  And you all are?"

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward death glares Tomas and Joshua, but doesn't speak for fear of lapsing into gibberish again.

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy gets an odd feeling that someone following them.  "Hey, Sally?  Can you tell me if someone is behind us without tipping them off?  I think someone's trying to follow us."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas started to said something; but was dragged out of the classroom a second later, before he could say what he wanted to say.

OOC: =P

(Sally): "One boy behind us. Hank."

~~~

(Kitten): "I'm Kitten. This is Edward Cullen, that's Joshua, and the two that just left are Kaitlin and Tomas."

Kaitlin led Tomas down a hallway.

"So...see anything you like?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"The entire school." Tomas said, without hesitating.

OOC: =P

OOC: =P

IC: *rolls eyes*

"Fine, follow me. And be sure to tell me if you see something that interests you..."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Alright then. Why, did you have anything in mind?" Tomas asked, as he wasn't sure.

OOC: =P

*sweatdrops*

"Nothing in particular. But you know, you might see what you like right in front of you."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded.
"Okay then." Tomas said, as he started to walk, and was completely oblivious to what Kaitlin had meant.

OOC: xD

-==IC: Rod==-
"Cool!  So, looks like you're short a couple of players, since the Patterson clone here doesn't look like he's in a state to play anything.  Mind if I jump in?  I'll call my cousin Hank and see if he--" he reaches for his phone, and remembers it isn't there.  He makes a face.  "Forgot we don't have phones...that's gonna make it tough to keep in touch.  Any or all of you interested in helping me track him down?  Maybe there's another way to contact him somewhere...?"

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward's mood was rapidly changing from shell-shocked to enraged.  I'm gonna throtle the next person who makes a Twilight reference, I don't care HOW cute they are.  Nonetheless, he still can't bring himself to talk or move.
OOC: He's not really.  He doesn't have the guts, and besides he's not mean enough.  He's just blowing off steam internally.  Which, doesn't really help.  Hmm, sounds familiar...[self-deprecatinghumor]

-==IC: Hank==-
I swear, that looks like--but it can't be.  She's back home...isn't she?  She would have told us if she was going to...  He reaches for his cell phone to call Rod when he remembers it isn't there.  Going to have to revise the coded system, since we had to leave our phones at home.  Shame.  Those would have been useful in a place this big... he's so lost in thought he doesn't notice Wendy sneak a peek.

-==IC: Wendy==-
"Hank?" she asks Sally quietly.  The other girl nods.  Wendy decides to sneak a peek, and is surprised by who she sees.  That couldn't be-- "Hank!"  She calls out.  Hank looks up, and, realizing he's been spotted, walks sheepishly up to the two.  "Fancy meeting you here...Hank Darfry.  You didn't tell me you guys were coming here."
Hank nodded, then looked to the other girl.  "My cousin Rod Jahey and I just finished the paperwork a few days ago," he said, using Rod's full name for the other girl's benefit.  An awkward silence follows.
Wendy shakes herself.  "C'mon, Wendy, where are your manners?  Hank Darfry, this is Sally Finch.  She's great, she knows a LOT about this place."
Hank chuckles.  "That's the Wendy...Cran I know.  Always looking for secrets and making new friends.  You always remind me of Rod..."
"Now, Hank, you know I'm involved with someone...and last I checked, Rod didn't need help finding a girlfriend."
Hank shrugged, but something in his eyes changed.  A warning.  "Rod's not been on top of his game lately.  I don't know if you've had time to keep up on events back home, but remember what happened to Iola last year?"
Wendy nodded.  Rod's girlfriend at the time had been in an explosion, and later died from her injuries.  Only a few people knew the truth of what had really happened, and why she had been targeted.  Rod had been devastated, but she thought he had recovered.
"Well, his latest two girlfriends got into accidents--nothing serious, one fell down a couple of stairs at the courthouse, and another one got food poisoning at Jake's--but now every girl in town thinks he's cursed.  It's brought back some of the old memories, and..."
Hank didn't have to finish the sentence.  She knew how old wounds could resurface at the worst times.  Her mother had died when she was three, and sometimes seeing other girls with both their parents made her ache with longing to see her again.  She still missed her, even all these years later.  She decided to change the subject.  "So, Sally here was just going to show me to my room.  I guess afterwards we could have a look around?  There's a lot of...interesting stuff around this place.
Hank nodded.  "Sure.  I'm just going to go check on Rod, make sure he found his class OK.  I'll meet you in the main hall."
"OK!"
With that, Hank walked down the hall towards the biology classroom, and Wendy walked through the door of the room Sally indicated as hers.

OOC: If you want, Hank can wander through Tomas' hall, Blade. ;)
I might bring in my fourth character soon, but not unless I see an opportune spot.  As a note, he's not going to do much plot-wise, he's more of an interference than anything else.  Anyway, my other three won't be showing up for at least a couple more in-game days.  ;)

*Sally climbs into one of the air vents and is gone*

~~~

(Kitten): "Sally could find anyone you want. As long as you can find HER first."

~~~

(Kaitlin): "Fine. Follow me, I'll show you to the Computer Lab first. It's closest."

OOC: Heh heh heh; poor Edward. =P

Also, I think you slipped up in that last huge IC; with the 'shakes herself' part. Specifically the name. =P

Also, fourth character? You already have four characters. Unless you meant fifth. =P And alright, about the Hank thing.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, as he followed Kaitlin, but made sure to pay attention to everything around him.

OOC: I just realized.  Jared.  ::)  Is this a prequel to SHIRA?  Is Kaitlin the Queen of the Imperial Remnant?

-==Wendy==- (OOC: I keep typing the wrong name for her! :P )
Wendy notes the air vent, and marks it on her map, adding little logos for "air vent" and "Sally exit point."  She also marks off the statue, showing with a colored and dotted line that it opens the nearby janitor's closet next to the Biology classroom.  She cheks off a few entries on her checklist, adds a few more and jots down some notes in her journal, and then steps through the door and looks around.

OOC: What does she see?  Also, can I make a separate topic for Wendy, Hank, and Rod's checklists and journals?  They're going to end up kind of long, and it'd be a lot easier to just keep them in one spot and add to/edit them as time goes on.

-==IC: Edward==-
Edward finally recovers.  "We don't need this Hank guy, I'm ready to play, let's go!"  He grabs his controller and looks at the characters, trying to decide who to play as.

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod throws Edward an odd look, then picks up the controller that had been Tomas'.  "OK.  I guess I can look for my cousin later."  He, too looks at the character screen.  Noticing that it's hacked, he says, "Hey, who hacked this?  Not that I'm complaining, it's just...this is really high-quality work!"  And whoever is THAT good at hacking could be a great person to know...or to keep an eye on.

EDIT: OOC: Yeah, I meant fifth.  And thanks for the save! :P

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank is opening doors, looking for the biology classroom where Rod is supposed to be, when he stumbles across the computer lab.  Hmm...must be the computer lab.  He chacks his schedule. I have to be here later today...maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a look around.  He sees a notice on all the computer screens, and sits down to take a look...

OOC: There's a character named Jared in here? =P I was thinking you were referring to Truth's WIP character, but he hadn't posted any profiles(I think he's still stuck on something. =P); so...

There's a Joshua, but... =P

And hey, that's a good question to have asked, as it's a good point(Referring to Rod's question). =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked around, as they headed down the halls of the school.

OOC: Jared??

IC: Wendy's room contained as follows: A top-of-the-line computer, a 3D HDTV, and the fanciest bed Wendy had ever seen.

BOOC: Sure, make another topic if you want.

BIC: Kaitlin guided Tomas into the computer lab.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas entered the Computer lab, and then frowned, as he saw someone sitting in front of one of the computers.
"Who are you?" Tomas asked with a slight frown, not expecting there to be anyone there at the moment.

OOC:   :facepalm: :facepalm: All the names are turning to mush...

IC in a minute.

OOC: It's okay; used to happen to me all the time... I had to actually put concentration into some of my RPG posts; otherwise I'd end up with Blade in say something like a Pokemon RPG, or Zach in DoaH, or Kaze in Fall of the Titans. =P

OOC: You...did...what? 
Kidding, kidding... :P

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank heard someone talking to him before he had a chance to read the notice.  "Huh...?  Oh, hey there.  My name's Hank.  Hank Darfry.  I'm new here.  I stumbled across this room, and figured I'd check it out before i come back here for my fourth period class.  I mean, since I'm way late for my other class, anyway...  So, who are you two?  You guys new here too?"

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy was impressed; she'd traveled across America and to eight foreign countries, but this was the most luxurious bed she'd ever seen.  She settled down on it and decided to relax for a while, turning on the TV to see what was on.

OOC: =P I meant what the names were, of course. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I'm Tomas Greyson, a..." Tomas started to say, and paused, with a smile.
"A new student. Just joined today." Tomas said, though inwardly raised an eyebrow.
Hank Darfry? I think I've heard of him before...

OOC: Are the dorm rooms free of listening devices and so? =P

OOC: Rosewater places listening devices in all dorm rooms. However, only someone with admin access to the Rosewater computers can listen.

IC: "And I'm Kaitlin. I've been here a while."

OOC: Exactly my point. =P You can't have secretive conversations where you reveal secret stuff. =P

OOC: well, only the dorm rooms are tapped. Not the hallways or the classrooms. I should have specified that in my prior post. *fixes it*
 

OOC: Ah, that's much better then. >=P

Also, this should be interesting...

OOC: BIC now please. :P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"So, what are you doing after this... Hank...?" Tomas asked, as he looked at Hank with a raised eyebrow.

-==IC: Hank==-
"Nice to meet you.  So, what brings you here?  I was just noticing this information box on the screens here."  Hank suddenly remembers something else he wants to ask.  "By the way, since cell phones aren't allowed here, do you guys know of another way to get a hold of people quickly?"

OOC: Before I post IC as Wendy, I need clarification: the bugs in the rooms are audio only, right?  No video?
EDIT: Fixed an...unfortunate wording there.  I wouldn't have noticed anything of it at all, except...well, I blame Truth. :P

OOC: Yes. Audio only.

IC: (Kaitlin): "Most of us use Sally as a messenger. Or the Rosewater email. We can't email anyone other than fellow students, of course."

OOC: *Sees Flipz's post* *Blinks* *Reads earlier part* Oh, I see how that could be bad. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"We're here because I decided to try and memorize the school." Tomas said with a chuckle.
"As for getting in touch with people, I'm not sure." Tomas said, and then Kaitlin mentioned using Sally or the email.
"But... Is there any way to use the Email without going to a spot with a computer?" Tomas asked with a slight frown.

OOC: *thinks a minute*
*gets it*
Oh. ^^;


IC: (Kaitlin): "How could you use email without a computer?"

OOC: Good.  Because of Kitten's...interesting internat habits, I was worried for a second...
Brain Bleach is here (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TropeCo/BrainBleach) if needed. :P
OOC2: Journals will be slightly updated after this post.

-==IC: Hank==-
"School email's good enough for me," he says, logging in and opening his account.  After getting a chance to look, he had seen that the notice was just a standard 'this computer has filters' dialogue.  "Hey, Rod, our good friend from home, Wendy Cran is here.  Meet us in the main entry hall during lunch."  He sends the message, then turns back to Tomas and Kaitlin.  "So, who is this Sally person?  What does she look like?  What does she do?"  The more information I have on this girl, the better...especially if Wendy is hanging around her.

A moment later, he thinks of another question.  "Say, is it possible to access school email from, say, a laptop?  I had mine and my cousin's new laptops sent in to be approved, and they said we could use them as long as we used this 'Rosewater Firewall' thing...any idea where I can get that to install?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I'd say a portable variant, but then I remembered all Cell Phones were tossed out, regardless of the fact that a simple cell-tower cut would've done fine." Tomas pointed out. And then Hank brought up laptop.
"Good question, that."

OOC: =P

OOC: *takes the brain bleach* Thanks.

Though, I think you know exactly what Kitten's internet habits are. ^^;

IC: (Joshua): "Rosewater Firewall is installed as soon as you connect to Rosewater's internet."

(Kaitlin): "Sure. email.rosewater.evl. As for Sally...she's pretty short, she has blonde hair, pale blue eyes, and she's always sneaking around. "


EDIT: BOOC: @Flipz: I love the new journal entries.

OOC: Thanks!  I just finished a new one for Hank.  They're based on a PC video game series I like to play.  My mom introduced me to them, and they're a LOT of fun.  They're also helping me keep track of where my characters are and what they're doing, and what they still need to do.  You know, maybe I should start doing that for my real-life responsibilities...  ^^;
OOC2:Ironic that the PCs mostly suspect each other, even though we know none of them are guilty. :P

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy makes a couple blank copies of the map just in case, then looks at her checklist and decides to go exploring before the end of the period.  She shuts off the TV, and heads along the outermost hallways shown on her map, looking for anything unusual and checking all the statues for buttons.  She marks everything on her map using color-coded symbols.

OOC: BTW, she can change her markings later if they turn out to be wrong--they're colored pencils, not pens or crayons.  Also, she's not going to give those away--that's in case her current map gets too full, or in case she misplaces it, so she's not TOTALLY lost. ;)

-==IC: Edward and Rod==-
Edward picks Pikachu, and Rod takes a custom character.  "Zamz Bade...wonder what he does?"
They wait for Kitten and Joshua to make their choices, and then Rod, as Player 2, picks Mario Circuit.
"Aww..." Edward says, "I was hoping for Big Blue..."

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank installs the firewall, then downloads a copy to put on Rod's computer when he sees him.  then he has another thought.  "Say, I don't suppose this place has any provided laptops for students to use?  I have a friend who could really use one," he says, thinking of Wendy.

OOC: Woo-hoo, first post with IC for ALL FOUR characters!

(Kitten): "Let's go! I always play as myself."

(Joshua): "I hate playing as Jigglypuff...I'm NEVER using the random button again.."

(Kitten): "You say that every time."

~~~


(Kaitlin): "No...but we could request one. We just email admin@rosewater.evl. I don't know who the admin is (or if it's even a person), but they almost always provide whatever we request."



EDIT: Kaitlin and Joshua aren't in the same room, remember? Joshua, Kitten, Edward, and Hank are in the Bio Lab, and Rod, Tomas, and Kaitlin are in the Computer Lab. Right?


ANOTHER EDIT: Wow. Firefox is treating "admin@rosewater.evl" as a real email address! :P

-==IC: Rod and Edward==-

"3...2...1...FIGHT"

Pikachu uses Headbutt on Jigglypuff, but suddenly a textbox appears at the bottom of the screen.

"'Jigglypuff's Cute Charm infatuated Pikachu?!?'  WHO HACKED THIS THING?!?!?!?"

Meanwhile, Bade uses Sharp Glare, which makes everyone on the screen act as if they were hit by Unira.

-==IC: Hank==-
"Got it."  He emails the admin, asking for a school laptop for Wendy.  "It doesn't matter if it's a clunker, we just need to keep in touch.  Now...who was Sally, again?  And what were you guys planning to do in here before you ran into me?  Maybe I could tag along."

EDIT: OOC: Oh, last I had seen, Kaitlin dragged Tomas out alone, leaving Joshua with Rod, Edward, and Kitten.  *re-checks posts* yeah, that post was kinda vague... :P

(Kitten): "How does THAT send my character flying?!"

~~~

(Kaitlin): "Sally is our resident spy. If there's anything about you that you DON'T want other people to know, she'll find it out. And, actually, I was giving Tomas a private tour."

OOC: ...Truth, do NOT make me link you to the Rule 34 page on TV Tropes.  *Starts chugging Brain Bleach.*

-==IC: Hank==-
"I understand.  I need to go find my cousin, Rod, anyway.  He's supposed to be in the biology classroom, do you know which way that is?"  *Kaitlin points*  "Thanks!  See you later!"  Hank hurries out the door, leaving Kaitlin and Tomas alone in the computer lab.

-==IC: Rod and Edward==-
Bade follows up with Break in the Case, which summons giant breifcases to crush the other fighters.  Pikachu, now at 120% damage, stops attacking Jigglypuff (to no avail), and instead turns his attention to Kitten.

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy continues exploring the hallways, looking for anything out of the ordinary, searching all the statues, and marking things out on her map.

OOC: Flipz 1: Well, your characters suspect me. =P

Truth 1: It's the forum software; treats all addresses like that as real emails. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, as he looked throughout the room.
"Alright, let's continue. I need to see all the school." Tomas said, as he started to walk out the door again.

OOC: I'll likely be creating more characters soon. =P

OOC: Pass the brain bleach, Flipz.

IC: Kitten grabbed the smash ball and triggered her final smash.


~~~

(Kaitlin): "OK. Next stop, Math Room 5002."

-==Tomas==-

"Math room 5002? Is it similar to Math room 9001?" Tomas asked, curious about that.

OOC: Is that a reference to something?

OOC: Yeah, over nine thousand. =P

OOC: How did I miss that? :headdesk:

IC: *Kaitlin rolls her eyes but doesn't answer*

(Kaitlin): "OK, next room on our tour is the lunchroom. Lunch period starts soon, so we should head there anyway."

OOC: Wait, we managed to miss TWO periods?!  :o  Someone put Edward on suicide watch.  :P

-==IC: Rod==-
Bade gets hit by Kitten's final smash.  Rod glances at Edward, smirks in a "watch and learn" way, then blanks his face.  He turns to Kitten, and in a perfectly even tone asks, "I just can't seem to understand that Final Smash.  Maybe the graphics are too bad.  Care to demonstrate it in person for me?"

OOC: *runs out of brain bleach*  *buys more.  A LOT more.*  :P

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank heads for the Biology classroom.  He spots an antique grandfather clock with an almost obscenely intricate design, but fails to notice the time on it.

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy continues looking for hidden passages or anything else that looks suspicious.

OOC: Oh geez. xD

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, as he headed toward the Lunch room, still memorizing the different paths as he went through the school.

~~~
*Kitten grins and demonstrates*

~~~
A small wall panel next to Wendy falls down.

~~~

Kaitlin guided him into the lunchroom.


OOC: I think I have some more brain bleach around here...:P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Where is everyone?" Tomas asked, as they walked into the lunch room, and Tomas noted that the others still weren't there yet.

(Kaitlin): "We're a few minutes early. Until they get here, we can do whatever we want.."

OOC: Kaitlin's face: :3

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, and then looked around the lunch room, as he looked around, and memorized the layout of the room.

OOC: Tomas is oblivious, isn't he? xP

IC: (Kaitlin): "You're gonna love the food here at Rosewater."

OOC: Maybe, maybe not. =P Either way, it is interesting to play an oblivious-like character for once. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Maybe." Tomas said, as he continued to scan around the room, looking for things that might be out of place... Something seemed weird about the fact that everything was so automated.

(Kaitlin): "The machines here can cook ANYTHING."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, but still didn't turn toward Kaitlin, as he was a little busy looking around the room.
"Why does everything seem automated around here, anyway?" Tomas asked, curiously.

(Kaitlin): "Not really sure. But I've never seen a single human worker, besides the guard."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, and turned to Kaitlin this time.
"I wonder why that is... Do you have any guesses?" Tomas asked, curious.

(Sally): "Maybe they don't want any outsiders to see what we do in here."

(Kaitlin): "Where did you come from?"

(Sally): "The air vent."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned at the newcomer.
"Who are you?" Tomas asked, as he honestly had no clue who that was.

(Sally): "The name's Sally Finch. You're Tomas Greyson."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned and narrowed his eyes.
"And how do you know that?" Tomas asked, cautious.

"I know everything. For example, I know that"

*leans in and whispers one of Tomas' deepest secrets in his ear*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas paled, and stepped back, as he growled.
This is not good... not good at all... Tomas thought, as he stared at Sally, trying to figure out exactly how she knew that.

OOC: It has to do with something I'll reveal in time. =P

(Kaitlin): "Sally, can you maybe leave me alone with Tomas?"

(Sally): "Sure. I hear there's a boy that looks like Edward Cullen here anyway. "

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas narrowed his eyes at Sally as she left the room.
"... I think I need to continue exploring the school..." Tomas said with a frown.

(Kaitlin): "I'll show you around more after lunch."

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy looks around, marks the location of the wall panel on her map, then, as an afterthought, sketches out how to trigger the latch on a scrap of paper and sticks it behind the edge of a painting.  Enough people have done things like that for me over the years, it's time I return the favor.  Gathering her courage, she steps into the passage.

-==IC: Hank, Rod, and Edward==-
Hank walks into the Biology classroom just in time to see Kitten demonstrate "her" Final Smash on Rod.  "And here I was telling Wendy you needed help finding a girlfriend.  Leave it to my cousin to make a liar out of me."
"Hank!  I didn't expect you to turn up here.  Still looking for your classroom?"
Hank stopped a moment at that.  "Yeah, I never did find the math room.  Anyway, I found a way to keep in touch."  He then explained the Rosewood firewall as he installed it on Rod's laptop.  Edward took interest in this.
"You think you could put that on my laptop, too?" Edward said.
"I don't see why not.  Though, since we've just met, I doubt you'd want to 'keep in touch' with me," he joked.
Edward ignored the joke.  "You can have my email.  He," he said, indicating Rod, "can't."  Hank could have sworn he heard Kitten mutter something that sounded like, "Boys..."
Hank turned back to Rod.  "Uhh...right.  Anyway, I requested one of these for Wendy, too, in case we need to contact her."
"Wendy..."
"Wendy Cran," he said, waiting for Rod to make the connection.
"Wendy Cran...OH!  Right!  Wendy!"
Hank rolled his eyes.  "So, find anything interesting?"  Rod looked to Kitten, and then to the Wii.  Hank sighed.  "Besides the obvious," he said.
"Well, I met Edward here, and Kitten, and Joshua.  Besides that...oh, there was this girl, Kaitlin, and a guy she dragged out with her, Tomas Greyson."
"I've met Greyson.  He's an...interesting character," he said, using the code phrase for a suspicious individual.
"He seems cool enough.  Though he claims to be a video games expert.  I'll have to change his mind."
Hank barely kept himself from groaning.  Rod was usually a LOT better at sticking to the case.  He'd have to find a private moment to remind him of that.  Speaking of which...
Rod had turned back to Kitten.  "So...do you have a school email address?"
Hank facepalmed.  "Just meet Wendy and me in the entrance hall after lunch, OK?"  Hank started for the door.
Edward's stomach growled.  "Hey, when is lunch, anyhow?  I hate to say it, but I don't think I can make it through second period without some food."

OOC: ZOMG WALLOFTEXT!

*Automated Voice*

"All students, please report to the lunch room."

(Kitten): "We played Brawl through two periods? Wow. Oh, and my email is kitten@rosewater.evl ."


~~~

The passage led Wendy into a small room, with papers scattered around. Most of the papers had meaningless text, but one of them contained an interesting photo: Alan Rosewater, standing next to a young girl. According to the date, it was taken a few days before the death of his daughter Veronica, making it likely that Veronica was the girl in the photo.

The room had apparently been accessed recently.

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy pulled out a digital camera--she usually used the one in her phone, but brought a small, cheap one with her to Rosewater due to the no-cellphone rule--and snapped a picture of the photo.  She'd print it out later when she had a chance.  She looked around to be sure there wasn't anything else of importance, then left the room, making sure to re-latch the door behind her.  She jotted some notes down in her journal, then, hearing the announcement, she headed towards where her map said the cafeteria was--being sure to mark down anything else of interest for later investigation.

-==IC: Edward, Rod, and Hank==-
Edward sat bolt upright, the blood draining from his face.  He looked completely like a vampire now.  "No...!"  He said, and ran from the room, shouting, "Noooooooooooooooooooo!" the whole way.

Rod ignored Edward.  "Great!  My email is RodJErthat@rosewater.evl.  Maybe we can...talk sometime."  He grinned, showing off his handsome features, and led the rest of the group from the room.

Hank ended up walking next to Joshua.  "So," he said casually, "I saw the Wii was hacked.  Pretty sweet job.  You don't think you could put me in touch with the person who did that, could you?  I, uh, need some programming help, and, well...no sense getting anyone less then the best!  I'm Hank, by the way.  Hank Darfry."

OOC: New journal posts coming!

(Joshua): "I'm Joshua Rend. And I can introduce you to Sally at lunch, but don't blame me if she creeps you out."

-==IC: Hank==-
"Ok...why would she creep me out?  Wait...she wouldn't happen to look like..." *describes Sally* "...would she?"

"Yep, that's her. But, if you want to hack a computer, that's me. Sally is a game hacker."

"Oh, really?"  He gently guides Joshua away from the rest of the group, leading him to an alcove with a statue that seems like a good spot for a private conversation.  "Then I need your help.  See, it's like this.  One of the students here seemed to recognize my name.  Now, that's bad, because a few years ago I got wrapped up in some stuff with this other guy, and since we look so similar people got our names confused, and they thought we were the same guy.  Now I know what you're thinking, it's nothing bad; it's just that he's a detective, and I stumbled across his case.  Actually solved it for him, strange as that may sound.  Anyway, it was some pretty sensitive stuff, and the cops managed to keep most of it quiet, but apparently they didn't do a good enough job.  That's where you come in.  I need you to wipe out any references left that might connect my name with his.  Better yet, since I'm not really into online interactions, just wipe my name, Hank Darfry, off the Internet.  Permanently.  You should probably do the same for my cousin Rod Jahey's name as well.  We just want to avoid trouble, and...well, if you can do this for us, we'll really be in your debt."  Hank thought for a moment, then added.  "And, uh, see if you can figure out how Tomas Greyson might have stumbled across our names.  The sooner I figure out why he seemed so interested, the better for me and Rod.  I'm sure you understand."

(Joshua): *smiles*: "I can try...but just so you know, Sally almost certainly knows all this already. But I understand why you're anxious...everyone here has something that could get us killed. Actually..someone IS trying to kill me. Oh, and as for Tomas...ask Sally, not me."

OOC: You've just made Hank a very happy man.  His first lead!

-==IC: Hank==-
"Sally and Tomas...well, I'll have to keep an eye on them.  Buy someone's trying to kill you?  There's got to be a connection to the rumors around this place...maybe Rod and I could help you out.  Possibly another friend of mine as well, if she has the time.  Mind letting us look around the scene of the attempted murder attempt?"  Hank notices Joshua's expression.  "That detective taught me a few things along the way.  Didn't I tell you I solved his case for him?  Anyway, we'd best move quickly, before the evidence degrades."

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy arrives in the Lunchroom.  She looks around for the start of the line.

(Joshua): "Well, I hate missing lunch, but sure. Follow me. _{Besides, Kitten likes hiding rubber snakes in my lunch...}"

Joshua led Hank to his room.

"So far, this room has been flooded with poison gas, a bomb has been hidden in my pillow, a family of black widows has tried to eat me, and someone hooked jumper cables to the doorknob."

~~~

(Automated lunch droid): "Place your orders."

(Kitten): "Chocolate pudding, chocolate cake, and apple pie."

(Kaitlin): "Nachos, ice cream, and cherry pie."

(Sally): "Steamed Maine Lobster. No dessert."



OOC: To quote ??'s new journal entry...

OOC: D= Tomas hasn't been considered to be 'snooping around'? =P Ah well, keeps the heat off him for the moment. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow at the fact that two of them ordered dessert, dessert, and more dessert, but didn't comment.
"Philly Cheesesteak. That's it for me." Tomas stated, noting that it literally was automated, as he looked around to see who else was there.

OOC: Waiting for Wendy to order...:P

OOC: Wow.  ?? has TERRIBLE research skills.  :P ALL THREE are detectives.  Blade guessed their real names as soon as I told the fake names to him.  Can we save any unmaskings until at least this time next in-game day?  I want ALL my characters to be on-campus for the reveal.

-==IC: Hank==-
"Right.  You go to the computer and get to work while I look for clues."

Hank looks at the doorknob.  "Definitely jumper cables.  And whatever was hooked to them definitely wasnt just a car battery.  Whatever it was had a LOT more juice.  You can see where it started to oxidize so quickly?  That's from the electrical current.  You still have the jumper cables?  Maybe we can get a print off them."  He goes to the air vent, and spots a fine residue on the cover--likely a residue from the poison gas.  He gets out his pocketknife, scrapes up some of the residue, then puts it in a ziploc.  "Maybe once I find the Chemistry lab I can analyze this."  He looks around the rest of the room.  "Where did the spiders appear?  And when the bomb was put in your pillow, did you disarm it or did you just throw it out the window?  Every bit of evidence helps."

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy walks up to the service droid and orders.  "Volcano burger, please," she said, ignoring the alarmed glances from the other students.

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod looked around.  Hank and Joshua had disappeared.  "Huh, wonder where they went?  Anyway, Kitten, are these machines any good at making stuff from fast-food places?  Because I could go for some Taco Bell right now..."

OOC: That, or I have extraordinary guessing skills. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow, as he heard what Wendy ordered, but didn't say anything, as he looked over and saw Rod again. Tomas walked over to him, and then smiled.
"Sorry about running out on the game earlier." Tomas said, an apologetic look on his face.

OOC: ?? said at least. They're only certain about Rod.

IC: (Joshua): "I woke up covered with spiders. And I just threw the pillow out the window. Let's see...first I need to take down the web archive...Oh, the jumper cables are in the closet. Now to take down the internet..."

~~~

(Kitten): "It can make ANYTHING. As long as it's real food, of course. If you ask for a made up food, it gives you a PB&J."

-==IC: Hank==-
"Right.  We'll have to go down and check the remnants of the bomb later."  He looks around for scotch tape and powder.  Any kind would do, he just needed something.  "Don't forget, we also want to find out how Greyson found out about Rod and me.  That way we can see who else knows."

OOC: Except they won't because I'm sure the culprit covered their tracks...

-==IC: Wendy, Rod, and Edward==-
Rod orders two Volcano tacos.
Wendy overhears Kitten.  She had gotten a PB&J, even though she'd had a Volcano Burger before.  "Can you add new items?  A Volcano burger has onions, jalapenos, hot mustard, bacon, and cheese, in that order."  While she waits for the machine to respond, she spots Rod.  Oh, hey, Rod!  I ran into Hank earlier.  How are things going?"
Rod glances at Kitten. "Oh, pretty well."
Wendy smiles and shakes her head.  "Hank told me you were having trouble in that department.  I guess he was wrong."
Rod blushes, and grabs his food.  Just then Edward bursts in, runs to the machine, and grabs Rod's tacos and takes a bite of one.  "Sorry, all that running and yelling and brawling and glittering made me REALLY hungry...Hey, Garcon, another pair of tacos!"  Wendy facepalms, while Rod fumes...

OOC: psst, Flipz, mess up in Wendy's IC. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas simply blinked, as a bead of sweat ran down his face, since he was utterly ignored, by pretty much everyone.
"... Hello?" Tomas asked, as he sighed.

*The machine gives everyone what they ordered*

(Sally): "This lobster is burnt."

*Kaitlin happily pays attention to Tomas by jumping on him*

 
~~~

(Joshua): "Done. All records of you are off the internet."

-==IC: Wendy==-
While Rod and Edward stood in an awkward silence, Wendy turns to Tomas.  "Do I know you?  Sorry, it's just...there's something familiar about you.  Anyway, I'm Wendy.  Wendy Cran.  I take it you're new here as well?"

OOC: I'll edit in Hank's IC.

-==IC: Hank==-
"Great!  Hopefully that'll keep Rod and I out of harm's way while we investigate whoever's trying to kill you.  Say, do you have any kind of powder around here?  I already found the Scotch tape.  I need to dust the doorknob and this vent cover for prints.  The jumper cables that were on the door, too, if you still have them."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked at Wendy, and thought for a second.
"Maybe..." Tomas said, as he was slightly distracted, and then turned his attention to Kaitlin again.
"Could you get off me please?" Tomas asked, as he had stumbled slightly from the jump.

OOC: =P

(Kaitlin): "No."

~~~

(Joshua): "I have some powered sugar. Swiped it from the lunchroom. But the only prints you'll find on the door are mine and Kitten's. Mine because it's my room, and Kitten's because she always sneaks in here to use my computer to visit...certain sites."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas sighed.
"Get off me. Please." Tomas said, but then turned to Wendy again.
"Sorry, I'm Tomas Greyson." Tomas said with a nod, and then addressed her question.
"As for whether I'm new; yeah; just got here today." Tomas said, as he looked at Wendy again to see if he actually did recognize her, but wasn't making any connections yet.

OOC: =P

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank raises an eyebrow.  "Have you ever yelled at her about it?  I don't know her that well, but that could be motive.  Are you sure that's all she does in here?"  Hank takes the powdered sugar and dusts for prints anyway.

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy addressed Kaitlin.  "Uh...I don't think Tomas likes you jumping on his back like that.  You could break something."

OOC: Still waiting to see if Edward's gonna drop dead from eating Rod's tacos (i.e. were they poisoned or not?).  ;)

(Kaitlin): "Fine..."
*gets off*

(??): D***! Well..this could be a good experiment. Did the food have enough toxin to kill Edward, or only make him sick?


~~~~


(Joshua): "Many times."

OOC: Heh, good timing for my IC. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded.
"Thank you." Tomas said to both simultaneously.

OOC: Dang, might've caught you up with hints to anrrow things down, but I remembered Sally stalks everyone. =P

-==IC: Hank==-
"Well, do you think it would make her angry enough to want to kill you?  Oh, I need your prints so I can keep them separate from the others."  Hank uses a nit of pen ink on a tissue to take Joshua's prints, then carefully stores the prints along with the lifted prints on a page in his notebook, labelling them as best he could.  "My question still stands, though...do you think Kitten could be the one trying to kill you?"

-==IC: Wendy==-
"No problem," she says to Tomas.  "So, I'm curious, have you seen anyth--"

-==IC: Edward==-
Suddenly, Edward drops to the floor, clutching his stomach.  He begins to spasm, as if having a seisure.

-==IC: Rod==-
"Rod!  What did you do?" Wendy asks, rushing to Edward's side to try to help.
"I didn't do anything!  OW!"  A shard of the shattered plate cuts his finger.  "The tacos..." he mutters.  He looks up to make sure no one eats the set sitting in the dispenser of the food machine.

OOC: Yeah, I know who the culprit is now.  My chars have no clue, though...and they're smart enough not to make accusations without tangible evidence anyway.

(Joshua): "I doubt it. She seems to like me, and besides, I didn't really yell. I just asked her to stop, which she didn't."

~~~~~~~

*Kaitlin and Kitten run to Edward*

(Sally): "What happened?!" *slips one of the tacos into her pocket when nobody is looking*


OOC: Oh? PM me your guess, as well as why you suspect that person. I'd like to know. :)

OOC: Well technically, any of these could be red herrings. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas had a shocked look on his face, and dropped to the side of the three with a frown. However, Tomas noticed the Tacos disappear out of the corner of his eye, and shifted his eyes slightly to see Sally.
"The tacos were poisoned, weren't they?" Tomas asked quietly with the frown still on his face, as he looked to the two, and then back down, as he honestly had no clue what could be down to help Edward... Given that he had never taken any poison identification training.
Hmm... What's up with that girl? This could be very bad, and I believe that I need to take the first opportunity to get help.

OOC: You post fast. D=

(Kitten): "Who'd want to poison someone so cute?"

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy notes Edward's swmptoms, and, realizing there was no way for the poison to have been gaseously administered, figures out the poison.  "It's cyanide.  I need amyl nitrite, sodium nitrite, and sodium thiosulfate, unless you have Hydroxocobalamin.  We need to get him to the chemistry lab, quick!"

*Kaitlin, and Kitten stare at Wendy, but Sally simply smiles knowingly.*

(Kitten): "R-right! Follow me!"

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked up, and narrowed his eyes at Sally, but nodded to Wendy.
"Alright. Let's go." Tomas said, as he frowned again.
"Follow me." Tomas said, as he noted the things needed in his head.

*Kitten leads the way to the chem lab*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas, realizing his mistake in the different labs, followed Kitten, instead of leading the way, as leading the way likely would not have been a good idea. However, he did memorize the path, and added it to his mental map.

(Kitten): "We're here!"

*Sally and Kaitlin follow them in*

*Sally takes something from one of the cabinets*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas narrowed his eyes, as he took note of that in his mind, and then searched through the cabinets for the ingredients that Wendy had noted.
Assuming nothing gets tampered with... Tomas thought with a mental grumble.
Of all the times For something like this to happen... Tomas thought, as he continued to keep an eye on Sally between scans of the shelves.

*Sally takes one of the beakers*

*Kaitlin hands one of the needed items to Tomas*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas scanned the label, and nodded, however, looked over at Sally again, and narrowed his eyes.
If that's one of the necessary ingredients, then that's not going to be good. Tomas thought, as he inwardly wondered how he'd settle this, if it somehow came down to a fight.

*Kitten passes another ingredient*

OOC: Sally did not take any ingredients. She took...something important, however.

OOC: Hmm...

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded again, and located the final ingredient, and picked it up, as he passed them to Wendy.
"They're there." Tomas said, and then looked at Sally again, with narrowed eyes.

(Sally): "What?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"What did you just take from that cabinet?" Tomas asked, deciding to just say it, though he did seem slightly curious over demanding.

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod quickly takes the other taco that he had scooped up from beside Edward and put a piece of the shell in a beaker, and began adding ingredients to break it down.  "Hank's better at this, but...we need to be sure there wasn't anything besides cyanide in this.  Something to finish the job."  Rod remembers something, and sends a message to Hank via his laptop.  He then looks up how to identify poisons through chemical analysis online.

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy nods, then turns to the others.  "If you can find Hydroxocobalamin, it'll be easier, since I can administer it by itself and it'll bind with the cyanide both within the intravascular space and within the cells to combat cyanide intoxication.  Is that sodium thiosulfate?  Great!  That'll be the last step no matter what we use."

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank's computer, which is on the desk next to Joshua, chimes about the incoming message.  Hank is busy organizing the evidence in his notebook and doesn't notice.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, and searched through the shelves again, grabbed the Hydroxocobalimin, and then quickly handed it to Wendy, all the while waiting for Sally's answer.

(Sally): "I didn't take anything. I was just checking this cabinet to see if the ingredients were in it. Sheesh."

OOC: *Googles Hydroxocobalamin*: Wow, you did your research. 0_o

OOC: Yeah, I tend to do that.  Very rarely is something not available that way.  (Glares angrily at the nonexistent list of materials in a Romulan starship's hull.)

-==IC: Wendy==-
"Thanks.  This'll be much safer for him, even though it's harder to come by."  She sets up a 5 mg IV, to be infused infused over 15 minutes.  "That should be the right amount of time.  I'll reset it again in 15 minutes, then we'll administer sodium thiosulfate."

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod continues looking for any other toxins in the taco fragment.

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank's computer chimes again.  He looks up, annoyed.  "Could you tell me what that thing says?  I'm trying to see if there's more than one set of prints here besides yours."

The taco also contained small traces of Taxane.

(OOC: Got that from an Agatha Christie book :P)

~~~

(Joshua): "You should come read this for yourself."

OOC:  :o how much?  You are aware that Taxane has no antidote, right?

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank stares at the screen in shock.  After several long, silent seconds, he recovers.  "Let's go.  We need to get to the chemistry lab."

OOC: Not too much. And yes, I am aware of that.


IC: Joshua nodded and guided Hank to the Chem lab.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked at Sally for a moment, but then took his attention away for one moment, as he looked back to Edward with a frown.

-==IC: Rod==-
"We've got Taxane...looks like only a few miligrams of it though.  It'll keep him off his feet for a few days, but it's not enough to kill him.  Especially since he only got one bite in."  Good thing, too, he thought to himself, because Taxane has no cure. "Looks like someone's been reading Agatha Christie's A Pocketful of Rye."

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank bursts into the room with Joshua.  "Alright, no one is leaving this room until I've got fingerprints from everyone here.  We've had five attempted murders on two separate victims in the past few days, and there's not going to be a fifth."

OOC: Someone tell him off for "playing Nancy Drew"; i.e. "stop playing Nancy Drew and get back to work" or something to that effect. :P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas sighed, at that.
"I doubt that'll be truly necessary. Besides, I don't think we have time to play Nancy Drew." Tomas said with a slight shrug.

OOC: =P

(Kitten): "What's Taxane?"

(Kaitlin): "A poison, I'd assume."

(Sally): "The question remains...who'd poison Rod's tacos? And how would they do it anyway?"

(Joshua): "They'd need to hack the food replicator..."

(Kitten):"You're the only hacker that's good enough to do that..."

(Joshua): "W-what? What are you suggesting? I don't even know Rod!"

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, as he looked to Sally.
"A hacker, huh? Aren't you supposed to be a hacker?" Tomas asked with narrowed eyes.

(Sally): "yeah, but nowhere near as good as Joshua."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I doubt sophisticated hacking skills would be needed however." Tomas said, and then narrowed his eyes.
"Then you kept pulling stuff out and hiding it. And you took the Taco that had been poisoned." Tomas said, a frown on his face.

Sally sheepishly pulled out the taco. "I wanted to study it later."

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod frowned at Sally.  "I already did that.  So there's no need for you to keep it...right?"

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy listened to the conversation around her, but at Tomas' comment focused diligently on her work.

-==IC: Hank==-
"Besides, Joshua was in his room at the time, while I was..." he almost said looking for evidence, but caught himself just in time.  "...while he was teaching me some programming tricks."

(Sally): "...right." She handed it to Rod, with a "this isn't over" face.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, and looked around the room.
"Well, this is certainly a bad first day." Tomas said with a sigh.

(Kitten): "Yeah...I meet a cute guy, and he gets poisoned."

-==IC: Rod==-
"Huh?  I didn't get poisoned--Edward did," Rod said, not getting what Kitten was saying.

-==IC: Wendy==-
"Actually, I don't think Edward was the target.  Remember, he swiped your tacos?  I think they were after you."

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank swallowed.  "That's...that makes no sense.  Why would someone want to kill Rod?"  He turns toward Tomas, half-suspicious, but half-asking for advice.

OOC: I think Hank and Tomas will end up as kind of rivals--not suspecting each other, but trying to solve the mystery first.  Wendy's not that kind of person, and Rod...well, for some reason he's slacking off.  I don't know, maybe once it sinks in that someone's tried to kill him, he'll buckle down and focus on the mystery, but regardless, he's not the kind to refuse help either.
OOC2: Once we wrap this up, can we timeskip to the next morning?

OOC: I think Rod and Tomas will get along pretty well, actually. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"No clue." Tomas said with a frown, but paused.
"Theoretically, it could be getting rid of competition; or..." Tomas said, and looked to Sally.
"It might be someone found info about a secret, and tried to do something about it." Tomas said, with a slight shrug.
"However; quick question... Did you say someone else was attacked?" Tomas asked, literally showing his confusion, as he hadn't heard about that before.

OOC: So we'd only talk to our characters tomorrow and onward in game?

OOC: Yeah, I need to intro the rest of my characters, but they show up late to the party. [/setup]

-==IC: Hank==-
"Yeah, someone's been trying to kill Joshua here.  He was...telling me about it while he was working with me on the computer."

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy administers the second dose of Hydroxocobalamin.  "Once this one's finished, I'll administer the sodium thiosulfate.  I think I should stay here to monitor him overnight, does anyone mind helping me set up a cot in here?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I wouldn't mind." Tomas said with a shrug, but paused.
"Where are things like that, though?" Tomas asked, remembering the fact that he nearly got them lost just now. Tomas then turned to Hank.
"Hmm... that wasn't good... he have any clue who it might've been?" Tomas asked, honestly curious about all that.

OOC: I'm honestly surprised ?? doesn't even suspect Tomas of being anything. =P

OOC: Who's to say that (s)he doesn't?


IC: (Joshua): "None. Maybe they're trying to kill me because of what I found in the system..."

OOC: You only mentioning Wendy, Rod, and Hank in your latest journal entry for ?? =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow.
"You found something in the system? What system? And what did you find?" Tomas asked, also curious as well.
"Gives motive though... When did these attempted attacks occur?" Tomas asked, curious about that as well.

(Joshua): "The student records...the number of students was too low by one student. And there was something about a plant."


(Sally): "Joshua! You agreed not to tell anyone else about that until I could dig up some more info for you!"

(Joshua): "Oops. Anyway...the attacks started a bit after that. The night after Sally agreed to look into it."

(Sally): "Could someone have overheard us talking?"

OOC: # of players that know ??s real name: 2/3. :P

-==IC: Wendy==-
"Hey, Sally, can you show me where you and Joshua were talking on this map?  Maybe there's a hidden passage nearby."

-==IC: Hank and Rod==-
"You have a map??" they said simultaneously.

OOC: :P

(Sally): "Yeah. She bought it from me for 50 bucks."

*points to a long, narrow hallway with no doors or air vents*

OOC: Yeah, me and Blade. :P

OOC: =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked at Sally and narrowed his eyes.
"And you don't seem any way people would suspect you? Maybe that's actually why you said not to repeat it."

-==IC: Rod and Hank==-
Sally suddenly finds $100 in front of her face.

-==IC: Wendy==-
"Hmm...according to the markings I made, there's a few statues and paintings at the end of the hallway.  If one of those opens a passage, it might explain how the would-be killer overheard your conversation.  Otherwise...hmm.  We should probably search that corridor for listening devices.  Here," she says to Sally, "go ahead and copy my markings to the others' maps.  I only have a few corridors marked, but at least it's a head start.  I have to stay here to check on Edward, the rest of you can go investigate."

(Sally): "How dare you."

*Slaps Tomas and storms off after taking the money and giving Hank and Rod their maps (with Wendy's markings)*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas stumbled back as he felt his face, an 'amused' look on his face.
"Well; that's certainly a first." Tomas mused, as he blinked.

(Kaitlin): "I'll be much more easygoing, don't worry. :3"

-==IC: Hank==-
"Tomas...I hate to break it to you, but your diplomatic skills are...kinda nonexistent."

-==IC: Rod==-
"I'll go see if I can calm her down."  He starts off after Sally.

*Sally angrily storms down the hall*

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Yeah, I've been told that kinda. Thought I had been working on it. Apparently not." Tomas said with an awkward chuckle, ignoring Kaitlin for the moment.

Sally walked over to a wall, pressed a spot on the wall (which looked no different than the rest of the wall), and entered the secret passageway that was revealed.

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod runs to the passageway, but the door closes before he can slip inside.  He quickly searches for the trigger, but fails to find it.  Rod looks at the door for several seconds, deep in thought.  Then he marks the spot on his map, then jots down a note and sticks it to the door:

Sally,

Sorry about Tomas.  He's...not the most sensitive guy around.  For what it's worth, I don't think you're involved, but we might have to prove it to him.  If you want my help, just send me an email to my school address, or you could just find me sometime--I'm sure that'd be easy for you.  I'm pretty sure Wendy would be happy to help as well.  Anyway, hope I see you around!

--Rod

"There we go," he said.  Whether she's involved or not, I need her on my side.  This seems as good a way as any--after all, Hank's doing the same thing with Joshua.

OOC: Actually, he's not, Hank actually believes 100% Joshua is a victim, but Rod doesn't know that. ;)

OOC: Yeah, Hank's too busy thinking Tomas is a suspect. =P

Sally read the note, and sent Rod the following email.

If you want to know the truth about the students here, come to the marked place on the map.
-Sally.

She attached an image of the map to the email.

OOC: Timeskip to when Rod gets the message?

OOC: Actually, I'm trying to decide if this is another murder attempt, and re-reading the rules to see if there's a PC-kill clause.

OOC: No killing PCs or NPCs without the permission of their creator.

OOC: Yeah, but that still applies for NPCs killing PCs, right?  *Is sensing trap for Rod.*

OOC: The rule applies to me too. :P

Besides, if Sally is the culprit, she wouldn't be stupid enough to let everyone know about the meeting and then kill him.

OOC: OK, good.  I kinda need Rod, Hank, and Wendy alive for my other PCs to be intro'd. :P

-==IC: Rod==-
Will do.  What time?  Midnight sound good?  Rod send the message to Sally, then emailed Wendy:

I'm going to do some exploring tonight.  If I don't show up in the Chemistry lab by 8:00 AM, I've stumbled into trouble.  If that happens, get yourself and Hank out.  Don't come looking for me, I don't want you getting caught in another cave-in while trying to save me.  Rod sent that message, then got ready for his meeting with Sally.

OOC: Everyone else is going to bed now, unless they decide to stay up for some reason.  My chars. are going to sleep. ;)

OOC: So, timeskip to midnight?

OOC: Yes.

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod's alarm goes off, and he quickly swats it before the sound could travel to other rooms.  He grabs his pack and starts walking the hallways.  As if I was going to get any sleep anyway...waitaminute, was that a black widow??  No, it's the shadow of a leaf.  OK, man, next time Hank starts telling you about murder attempts right before bed, STOP LISTENING!  Even if it IS part of a case--what's that ticking noise?!?  Oh, the grandfather clock on the landing.  Man, that Alan Rosewater guy must have liked clocks.  There's a bunch of them around here.  Actually, if that clock matches the one on the map Wendy gave me, my meeting point with Sally should be...wait, is the air turning green?  POISON GAS!!!!  Rod holds his breath for two whole minutes before he realizes hes standing next to a stained glass window.  He lets his breath out slowly.  Man, I am getting pa-ra-noid.  Next thing you know, I'm gonna think that--  "AHH SOMETHING GRABBED ME!"  Just then, a hand clapped over Rod's mouth.

OOC: It's either Sally, or, if Blade gets on first, he could have it be Tomas.  Either way, he's about six feet from the spot on the map Sally indicated. ;)

(Sally): "What is wrong with you? Do you want to wake the entire school?!"

-==IC: Ron==-
"Sorry.  Being the target of a murder attempt will do that to you."

"Yeah...Lucky for you Vam...Edward...ended up taking a bite. If he hadn't, you'd be dead. But you're both alive. Anyway...to business. I can tell you about any of the students here. I accept amounts from $1 to $500, but the more you pay, the juicier the info."

OOC: I would have stated it earlier, but it might have ended up a spoiler for what I've got going on with everyone besides Edward: Rod and Hank live with a professional private investigator, who maintains a firm in New York.  Just like Wendy's father being a lawyer, it's part of the backstory that will make things clearer later.

-==IC: Rod==-
"Shoot.  $750's all I've got.  I knew I should have brought more cash with me; my bank card is worthless here.  Hank was right."  Rod paused and realized he'd said it aloud.  "Uh...that last part?  The one about Hank being right?  Never happened.  I said nothing of the sort."  He stops and thinks about who he wants info on.  Let's see...Edward's out, he wouldn't have interrupted his own murder attempt.  Hank and Wendy as well, obviously, since I know they're working with me.  Tomas...I don't know.  He seemed awful intent on blaming Sally...then again, he...wait a minute, he was doing the same thing Hank and I would have!  He must be here investigating, too!  Hmm...Hank'll have to try and get Joshua to find out who he really is, I don't think Sally will have that info.  That leaves...Kaitlin, Kitten, and Joshua.  I'm not too suspicious of any of them in particular, but...  Rod thought of something.  "Say...this isn't the spot..."  He realizes he'd better write this down.  Putting a finger to his lips, Rod pulls out a scrap of paper and writes:

This isn't the spot where you met with Joshua, is it?  We might have a shot at finding out who overheard you two.  Rod thinks, thinks of something then adds, and I'll take $500's worth on Kitten, and $250's worth on Kaitlin.  "Since they're the ones I know the least," he adds in a whisper.

OOC: She only sent that to Rod, right?  *Thinks...*  I think I know who ?? is.  And as much as I'd like him to have said, "and $250's worth...on you," the extra drama doesn't fit with what he knows of the situation.  Hank, maybe, but not Rod.  Wendy would have just asked outright, trying to be friendly; she does things differently from the boys. :P

*Sally pockets the money*

*whispering*
 "Yes, this is the spot. Now...here's some stuff on Kaitlin. She murdered her parents. With..and this is interesting...Taxane in their food. This happened when the was thirteen, by the way. After a few months, the court found her not guilty. But I have proof that she did it-I found a written confession in her diary. Bragging about it. I could show you the confession, but it would cost you another $250. Now, as for Kitten...First, her real name is Emily Larn. She changed her name (and her hair colour) after the police came after her for selling hallucinogenic pills of her own design.
Oh, and she paid me six hundred dollars to not mention what she does on the computer."


OOC: Yes, she only sent it to Rod.

PM me your guess!

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod nods.  "I'm going to go see if anyone's listening.  If either of them is the attempted killer, you could be their next target.  I have my laptop right here."  He pats his bag.  "If you see something suspicious, or think you might be in danger, email me the word on this scrap of paper, and I'll get there as fast as I can.  Oh, and could you do me a favor?  Act like you're still talking to someone, say a few things out loud.  It'll help me figure out where someone might overhear."  He hands Sally a folded scrap of paper, then walks down the hallway, looking for any possible sign of a spot where someone could overhear Sally's conversations.

OOC: I'll PM you the code word, just for added mysteriousness. :P

*loudly*

"Alright. I'll keep an eye on him for you."

OOC: Did Rod find an accoustic echo spot?  Like the whispering dome at the U.S. Capitol?

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod listens to see if the sound echoed to any spot in particular, while still looking for any suspicious nooks or markings on the walls that could potentially open into a secret passageway behind the wall.

IC: The sound did not travel very far down the hall.

-==IC: Rod==-
Rod returns to Sally.  "Bad news; whoever is spying on you, they're good.  As in, REALLY good.  I didn't find anything.  As a precaution, though, you might want to switch between meeting spots for different people, just to be on the safe side.  For now though--" Rod stopped, unable to hold back a yawn.  "For now, I'm going to bed.  I need to sleep, badly.  Good night.  I'll see you tomorrow."

*Rod heads to bed*

OOC: Timeskip to breakfast?  Unless Tomas wants to go snooping. ;)

OOC: The next morning, around 6 AM...


IC: *Automated Voice*
"All students, breakfast is ready."

-==IC: Tina and Frenya==-
A slightly short, round girl with short light brown hair sneaks into the cafeteria, being careful to avoid attracting attention.  Just then, she bumps into a taller, darker-haired girl.
"Ahh!"
"Ahh!"
"Wha-what are you doing here?"
"What are YOU doing here?"
"Same thing you are--rescuing--"
"Shh!  What if someone overhears?  We could blow her cover?"
"Alright, Miss ready-for-everything, what's YOUR cover?"
"Frenya Gogee.  Last-minute transfer."
"So in other words, the same as--"
"SHH!"
"...I was going to say me.  Fine, just for that, I'm not telling you my fake name."  Tina stalks away.
"B--wait, I can't say that.  Cuz!  Come back here!  Oh, for goodness sake, I am your cousin, you don't GET to keep secrets from me.  Cuz?  Cuz?!"  Frenya follows Tina.

-==IC: Nik==-
A 6'2" tall, dark-haired young man walks down the residential corridors.  She's never forgotten to return a call on the case, never.  If something's happened to her, I don't think I'll ever forgive myself.  He goes to a door at random and knocks.  He hears footsteps coming to the door.  Before it can even open fully, he asks, "Excuse me, my name is Nic Noskreden.  I'm looking for a student named..." He opens his laptop and punches a few keys. "Wendy Cran?"

OOC: That's either Joshua or Tomas. ;)

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked up and blinked.
"Wendy? I believe she's around here somewhere, might be at the cafeteria already." Tomas said, as he put on a green bomber jacket.
"Any other questions, or are you gonna go to someone else to ask about things?"

-==IC: Nic==-
"She was supposed to call me, but she ever did."  His eyes narrowed.  "Do you have any idea why?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas smirked, and then walked Nic out of the room, and pointed at the wall.
"See that sign there? See how it says 'No cell phones allowed'? That would be why."

OOC: =P

(Automated Voice): "All students, head to breakfast NOW."

-==IC: Tomas=-

Tomas rolled his eyes, and started to walk down the hall to where the cafeteria was, having spent the rest of the previous day looking around for where everything was.

(Sally): "Pancakes, no poison."

(Kitten): "Waffles, no poison."

(Kaitlin): "Cheese omelette, no poison."

(Joshua): *rolls eyes*  "French toast."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Plain toast, won't eat it, but no poison." Tomas said as he rolled his eyes, and looked at the others. He didn't really have an appetite after the incident at lunch yesterday, and could hold off until lunch at the least.

*Kaitlin pokes at her omelette, but does not eat*

OOC: Bet you forgot about these two, didn't you? :P

-==IC: Tina and Frenya==-
Frenya overhears the others' comments and walks over.  "Why would you have to order your food without poison?"  
Meanwhile, Tina moves to the machine. "Waffles, hot, with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, two glazed donuts, an omelette, just with cheese, a bagel, with butter and cream cheese, and...a bowl of strawberries."  She glances at the others. "No poison, I guess."

-==IC: Hank==-
Hank starts walking toward the cafeteria.  He hears snoring from Rod's door, and decides not to wake him.  He decides to swing by the Chemistry Lab, so Wendy can have a break from tending to Edward.

-==IC: Nic==-
Nic started off following Tomas, but his habit of opening every door he could find along the way left him far behind.  He continues to search for Wendy as he gets closer to the cafeteria.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Because a sparkly vampire dude named Edward was poisoned yesterday." Tomas stated, all without laughing or even hinting at laughing.

OOC: =P

-==IC: Frenya and Tina==-
Frenya is too distracted by Tina's huge order to hear about a sparkly vampire dude, but she did hear the later part.  "Someone was poisoned?  Why??"
Meanwhile, Tina sits down at the table and starts eating, oblivious to the looks she was getting.

-==IC: Nic==-
Nic approaches the table and asks, "Excuse me, but have any of you seen a girl named Wendy Cran around here?"  Frenya freezes at the voice, while Tina continues eating.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"He accidentally ate some tacos meant for Rod." Tomas said with a shrug.

(Sally): "Someone wants to kill Rod."

(Kitten): "And Joshua too."

(Kaitlin): "There's no proof that it's the same person."

(Kitten): "No, but I doubt there's TWO murderers here."

(Sally): "I can't believe there's even one murdere-Actually, I can."

*Sally looks meaningfully at Kaitlin*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas blinked, and sighed.
"I missed something, didn't I..." Tomas muttered under his breath, so Sally didn't hear him, but so that it wasn't just his thoughts. Those really got crowded at times.

OOC: =P

(V.R.): Poison may have failed...but as soon as Rod arrives, my second attempt is sure to succeed...

OOC: Oh? Intriguing.

-==IC: Hank and Wendy==-
"Hey Wendy."
"Hey, Hank.  Come to check on Edward?"
"Yeah, but I figured while I'm here you could go get something to eat."
"You know, that's not a bad idea.  Thanks, Hank!"
"No problem."
Wendy went to the door, but just as she opened it,
"Hey, Wendy?"
"Don't worry, Hank, I promise I won't stop to snoop."
"I'd never ask you to do that.  Detective, remember?  Just...be careful.  They're already after Rod.  No sense in making yourself into a target as well."

*five minutes later*

-==IC: Nic and Wendy==-
"Students are getting poisoned here?  I've gotta find Wendy..." Nic gets up and starts to rush out, only to collide with Wendy as she walks into the cafeteria.  Wendy's eyes widen, as do those of Frenya, Tina, and Nic.  Nic grabs Wendy's arm and drags her into the hallway.

-==IC: Tina and Frenya==-
Tina notices Tomas observing the situation intently.  "I'm Tina, by the way.  Tina Bremss.  And this is my cousin--"
"Frenya Gogee.  We're new here, and we haven't really met anyone." Mostly because we snuck in last night.  "So...what can you tell me about that Wendy person?  And that other guy who was just here?"

-==IC: Nic and Wendy==-
"What are you doing here?!"
"Rescuing you!  You never called!"
"N--wait, please tell me you have a cover name."
"Yeah, Nic Noskreden."
"Well, 'Nic,' I don't suppose you read the rule about 'No cell phones' on the application paperwork?"
"Uh..."
"That's what I thought.  Listen, I appreciate how much you care, but you've got to trust I'll always find a way to keep in touch with you.  Even if it takes a while."
"I know...but 'Wendy,' what if--"
"Something happens to me?  Nic, you know that whenever I'm in danger, nothing makes me more determined to make it out alive than the thought of seeing you again."
"Well...OK."  He chuckles.  "We've had this conversation too many times, haven't we?  You already know all the right answers."
Wendy smirks.  "Maybe a few to many times, yeah.  Hey, as long as you're here, maybe you could help me out on the case?"
"How?"
"I need you to keep some people out of trouble.  I assume you've already spotted my set of volunteer assistants?"
"You mean 'Hank' and 'Rod'?"
"No, the other set."
"The other...oh, no.  You don't mean...?"
"Yep.  Apparently they must have had the same idea you did.  They were sitting right next to you in the cafeteria, didn't you notice?"
"I was a bit...preoccupied.  N--I mean, Wendy, did you know someone was poisoned here yesterday?"
Wendy nodded.  "Yeah, I was there.  I saved the guy's life."
"Of course.  There's danger here, and I expect you not to be in the middle of it.  How long have we known each other again?"
"Nic..."
"Right.  Sorry.  So, you saved his life.  Doesn't that put you on the top of the poisoner's hit list?"
"Not really.  Edward wasn't the target of the attack.  Rod was."
Nic inhaled sharply.  "They figured out he's a detective.  Wendy, you've got to get out of here."
"That won't make any difference.  If the would-be killer could find out his real identity, they can easily follow him outside the school to make sure he doesn't reveal whatever he stumbled across.  Rod wasn't even actively snooping.  He was...well, from what I can tell, he was shamelessly flirting the whole time.  If he accidentally stumbled across something without even realizing it, and it was enough to invoke the would-be killer's wrath, do you really think they'd let me get away?  After seeing this?"  Wendy shows Ned the picture of the photo.
"Who is that?"
"The older man is the late founder of this school, Alan Rosewater.  I don't know who the girl is."
"His daughter, maybe?  There is a resemblance."
"Maybe.  But until I can back it up it's best if I keep this quiet.  Don't you see?  There's something fishy about this school, and someone is willing to kill to keep it quiet.  The only way Hank, Rod, and I are going to make it out of here alive is to catch whoever's behind it."
"The only way so avoid being murdered is to confront the murderer.  How do you end up in these things?"
Wendy shrugged.  "I don't know.  I only know I have to see this through.  I'll see you later, 'Nic.'  Remember, keep them out of trouble!"  Wendy walks into the cafeteria, orders breakfast (toast, no poison), and heads back to the chemistry lab.

Nic sighed and shook his head.  "Keep them out of trouble?  Fat chance of that."  He heads back inside the cafeteria.

OOC: Hank and Rod coming once Tina and Frenya get some interaction. ;)

OOC: ._.;;;;; Long post is long. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

A bead of sweat ran down his face at the scene that happened, and then looked at Tina and Frenya.
"I'm Tomas." Tomas said to finish the introductions, and first off addressed the question about the weirdo.
"Dunno who that guy was... Say his name was 'Nic' something... Was randomly looking for Wendy this morning." Tomas said, and then addressed the question about Wendy.
"Can't really tell you much, given we all just arrived at the school yesterday, but she seems pretty cool. She was the main one who helped save Edward, so..." Tomas explained with a shrug, as he saw Wendy return briefly, and then go off elsewhere, and the Nic guy appear again.
This is getting very intriguing.

OOC: So, when do the Revelations happen again? =P

OOC: Lunch.  The identities will start to unravel, and Tina will blow them to pieces.

-==IC: Frenya, Tina, and Nic==-
"Edward?  Wait, that was the boy who was poisoned, wasn't it?  Hmm...any chance we could talk to him?"
"Frenya, lighten up.  As long as we're here we should enjoy ourselves.  This food is delicious, you should try some."
Frenya facepalms.  "Tina..."
Just then, Nic walks to the table.  Frenya freezes again, and so does Tina when she notices his expression.
"Hi...there..." Tina says.
"Let's talk."

Nic leads the girls to the far corner of the cafeteria.
"Look.  Let's not play games.  I know why you're here.  Now, I'm not mad, but if your bumbling gets her hurt--"
"We had no idea you'de be here.  We're here for the same reason you are, and we're not going to put her in danger."
"Says the girl who got herself kidnapped on Dread Isle by one of 'Wendy's' old enemies."
"Hey, that wasn't Tina's fault.  Besides, she's got me, too.  Remember?  Trained martial artist?"
"Yeah, but you're not the most subtle person on the planet, either.  Look.  We all want what's best for her.  Maybe the best way to do that is to help her the way we always have.  Give her support and advice while staying out of her way."
Frenya raises her eyebrow.  "Yeah, good luck with that.  Tina, wanna bet twenty bucks he's the first one to leave his room to go gallivanting after her?"
"OK, so I can be a little protective."
"A little?"
"The point is, we need to be sure we don't blow her cover.  Someone here has already tried to kill J--well, he goes by Rod here.  Hank and Rod?"
The girls look at him blankly.  Nic sighs and types the names into his anagram program.
"Ohhh..." they say together.
"Exactly.  And someone else figured it out, and now they're out to kill him.  So we need to make sure we don't do that to Wendy."
"Right."

Frenya and Tina walk over to Tomas.  "Hey, is the computer lab open right now, or is there a class in there?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Should be open, I don't think there's ever classes here, actually. Been a full day, and i still haven't seen an actual class." Tomas explained, wondering why everyone kept going to have secretive conversations, but didn't ask.
"Want me to show you there? I memorized the school yesterday." Tomas said with a slight smirk.

-==IC: Tina and Frenya==-
"Sure," Tina said, "Lead the way."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, and walked out of the cafeteria, and then navigated around the halls.
"Since I walked around the school yesterday, I know the entire layout of the school, despite this only being my second day. See, I have a photographic memory, so anything I see, I can store in my memory, and then recall." Tomas explained, as they continued to walk through the school.

-==IC: Tina and Frenya==-
"That's so cool...I wish I had a photographic memory."
Frenya says nothing, but just rolls her eyes at her cousin.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Yeah, it is cool most times... but then, you can't forget anything, so if you ever want to do that, you're kinda out of luck." Tomas said with a slight chuckle.

OOC: Interesting thing, there's actually a show that'll be on in a week or two that involves a character with a photographic memory. Funny coincidence. xD

OOC: Where are Wendy and Rod now?

OOC: Wendy's back in the Chem. Lab with Edward, and Hank is gonna go get Rod and go to breakfast.

-==IC: Frenya and Tina==-
"Hey, is that the computer lab?"

-==IC: Hank==-
After Wendy got back to the chemistry lab, Hank decided to go wake up Rod.
"ZZZZNXXXX...."
...or at least try to.  Hank facepalmed.  This might take some effort...

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Yes, it is." Tomas said with a nod, as he walked toward the lab.

-==IC: Frenya and Tina==-
As they entered the lab, Tina spotted a package labeled with Wendy's name on it.  "Hey, what's this?" she asked.
Meanwhile, Frenya immediately sat down at a computer and began linking it to the workstation next to it.  "Come on, Tina, we need to get ready.  Log into the terminal next to me and open a new Internet window so I can optimize."  She looks over to Tomas.  "Do you know if Wendy has a portable computer here?  Something we can use to keep in contact?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, as he looked at the package for a moment.
"No clue what that is..." Tomas said and looked over at Frenya.
"I'm not sure. Haven't really talked with her much, but I would say maybe no? Again, I'm not sure. You'd have to ask her to be sure, however." Tomas said with a shrug.

OOC: It's the computer we ordered earlier for Wendy.  I think. :P

-==IC: Frenya and Tina==-
"Well, could you take it to her for us?  Pleeeeeease?" Tina said.  She grabbed a pair of headsets with mics and put them on Frenya, then grabbed one for herself.
Frenya sighed.  "That'd probably be best, uh...what was your name again?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Tomas, Tomas Greyson." Tomas said with a chuckle.
"And that's a laptop, then?" Tomas asked, referring to the package.

-==IC: Frenya==-
"I hope so.  Anyway, could you take it to her?  We need to set up shop."

OOC: Aside from occasional events, this is now Tina and Frenya's permanent location.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas blinked, and looked at the girls quizzically.
"Set up shop? What do you mean?" Tomas asked, literally not knowing what they meant at that precise moment.

*A very faint ticking comes from the box for Wendy*

~~Chem Lab~~
*hissing noise*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas paused, and held the box to his ear with a frown, and then slowly placed it on the ground, and then backed up however far he hoped would be far enough to not be in any blast radius.

OOC: Oh boy. =P

OOC: I forgot where my four NPCs are.  ^^;

OOC: In the lunchroom, with Nic.  BTW, any particular reason behind this? :P
Oh, and I have no clue what's going on in the chem. lab.

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy hears the hissing noise and immediately goes for the doors, dragging Edward with her.

-==IC: Hank and Rod==-
Meanwhile, Hank and Rod are on their way back to the cafeteria.  Rod is rubbing his head.
"I still don't get why you had to--"
"Because you wouldn't wake up, that's why.  What, did you spend all night prowling the school or something?  And let me remind you that YOU hit your head on the open drawer, not me."
"Well, let me remind you that it still hurts."
"OK, OK, I'm sorry, I'll stop making fun of you, I promise.  C'mon, let's go see if Wendy can patch you up."

-==IC: Frenya and Tina==-
Tina freezes, but Frenya reacts instantly, grabbing a pointer from the whiteboard and shoving the box out the open door.  She grabs Tina and Tomas and drags them behind the desk for protection.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Right, yeah, better idea." Tomas said, as he dove under the desk.

OOC: Gah, forgot I had started to talk with them instead of directly start to deliver the package. My bad. ^^;

The box exploded. Apparently, it wasn't the laptop.

~~~

Poison gas filled the chem lab.

~~~

(Joshua): "Did anyone else just hear an explosion?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, as he looked up from behind the desk.
"That's not good... Looks like people really are targeting people..." Tomas said, as he looked around.

(V.R.):  Perhaps I should try something less showy next time...

-==IC: Nic==-
"That was an explosion.  Come on!"  He gestured to the others at the table to follow him and ran from the cafeteria.

-==IC: Wendy==-
Wendy tried the door to the chemistry lab.  Locked!  Thinking quickly, she rummaged through the closet for respirators.  She found a small, regrettably outdated pair, with yellowed filters.  They probably wouldn't last for more than a few minutes, but it was better than nothing.  She put on her own mask, then put one over Edward's face as well.  He weakly adjusted the mask to secure it, but he was still too weak to do much else.  She was going to have to figure this out on her own.

-==IC: Hank and Rod==-
Hank noticed the sound first.  "Is that...hissing?"  Seeing the cloud seeping from under the door, he ran to open it, but found a strange lock on it.  "What on earth--?  Rod, go get help, I'll try to unlatch this."  Rod nodded, sending a quick email to Tomas before heading to the cafeteria.

OOC: I'm assuming everyone exchanged email addresses in the Chem. Lab after Edward's treatment but before they went to bed. ;)

OOC: Yeah, they exchanged email.

IC: Rod received an email.


OOC: EDIT: New journals for Joshua, Kitten and Kaitlin. Seems someone stole their old journals...V.R. also has a new journal entry.

OOC: Can I ask you a favor?  I need that lock to be a puzzle.  Can you find one for me to solve?  Even something as simple as sudoku would do, I just feel like I'm cheating if I have Hank unlock the door without solving a puzzle. :P
OOC2: You know what?  I was going to wait until lunch to out my characters, but I think I'll do it now. >:D

-==IC: Rod and Nic==-
"What the--?" Rod's eyes narrowed.  "So, you've figured it out.  Well, that complicates things, but either way you're going down!"  Rod closes the computer and runs into--

"Ned!"
"Uh, it's Nic--"
"We don't have time for that, and it doesn't matter anyway.  We've got trouble in the Chemistry Lab, see if you can help.  I need to find Tomas Grayson."
"Last I heard, he was headed for the computer lab with 'Tina' and 'Frenya'.  Listen we heard a bomb--"
"A bomb?  No, the chemistry lab's filled with poison gas, and there are people stuck inside--"
"No, I definitely heard--wait, what?  Is she--?"
"Yes, that why I need to find Grayson.  If you and Hank can't solve the lock, we'll have to force our way in."
Ned ran down the hallway.  "NANCY!!"

Rod saw the damage around the computer lab entrance and gasped.  He ran inside.  "Is everyone alright?"
Frenya poked her head out from behind the desk.  "We're fine!  But you look upset..."
"It's Na--Wendy," he said, noticing Tomas.  No need to confuse Tomas, he and Hank could explain things to him later.  "She's stuck in the chemistry lab with Edward and someone's gassing the room."
"Well, what are we waiting for?  Let's go!"

The group runs back to the Chemistry Lab.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, and then paused, and heard beeping from one of the computer terminals, and he then walked over to it, and opened it up, and saw an email from Rod, talking about how there were things going on in the Chem Lab.
"You gotta be kidding me." Tomas muttered, and sighed, and he sent off a reply.
"Yeah; be right there. Be VERY careful though... Someone nearly killed us with a bomb that was meant for Wendy." Tomas typed out, but then Rod appeared.
"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's save people." Tomas said, as he nodded, and ran after Rod, though he had noticed Rod's near slip-up, but paid no real attention to it, except in his mind.
So; it is true then, huh... Tomas thought, as they had nearly reached the Chem Lab, but Tomas noticed a metal pipe nearby, which could help if things got rough.

OOC: Well, Tomas has already been almost totally sure of their identities from the start. =P However; it will be a chance for Tomas to reveal who he is. =P

OOC: Still waiting for a puzzle...hey, Blade, you could find one for me to solve; I just need to solve a puzzle, or I'll feel bad. :P

OOC: Well, Tomas could kick the door in, but you'd probably think that cheating. =P

What kind of puzzle can it be? Can it be a simple type of puzzle that's made out of words? Sudoku kinda works there... I'll give that one a shot; though I've never made one myself before. =P I'll work on that while awaiting a response. =P

OOC: ANY type of puzzle works; it's just a staple of the games.  Breaking down the door would be fair (it's not cheating), but I personally prefer a puzzle route.

BTW, I just had an idea from this RPG that could change all the RPGs here forever (through the addition of a certain type of side topic).

OOC: Sudoku puzzle on the way. =) It's funny, making one is very similar to solving one. =P

Just give me another buffer post, and I'll put it up, it'll be in text format, of course. =P

OOC: Of course.  BTW, are you curious about the Seeeeeeecret project? >:D

OOC: Yes, yes I am. =P

Also, running into a slight glitch with Project: Sudoku... =/ Give me a little longer; I'll try to fix, but...

Gah; fixed one part, and found another was broken. D=

/EDIT: That's it, time to make a puzzle from Brain Age's selection... I just couldn't fix mine. =(

Zeroes will represent blank spots.

8-0-0  0-7-0  0-0-0
0-0-0  3-0-0  7-0-0
0-0-1  0-0-8  4-2-0

0-6-0  0-0-0  3-0-0
4-0-0  0-9-0  0-0-6
0-0-5  0-0-0  0-8-0

0-5-9  7-0-0  6-0-0
0-0-2  0-0-1  0-0-0
0-0-0  0-6-0  0-0-3

-==IC: Hank and Ned==-
Ned rushed up to Hank.  "What's happening?"
"Someone's put some sort of...sudoku lock on the door."
"Sudoku...Na--Wendy brought some of that back home from her trip to Japan.  Let me see if I can help."
"Be my guest, I've already placed the 3's, 6's, and most of the 2's..."

A few minutes later, the puzzle was complete.

8-9-6  2-7-4  5-3-1
5-2-4  3-1-9  7-6-8
3-7-1  6-5-8  4-2-9

9-6-7  8-2-5  3-1-4
4-8-3  1-9-7  2-5-6
2-1-5  4-3-6  9-8-7

1-5-9  7-8-3  6-4-2
6-3-2  9-4-1  8-7-5
7-4-8  5-6-2  1-9-3

The lock snapped open just as Rod and the others arrived.  Ned and Hank glanced at each other, then opened the doors...

Wendy emerged from the cloud of gas, coughing and dragging Edward with her.  She tore the breath mask from her face and slumped against the wall, exhausted.

(Kitten): "What happened?"

(Kaitlin): "What was the explosion?"

(Sally): "..."

OOC: Very good, I believe that's exactly the answer I got when I finished the puzzle, but it disappeared, so I can't be sure. D=

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised his eyebrow at the lock, but instead looked around, and then raised another eyebrow at the fact that Sally was once again present, though didn't say anything this time.
She has a surprising record of showing up right when someone's nearly killed... Tomas thought, but decided to say something.
"The explosion was from a package in the computer room, which was intended for Wendy, which nearly killed me, Frenya, and Tina." Tomas explained, as he motioned to the two girls.

-==IC: Rod==-
"And I just got a threatening email, saying Wendy, Hank, and I will be...well, see for yourself."  He turns the screen to face the others.


-==IC: Wendy and Ned==-
"Well...that wasn't very nice.  They could have sent the message first."
Ned looked at Wendy in disbelief.  "Are you serious?  You could have been killed!"
"Relax, relax, I'm just making light of a very dark situation."

-==IC: Tina and Frenya==-
Tina turned to Kaitlin and Kitten.  "I think they shipped Wendy's laptop with a Sony battery."
Frenya rounded on Tina.  "Are--you--serious?  They already know there's a killer here, apparently it's common practice.  There is no--point intrying to hide it, trying will just make things worse!"
"Hey, I'm not the one who's gonna blow everyone's cover.  At least I was smart enough to change a letter in my name before I anagrammed it."  Tina stopped and looked around at everyone.  "Oops."

-==IC: Hank and Rod==-
"It's OK," 'Hank' said.  "Whoever sent that message already knows who we are.  There's no point in hiding it anyway. Especially not after that..." he added under his breath.  Before he continues, he noticess Tomas, who is looking supremely satisfied about something.  "Care to share something with the rest of us, Grayson?"
"He's probably figured it all out by now, Frank," said Rod.  "I'll...explain later.  How about it, Tomas?  Care to take a stab at our real identities?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded with a chuckle.
"Joe. Nancy. I don't know who you are... and Frank." Tomas said, as he pointed to each, the person he was referring to with the 'I don't know' part being Nic.
"And to be honest, I'm not too sure about Tina or Frenya's real identities either..." Tomas said with a shrug, but looked at Frank with a chuckle.
"As for me; given that I'm likely to be targeted soon anyway..." Tomas said, and sighed.
"I'm Tomas Greyson... Special Police Force... Special Detective 1." Tomas explained, as he leaned against the wall, and chuckled.
"Really, I'm surprised no-one recognized me... You guys helped me out at one point, before I actually was a detective." Tomas said, and then frowned.
"Well... Now that that's all cleared up, albeit in a way that didn't entirely help the situation... I suppose we should get to figuring this thing out." Tomas stated, as he looked at the others.
"Come to think of it, you do look familiar... And given that anagram comment..." Tomas said, as he blinked.
"... Is there anyone in the new students who isn't a detective?" Tomas asked with a chuckle.

OOC: =P

(Joshua): *raises eyebrow*: "Two questions. One, why are there detectives here, and two, aren't you a little young?"

(Sally): "Yes, yes they are."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas chuckled.
"Not all detectives are old and such, like you see on all the TV shows. Sometimes special favours are requested, or exceptions are made because of special abilities." Tomas said, as he leaned against the wall again.

-==IC: Ned, Nancy, 'Tina', 'Frenya', and Edward==-
Ned, Tina, and Frenya raised their hands.  Ned started off first.  "I'm Ned.  Ned Nickerson.  Nancy's boyfriend."  Nancy smiled and embraced him.  "I'm so glad you're alright, Nancy."
"Shh...it's OK.  Hey, when have I ever come off worse from an investigation?"
"Is that a rhetorical question?"  Tina asked.  "Bess Marvin.  Nancy's best friend."
"ONE of her best friends.  George Fayne.  Also Bess' cousin."

Edward raised his head, took off the mask, and asked, "George?"
"It's short for Georgia.  And if any of you even think about calling me that I'll judo-throw you off the roof."

Nancy looked around.  "So, now that the Hardy boys and I have revealed ourselves...anyone else care to join in the fun?"
Joe stared hard at Kitten.  "Yeah, anyone at all?"

(Kitten): "What is that supposed to mean?"

(Sally): "Seriously? I'm the only one that figured out their real identities?"

(Kaitlin): "Yes, because you're the only one that rummages through people's personal objects and run their names through anagram decoders."

(Sally): "Knowledge can be useful."

(Joshua): "You didn't answer my other question. Why are you all here?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." Tomas said with a chuckle to George, and then looked around again.
"Well, I figured it might've been a better idea to wait until we didn't have everyone who's not a detective here, but... Do you think comparing notes would be a good idea?" Tomas asked the other detectives with a slight frown, as he wondered if it was a good idea when the suspects could be here.

(Joshua): "I'm not going to ask again...Why are you all here? Tomas, why don't you answer first?"

OOC: I had edited it in, but this works too. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas then turned to Joshua.
"Because this school has a mysterious nature surrounding it. The Special Police Force sent me in undercover, to try and unravel some of the things behind it. And well, now that we're finding out about death threats and attempts on people's lives... it makes sense, doesn't it?"

(Kaitlin): "Death does seem to be associated with this school...first Veronica Rosewater died, then Alan Rosewater dies under mysterious circumstances..."

(Joshua): "You're right about Alan, but not Veronica."

(Sally): "Joshua!"

(Joshua): "Sally, this is why someone's trying to kill me! I'll probably be safer after I tell them!"

(Sally): "It's your funeral."

(Joshua): "When I hacked into the system...I found one other thing besides the mention of the plant. I found evidence that Alan Rosewater faked his daughter's death."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked up in surprise, and gasped.
"He faked her death? But... Why would Rosewater do that? Like; what would the motive be? However... Joe, could I see that laptop again?" Tomas asked, having a sudden suspicion and connection as he recalled the contents of the email, and wanted to double check the physical proof instead of revealing to everyone his ability for the moment.

(Joshua): "That's what I'd like to know. And what happened to her afterwards?"

-==IC: Joe==-
"Sure."  Joe hands the computer to Tomas.

-==IC: Nancy==-
"Frank, can I borrow your laptop for a second?"  Nancy opens it up, loads the picture from her camera onto the computer, then emails it to Rod's computer.

(Joshua): "Didn't they show a picture of Veronica in the welcome video?"

(Kaitlin): "Yeah...that's her alright. At least...I think it is..."

OOC: Psssst!  sent by Email! :P

OOC: I assumed the email was being shown to everyone.  ^^;

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked at the initials from the email, and then looked at the picture that Nancy had sent very closely, wanting to find out what she looked like before saying yes or no.

OOC: Aka, you can describe the girl now. =P]

The picture showed a very young girl (less than five years for sure), with short red hair, green eyes, and a very innocent face.

OOC: Yes, it's Veronica.

OOC: I knew that... I just wanted you to finally describe her. =P

And oh wow; anoth- ...

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned at the picture, and thought over the appearances of the suspects, and thought over the rest of the details, as he typed up a reply to Nancy.

*Sally whispers something to Kitten*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas glanced up from the screen at Sally, and wondered what that was all about, though didn't make himself noticeable, as he glanced back to the screen after that.

(Automated voice): "All students, return to your rooms."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas narrowed his eyes, as he looked up.
"Oh yeah, I wonder why that might be?" Tomas asked sarcastically, as he looked at Sally.

(Sally): "Don't ask me! Joshua, you hacked the system before...what triggers this?"

(Joshua): "Only a direct command from the admin..."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Anyone willing to take a wild guess at who the admin is?" Tomas asked, as he frowned.

(Joshua): "Veronica Rosewater? Duh."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Yep." Tomas said, but left the rest of his implications for the others to figure out.

(Kitten): "Wait...you don't think....one of us?"

(Joshua): "Of course that's what he thinks. It the only logical conclusion."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Now you're thinking with detectives." Tomas said with a nod to Joshua.
"I mean; how else would the timing on that announcement be so good as to interrupt our discussion; if it wasn't one of you?" Tomas proposed, a frown on his face.

(Joshua): "But we're all right here. How would any of us send a signal to the central computer without being noticed?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I haven't gotten that far yet." Tomas admitted, but paused.
"Wait. Didn't Sally say she was a very good hacker? She's already been involved in the incident yesterday..." Tomas mused, and turned to Sally.
"Is it not true that there could be some sort of hidden thing that, while wouldn't attract attention to us, could activate an announcement like the one we just heard?"

(Sally): "Not unless I had a cell phone.."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow as he looked at Sally.
"Thank you for pointing out what I was missing. That means; whoever is Veronica will more than likely have a cell phone. And given the rules; that means only Veronica would have one." Tomas pointed out.

OOC: </half expects laser sights to be trained on Tomas right now> =P

(Kaitlin): "You could search everyone here, I doubt you'd find a phone. If you are searching people, feel free to check me first." :3

OOC: Is Tomas still oblivious? :P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas ignored Kaitlin, but smirked.
"Who said I'd be searching?" Tomas asked, with a chuckle.

(Sally): "How else would you find anythin-WOAH!!!"

The wall Sally had been leaning against gave way, and she fell through, into a small, completely empty room.

"Ow."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow, as he stepped past the others, and looked into the room.
"Huh. What do you know. Something that wasn't on my map." Tomas said, as he walked back, and cleared his throat.
"Anyway... Again; I never said I would be searching." Tomas said, as he chuckled again.

(Joshua): "Then....who?"

(Sally): *Notices something in the rubble* *Quickly shoves it in her pocket*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas ignored Joshua's question again, and walked over to Sally.
"You, you just picked something up, what did you pick up?" Tomas asked as he narrowed his eyes at the girl.

OOC: Tomas is so suspicious of Sally right now; even though she might not be the right person. xD but given that's all the evidence he really has IC... =P

-==IC: Nancy Drew==-
Nancy noticed Sally pocket something, and made a mental note to ask about it later.  She read Tomas' reply, and responded:


-==IC: Frank and Joe Hardy==-
Frank pulled a flashlight from his pocket and shined it into the room.  Joe looked down the hall for any triggers for the "right" entrance to the passageway; statues, paintings, anything out of the ordinary.

*Sally hands him a small empty photo frame*

~~~
One of the tiles on the wall stuck out a bit.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked at the item, and examined it, looking for anything hidden, all the while memorizing the object for further reference.

There was an engraving on the frame: For my daughter, Veronica.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Hmm?" Tomas asked, and frowned.
"Where was this?" Tomas asked Sally, as he held up the frame.

"It...it was on the floor."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Where on the floor?" Tomas asked with a sigh.

-==IC: Joe==-
Joe cautiously pushed the tile into the wall, marking its location (and the new entrance to the chamber) on his map.

-==IC: Nancy, Ned, and Frank==-
Nancy closes the laptop.  "Mind if I borrow this until I can get one of my own?"
"Uh, about that..." Ned opens his backpack, revealing Nancy's own laptop.  "I figured, if I couldn't get you out directly, I could at least give you a way to call for help."
Nancy smiled and gave Ned a quick kiss, then handed Hank back his laptop.  She then walked over to Joshua.  "Think you can program this to access school email without having to install anything on it?"

Meanwhile, Frank took a cautious step into the passageway.

(Joshua): "No. The Rosewater internet cuts off anything that doesn't have the Rosewater firewall, and I haven't found a way to trick it into thinking that the firewall is installed."

OOC: It's a small room, not a passageway.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"What about spoofing the protocol codes?" Tomas asked, as he also looked around, though still wanted Sally's answer.

(Joshua): *frustrated with himself*: "I can't find the codes!"

(Sally): "Right where I landed."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow at that.
"How very interesting." Tomas said, and looked at Joshua.
"Hmm... Have you tried disassembling the firewall itself?"

-==IC: Nancy==-
"Hmm...the firewall doesn't do anything else besides blocking websites, right?"

-==IC: Frank==-
Frank takes another step into the room.

-==IC: Joe==-
Joe waits to see if pushing in the tile did anything...

(Joshua): "If I knew where the main computer is, I could try that."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"The program doesn't have the Firewall code?" Tomas asked, wondering about that.

"No..it just redirects traffic THROUGH the firewall. It's a hardware firewall."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas raised an eyebrow.
"Huh. Well that's interesting. You can't spoof a command to the main computer to make it do something silly to alert us to it's location, can you?"

"Sure I can, but it would only tell us that it's in the school. Not where in the school it is."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Even if you made it blast Never Gonna Give You Up at full volume on any on-board speakers?" Tomas asked, just making sure.

"I don't think it has speakers."

*Kaitlin starts singing. I think you know what song she's singing.*

OOC: She's singing the song Tomas pointed out? xD

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas looked at Kaitlin with a raised eyebrow.
"She trying to say she's the main computer or something?" Tomas asked with a chuckle.

(Joshua): "She likes to sing any song you name. Do not name any song that starts with 'Fri'."

OOC: :P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Oh, you mean Friday?" Tomas asked, not getting the hint right away, but then he paused.
"... Oh."

OOC: xD

(Kaitlin): "It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"LIFE IS A HIGHWAY!" Tomas yelled out, aiming to change the song.

*Kaitlin ignores you and keeps singing*

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Wonderwall! I Will Remember You! Revolution! Wherever You Will Go! It's My Life!" Tomas called out, yelling out different song titles to try and get the song to change.

*Kaitlin finishes the song...and starts singing it again.*

-==IC: George, Nancy, and Bess==-
George pulls out a roll of duct tape, stretching a strip right in front of Kaitlin's face.  "Do NOT make me use this.  And for the record, yes, I HAVE used it before."
"You have?"
"Nan, remember that time when I couldn't answer the phone for the entire case?"
"Yeah?"
"Well..."

*Kaitlin stops singing*

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Thank you." Tomas said with a nod to George.
"Now then; back to what we were focusing on."

OOC: *waits for response*

The room was empty.

There was a grinding sound, but since the wall had collapsed, pressing the tile did nothing.

(Joshua): "The Firewall also monitors everything you do."

-==IC: Nancy==-
"But it doesn't actively scan your files, correct?"  Nancy kept most of her important files at home, mostly on paper, but she had a few recent case files and personal photos she hadn't erased yet.  Nothing she couldn't get back later, but she didn't want them in the hands of the killer, either.  Of course, now that her cover had been blown, there really wasn't anything to hide, but she preferred not to take chances.  At least, not with a killer on the loose.

(Joshua): "No, it doesn't."

-==IC: Nancy==-
"OK, I guess it's safe to install, then."

-==IC: Hank==-
"Hey, I just looked around in there.  The place is empty.  Why build a hidden room if you're not going to put anything in it?"

-==IC: Joe==-
"I found the trigger that would have opened this up, if we hadn't broken in.  You guys find anything?"
"Nothing."
"Darn.  I was hoping for at least some clue."
"Well, we could always head outside, see if the bomb in Joshua's pillow a few days ago matches the one they used in the computer lab."
"Why is that important?"
"Two different bombs means two different sources--and likely two different killers.  I mean, it's possible one person has access to several different types of explosives, but it would take a lot of expertise and work to set them up that way, especially if they wanted to use bombs in more than one murder.  Considering how much else they've been up to--the spiders, the poison gas, the food machine--I don't think they would have had time to develop more than a couple of simple variations on the same design."

-==IC: Ned==-
"Well, I'm not one to argue with the resident explosives expert.  Let's go."

-==IC: Bess and George==-
"Actually I think we'd better get back to the computer lab."
"Yeah, George is right.  We need to start researching the school's past, see what we can come up with.  Come on, Joshua, you can help."

OOC: If you want, we can split the party further, but Bess and George are mostly phone contact characters in the games. ;) Ned, too, but I think he's going to be a bit more active this time around, since Nancy's been directly attacked twice now.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded.
"Let's do this." Tomas said, as he looked at the suspects once more, and slightly frowned, but looked back to the others, and paused.
"Wait; one sec. I've got an idea..." Tomas said, as he pulled out two folding pieces from a case, and quickly attached them.
"I've got a folding laptop, a newer concept... I think this might help... Let's swap contacts so we have a way of keeping in touch if anything happens."

-==IC: Nancy==-
Nancy nods.  "Right."  Everyone exchanges email addresses.

Nancy: WCranberry@rosewater.evl
Frank: HankDDtktv@rosewater.evl
Joe: RodJErthat@rosewater.evl
Ned: NicNoes@rosewater.evl
Bess: TinaBell@rosewater.evl
George: FGogeestopsee@rosewater.evl

OOC: Since it interprets it as real because it's silly like that; Tomas' is simply TGreyson and the normal stuff. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Alright, let's go then." Tomas said with a nod, as they headed off to the outside of the school.

There was no sign of any exploded bomb.

(Joshua): "Seriously? Whoever tried to kill me would obviously dispose of what was left of the bomb."


OOC:  Joshua.Rend@Rosewater.evl
         Kaitlin.Cazz@Rosewater.evl
         Kitten@Rosewater.evl
         Sally.Finch@Rosewater.evl
         Admin@Rosewater.evl.

Also, although .evl is obviously ".evil", in universe, it's an acronym for Elevated Valence Library. Don't ask what that means, I don't know. :P

OOC: =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, but didn't give up.
"Look around the area, they might've missed something." Tomas said, as he scanned the area, looking for something out of the ordinary.

(Kitten): "There's some charred grass from the explosion over here..."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, and headed over to the spot mentioned.

There was a tiny bit of shrapnel.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas noted the location of the shrapnel, and pulled out a piece of sloth to pick the shrapnel piece up with.

OOC: Sloth?  ???

OOC: Was wondering if anyone'd notice that typo... Cloth! =P

(Joshua): "Let's take that to the lab to examine."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Should we look for anything else while we're out here?" Tomas asked curiously.

(Joshua): "Doubt it."

-==IC: Frank and Joe==-
Joe bags the shrapnel, while Frank studies it.  "Looks like a J-type S27 series detonator.  You can still see part of the serial number on it.  Those are military grade, I wonder how our killer got a hold of them?"

-==IC: Nancy==-
Meanwhile, Nancy examines the scene in front of the computer lab.

OOC: We had split up again? =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Hmm... This is getting weirder and weirder..." Tomas said with a frown.

(Joshua): "Hey, where'd Kaitlin go?"


OOC: Didn't everyone leave the chem lab already?

OOC: What do you mean by that?

OOC: What is Nancy examining?

OOC: The bomb? In the computer lab? =P "The laptop that went asplody"? =P

OOC: Oops. I thought she was in the CHEM LAB, where the poison gas was.  ^^;

IC: The shrapnel at the Computer Lab was identical to the shrapnel outside.

OOC: No, wrong lam. =P

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, as he looked around.
"That's a good question..."

OOC: Oh no! Where's the right lam? :P

IC: (Sally): "Kitten is missing too."

OOC: I ate it. BWAHAHAHA. >=D

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas sighed, and slapped his palm to his face.
"What part of 'stick together' did they not get...?"

(Joshua): "Let's go find them, Sa-Now she's gone too?!"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me..." Tomas said with a sigh.

(Loudspeaker): "Hello, students of Rosewater. My name, as you surely know by now, is Veronica."

OOC: She's using a voice muffler, BTW.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas sighed again.
"See; this is the whole reason I told them, stay together. Now we won't know who the actual person is." Tomas said, and sighed again.

(Joshua): "No doubt Veronica waited until the other two were gone before making the announcement."

(Veronica): "I would like to deliver a warning to all these so-called detectives. Leave now, and I will ensure you are set for life. Stay...and you die."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Is this why this school's remained unchecked? Because of bribes? Well; that won't work... The reason I'm here is because of that." Tomas said with a frown.
"Just try to get rid of me... Even if you do; I'd have played my part." Tomas said with a smirk.

(Veronica): "What? By finding evidence? Well, guess what. If you never make it out, nobody will ever know! And any detectives here after midnight...will die."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas chuckled, as he smiled.
"You assume that I'd win by letting info leak out. I'm the reason I win; it's a foolproof plan. I gather evidence, i win... I don't come out... Then the police will come looking for me. And if I turn up dead; I don't think any amount of bribing will stop them from investigating this case professionally." Tomas said with a frown.

(Veronica): "Oh, but they won't need to investigate. It will be quite obvious that Joshua murdered you."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"How do you know they won't have information and evidence otherwise?" Tomas asked with a confident smirk.

-==IC: Frank==-
Frank whispers in Tomas' ear.  "I have a crazy idea--but I have no clue how to pull it off.  We need to fake Joshua's death.  And we have until midnight to do it."

-==IC: Ned==-
Ned's fists clench.  "If you lay a finger on Nancy..." he shouts to loudspeaker.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"But how...?" Tomas whispered back with a frown.

"I'll kill all of you unless you leave by midnight."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Well that's where we disagree. I'm not leaving, and have no intentions of dying. See where there's a problem?" Tomas asked, and smirked.
"Nice odds, though."

OOC: So, all we have to do is solve the case in like 12 hours. =P

-==IC: Frank==-
Frank whispers into Tomas' ear.  "I don't know 100% how, but we have to.  I think the first step is to get some of Joshua's blood and maybe some hair, to act as evidence.  We stage some kid of struggle, and then, while all three of the girls are accounted for, we smuggle him out of the school.  That would accomplish two things: one, Veronica will have to find a new scapegoat if she intends to murder us, meaning she'll need to get fake evidence of her own, which leaves her vulnerable to us and clears the scapegoat of being her, and two, it would give her the impression that we can be as dangerous as she is, which might make her think twice about going after us."

-==IC: Joe==-
Meanwhile, Joe relays a similar plan to Joshua, again in whispers.

-==IC: Nancy==-
"Sorry, if you want a shot at me, you'll have to get in line.  Would you like me to name all the other criminals I've busted?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I see." Tomas said, not taking his eyes off the school.
"We have 12 hours; even if we don't do that, to solve this... I like the odds either way."

(Veronica): "You want me to prove how easy it is for me to kill you? I'll prove it right now, if you want. I promise not to kill you until midnight though."


OOC: PM me if your character(s) are vulnerable to hypnosis, please. I need at least two vulnerable chars.

*Snapping sound*

"Command: Parsnip. Joshua, punch Tomas in the neck."
*Joshua obeys*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas narrowly moved backward in time that the attack missed, but growled, as he looked at the speaker.
"Hypnotism? You're worse than I thought... What's you goal? Your plan? Why are you doing this?" Tomas asked angrily.

"Command: Eggplant."

*Joshua passes out*
"My goal is simple..." *Veronica suddenly has the same voice as Donald Duck* "I seek to-STUPID VOICE MUFFLER!!!"

*Cuts out*

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas blinked, and tried to figure out what just happened, but didn't seem to be able to, as none of that made any sense.
So she seeks to have a stupid voice muffler...?

OOC: =P

(Joshua): "Uhhh..."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Take it easy." Tomas said with a frown.

(Joshua): "what happened?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Apparently our 'good friend' Veronica has hypnotism up her sleeve." Tomas said with a frown on his face.

"What did I do? Wait, no time. We've got to find the girls!"

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, but informed Joshua about what happened on the way.

(Joshua): "Yikes, that sounds-"

*trips over Kaitlin, who is lying on the floor, apparently unconscious*

-==IC: Frank==-
Frank immediately checks her for a pulse.

(Kaitlin): "Uhh...where am I?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Looks like the halls of the school." Tomas commented sarcastically.

"What happened?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Veronica." Tomas said simply, though didn't rule out that she was a suspect.

(Kaitlin): "Where...are Kitten and Sally?"

-==IC: Frank==-
"They were...hypnotized with the rest of us.  We think," Frank said, throwing a quick look to Tomas and Joshua indicating they shouldn't say otherwise.  "The more I try to think about what I've been doing the past few minutes, the less I can remember."

OOC: Frank's devious.  Be glad he's a good guy. :P
BTW, what's going on around Ned and Nancy?  Last I checked they were...somewhere, I think looking for evidence from the Computer Lab bomb.

-==IC: Bess and George==-
Bess and George exchange a look--something strange was going on, and they had to do something about it.
"Let's assume Veronica controls what we can see online," George shispers into Bess' ear.  "Let's also assume she tracks what we see online."
"OK...how does that help Nancy?" Bess whispers back.
"Once Nancy fills us in on her plan, we can run interference--you know, give Rosewater a false trail to follow.  If she's busy disabling hidden cameras that aren't there, then Nancy can sneak around and catch her red-handed, or something like that."
"Good idea!  I've just got one question."
"What's that?"
"Why are we whispering?"
That gives George pause.  "I don't know.  Probably because if we can hear Veronica, she's likely set things up so she can hear us."
Bess stops and thinks for a moment.  "I wonder what would happen if we got access to that surveilance?"
"Bess, that's brilliant!  If we make her think we've hacked the school surveilance system--as well as whatever else she's got set up--not only will she have to shut them down to keep us from seeing, but she'll also be blinding herself!  All from one fake hacking attempt!"
"...Why don't we just actually hack the security system and get whatever info we can before she shuts it down?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...where's Joshua?"

(Joshua): "I..." *collapses*

(Kaitlin): "EEP!"

OOC: I have no idea. ^^;

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Hmm?" Tomas thought with a frown, as he looked at Joshua curiously.
"Hey! Get up; this isn't a time to be napping."

OOC: =P

(Kaitlin): *feels his forehead* "He's running a fever....we'd better find Kitten and Sally-well, we'd better find Kitten. I found Sally."


*Points to Sally passed out in a nearby hallway*

*Sally stands shakily*


"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask what happened. I think I can guess."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned.
"This is very interesting..." Tomas said as he looked around.

(Sally): "Hm?"

(Kaitlin): "All we need is Kitten...I hope she's OK."

(Kitten): "Uhh...what happened? Where am I?"

OOC: She's in the physics lab.

*Kitten screams loudly*

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Huh?" Tomas asked, as he looked up and frowned.
"That sounded like it came from the direction of the Physics lab..."

(Joshua): "Mommy? Is that you? I want soup..."

(Kaitlin): "Sally, you and I will take him to his room. Tomas...make sure Kitten's OK."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, and ran in the direction of where the scream came from.
Doesn't matter if I leave them alone; if one of them is in fact Veronica; then there'd be witnesses to see who it was. Tomas thought, as he continued to wind his way through the school to get to the physics lab.

Kitten was lying on the floor. Blood covered her right arm.

-==IC: Frank==-
Wordlessly, Frank followed Kaitlin and Sally, and Joe followed Tomas.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas entered the lab, and inhaled quickly, as he looked around the scene to take note of it, and then looked at Kitten, wondering what the heck had happened.

(Kitten): "Don't...come...closer...trap!"

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas froze, and looked around once more, scanning the surroundings. In addition to trying to find out who did this, he was also looking for anything that could be used as a weapon.

One of the cabinets was half open. Inside, there was the glint of metal.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas paused, and looked at the cabinet, and glanced around again, and slowly moved toward the cabinet, and examined the metal object.

There was a device there, obviously rigged to launch metal shards at anyone that disrupted the beam of red light it was giving out.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Ah, I see what the trap is now." Tomas said, pointing at the shard thrower.

(Kitten): "...Duh...."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Well I was thinking it was a person, so..." Tomas shrugged, and tried to figure out how it could be safely disabled.

"Un...plug...it...dummy..."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"That works too." Tomas said, as he grabbed the plug and pulled it out.

"Now...get...a....doctor!"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Yeah; uh; where is a Doctor in this automated school?" Tomas asked, with a frown.

OOC: Half tempted to have the Doctor appear randomly here for one second and then randomly head off. ::)

"Nurse's...Office....automated...goo d enough.."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, and helped to get Kitten to the Nurse's Office.

The Nurse Droid took Kitten from Tomas.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned.
Technically the suspect could still be anyone... Tomas thought, and sighed.

-==IC: Joe==-
Joe followed Tomas in grave silence.  He leaned in to the nurse droid.  "Make sure you check her for poisons, and do an MRI on her brain just to be sure," he whispered.

(Nurse Droid): "Roger."

(Sally): "So...what's really wrong with Joshua?"


(Kaitlin): "Huh?"

(Sally): "You say were all hypnotized..why is Joshua the only one acting this way? No...something else happened to him, not related to the hypnosis."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Good question..." Tomas said with a frown, not knowing why only Joshua was really affected.

"Maybe he was poisoned?" Kaitlin asked.
"How?" Sally raised an eyebrow. "If someone messed with the food bot, we'd all be passed out, right?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"That's true..." Tomas said with a nod, not feeling funny at all.
"But if not that, then what?"

"Maybe..." Sally passed out.
"Maybe it's a delayed effect of the hypnosis." Kaitlin said. "I think I'm going to lie down right here so I'll be comfy when I pass out."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"But that looks like the floor." Tomas said with a frown.

"But I'd rather be lying on the floor than fall on it. Unless you want to carry me to my room...?"


(Sally): "..........tomatoes."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"If you remind me where it is, sure." Tomas said with a shrug.

"Right by your room with all the bunnies."
She passed out.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, and picked the girl up, and carried her to where her room was supposed to be.

~~~~~~~The next morning~~~~~~
(Sally): *knocking on Tomas' door* "Tomas. Tomas. Tomas. Penny. Tomas."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas groaned, as he woke up with a blink, and opened his door.
"... Sally. It's like five in the morning." Tomas said, obviously still half asleep.

"Joshua's missing. And I'm hungry."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas sighed, as he shook his head.
This is what being given the title of Looker gets you. Tomas thought, recalling what a colleague who seemed crazy once said to him.
"Well, I guess we should find Joshua, then... And maybe some food, too." Tomas said, still not entirely trusting Sally, but he figured if this was a trap, then it would become rather obvious soon enough.

"Yeah, I went to check on him, and his room was empty. I think Kait and Kitten are still in their rooms."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, but nodded.
"Let's go check on them, then. Last thing we want is everyone to be kidnapped."

(Kaitlin's Room): (Sally): "Kaitlin. Kaitlin. Kaitlin. Kai-" The door opens. "WHAT?!" "Are you awake?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"She did that to me, too." Tomas said, looking over Sally's shoulder.

(Sally): "Joshua is missing."
(Kaitlin): "Tell me this is a bad dream."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Sadly, no." Tomas said, shaking his head.
"I wish it were, but no."

~~~Kitten's Room~~~
(Sally): "Kitten. Kitten. Kitten."
(Kaitlin): "I'm kinda hoping Sally turns out to be Veronica. I want revenge for this."
(Kitten): "What's going on? ...Nice pajamas, Tomas."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Joshua apparently went missing, and we're all here. So now I'm confused." Tomas said with a frown.

"I guess we should search his room." Kaitlin said.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded, as he began to walk out of the room, hoping he wasn't leading everyone into a trap.

His room was indeed empty. There was no sign of a struggle.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Hmm... He couldn't have just wandered off, right?" Tomas asked, finding it strange that there was no struggle at all.

(Sally): "...Oh."
(Kaitlin): "I could not possibly hate you more than I do right now."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"The only problem with that logic, is that it's five in the morning." Tomas said, as something still did seem weird, and he looked around, to see if there was anything he had missed.

A nurse droid shuffled into the room.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, as he looked at the nurse bot.
"What's it doing here...?"

"Joshua Rend is in medbay. Wants items from his room."
It grabbed a blanket and a potted fern, then left.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas frowned, as he looked at the others, and then followed the robot.

Joshua was strapped to a medical table. "Thank God you guys found me. This robot is craz-"
He cut off with a choking noise as the robot placed the potted fern on his stomach.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas blinked, as he saw the scene.
"What happened?" Tomas asked, finding this situation odd. That said, given that this was like the third hacker related incident in as many days...
It's also odd that Veronica never followed through on her threat...

(Kitten): "She's toying with us. Showing us she can get us whenever she wants."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"How did you make that deduction?" Tomas asked; as he was thinking the same, but he wondered how Kitten would think that.

"She made us pass out...she had the nurse droid take me back to my room while I was asleep...she set up the trap in the chem lab..and now this with Joshua."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I thought that was us, that told the nurse to take you back?" Tomas asked, confused about that.

Kitten shrugged. "I was asleep. But my other points stand."

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas nodded.
"That said, there is something we can do."

"Which is?" Sally asked, raising an eyebrow. "Also, still hungry."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I can't say yet." Tomas said, as Veronica had to be one of the ones in the room, still.

"...should we girls go eat?" Sally left an unspoken "Please" at the end of that sentence.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Why just the girls?" Tomas asked, confused about that.

"It seems you want to speak to Joshua, right?" Kaitlin asked.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"No." Tomas said with a shake of his head.

"OK then, what should we do?"

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Spring Joshua, and go eat."

~~~~At the Meal Hall~~~
(Robot): "Your lobster."
It handed Sally a lovingly steamed and buttered chair.

-==IC: Tomas==-

"Well, I guess the food machines are busted." Tomas said, looking at what the others got.

"INCOMING!" Kaitlin yelled, as a large bowl of soup flew at Tomas.

-==IC: Tomas==-

Tomas ducked, as the food machine was definitely not liking him.

A large amount of fried eggs, still in the shells, hit everyone in the room.
(Sally): "...OK, I say we resort to cannibalism."

-==IC: Tomas==-

"I don't know. But, at this rate, it's the more appetizing idea..." Tomas muttered, as he saw things appear from the food machine that didn't even look remotely edible. He feared what might come out next.

A piece of paper with "Poison Cake" came out.
(Kaitlin): "I think it's out of stuff to  throw."
Her face was then obscured by mashed potatoes.
"Or not." Sally muttered.