smashacademy | UNequal and Opposite Reaction [Backdated to the morning after the party]

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UNequal and Opposite Reaction [Backdated to the morning after the party]

THE MASKS ARE GONE.

[Gordon is in his lab, and if the thunderous introduction doesn't give it all away, then the shattered glass cases still dripping with fluid should put everything into context. The camera whips around to his face. He's... never had that expression before. Maybe he should have gotten one of the larger predators from the woods to be his spokescritter; they would show a greater sense of openness and compassion on their fanged faces, than anything that he's showing right now.]

I don't know who the hell did this, but chances are they're listening in on this feed. Now normally I'd be the good guy and give you an hour to bring them back with no strings attached, but no. Not this time. You know EXACTLY what you've taken from here. We need those masks to figure out what the hell is going on in the clock tower. You've taken what might be our last chance to survive this catastrophe, and you'll be treated as such.

Consider this an all-points-bulletin, and a request for security to start searching. Also I'm going out myself.

Whoever you are, I hope they find you before I do.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]

what makes you think they were stolen

they're magic right

whos to say they didn't break out on their own

Because they haven't moved so much as a twitch prior to this.

magic is weird like that.

Ever hear of something called Occam's Razor? It's not a spell, though it sounds like one. It says that the simplest explanation is usually the right one.

Considering the fact that they're all gone simultaneously, It's much more likely that some asshole crept in during the party and took the masks.

i dunno, cursed masks doing weird stuff sounds like a pretty simple explanation to me, especially with all the weird crap that goes on around here.

but if you're really hung up on this then why not figure out who was at the party and who wasn't.

[Smooooooth, Garrett.]

[Had Gordon known anything about Garrett at all, that would arouse suspicion. Even without that advantage, this guy seems pretty damned flippant about the whole thing...]

There were a number of people who weren't there.

[He ought to start with who WAS there. Eggman was, and so was Cyrus. Every member of security was there... What about the students? Skull Kid? No. He may have not been at the party, but judging by his reaction, he's probably terrified of the other masks as well. Who else...? Hold on. He doesn't remember this number--]

Who is this, anyway?

garrett. lost and found guy.

i was at the party, in case you need some help with the headcount.

[If it were possible to hear through text, he'd had Gordon grumble at his smartassary.]

Right. We didn't cross paths that much last year.

[Speaking of crossing paths, DID he actually see him at the party? Or did he just miss him somehow?]

Being the lost-and-found guy, you'd know better than I would how artifacts can wander off. Does that actually happen with any regularity?

So we JUST find the last one, and then the other three go missing. I shouldn't be surprised by that.

I'll come take a look.

Thanks. I just got here, so the scene's untouched. I could use another pair of eyes to look it over.

[Birds' eyes are supposed to be the best too, right?]

[It didn't take long for Wave to arrive. For someone who seemingly resented her job, she was definitely in a hurry to do it.]

Security cameras have been down since the attack, I've been trying to restore them a bit at a time, so there's no surveillance data of the area immediately around your lab. Any signs of forced entry?

[He glances to the hole in the ceiling, and the shattered glass tubes.]

Yes and no. The hole up there hasn't been patched since the attack either, but the tanks were smashed to get into them.

Given the way the glass was broken, whoever it was clearly didn't care about being caught.

[She plucked out the red orb from her necklace and started taking snapshots of the scene.]

Broken from the outside, I'd say... here. Broken glass broken further in front of the tanks... Smaller fragments that way... They came in the front door, smashed the tubes, grabbed the masks, and left the same way.

Edited 2015-11-19 20:41 (UTC)

[That may have sounded obvious, but it does cement the fact that someone DID steal them, and they hasn't gotten bored and wandered off like magical artifacts tend to do.]

Judging by the way they were smashed, I don't think they were all that tall...

[He demonstrates by mimicking a blow against the glass with his crowbar, and the arc terminates a little higher then the hole.]

Shorter than I am, anyway.

You ARE pretty tall, so that doesn't narrow it down too much.

[But then again, maybe her opinion was skewed with how short she was.]

But it's a start. Just don't know what anyone around here has to gain from stealing them, unless it's to ransom them back.

Have you investigated the clock tower itself? Perhaps some...deluded hero believed themselves a savior.

I am aware what you see me as, and I assure you it was not me. In truth, I would have studied them alongside you had I not been...distracted.

Who would be that stupid?

[Well you would. You had THAT EXACT THOUGHT YOURSELF, you martyr wannabe.]

Yeah, you're busy trying to remake creation. That's the kind of thing that eats up a guy's spare time.

Again, I am aware of how you see me. You did not answer my question.

No, I haven't looked at it lately. I was planning to right after the party, and I will when I'm done waiting on security to the scene here. Last thing we need is some kid with a sword and a hero complex trying to go at it alone.

Should that prove to be the case, alert me.

Wh... what?!

Who would possibly be that short-sighted? What's there to gain by taking them?

That's exactly what I was thinking. I can't figure it out. Either the thief was transfixed by the luminous satin sheen of bleached leather and dry wood, or they don't know they can't leave the area to sell them.

This is just chaos for chaos' sake! The only value those things have is in their potential use stopping the moon!

You don't... suppose the thief's trying to hold them ransom, do you?

It's a possibility, but there are no ransom terms left behind in the lab. Even then, I have no clue what the hell they could demand from us. We're all trapped in the same area. It'd be more expedient for them to just take their ransom, instead of bothering with the masks.

I suspect Ivo might have taken them; He might have some idea of using them for himself, somehow. But at the same time, those masks are near useless on their own! He has to know that! I've spent a month trying to get them to literally do ANYTHING besides sit there and look creepy, to no avail. Besides, I'm sure he's smart enough to realize that the whole world going up in a ball of molten iron and silicon includes HIM too.

Do you have any other ideas who could have done this?

I can't even begin to fathom who would do something so irrational. If there's a chance they're self-possessed enough to gloat about it, then maybe we'll see a sign soon enough, but...

...Well, whatever ridiculous motives they might have, security will be doing everything we can to locate the masks.

[Once again speaking for the security team when he isn't even technically security staff, but in light of the current situation, that maybe gets a pass.]

I don't suppose there's any chance the thief left some sort of evidence behind, is there?

[It's good enough for him.]

Thanks, Harupia. I didn't see anything suspicious down there, though a second opinion wouldn't be a bad idea.

The more sets of eyes we have, the more likely we are to find a lead.

Can you tell me if anyone had been taking an unusually keen interest in you or your lab lately? Interest in the masks in general may be a little too broad, considering how much hinges on their use.

WHAT!?

If there's one thing in the world I can't stand, it's a thief!

They better make sure I don't get my hands onnem!

Hmn. You and me both, Knuckles. Thing is, whoever they are, they can't run very far with the campus under lockdown.

So they're still here, most likely...

Well. Half the place is demolished anyhow. Makes my job easier. I'll be looking for them everywhere. You got any ideas on where I should start?

We need someone to check the woods around the barrier. I don't know about you, but if the whole school suddenly started hunting ME and I needed to lose them, I'd hide out there.

Yeah - that makes a lot of sense. I'll start there.

Thanks, Gordon - I'll have my phone on me so if you need to, or you find 'em before I do, just gimme a call.

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UNequal and Opposite Reaction [Backdated to the morning after the party]

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