[Last Time, on El WHAT?!:] * AprilONeal poses next to Captain Magnusson, and the camera has you all in full sight. I'm April O'neal, live on the scene with Captain Magnusson of the Dimensional Police, asking the question everybody has on their minds right now... "Where in the world... is Carmen Sandiego?" [Session Start] * Taro blinks. "Carmen... Sandiego?" Who? Er... um... that is... we're about to start investigating, so if you'd just back off a bit, we can start, okay? Please? * Cara blinks. "Carmen Sandiego? I thought we were wondering where Tokyo Tower is." .... hey. We're on TV. *_* * Taro waves to the camera. * Shiho rolls her eyes at Taro. Isn't it in California? * Taro stops waving. ^_^; What exactly do you intend to do about this theft, Captain? Normally, this theft would be in the jurisdiction of the Global Police, but it's a Dimensional Research facility that's been stolen. The most famous stationary facility in the world, in fact, and second only to the Bermuda Triangle center overall. Er... well, we're forming our own task force right now... yes, that's it. * CaptainMagnusson looks around frantically, and his eyes lock on Shiho. * Shiho blinks. "Huh?" * Taro blinks. o_o * CaptainMagnusson brightens in recognition and he seems to become a great deal more confident. * Daphne looks from the captain to Shiho. "Oh, this cannae end well." Er... These people right here, in fact. They've just arrived, and were about to begin their investigation. Please, miss O'Neal, back off and let them do their job. ... o_o We are? We are? Huh? What're you talking about? * AprilONeal focuses on you guys. ...yes, please give us some room. We have important... How does it feel to be the newest adversaries of the legendary thief, Carmen Sandiego? Do you really think you can catch her, when she's eluded the Global Police for so long? ...police buisness (*shudder*) to attend to. ... Um.... ah... @_@ ...Uhm...yeah that's it. * Daphne shrugs. "Sure, why not?" Yeah! We're very, very busy! ^_^; We'll just have to see. * AprilONeal focuses back on Captain Magnusson. While these people are very photogenic, are you SURE they stand a chance of tracking down Carmen, let alone catching her? Absolutely, I have the utmost confidence in my people. * Daphne mutters under her breath. "Oh, well. That makes me feel loads better." * Taro sweatdrops. Now, if you'll please talk to Captain Bester here, he'll be happy to answer all your questions. I have work to do, as does the squad. * Bester sweatdrops and backs away as April starts to focus on him. * CaptainMagnusson motions for you guys to follow him and he starts to walk toward the spot where Tokyo Tower should be. * Taro follows. * Shiho follows the captain, waiting until the reporter is our of hearing range before asking. "What's going on?" * Ichi walks to the spot. Okay, who is this Carmen Sandiego person? Ah... yes... well, give me just a moment... * Daphne follows, scowling. I suppose I should introduce myself first... * Cara follows the Captain. "Uh...I'm reaaaaally confused her." * CaptainMagnusson stops, does a quick about-face, and focuses on Shiho. I... am Captain Albert Richard Magnusson. * Chamelaeon is now known as ChamOutz I'm pleased to meet you. * Shiho nods. You've just been drafted into the Dimensional Police as a special task force. Eh? @_@ Umm...why? O.O We have? I gathered that. ... @_@ * Cara rubs the back of her neck. "We're just kids, after all. * CaptainMagnusson raises his left hand. The light glints off yet another twin of Shiho's ring. * Taro blinks at the rings. I was told you'd be coming, and asked to provide you any aid I could. * Cara blinks at the ring. "Hey! He's got it too!" What are those rings? ^^; Told by whom? * Cara peers at Magnusson and tries to see his ears. Told by the Wanderer with my name. * Daphne pulls out one of her boozeskins and has a long, long drink. * Cara whispers "He doesn't look like an elf." * CaptainMagnusson laughs, and his belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly. So, what's the story, then? Considering until a few minutes ago, your force was ready to toss us out of this dimension? * Cara watches the jiggling belly. Normally, we would have. Unfortunately, the nearest and most reliable dimensional rift has been stolen. That happen a lot? How do you -steal- Tokyo Tower? Thus far, Carmen Sandiego has left DP territory alone. And we don't _know_ how she did it. Amazing. o.o This is the first time she's ever dared to steal something this important and dangerous. Hang on. What proof is there that this Sandiego lady stole the tower? ^^; You're not from around here, so I'll forgive you that. ...does she always steal stuff this big? I'd still like to know why you're making it our problem. Carmen Sandiego goes where she wants, and steal what she wants. Usually, she gets tired of it and lets it be retrieved. Sounds like a strange lady. ... huh. So she steals for the challenge? I'm making it your problem because if I do, that means I can set you up as a Dimensional Police special task force, which means you'll live well while you're here, and the surest way to aid you in escaping from this world is by retrieving Tokyo Tower as soon as possible. * Taro nods... * Ichi tries to figure out what you do with a stolen building. I guess that's okay... I suppose that is better than the alternative. Uhg. I can't think of another way home so... Oh, c'mon Daphne. It's not like he's making you be a -real- police officer. ^^; * Shiho thinks about that, and chuckles. I guess it's not such a bad deal at all. ... say, how are you going to put the tower back where it belongs? Yeah, but it's still closer to it than I like. Same wae this person stole it, likely. Well, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it. Heh. * Taro nods. ^_^; Erm...why can't you just, like, use satellite images to find where she took it, or something? ^^; We've tried. Carmen Sandiego can't be tracked that way. Hell, not even our transmitters in the Tower itself are going right now. Where can we probably find a clue as to where to begin? ^^; I suggest asking around Tower Square. Someone in the shops might have seen something before closing up for curfew. Don't go anywhere but the square just yet, though. * Taro nods I'm going to set you up with a DP van, badges, and expense account. ... ooh. Expense account. Why is there a curfew? * Daphne grins at that last one. * Cara 's eyes light up. I don't know. We've just always had one. ...huh It's one of those laws that nobody's ever wanted to change. Sounds silly. * Daphne looks astonished at the fact that nobody would want to get rid of a curfew. Doesn't it make things a bit inconvenient? ^^; This is a very odd world. But it doesn't have endless sand or killer cacti or towers that turn you into lizards...so that's okay. ... point * Ichi nods. ... um.. * Taro turns to the others. "Can any of your guys drive?" ^_^; * Cara shakes her head. Nope. No, but I would assume that would be covered. * Taro nods * Shiho looks to the captain for confirmation. I can have it taken care of. Whew When is this curfew, anyway? * Daphne shrugs. Too early. Sunset, local time. * Taro nods. Anything else we should know before we start? Since we're out here after curfew, I assume that the police are exempt? Hrm. You should know... Carmen always leaves a trail. You'll have to find it, and then be able to follow it successfully, but if you do, it will lead you straight to her. * Taro nods. ... what usually happens after that? ^^; And yes, as Dimensional Police, you'll be exempt from curfew. * Daphne glances over to where the Tower was. The best places to look... libraries and bookstores, Carmen's got a real thing for places of knowledge. Banks, too. She does a lot of country hopping, so she needs to change currency frequently. Also, the normal ways of leaving a country. Check the airport and the docks. * Cara grins and puts a hand on Taro's shoulder. "Well, you're the wannabe detective, right? This should be right up your alley!" * Taro nods. Yeah... ^_^; * Taro takes out his notepad again ... hey, Shiho? Is it okay if I start writing stuff down again? ^_^; Only case-related incidents. * Taro nods * Taro writes down the good places to check * Daphne smirks. * Cara looks over the square as well. Are any of thoes places still open? * Taro looks at the square for any of the listed place ideas. What if she uses electronic currency? Electronic currency? And this curfew... Is it world-wide? Er... yes, it is. Bank accounts, credit cards, and the like. Could she be using a false name? And...does anyone know what she looks like? Credit cards? What're those? * Taro blinks Never mind. It's something from where we come from. * Daphne shakes her head sadly. * CaptainMagnusson shakes his head to clear it. "Anyway, you guys look around, pick out any places you want to check back at in the morning." Well, this makes things a bit easier to track, I guess. * Taro nods. Where will we stay for the night? * Daphne shrugs. I'm gonna go take care of your identities. One more question. Um. Captain, sir? Does anyone know what Carmen looks like? When was the Tower likely stolen? @_@ * CaptainMagnusson is barraged from two side by questions. Er... ah... Well... she's got brown hair, we know that. Nobody's ever seen her face, though. She wears a long trenchcoat and a big, floppy hat. And... uh... * Taro marks this down. * CaptainMagnusson starts sweating a little... The tower was stolen just after curfew. Color of trenchcoat and hat? * Taro marks these down Ah... it changes. Usually purple, though, I'm told. * Taro nods * Daphne rubs her forehead. "Great. Say, anyplace around here that I could get some liquor in the mornin'? I get a feelin' I'll be needin' it if this takes long." Er... alcohol? There isn't any in Japan. ^_^; Ooh, purple trenchcoat...I like her style. ^_^ * Shiho blinks. "Really?" No alcohol? Uhoh... * Cara looks nervously at Daphne. * Taro blinks. o.o * Daphne twitches. * Ichi edges away from Daphne. ...so. Tokyo Tower's our ticket off this world, y'say? Yes. Then what the hell are we wastin' time here for? We have a landmark to rescue! * Cara laughs nervously. Right. I'll check out what places to ask in the morning. ^^; * Taro heads towards the square. Are there any places open during the curfew? No, though hotels and other such places generally have people awake for their customers. * Taro nods * Cara nods. So...we can go back to our hotel room and sleep, right? Alright. ...though the manager guy is probably mad that the cops came there for us. * Spaced around the square are several places that might be of interest. There's a bank, two bookstores, and major library. There's also a gym, and a pair of hotels, and a parking garage. Yeah, once I have your identities set up, you'll be able to stay anywhere you want. * Taro nods Hunh. Convenient. How long will that take? Hmm... * Daphne slips on something and falls in a puddle, getting her front nice and wet. * Taro blinks. Daphne, are you alright? ^^; * Taro starts to help her up ...don' ask me how I managed tae do that. * Taro looks at what Daphne slipped on. * Daphne gets up and looks accusingly at the puddle. * Shiho raises an eyebrow. "Did you trip on something?" * Taro sees up close and personal the consequences of a girl getting her shirt wet. ... o.o You allright? * Taro does not comment, no, living is good. c.c * Ichi does, too. Yes, I'm fine. And stop staring, boys. * Daphne notices the remains of a pamphlet where she fell. It might have once been a clue. Now it's soaked and torn and pretty much useless. * Ichi turns red and then around. * Daphne wipes off her front, muttering, then takes a look at the former clue anyway. * CaptainMagnusson waddles off to take care of business. * Taro blinks at the pamphlet. * Cara looks away from Daphne, too. * Shiho shrugs and starts looking around, takning note of the surroundings. * Rocky hops out of Shiho's backpack and starts helping ^^ * Cara wanders over in the direction of where the tower used to be. * Immediately of notice is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any dibris from the stolen tower. * Ichi looks at the bookstores, and other things that have nothing to do with Daphne's wet shirt. * Taro looks for any odd marks. Any scratches or chalk or anything weird and out of place. Or anything that's missing other than the tower that should be there. * Daphne refrains from the obvious joke about clean getaways. * The square is conspicuously clean. ... huh. Not a scrap of trash. What's she use to pick up this thing... * Shiho shrugs. "Could be magic, for all we know." Hey, Daphne? Could I take a look at that pamphlet? ^^; Sure. * Daphne walks over and hands the pamphlet to Taro. She idly looks around for any clues that she hasn't tripped on, after that. * Taro takes it, and looks over it carefully. Any intact vital words, pictures, colors, anything * Cara looks for the places where the tower used to meet the ground. * The pamphlet has been pretty well ruined by the combination of Daphne's ample chest, water, and cement. Taro can make out streaks of red, white, and blue, though. Red, white, blue... * The braces for the tower's feet are in plain sight. * Shiho surveys the perimiter of the square. Weird. * Taro writes this down, then continues looking around. And inspects the braces of the tower's feet. * The bolts that used to hold the tower steady are sheared clean off. * Daphne shakes her head. Well, at least there's SOME sign that it didn't just vanish into thin air. ^^; Heh. ^_^; * Ichi wanders twords the rest of the party near the towers former location. * Shiho finds a short pair of rubber tire marks leading out of the Tower Square toward the Bay. Yeh. Doesn't make it any less crazy. Nope. Maybe flag colors... I mean, what'd she do, put the thing on the back of a really big truck? * Shiho takes note of it and continues. * Taro proceeds to inspect the streets, sidewalks, etc. Or lift it by aircraft. Prolly aircraft. But with these tire tracks, that's pretty doubtful. Tire tracks? * Taro goes to look Ooh, she left tracks? * Daphne looks around to see if any of the streets are actually wide enough to accomodate the Tower. * Shiho shrugs. "Maybe she shrunk it and put it in her pocket." Tracks? Where? * Shiho points. "Back there. And the fact that they are there doesn't mean she was the one who left them." Yeah... * Daphne shrugs. Still, it may be worth noting * Shiho nods. "We'll have to check to bay tomorrow." Yeah. * Daphne nods. Okay. Also, the thing Daphne slipped on before when she fell in the puddle and got her shirt wet and cold an-.... anyway, she slipped on a pamphlet of some kind. ^_^; Makes sence. Gettin' it out by ship I can actually imagine. * Taro holds it up, with the colors there. * Cara peers at it. * Daphne looks at the colors. "Red white and blue, eh? Well, not *too* many countries with those colors." Yeah. I can think of four offhand. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to buy an almanac while I'm at the bookstore asking questions. There should be a listing of flags there. * Cara nods slowly. Sounds good. I could maybe check through the library while you're at it. * Taro nods. Groups of two. * Daphne wrings some water out of the bottom of her shirt. "Or I could get some more clothes. And maybe a towel to just have around." That way one of us might catch something the other missed. Good point. * Taro nods Okay. * Cara looks down at herself. "Clothes could be good... mine are starting to get really worn." ^^; * Shiho looks down at herself, too. "... Yeah." Besides, we need to blend in. True. Yeah... * CaptainMagnusson waddles back up with a bundle in his hands. * Ichi nods. * Taro waves to him. What's that you're holding there? Your identities. * Shiho makes her way overto the captain. * Cara walks over to the captain, too. * Ichi walks over to him. * Daphne remembers something, and pulls her flannel shirt out of her backpack, putting it on. * Taro walks over to the guy * Daphne walks over to the captain. "Our identities, eh?" * CaptainMagnusson hands a badge to each of you. * Cara takes the badge and looks it over. * Ichi looks at his badge. * Daphne takes the badge, and stuffs it in her pocket. * Taro looks at his badge... That'll act as a passport and access to whatever you need access to in order to retrieve the Tower. * Shiho takes hers and gives it a glance. Ah. * It looks just like the badges that the other DP officers are wearing, but it's got the additional words "Special Task Force" on the bottom of the shield. Neat. ... so, what is "Special Task Force" supposed to mean, anyway? ^^; * CaptainMagnusson hands Shiho a small checkbook, too. "Don't spend too much. The resources of the Dimensional Police aren't infinite." * Shiho nods. * Daphne sighs and frowns. Aw. * Ichi tries to figure out what to do with the badge and finaly follows Daphne in pocketing it. * Taro puts the badge in his pocket. When does the curfew end? Sunrise? * Shiho puts the badge in her backpack, because she has no pockets. * Cara puts the badge in her backpack as well. Just before sunrise, actually. About an hour, to give people a chance to get businesses up and running to open at sunrise. Ah. Oh. Okay guys. That should be the time we get up. Hunh. Before then, too. * Taro nods * Daphne shrugs. "Works for me." Okay. If you say so. Hmm... Think we'll get enough sleep tonight to be able to awaken at that time tomorrow? .... Unless you're planning to stay up all night, it shouldn't be a problem. * Taro nods And if you ARE planning to stay up all night, don't. * Daphne shrugs. "Plenty of time." We did it plenty on Athas. Yeah, but didn't we sleep all day? There are a couple of hotels around the square. If you show the attendant your badge, they should let you in. You can stay there. * Sonny|Idle is now known as Sonny|Sleep That works for me, too. That's good. * Shiho nods. Sure. Umm... what happens with the DP Van alloted to us if we have to go overseas? ^_^; We no longer have to worry about setting up watches. Therefore, we can sleep longer. * Cara smiles. "That'll be nice, for once." * Daphne nods. Oooh. A full night of sleep... You can get a new one from the local branch, or from the nearest GP precinct, or you can rent a normal car. I remember when I got thoes... Ah ... well, I suppose we should get to sleep soon. ^^; * Daphne shrugs. "Anythin' else you can think of before we go sleep?" Yes. We should decide who's going where tomorrow. * Taro nods. We've got a bank, 2 bookstores, and a library. Those are definite places to check Sounds fine to me. ^_^ And the bay. Yeah. The docks, too. I suppose I could handle that, if someone wants the others. Possibly the hotels too, but I don't want to waste too much time with those * Shiho shrugs. "I have no real prefrences." And if we find reason to check it, we should go after the gym. And I wouldn't bother with the hotels. Why? Why would we? She prolly wouldn't stay in a hotel. Or use a gym. Yeah. * Shiho nods. Point Right. So, 4 places to check. Five. Oh yeah. ^_^; * Daphne eyes Taro, then shrugs. Hm. And 5 people. Six with Rocky. * Taro nods As I've said, I want groups of two. So one group will have only one place to check. S'fine. * Taro nods * ChamOutz is now known as Chamelaeon I take it you and Rocky will be a group? Alright. I'll just stick with the docks. Who wants to come with? No. So who am I with? Daphne and Rocky will check out the docks. * Daphne raises an eyebrow, then shrugs. Ichi and Taro will look into the library and one bookstore. * Ichi nods. Cara, you and I will check the other bookstore and the bank. * Taro nods Okay. ^_^ Alright. We ready to turn in for the night? * Shiho shrugs. "I'm going to. Alrighty. * Taro stretches I want to buy new clothes first thing tomorrow, too. Yeah, me too. Shopping! Shinies! * Cara grins. * Daphne nods. "New clothes would be good." Heh. ^_^; * Daphne smirks. "And we can get something shiny for 'Coonboy here." * Rocky grins. * Ichi nods. "These need washing...and so do I..." Might I reccomend one of those miniature disco balls? * Bester is now known as NPC3 Let's go get some sleep already. * AprilONeal is now known as NPC2 Yeah. ^^; Sounds good. * CaptainMagnusson is now known as NPC1 * Taro looks at the 2 hotels, trying to decide between the two * Shiho nods and heads for a hotel. A different one from the first, because why crowd into one single room now that they have the badges? So do we go back where we were or get new rooms over there? ::points to one of the two hotels:: * Cara follows Shiho. * Rocky goes with Shiho! * Taro follows Shiho Oh... ::walks:: * Daphne follows, wondering how much she can stretch her current supply of booze. [Session End]