Stolen! A Museum Gem Heist!

[A most lazy narrator~!]

((Wow, I thought everyone totally forgot about this thread, yet judging from the support for it to continue I stand quite corrected. OK, I will do my best to continue onward as best I can. I apologize if I get some details wrong initially but I shall do my best nonetheless~ ^_^))

@ Elliot

As Elliot-Chan reaches for the Sapphire Che-Cherry the lights of the display case begin to flicker and dim. One by one, the lights of the display cases begin to go out until the trail of darkness reaches the display case before the boy detective.

Click!

Yet rather than be extinguished, the light of the Sapphire's display rather grows a light blue as a thick, pungent mist oozes out from underneath.

"Well done, darling! Well done" says a sweet disembodied voice coming from the inky black shadows.


@ Sir-Dact

"Then allow me to enlighten you, my darling" says the voice as a pale light illuminates the chamber. "I am confident that you've noticed a pattern to my crimes, non? A certain method to my *ahem* madness. Think, my little pumpkin, it should not be hard, even for one as, how shall I put this delicately, ah yes, easily confused as yourself. Not that I mind, my sweet, for I am nothing if not a patient man~!"

@ Team Delphi

The database shows up the various transformative fruits in the city. The energy levels suggest that the fruit might come from the primary fruit family... But what sort of fruit could produce the random results that have been demonstrated throughout the evening? It is a mystery but surely one that clever Echi can solve~! :D

((Hopefully I haven't messed up to bad.... If you have any grievances please let me know, alright guys?))

[Feng]

In a burst of blue smoke Bones, Criminal Genius, appears outside the museum.

"Eh? So a rival criminal seeks to hone in on my territory, eh? We'll see about that"" he mutters as he walks into the museum.

[Harri-chan]

(Woah )

When the lighting of the display cases flicker, Elliot's heart begins to race, and he turns his head from side to side, looking around the quiet room. Looking back down, he drew a deep breath, and started to reach for the stone again, before hearing that voice. Not only did it make him blush brightly, but it sent a tingle down his spine, causing him to recall the 'love letters'.

"Not this time!", he said, in a somewhat shaky voice, plunging his hands into mist to try and grab at the Sapphire Che-Cherry before it too was stolen by the mystery thief.

[Knight Errant]

((It liiives! Thank you, mysterious GM! *Gives a cookie!*))

"Err... so far the only crime I know of is the theft of the gem... rather hard to spot a pattern from one example. But if you claim to be the culprit... then the theft itself isn't the goal. If it were... you wouldn't be hanging around the scene of the crime... much less talking to one of the investigators."

"So that means another motive... I have to assume its a game your playing, or another motive I have yet to grasp. The fact that two people involved with this seem to have turned up feminized is a worrying pattern in itself."

[Narrator on the Rebound]

@ Elliot
As Elliot reaches for the large gemstone, attempting to spare it from the clutches of the enigmatic thief hiding in the darkness, a strange feeling of weakness comes over the androgynous young adult. It is a sensation as cold as the Baltic Sea in winter, as light as a child's laughter, and as terrifying as the hollow stare of the Grim Reaper himself.

"Now, now my starling, that will not do~!" says the chastising whisper.

There is a loud popping sound, the passing aroma of gunpowder (and something else), and then a light, as bright as thousand suns and hotter than the pits of Hell! It consumes the poor child's senses one by one: first his sight, then his touch, before swiftly culminating with his hearing, taste, and smell until everything is incomprehensible and meaningless!

.... ....


What seems like the whole of an eternity passes and Elliot finds himself awakening upon a grassy hill staring at the brilliant blue sky overhead. Something soft lies against his back and upon his chest lies the Sapphire Che-Cherry....

@ Sir Dact
((I live to entertain my friend! *Noms cookie*))

"You're getting close to the mark, my little sugar plum!" teases the voice. "That wasn't so hard now, was it? Indeed, while these jewels I steal will no doubt make me wealthier than a hundred emperors, what I enjoy is the ecstasy of the caper. That rush of adrenaline that courses through my veins as I dodge the law enforcement at every turn, the pure glee of outsmarting the petty traps and obstacles in my path! Oh, but what I enjoy most is the perks that come from my line of work, as I'm sure you are aware of Muffin~! ^^

"Ah, I wish I could tarry here longer my darling but alas, my work calls me off to parts distant! Until we meet later, please accept this parting gift, a token of my undying affection!"

A blue rose cascades from the ceiling, landing gently at the knight's armored feet.

@ Feng
Upon stepping foot upon the stone steps, the criminal finds himself assaulted on all sides by the local police! Seemingly thousands upon thousands of uniformed officers descend upon Bones, pummeling him with their batons....

"Stop right there!" says Officer McGrumpy, strolling up to the battered criminal, giving him a look over.

"Well, well, well" he crows. "It looks like we have us here an infamous celebrity! Returned to the scene of the crime have you, eh? What do they call you again? Lord Scone, I believe."

[Feng]

Bones is pummeled by the police! Oh noes!

"Ack! This is police brutali-Oh! OW! Eek! Oh. Ow! Ouch! Ow."

....

"The name is Lord Bones!" says the Criminal Mastermind, glaring at Office McGrumpy. "And I believe you forgot to read me my rights..."

[Harri-chan]

Elliot's eyes widened as the strength drained from his arms, and then his legs, his stomach churning, and he leaned into the display case, causing his nose to wrinkle from the smell of the mist. He coughed a couple of times, before groaning as that voice spoke again, "Stop talking to me like I'm... ", he started to say, but was cut off by the loud pop and the sudden bright light that enveloped him, while the heat washed over his face and his arms. He lost all bearing on where he was as was deprived on his senses, and it felt like the room spun around him before he collapsed...


At first, it was hard to open his eyes, the grass felt so soft beneath him. He lay there, listening to the sound of his own breathing for a while, before looking up to see the blue sky. Disjointed memories began to flow back into his mind of everything going so very, very wrong. "It was all... a dream?", he murmured to himself, one hand rubbing at his eyes before looking down to see what that small weight on his chest was, only to find the Sapphire Che-Cherry sat there. "Huh... ", came the confused sound, one hand curling around it before he realised the something soft against his back was not the grass. Clutching the precious gem in one hand, he rolled over and turned his head to look back over his shoulder.

[Knight Errant]

Dact listens to the boasts of the mystery thief... frowning slightly at his words. Once he finishes, he reignites the lantern. "Well... that was interesting. It sounds like I'm at the beginning of a wacky and wild adventure that will in the end show the true meaning of some kind of platitude." He reaches down, picking up the blue rose. "He must be confident..."

He looks around the closet to check on the Professor!

[The Narrator]

@ Elliot

Underneath, Elliot finds a checkered picnic blanket with colors of strawberry red and golden yellow. Atop the blanket lies a basket, stuffed no doubt with various scrumptious goodies judging from the delicious flavors wafting through the air! Nearby, the boy will also find a bucket of ice and two wine glasses.

Clearly it is a picnic for two! But for whom?

If the androgynous sleuth were to look around he will find himself atop a grassy hilly in the middle of a park. A handful of trees dot the landscape, and numerous flowers of all shades and hues deck the ground.

Could this be Muffinville Park?

.....No, it cannot be. The air is cool and crisp, the sky vast and blue, too clean to be near such a metropolis. In the distance Elliot can also make out the shape of buildings, gray with age and yet far more vibrant than the skyscrapers of home.

@ Sir Dactylos

As the gentleman adventurer picks up the mysterious thief's token, he finds the rose (quite delicate to the touch) disintegrating into a breeze of blue dust that, by some strange magic, brushes across Dact's face, gently tickling his nostrils and mouth as it enters his naval cavity and down his throat.

As the chevalier surveys the room, he finds no sign of the missing Egyptologist! It's as though she were spirited away by unseen spirits!

To make matters more aggravating for the sleuth, he finds a strange tingly sensation erupting from his scalp and face.

Oh dear! I hope Dact isn't allergic to blue flowers!

@ Lord Bones
"You have the right to shut the hell up, scofflaw! You have to be quite arrogant, or perhaps just stone dumb, to march up to the scene of a major crime, especially with a record as long as yours. Why, I have half a mind t-"

Before Officer McGrumpy can say just what he intends to do with the poor criminal, a police woman comes bursting from the museum doors! Her face is pale as a canvas.

"Sir! Officer Jenny has disappeared!" she exclaims.

"WHAT?!?" shouts the Chief of Police, rushing up the stairs. "What do you mean disappeared! I thought I told you to keep an eye on her until she could be questioned!"

"I-I wa-was but the power, the power in the museum went off and"

"Enough with your excuses!" grumbles McGrumpy. "USELESS! Everyone of you! For Tim's sake..." >.<

The rest of the police hang their heads in shame.


.... The Chief of Police and his lackies appear to be distracted. If Bones wishes to slip on by, now is the time. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

[Knight Errant]

Dact mutters a curse as the flower disintegrates... blinking as the dust moves on an invisible breeze towards his face! "The hells..." he mutters, leaning back and swatting at it to beat the strange blue pollen away... but undeterred it flows around his gauntlet and into his facemask! Instigating a few sneezes and coughs. "Godsdamnit!" He cries... who knows what that stuff would do. His face gets even more annoyed when he sees the Professor has vanished... well there goes all of his leads again.

He settles for getting out of the closet for now... going to push on the sarcophagus lid door...

[Feng]

(I think the narrator wants me to sneak inside...)

Bones, battered but not broken, slinks inside the museum. Ducking into a nearby alcove he quickly decides to don a clever disguise....

....

Moments later a Nun, Sister Bones herself, steps out from under a alcove.

"By Jov-er by Tim! What is going on here?"

[Harri-chan]

Brushing his fingers over the checkered picnic blanket, Elliot was sure he'd never owned such a thing. His gaze drifted across to the basket, though perhaps it was his nose that caused him to do so. After the incident back at the museum, he couldn't remember ever enjoying simple sights, sounds and smells as much as this. Crawling closer to the picnic basket, he notices the ice bucket and pauses, a slight frown spreading across his face. His blonde hair swished about, looking around the hillside, when he realised he was no longer in Muffinville. He squinted towards the very distant buildings, and then hurriedly reached one hand into the pocket of the school uniform style shorts, searching for the letter from the thief, while clutching the one of a kind gem firmly in the other.

[The Narrator]

@ Elliot

The boy finds the note is still in his pocket. Despite being jammed in there for a long period of time, the letter is in surprisingly good shape.

"Ah, you have arrived my love" says a hauntingly familiar voice from behind. "I was worried you would have kept me waiting!"

@ Sir Dactylos

The lid of the gold coffin yields without effort, opening the way back to the Hall of the Egyptians. The air is abuzz with the clamoring of dozens of angry voices, each one of them coming from the main hallway! It seems something terrible has gone on while Dact was trapped with the professor...

What could be going on?

@ Lord Bones
(Maybe ;) )

Fortunately for the eager cross-dresser, Bone's change of wardrobe is not noticed by the police agents, distracted by the abduction of one of their own.

Could the criminal mastermind be off the hook?

"Excuse me," shouts the police lieutenant, an older gentleman with a walrus-like mustache. "I'm sorry Miss but this place is dangerous for a young lady such as yourself. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

[Harri-chan]

Elliot swallowed a deep breath as he unfolded the note and read it again, but before he reached the end, the voice spoke from behind. He felt his chest tighten, and his stomach tingle with butterflies. "I'm not sure who this letter was for... ", he said in a calm voice, knelt upon the blanket, "... but I'm not your little dumpling", he said, his cheeks going red. Holding the Sapphire Che-Cherry up with one hand, he tried to keep his voice from shaking, "I thwarted your plan to steal this... you've been defeated", he continued, and then turned his head, blonde hair swishing about as he glanced behind him towards the source of the voice...

[Feng]

"Oh dear," sobs Sister Bones in a falsetto voice. "I came here, hoping to win the reward for catching the crook in order to assist my ailing orphanage. As it is, the poor dears have been reduced to eating their own shoes!"

(A violin plays in the background, courtesy of a Chibi minion Bones happened to smuggle in)

".... .... See? Just see how emaciated the poor dear is!"

The Chibi gives Bones a look before being elbowed in the stomach.

"Oww...."

"Tsk tsk, its sad really. Won't someone please think of the children?!?"