Let's Play: MySims Agents (Wii)

But you have an overall limit of agents you can recruit, right? What happens when you recruit your maximum? Can you 'un-recruit' agents or do you loose the ability to recruit any more completely?

You can have 12 at any one time, but you can fire and hire at will, pretty much, including the option of hiring someone you've fired before. (Of course, in that case, I won't do the thing they say when they're hired again.)

Hmmm...well, I know I'd definitely like to see you recruit Wolfah, though I'm not entirely sure on anything else quite yet. I'll see if I can't get around to getting ideas down before your next blogging post.

ROOK: I headed up to the hangar for my lesson. I looked around, and in the open-air section, I saw light-green smoke drifting. I figured that must be it. I equipped the F-Space Manipulator—

By the way, when one tool replaces another, you equip it the same way.

ROOK: —and walked over to the vent. I activated the vent—

By pressing A.

ROOK: And found that I could place all these items I had been collecting!

(Remember what I explained last time? Well, at the bottom of your screen is a selection of five items from your inventory. You can page through it, the dots showing you which page you're on and how many there are. By default, it's in the Paranormal category. The category you're shown includes any unplaced item that has that interest. To change categories, click the category icon, then the category you want. When you point at an item, it'll tell you its name and show you what kind of gains you get from placing it. New items will be marked with a green circle with a white "!". The bars at the left show how skilled the floor is in each interest. When you pick an object using A, it'll show you how skilled it will be once you place it. Upon placing it, the object will disappear from your inventory. You can decline to place it by pressing B. Also, you can select an object that's been placed, then press B to return it to your inventory. Now, certain floors have areas that, if you place certain objects there (small objects, like the Jack-in-the-Box), they'll be hard to retrieve if you want them later. If this happens, click the suitcase to temporarily collapse your inventory, grab the item, move or remove it, then open the suitcase again. To get out of this mode, press Down on the Control Pad. You'll have to press it again to unequip the Manipulator.)

By the way, that one music player plays "Extreme Sports Jam".

ROOK: Greeeeat, I've been wondering about that all this time. I went to the Lobby.

ROOK: Hey, Jenny, any messages?

JENNY: Oh, yeah! Listen to some of these: "Jenny's fan fiction has become the impossible: better than the source material!" "Jenny's writing material is a must-read for Starcruiser X fans.

ROOK: I meant any messages for me.

JENNY: Oh. Yeah, just one. A Mister "Paul Diyeti" called and told you to find his old college roommate.

ROOK: Paul the yeti? Do you have the full message?

JENNY: Of course. I'm not totally worthless, you know. "Hey, Rook. Sorry I couldn't remember more about my past life, but I thought of someone who would! Back in grad school, I shared a room with a man named Mr. F. Last I heard, he was going to open a lab somewhere in the city."

ROOK: Thanks, Jenny. That's very helpful.

JENNY: "Also, your secretary was very professional, and I would totally give her the rest of the day off to update her blog. Your friend, Pete."

ROOK: It's "Paul." Nice try, though.

ROOK: I turned to Buddy and Evelyn.

ROOK: Hey, guys. If you were going to open a lab in the city, where would you build it?

BUDDY: Question: would a sky fortress still count as being "in the city"?

ROOK: It would not.

BUDDY: In that case, I do not know.

EVELYN: I would build it over in the Industrial District. Getting permission to run experiments anywhere else wouldn't be easy.

ROOK: Good thinking. We should take the train over to the Industrial District and check it out.

Did you write it down because you thought you'd forget to do that in the time it takes to exit and walk the few steps to the platform?

ROOK: Why not? You can forget in that period.

Point.

ROOK: Hello Yuki.

YUKI: Hrm... Yuki wonders why you keep seeking Yuki.

ROOK: Er... what?

YUKI: You seek a face biting?! Yuki shall sharpen her fangs!

ROOK: Ummm... I took the train.

BUDDY: Wow, this train ride is so long! I bet it'll be dark by the time we get there. Good thing I brought this bacon and tomato sandwich!

BUDDY: He started eating it.

ROOK: (thinking) Where did he get that from?

ROOK: At the bottom of the stairs to the train platform, we pondered where to go next.

ROOK: Well, our scientist, Mr. F, must be around here somewhere. How should we start our search, Buddy?

BUDDY: 'Well, usually if we wait long enough, someone just starts screaming. Then we go investigate that.''

ROOK: So we waited.

BUDDY: ...Wait for it...'

??????: Gabby, you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler!!

ROOK: Bingo. Let's go check it out!

ROOK: We headed toward the junkyard where two men were arguing.

ROOK: Alright, guys, what's the problem?

GABBY: Name's Gabby. Someone's been stealin' mah junk.

??????: That's your problem? Stolen junk? Here's a real problem: this crazy ol' coot sold me a broken boat!

GABBY: Boat ain't broke, Barney.

BARNEY: It's missing parts!

GABBY: But the parts you got ain't broke.

BARNEY: It's in the middle of the junkyard and it won't even run. What good is it to me?

GABBY: You could go sit in it and close the door. That'd do me a world of good.

Well, at least he's not selling horseshoes to a man convinced he needs luck to make good pizza.

GABBY: Shh! Anyway, don't mind him. Listen, little things gone missin' from tha junkyard before. No big deal. Yesterday, though, someone swiped a whole engine outta mah car. I was gonna use it for spare parts!

ROOK: I wonder if someone else needed the parts. Could Mr. F be involved?

BARNEY: Gabby, you probably just moved the engine and now you can't remember where.

GABBY: Nope. Gabby's mind is still sharp! Someone was sneakin' 'round here last night, an I'm fixin' ta find out who!

ROOK: I might be able to help with that.

ROOK: Walker called, and said what he did before. I decided to check around the scene. I found oil, and figured it to be from the engine. They lead away from the car with the missing engine. Then I noticed a pair of seedlings. They looked really out of place. I wonder if the one or ones who planted them took the engine. I saw a boat, too. So this is Barney's boat? It isn't sea worthy at all. Unless he wants to sail the open junkyard. I also spotted a chest on deck, so I hopped aboard. Inside were an Athletic Chair—

2 Athletic.

ROOK: —a Charismatic Chair—

Not quite what it's called, but whatever; 2 Charismatic.

ROOK: —a Natural Chair—

2 Nature.

ROOK: —another one—

Same.

ROOK: —a Paranormal Chair—

2 Paranormal.

ROOK: —and another.

Same.

ROOK: I didn't see any seed containers inside, so I checked around outside. Dumpster-diving near the train platform yielded a lion statue—

2 Athletic.

ROOK: —and a sphinx statue.

2 Smarts.

ROOK: I checked a crate by the side of the junkyard and found a vest with tattoos, and an urban halter top. Then, I stumbled upon a couple of girls. The one with the kitty ears seemed to be in charge, while the girl with the eyepatch was doing the gruntwork, in this case, digging.

ROOK: What are you up to here?

????: We're representing Morcu Corp and the Morcu Green Project! Making your world a better place!

ROOK: What are you up to?

??????: Why, enriching the environment with beautiful plants — part of the Morcu Green Initiative!

ROOK: Roger called, and say what he did before. I decided to check the crate to see what was in it. It had plant seeds. Interesting. They girls seem to have planted seeds in there, giving them opportunity.

ROOK: Why were your plants in Gabby's junkyard?

????: Why, for the official Morcu Corp Beautification Project, of course!

ROOK: Well, your footprints go right by Gabby's missing engine, which was stolen last night!

????: We planted those seedlings weeks ago! It takes time for plants to sprout, fool!

ROOK: Ah yes, this is true...you couldn't have planted them last night. Thank you, Esma.

ROOK: I talked to Gabby.

ROOK: I found some footprints in the junkyard.

GABBY: Gabby knew he was hoodwinked! Did you find the engine and the car remote?

ROOK: ''I'm still looking for the engine but...car remote? What car remote?

GABBY: Yup. To open the hood you need the remote, so I reckon the varmint took that too. It's usually in the green cabinet over in Gabby's shack.

ROOK: So that's where I would check. It was locked, but I remembered Walker had told me the Techno-tool could pick locks. I slipped it in. ...Anything to add?

Yes, actually.

(The goal is simple: move the key to the slot. What makes it not so simple is all the tumblers in the way of it, and the tumblers in the way of each other. You have a 6x6 area to work with, not counting the slot. Each tumblers is 1 square thick, and 2 or 3 long. The arrows on each end indicate which direction they may be moved, but the brown ones move up and down only, while the blue ones move left and right only. Oh, and there's a counter, so if you want to try to see how few moves you can pick the lock in. Each grab, move, and release is one move, even if multiple moves could have been done in one, or even if you just moved something back. There's one more element which comes into play in a future puzzle, but that's it. Until it comes up, I'm skipping straight from her saying she's picking the lock to her having done it.)

ROOK: I found the car remote. The hood must've been opened another way. I'll have to test this. I closed the hood, then tried to open it with the Manipulator. No go. A human definitely couldn't do it. I wondered if the local junkyard dog might be able to tell me anything.

ROOK: Grit! You would have seen who was in the junkyard!

GRIT: *Arf arf!*

ROOK: ...Why do you have oil on your teeth?! Did you bite something? (thinking) Did grit have an encounter with something...oily?

ROOK: I realized I had been assuming that the oil was motor oil. But is it? I put in a call.

ROOK: I thought this oil was from the car engine, but it might be something else entirely...'

ROXIE: This oil compound is too advanced for a car. It looks like it came from some sort of...robot?

ROOK: That made sense. I saw that the trail led to the shipping container. I used the manipulator to bring a tire up to the container, and hopped on top. There was a chest there, which I opened for some fun decorative paints. Walker called to ask for my advice; I had him check the pizza this time. The hatch to the container was locked, but it was easily picked.

(Ah, but here's something to make it a little more tricky: there are two immobile bars in here. It wasn't too tricky, though. And that's all the new stuff for lockpicking for the rest of the game.)

ROOK: Though I picked the lock, I'd have to F-space the hatch. So I did. Inside was a few boxes, the engine(!) and a robot.

ROOK: Hey! Who are you? And why are you in here?

TOBOR: You ask a lot of questions, huh? I'm Tobor. I jumped in here after sustaining some dog-related damage.

ROOK: I see, so those were your footprints in the junkyard before you hopped in here. You stole the engine?

TOBOR: Yes, under the orders of my master. His name is *WHHRR ERROR*

ROOK: Looks like you need some repairs before I can interrogate you.

Yeah, or he's a blacksmith from Ruto Town.

ROOK: I left the container and snagged spare parts from various places: the gas pump, another car, yet another car, something I couldn't identify, a gate, a sentry, some other thing, yet another thing, a bulldozer—

WALKER: Well, the bad news is that we may have blown our cover in order to investigate the pizza. The good news: pepperoni!

Well, to each his own.

ROOK: —and yet another thing. Whatever it was, it was time to repair Tobor.

ROOK: You're all fixed, so who is your master?

TOBOR: My master is Dr. F, who owns the lab on top of the hill.

ROOK: I'll need to go talk with this Dr. F, I've been looking for him.

TOBOR: You'll have to enter the passcode. It's 01000110.

Oh come on, he could've at least used EBCDIC!

ROOK: Yeah, well...

ROOK: I left the container and went to tell Gabby the news.

ROOK: I know who stole your engine!

GABBY: You did? Who?

ROOK: Uh, no, I didn't steal it.

I get the impression that his line was written for "found out" or "figured out" instead of "know".

ROOK: Um... yeah, whatever.

ROOK: The scientist on the hill, Dr. F, ordered a robot to steal it. Right now it's sitting in that cargo container.

GABBY: Oh. Well, thanks. Ol' Gabby'll have to get around ta movin' it...sometime...

ROOK: And my next stop was the lab. I hadn't changed my outfit since the mountains, so I was dressed a little too warmly.

Also, you have new dispatch missions to check up on.

ROOK: I decided not to wear shades or glasses, and also changed to a sleeveless purple shirt with yellow-outlined orange moon and a few yellow stars, with green, brown, and yellow pants with brown shoes. Also a black armband.

• Ol' Gabby's Mine

GABBY: Just got me the deed to a silver mine outside of town. Feller named Skullfinder sold it to me. Said it had all manner of riches hidden away in thar. I need a strong team ta head into the mine and see if ol' Gabby made himself a wise investment!

2 stars. 15 minutes. Smarts/Nature. New objects.

If so, it was by accident.

• Cocoa Science

DR. F: My latest invention requires a thermonuclear-powered beverage frother. GO FORTH, EMISSARIES OF HOT CHOCOLATE SCIENCE!

2 stars. 15 minutes. Charismatic/Smarts. New objects and a new dispatch mission.

• The Longest Voyage

BARNEY: An old map I found in my attic has led me to undertake a magnificent voyage of discovery. Entirely new lands and creatures may be discovered. Perhaps I'll find a land where pizza bagels are served upside-down. There's just one problem — I need a crew!

2 stars. 30 minutes. Nature/Athletic. New object.

I decided to wait around a bit. After all, the dispatch mission would be over soon.

ROOK: Hello Roxie.

ROXIE: The INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT!? Dirt?! Dust?! Sub-atomic dust mites?! ARGH! I'm feeling very light-headed Rook...

ROOK: Buddy, how's the comic book coming along?

BUDDY: Great pal! It's full of mystery, intrigue, plot twists, damsels in distress, corrupt city officials and dinosaurs!

ROOK: Dinosaurs?

BUDDY: Sure pal, how else was I going to explain the prehistoric footprints found on the mountain slope?

ROOK: I wondered if I should remind him of the yeti we met...

TRAVIS: We have to wait out here all day? Good thing I just downloaded a few new games on my phone!

ROOK: I decided to check up on Leaf.

ROOK: Hey, Leaf.

LEAF: I hear there's a cool club in the Industrial District. It's not really my style, but it sure is loud!

ROOK: Back in the Lobby, the text finally came in. Unfortunately, we messed up again. Fortunately, we have a bunch of objects to boost their skills!

(So what do we want to do?)

• Missions
  • Yeti Begins
  • Ol' Gabby's Mine (NEW!)
  • Legendary Cheese
  • Cocoa Science! (NEW!)
  • Pig, Camera, Action!
  • Snack Thief
  • Episode X
  • The Longest Voyage (NEW!)
  • Tainted Broth
  • Morcu Corp Stakeout
  • The Sadness Parade (ON HOLD)

Aside from the aforementioned "Yeti Begins" and the already-marked "The Sadness Parade", the only one of these I can see wanting held back on is "Cocoa Science!", as we will get to recruit one of Dr. F's creations...

• Recruits and Recruitables
  • Beebee
  • Elmira
  • Leaf
  • Nova
  • Pinky
  • Preston
  • Roger
  • Agent Rosalyn
  • Travis
  • Agent Vic
  • Wolfah

Next time: Blinded With Mad Science!

edited 7th Feb '10 8:18:45 PM by Nyperold

This would be so much easier to decide on if the stats and mission needs were listed too...

Hmm, I'll have to see if I can get around to picking out some options. Before you get to your next play through this time.

I suppose I can see what I can do. :D But now that I can augment their skills with objects, it's not as much of a big deal, especially with the lowest difficulty missions. But next post I make will be those stats and stuff.

As for the time limit... I'm doing another chapter of Yotsuba&!, then another era of Civilization Revolution, then an episode each of Ichigo Mashimaro and Lucky Star, and then it'll be this game's turn. I might give a few days more if I find no feedback at that point, but after that, I'm going to go ahead.

Reposting lists with stats and requirements:

• Missions
  • Cocoa Science!: **; C/S; Objects, Mission (NEW!)
  • Episode X: **; S/P; Object, Trophy
  • Legendary Cheese: *; A/N; Outfits, Trophy
  • The Longest Voyage: **; N/A; Object (NEW!)
  • Morcu Corp Stakeout: *; S/A; Mission
  • Ol' Gabby's Mine: **; S/N, Objects (NEW!)
  • Pig, Camera, Action!: *; N/C; Outfits, Recruit
  • The Sadness Parade: **; C/P; Outfits (ON HOLD)
  • Snack Thief: ***; S/C; Outfits, Object, Trophy
  • Tainted Broth: ***; P/N; Object, Paint, Recruit
  • Yeti Begins: **; P/N; Objects, Paint

• Recruits and Recruitables
  • Beebee: N,A,3C
  • Elmira: P,N,3S
  • Leaf: 3N,2C
  • Nova: 2P,N,2S
  • Pinky: P,4C
  • Preston: A,3C,S
  • Roger: 5A
  • Agent Rosalyn: 2P,3S
  • Travis: 3C,2S
  • Agent Vic: 3P,C,S
  • Wolfah: 3N,2A

The Longest Voyage: Wolfah, Leaf, Beebee

Morcu Corp Stakeout: Roger, Agent Rosalyn, Elmira

Cocoa Science!: Pinky, Travis, Preston

Three missions with three agents a piece was your max, right?

Four missions is the max, actually. :)

Well, the rest of the agents/missions don't seem to match up all that well anyway, so I'll just leave it at those three.

ROOK: So my sources gave me my next mission lineup. I first moved Travis to the Basement. Then I hired some new recruits. First, rounding out the top floor, Agent Rosalyn.

AGENT ROSALYN: I know we haven't seen eye-to-eye in the past, Special Agent Rook, but I'm ready for anything you throw my way!

ROOK: Then, joining Leaf on the second floor was Beebee...

BEEBEE: I'm ready to go to work, as long as, you know, there isn't a lot of hard work involved!

ROOK: ...and Wolfah.

WOLFAH: ...Bark!

ROOK: And for the other two in the basement squad, Pinky...

PINKY: Pinky, reporting for duty! Please assign me to a blue floor.

ROOK: ...and Preston.

PRESTON: This is the place, huh? Where you stop people from building factories? Nice.

ROOK: Then I went to each floor to boost their skills, then sent them on their assignments: the Basement squad to help Dr. F, the Loft squad to help Barney, and the Hangar squad to try again at helping Agent Walker. Then to Dr. F's lab in the Industrial District. I wondered if we would see our recruits while there. I entered the pASCIIode Tobor gave me, and opened the door. A woman with purple hair was the first to notice us.

?????: Hm. Looks like we have guests.

ROOK: The white-haired man came over.

??. ?: You there. Are you delivering more squirrels?

ROOK: ...No.

??. ?: Then you are welcome here! How can we help you fine humans?

ROOK: Um...are you Mr. F?

Does he look like he has funny feet?

ROOK: *blink*

Just asking.

ROOK: I can't tell. They're not humorously sized, if his shoes are anything to go by.

DR. F: Mr. F is my father's name. I am the incomparable Dr. F!

BUDDY: Can I assume that you're not a medical doctor...?

DR. F: You can!

?????: He holds Ph.D.'s in robotology and robotonomy.

ROOK: Then he started checking out Buddy's head.

DR. F: You there! You have a magnificent skull. I must study you.

ROOK: Actually we just have a few questions.

DR. F: Give me your skull!!!

?????: Maybe when he's done with it, Dr. F. We're on a pretty tight schedule here, guys, so what's your question?

ROOK: We were sent here by your old roommate, Paul.

Hmm. I guess he would've been just a "Mr." before he got his first doctorate...

DR. F: Paul was a wonderful man and a dear friend! Whatever happened to him?

BUDDY: He turned into a yeti.

DR. F: Good for him!!!

ROOK: We suspect that Morcubus is trying to reproduce some of Paul's research. Paul thought you might be able to help us stop him.

DR. F: ...What research?

ROOK: Something called the Crown of Nightmares.

ROOK: He ran over and called up to his assistant.

DR. F: Alexa! Cancel all of my experiments immediately!

ROOK: Um... can you leave the cocoa one in progress?

DR. F: It can't begin until your agents get here.

ALEXA: What?! But our schedule—

DR. F: Crackers to your schedule! This is science of the most serious kind!

ROOK: He came back to us.

DR. F: Paul told me about that research. It inspired my own pursuit of the mad sciences!

ROOK: Do you know much about the Nightmare Crown?

DR. F: Only that Morcubus shouldn't have it. But if he's trying to create his own, he would have to fabricate both parts.

ROOK: There's two parts to the crown?

DR. F: Indeed! The crown itself is very important, but it is powered by an extremely rare crystal!

ROOK: Alexa came over.

ALEXA: If Morcubus wants to manufacture something like that, he'll need a ton of raw resources.

DR. F: That assistant is correct! Running a project like that would have to leave clues. Search the area and let me know if you see anything that ties Morcubus to heavy machinery or natural resources.

ROOK: I'd like to tie him to heavy machinery...

ALEXA: If you can find clues about Morcubus' activities, we might be able to tell you what he's really up to.

ROOK: We'll look for more cases in the Industrial District and get back to you.

ROOK: We started for the door, but...

DR. F: Wait! It's dangerous to go alone. Take this.

It's a secret to everyone! Buy something will ya! Dodongo Dislikes Smoke!

ROOK: ...*grumble grumble*...

ROOK: What's this?

DR. F: It's your old magnifying glass mixed with the awesome flavor of technology. I call it the Detector because of all the things it can detect.

ROOK: Make sense. Thanks!

DR. F: Go forth now! For Science!!!!

ROOK: We left the lab. I remembered seeing Brandi and Esma supposedly planting seeds over by the corner of the junkyard, so I decided to start there.

ROOK: How are you?

BRANDI: We are having some plant issues...do you think you could help?

ROOK: (thinking) Hmm...I should check this out. (speaking) Okay, I'll bite. What's up, Brandi?

ROOK: While we talked, Esma took up the slack.

BRANDI: Thank goodness you're here, Agent Rook!

ROOK: You're happy to see me?

BRANDI: Everyone's happy thanks to the City Beautification Project from Morcu Corp. We're planting trees because of how much We Care.

ROOK: Highly dubious. And what seems to be the "problem"?

BRANDI: DJ Candy over there is trying to stop us from spreading beautiful nature all over the city.

ROOK: Okay. I'm going to go ahead and be really skeptical about this whole operation.

BRANDI: Boss!

ROOK: Esma, the less pleasant of the pair, came over.

ESMA: What is it, peasant?

ROOK: Brandi claims you're having a problem with DJ Candy.

ESMA: Problem?! Bah! I do not have problems!

I doubt that's the case, but whatever.

ESMA: I am Esma, Colonel of Operations for Morcu Corp. I am Morcubus' right hand! All are beneath me! (laugh)

BRANDI: Except for Morcubus.

ESMA: ...Except for Morcubus. But yes, we are having a small problem. That DJ girl is foiling our attempts to plants trees. She should be destroyed!

BRANDI: *ahem* Of course Morcu Corp would never condone murder... ...but it is sad that DJ Candy hates nature. What did those poor trees ever do to her?

ESMA: I command you to save those trees!

ROOK: What do you think Candy is doing to your trees exactly?

ESMA: She has giant sonic amplifiers on the roof of her club. Their vibrations are stunting the growth of our trees and killing them.

BRANDI: She hates nature! It's so sad!

ESMA: ''We cannot plant trees as long as that DJ girl insists on using those sonic amplifiers.'

ROOK: Okay...you think DJ Candy's towers are killing trees. Got it. I'll find out what's really going on.

ESMA AND BRANDI: MorcuCorp Cares!!

ROOK: I figured looking at the plants would be informative, but first, I decided to see Candy — and the club — for myself. There were three girls and a boy. The boy and one of the girls were on the dance floor, another girl was walking around listening to the speakers in an unusual manner, and the other, whom I decided must be Candy, was deejaying. I found the music rather enjoyable, and asked Candy what she thought, which was probably dumb in retrospect:

ROOK: Enjoying the music here?

DJ CANDY: Oh yeah! I was born to DJ!

Why dumb?

ROOK: She's the DJ. If there something she wouldn't enjoy, I suspect she would refuse to play it. I also talked to a girl who looked like she was wearing a school uniform.

ROOK: How's it going?

??????: My friends, the wave compression units, tell me something is wrong.

ROOK: Ummm... OK. Thanks.

BARNEY: A fine looking crew you've sent me, Rook. These sailors will do nicely. Prepare yourselves — we leave at dawn!

ROOK: Then to the boy...

ROOK: Everything OK?

????: Yeah! Well, I guess. Candy seems distracted, somehow. I wonder what's wrong...

ROOK: ...and the remaining girl.

ROOK: Everything OK?

????????: Yeah, yeah! Totally, totally! I mean, wait, why? Shouldn't everything be OK?

ROOK: I decided to go back and check out the plants.

Just as well; there was no way for you to ask her about the amplifiers, or nature, or whatever. Just that one question.

DR. F: Your trained monkeys are most impressive! I think we may have the makings of another mad scientist in our midst.

ROOK: Walker also texted. When he finished, I called up Roxie to analyze those plants.

ROXIE: Analysis shows that the plants are dying. Something in the environment is causing their cells to break down.

ROOK: It seemed like they were harming the plants, after all... but I'd have to test it. My analyzer would be the best bet for the job, but it didn't have anything for sound. I'd have to return to the lab.

ROOK: I need to modify my analyzer.

DR. F: Your analyzer?

ROOK: Yes, right now it only analyzes chemical compounds. I need to track the frequencies of the radio towers.

DR. F: I see, I see...you can modify it using my equipment upstairs. It probably won't be destroyed! Go ahead!

ROOK: I did so, and returned to the club. I figured that would be my best route to the roofs, and I was right. A ladder led to some platforms that I would have to balance to. One platform that I had to jump to had a chest on it. Inside was some Smarts-boosting music, and paints!

TRAVIS: I think my phone's got beverage frothing capability. Let me check...

ROOK: Elmira texted, too. I went down to the lower roof and used the manipulator to move a crate down with some other crates, building a staircase. Now I can get up here whenever I want! I analyzed the first tower. 33,800 F Hz. No idea whether that's normal or not. I'll have to compare it to the others. Back up the ladder and onto the upper roof. The second tower read 130 F Hz. If this is more like normal, that first one looks like the culprit. Onto a lower roof with electrical stuff on it. I opened a crate with a dance floor and an Extreme-O-Tron in it!

2 Charismatic and 4 Athletic, respectively.

ROOK: Farther along, I found a tower reading 175 F Hz. It's looking more and more like that first tower is it.

BEEBEE: I've always been after Prezzy to take me on a tropical cruise. I never thought I'd have to work on it, though!

ROOK: Too bad for her that her Prezzy is on another squad. At the billboard, I found more forensics games. Beyond it, the last tower. It read at 230 F Hz. Higher than the second and third, for sure, but the first is definitely the odd one. All that energy must be coming from somewhere else. Time to track this. I went back and broke out my new Detector.

DR. F: Your monkeys seem to be building... something. Yet I see no evidence of nuclear frothing technology. WHERE IS THE SCIENCE??''

ROOK: Walker texted again. I tracked the energy signature almost all the way back around, then balanced my way across a cable to a building. I eventually found... what was it? It was some sort of equipment, that was clear, and without a doubt it was what was killing the plants, so I'd have to find out more about it. The most likely person to tell me was, of course, Dr. F, so back to the lab I went.

ROOK: Do you know anything about plant-killing power sources?

DR. F: Hahahaha! Interesting you should ask! I've been working on such an invention!

ROOK: Naturally.

DR. F: It's outside on the platform above my roof! I call it the Foliage Fusion Drive!

ROOK: Uh, thanks...

ROOK: I decided I'd take a look. Maybe it looks like the thing I found. I left the lab and hopped up on the platforms, crossed the roof, and down to some lower platforms.

PINKY: Hot chocolate's not really my fav. It's so hard to get it to come out blue enough, you know?

ROOK: Roger texted, as well. Well. I didn't see anything that looked like the F.F.D., or any other devices, for that matter! I'd have to tell Dr. F that it's not there. But while I was up there, I dropped onto... something... with a chest on it. Inside was a brainfish...

3 Paranormal, 1 Smarts.

ROOK: ...and paints.

ROOK: Your F.F.D. is missing...'

DR. F: What?! That must have weighed at least 18675.98 kilograms! It could only have been moved by my super-powerful human-likeness robot, Unit 5668 X SIGMA!

ROOK: Unit 5...6... what?

DR. F: It will be difficult to locate, because it looks just like a normal person. Its only weakness is conversation.

ROOK: So I was looking, or rather listening, for a robot who looked human. I thought I knew who, but I decided to save that particular Sim for last. I checked around the Lab...

—-

ROOK: Dr. F, you're not a robot, are you?

DR. F: Hah hah! I can only aspire to the perfection of being a silicon-based lifeform! Either that or a giant squid with laser eyes! Yes!

—-

ROOK: Hello. Are you a robot?

ALEXA: How dare you! Do I look like a robot?

ROOK: But...but...Dr. F said that it looks like a normal...nevermind...

—-

ROOK: Say, Tobor, are you secretly a robot?

TOBOR: Why yes, human. In fact I'm a robot dressed up like a fleshie dressed up like a robot! How did you guess? Of course I'm not secretly a robot. I'm just a robot! Not much of a secret, is it?

ROOK: ... Um... no?

—-

ROOK: In the junkyard...

—-

ROOK: Barney, are you a robot?

BARNEY: Hah hah! If I were a robot, I'd have rusted solid from all my years spent at sea. No sir!

ROOK: Hmmm... Good point!

—-

ROOK: Say, Gabby, you seem to like machinery. You wouldn't happen to be a robot, would you?

GABBY: Robbit? Are you callin' Gabby one of them newfangled automagic vacuum whatchamacallits?

ROOK: No! Um... nosiree?

GABBY: Uh-huh. Gabby didn't think so.

—-

ROOK: Hey, Grit! You're not a—

GRIT: ''*Woof*!

ROOK: Nah... nevermind.

—-

ROOK: My best friend...

—-

ROOK: Say, Buddy, how do I know you're not a synthetic humanoid robot?

BUDDY: How do I know I'm not a synthetic humanoid robot? Maybe I really am! That would explain why I've always wanted to shoot lasers out of my eyes! Pew pew!

ROOK: Can't argue with that!

ROOK: Now I'm disturbed on several levels.

—-

ROOK: The Morcu Corp girls...

—-

ROOK: Hey Esma. You talk a little weird. You wouldn't happen to be a robot, would you?

ESMA: Peasant! Are you calling me, Esma, the master of all things, a robot? Robots serve, I command!!

ROOK: Forget I asked.

—-

ROOK: What's up, Robot Brandi?

BRANDI: What!? You tell me one time — one time — you've ever seen a robot wear an eyepatch.

ROOK: Well... huh. Good point.

—-

ROOK: The club...

—-

ROOK: Hey, Sapphire. Seen any robots around?

SAPPHIRE: ''Zack can do The Robot pretty well... is that what you mean?

—-

ROOK: Hey, Zack. Are you a robot?

ZACK: Yup. About the best one you've ever seen — check it out!!

ROOK: He started doing The Robot.

ROOK: Hmmm... yeah, Sapphire told me about that. Not what I meant, though. But OK, never mind.

—-

ROOK: Hey, DJ Candy! You're not a robot, right?

DJ CANDY: Hmm... that would explain my impeccable timing, perfect pitch, and sheer awesomeness. But nope, sorry!

—-

ROOK: One final Sim to check... but first...

DR. F: I smell something chocolatey coming from your monkeys' setup. I trust that science is occurring...? I shall attach my tasting device immediately!

ROOK: Walker texted again. After that, I talked to the Asian-looking girl.

—-

ROOK: Hello! How are you, robot?

??????: My processes are running smoothly. And you?

ROOK: She didn't deny being a robot. Fascinating. But I'd have to be sure by getting her to clearly admit it.

ROOK: What do you like to do?

??????: I enjoy participating in many activities. Please use more specific search terms.

ROOK: Do you like to go shopping?

??????: "Shopping"? Please upload information concerning "shopping".

ROOK: Shopping is where you go to a mall, but you don't actually buy anything.

ROOK: A simplified and not-necessarily-accurate explanation, but in our context, it would have to do. Maybe I'd "patch" the definition later.

??????: Query: What is the exit condition for shopping?

ROOK: Well, you just look at things and talk to your friends until you're...done.

??????: Analysis shows that shopping may result in an infinite loop. Request denied.

ROOK: I'd also have to patch my exit condition explanation.

ROOK: Do you like to play with dolls?

??????: Playing with physical dolls is unnecessary. I have the ability to manipulate doll simulations within my processing unit.

ROOK: But, don't you want to make stories with the dolls? Have them sit in chairs? Date boys?

??????: I can easily calculate the inevitable fate of each doll based on their attributes.

ROOK: I see...so much for drama... so do you like slumber parties?

??????: Slumber party? My memory banks show the need to 'gossip' about partitioned data. Is this accurate?

ROOK: Um...yes. Usually at slumber parties you gossip and share secrets.

??????: Then I will share my secret. I am...a robot.

ROOK: Thought so. Better make like I didn't know, though.

ROOK: Ooh! That's a good one! Were you the one who hooked the F.F.D. up to Candy's radio towers?

I wish someone would say her name, already. I'm getting tired of having to type:

??????: Affirmative, that was a task that was given to me.

ROOK: Can you tell me why you moved the F.F.D.?

??????: Negative. Those memory files have been sealed by friendship patch version 8.443.99B.

ROOK: I see. So someone has told you not to share information.

??????: I cannot access the files directly. But you may try to bypass the patch if you like.

ROOK: So I hacked her. Big surprise, it was Brandi and Esma who hacked Makoto. Hear that, narrator? MAKOTO.

Thanks.

ROOK: No prob. I went back to them.

ROOK: I believe you framed Candy and her towers.

ESMA: That is secret!

ROOK: Not for long! I only need evidence that you had an interest in the towers.

ESMA: Well you'll never find that!

ROOK: I think that you were framing Candy and her towers.

BRANDI: You have no proof of this! Or...I mean...why would you think that?

ROOK: I learned from Makoto that it was you who asked her to place the F.F.D. on the roof. I just don't know why...yet.

BRANDI: Well, you'll never find any evidence. We have nothing to hide.

ROOK: I went to the other side of the truck and picked the lock. Inside was a memo from Morcu Corp: We need you to secure a sonic resonance system. See if you can locate one in the industrial district. Bingo! I went to the club.

ROOK: Why would someone want to use your broadcast system?

DJ CANDY: It's major powerful! You can transmit anything, anywhere!

ROOK: How powerful are we talking?

DJ CANDY: Well, you could receive signals 2,000 light years away, enrich dangerous materials...

ROOK: What? Tell me more about that.

DJ CANDY: Yeah, totally. You could use the frequencies from my sound system to charge something with powerful energy.

ROOK: It was time to confront those two.

ROOK: I've solved your "case"...

BRANDI: That's wonderful! Do tell!

ESMA: So, who's killing all the plants, agent?

ROOK: Why bother asking me? You'rethe ones killing the plants.

BRANDI: No way. Buzz off, man! It's DJ Candy. You should have her shut down and vacate.

ROOK: Yes, that's what you wanted me to think, wasn't it? You knew I'd track the plants' damage back to Candy's tower. But you didn't expect me to figure out that you conned the robot Makoto into stealing Dr. F's 'Foliage Fusion Drive, and then had her use Candy's towers to supercharge its power to destroy plants!''

BRANDI: What?! Makoto's a robot?! Did you know that?

ESMA: No clue, dude.

ROOK: So? Explain yourself! Why did you try to frame Candy? Why did you want her to be driven out of town?

BRANDI: So we could claim her sonic amplification towers for Morcu...

ROOK: At this point, Esma smacked Brandi.

ESMA: Silence, subordinate! Do you wanna have to wear another eyepatch?

BRANDI: I'm sorry, Miss Esma!!

ROOK: I see. Well, suffice to say, we're done here.

BRANDI: Well, that failed.

ESMA: I blame you.

You got robotic outfits!

And there's a new mission: "Roadie Despair"!

ROOK: I'll check it out when the other missions come back in. I went to the club. I remembered Zack saying something about DJ Candy looking distracted. If it was something I could help with, I'd be willing to check it out, and maybe it'd lead to Morcu Corp...

BARNEY: Day 26: We've weathered the worst of the storm, but food supplies are low. Fortunately, one of the crew was able to charm a passing school of tuna into serving a three-course meal!

ROOK: My guess: Beebee. Anyway...

ROOK: What's up, DJ Candy?

DJ CANDY: We're busy trying to get ready for our concert tonight, but I keep hearing these strange beats...

ROOK: I'll help you out! I can help you get to the bottom of this!

DJ CANDY: Welcome to Club Candy, the hottest spot in the city. I've got a lot of people relying on me to bring the party night after night. Usually I can deliver, but lately I've had problems. Something funny is going on around here, and it's seriously throwing off my groove. It's starting to ruin my shows.

SAPPHIRE: Omigosh, Candy, no way because your shows are the absolute best that anyone has ever heard! Your music just moves something in people and omigosh I love to dance!

DJ CANDY: Thanks, Sapphire, but something is throwing me off. It's a subtle noise... It's like a...a vibration!

ROOK: You can hear vibrations?

DJ CANDY: All sounds are vibrations, Rook, but I don't hear these—I kind of feel them.

SAPPHIRE: DJ Candy can hear all kinds of things that no one else can hear. It's totally a fact about her.

DJ CANDY: I do have pretty good ears. For example, Zack just licked his lips back there.

ZACK: It's true. I totally did.

DJ CANDY: You have to find the source of these strange beats before I lose my groove completely. If my shows aren't kicking at 150%, I have to refund everyone's money!

ROOK: Weird sounds... Alright, I'll check into it!

ROOK: I decided to ask around.

ROOK: Any idea where I could search for sounds?

MAKOTO: You could look outside the club, or take the ladder up to the roof. Those are optimized locations.

ROOK: Do you know anyway we could locate the sound?

SAPPHIRE: Nope! No ideas! But what about that wacky scientist? He seems like an idea guy!

ROOK: Do you know any way we can locate the strange sound?

ZACK: Hmm. Well, we can't really tell where it's coming from. Do you have any kind of agent device or something for monitoring sounds?

ROOK: No, not yet... hmm...

ROOK: I decided to try Makoto's idea first.

PRESTON: You know, I had a nuclear-powered espresso machine back it home. Daddy had it shipped in from somewhere secret.

WALKER: Well, the bad news is that we may have blown our cover in order to investigate the pizza delivery guy. The good news: we know the warehouse likes pepperoni!

ROOK: Once up on the roof, I found... Grit? How...? Either way...

ROOK: What are you doing here, Grit?

GRIT: *Grrrr*

ROOK: He was chewing loudly on metal cables. Maybe that was the source. To find out, I'd have to distract him somehow.

ROOK: Why is Grit up on the roof chewing metal cables?

GABBY: Oh shoot. Not again. He just gits a bee in his bonnet now an' then. One day that dog's gonna be the death of Ol' Gabby.

ROOK: Uh...right. Do you know where I can get something else Grit can chew on?

GABBY: He's gnawed on mos' everything in the junkyard. He'll want something new an' shiny, I reckon.

ROOK: I tried the lab.

ROOK: Do you mind if I borrow one of your parts?

TOBOR: What? No! Absolutely not! I need all my parts! Can you spare any of yours, fleshie?

ROOK: I decided to go for it anyway. While his back was turned, I drew my Techno-tool... and snagged it!

...

ROOK: ...What?

... Nothing.

ROOK: You think that was the wrong thing to do?

...Uhh... maybe? Well, let's see what happens...

ROOK: Well, okay. I took the part to Grit.

ROOK: Chew on this!

ROOK: It's true, Grit does like chewing on shiny metal objects.

ROOK: There! That's better. Now you're not making such a racket.

ROOK: I'd have to ask Candy if that helped. If not, well, back to the Doc.

ROOK: It turns out there was a dog on your roof.

DJ CANDY: A dog?!

ROOK: Yes. But I've taken care of him, so...

DJ CANDY: WHAT?!? But I didn't hear...

ROOK: Oh, no, not like that! I just gave him something quieter to chew on.

DJ CANDY: Oh, phew. I can still hear the beats, though.

ROOK: I see...well, I guess your hearing is better than mine. I'll keep looking for other sources.

And now Tobor is out one of his parts. Satisfied?

ROOK: Well... oh look, a text!

DR. F: INCREDIBLE! I've never had something this rich, this smooth, this foamy. OUR MARTIAN MASTERS WILL REWARD YOU!

AGENT ROSALYN: Stakeouts are so boring. If we really want to know what they're up to, we should just go through all their paperwork, line by line. Now that would be a blast!

ROOK: While I was there, I thought I should at least talk to Tobor.

Good girl.

ROOK: Thanks for the parts!

TOBOR: HOW DARE YOU?!!

ROOK: I'm sorry! It was for an important case!

TOBOR: Alright, fine...I guess I can just build myself another one anyway... it will only take about 57 years.

ROOK: *sigh*

ROOK: Do you know how I could locate a sound?

DR. F: I would recommend blowing everything up and seeing what is still making the sound!

ROOK: Uh, I don't think that will work. Other ideas?

DR. F: Nope! That is the best solution! But you could also talk to Alexa. She's been doing some crazy research.

Sound advice.

ROOK: ARGH.

ROOK: I need a way to detect strange noises.

ALEXA: Locating a noise source? You can put down these sensors to calculate the origin of the sound. They need to be on top of trash cans. My research has found that trash cans amplify sonic waves.

ROOK: OK, great! ...But why do these sensors look like little sandwiches?

ALEXA: So people won't mess with them. Would you touch a sandwich sitting on a trash can?!

Hey, she dumpster dives. She's not the best person to ask that.

ROOK: QUIET, YOU! I left and started locating trash cans to put sensors on.

LEAF: Captain says acoustic instruments only! Who put him in charge, anyway?

ROOK: I placed all the sensors. I headed back to the lab, but on the way...

WALKER: Agent Rook, it was a true triumph of detective work. The team worked beautifully together. Unfortunately, the warehouse is completely clean. However, the receipts we obtained from the pizza delivery guy have led us to another location with a suspicious pattern of deliveries. Who orders plutonium on a pizza anyway?

ROOK: Two successes down, one to go. I continued to the lab.

ROOK: I've placed the sensors. Now what?

ALEXA: Now we need a test subject to listen to these sonic beats!

ROOK: Listen to the beats? Can I do it?

ALEXA: We need someone fluent in the language of music. Sensors are powerful, but we still need someone to tell complex sounds apart.

ROOK: ...I saw Barney in the junkyard! I thought he was on a long voyage with my recruits...? There's something strange about all this... anyway, I headed back to the club.

ROOK: Can you listen to something for a minute?

SAPPHIRE: I have to stay warmed up for the party tonight! No one likes to dance on an empty dancefloor!

ROOK: Enjoying the music?

MAKOTO: I do enjoy conversing with these compression wave devices. They have very rhythmic speech patterns.

ROOK: I would've thought that would make her suitable, but I guess that question wasn't available, or something. Well, since Candy was the one noticing it...

ROOK: Can you listen to something?

DJ CANDY: Sorry, I'm super busy. I gotta lay out my tracks for tonight, whether these sounds are still happening or not.

ROOK: I see...I may have found a lead on those strange noises. But we need someone to listen to the sensors.

DJ CANDY: Well, Zack is also talented at listening to music. You could ask him!

ROOK: Do you have a moment to listen to something?

ZACK: Eh, I'm really busy...

ROOK: Alexa and I need someone to listen to the sensors we've placed.

ZACK: I can't do anything until the left speaker is fixed. We have a show tonight, and the last concert blew it out. So unless you can help that to go along faster, I'm sorry, I can't help you.

ROOK: In point of fact...

ROOK: I fixed the blown-out speaker for you!

ZACK: Oh man! That's awesome! Thanks so much!

ROOK: No problem! Now let's head up to the lab so that you can listen to those strange beats.

ZACK: Yeah man! Let's solve this mystery. Lead the way!

ROOK: At the lab...

ZACK: OK, Zack. Are you ready?

ROOK: She handed the headphones to him, and he began to listen.

ZACK: Those are some nice beats!

ALEXA: But can you tell where they're coming from?

ZACK: It sounds like they're coming from... underground.

Looks like wiping the game CD paid off.

ROOK: Yeah. Wait, WHAT?!

Yeah, the past few times, it'd get stuck with Zack listening to the headphones, and I'd have to skip the cutscene to proceed. WIPING ON CLOTHING SAVES THE DAY!

ROOK: Umm... I'm glad. Anyway, I'd have to find a way underground. There was a manhole out by the junkyard, so I went there. Down below, I found a cute little plush bear!

1 Nature, 1 Charismatic.

ROOK: And awww, a plush bunny!

1 Nature, 2 Charismatic.

ROOK: And a plush monkey.

1 Smarts.

ROOK: At the other end of the bottom, I found a pile of rocks with striking noises coming from the other side. I went back up. Thankfully, nothing came spilling out of the pipe while I was down there. Hey, didn't I see another manhole in the club?

You may well have.

ROOK: I went there. Unfortunately, Esma was standing in front of it.

ROOK: Can I get to that manhole?

ESMA: No, peasant!

ROOK: What? Why?

ESMA: This is not up for discussion! Be gone from my sight!

ROOK: I decided to talk to the clubgoers about my problem.

ROOK: Esma isn't moving from the sewer cover...

MAKOTO: Negative. Unable to assist in personal space manipulation.

ROOK: Do you know how I can move Esma?

SAPPHIRE: Everyone loves to move and dance! They just need to hear a song they like!!

ROOK: Do you know what her favorite song is?

SAPPHIRE: No, sorry. But why don't you just ask her?

ROOK: Worth a try. I went to her.

ROOK: So, Esma, do you like music?

ESMA: My tastes in music are superior to all!

ROOK: Do you like oldies?

ESMA: Oldies are for those whose souls have already died!

ROOK: How about hip-hop?

ESMA: See, here's the thing about hip-hop: some artists don't even know what they're saying!

ROOK: Oh really?

ESMA: The beats are hot, but the lyrics are not!

I agree, the words are important... so I'm kinda-sorta limited no matter what style it is.

ROOK: So you're not a fan?

ESMA: Occasionally I will throw on some old-school funk, but only if it has a fun dance with it!

ROOK: Rock n' roll?

ESMA: Rock n' roll is the music of the goddesses, including myself!

ROOK: Do you like "The Miniatures"?

ESMA: No, they were always small time in my book.

ROOK: Well, aren't they called..."The Miniatures"?

ESMA: Not their name, their ideas, fool! A talented band with no ambition might as well sign up to make ring tones!

ROOK: How about "The Scrapbooks"?

ESMA: Ah! The Scrapbooks! That brings me back to my tyrannical youth!

ROOK: Yeah, they were good. What was your favorite song?

ESMA: Bunny Hill! THE GREATEST SONG EVER!! Wait, why are we taking about this? Get out of my face, peasant!

ROOK: Now to have DJ Candy play it.

ROOK: Can you play "Bunny Hill"?

DJ CANDY: Oh man! That's an essential rock classic! I'll queue it up!

ROOK: She stopped what was playing.

SAPPHIRE: Omigosh the music stopped and there is no music happening right now!!

DJ CANDY: Be patient, Saph. Next up we're gonna play a request that comes from Special Agent Rook! "Bunny Hill" by the Scrapbooks!

ZACK: SWEET.

ESMA: O...M...G. Girl, that is my song!!!

ROOK: Candy started it playing, and the clubbers made room, for Esma came up and started dancing, and the other three danced, as well. Time to enter the sewer again.

Anybody reminded of a puzzle in Paper Mario?

ROOK: Umm... I'm not. I went in.

BARNEY: Day 42: Calm seas and clear skies mean smooth sailing. Now we're getting somewhere!

ROOK: At the bottom, I found... Brandi striking at some crystals!

ROOK: Hey you!

ROOK: She turned around, surprised.

BRANDI: Huh?!

ROOK: What are you doing? Why are you mining those crystals?

BRANDI: We're mining destinite for official Morcu... none of your business!

ROOK: She left, so I took a closer look. I can't push her any harder! These crystals are heavy! I believe the chemical compound 'di-lythium makes up the majority of these crystals. At any rate, I went back up to tell Candy.

ROOK: I believe I've solved the case.

DJ CANDY: Oh really? Great! So, Rook, where were those beats comin' from?

ROOK: Turns out, they were coming from underground. Brandi and Esma from Morcu Corp were running a mining operation.

DJ CANDY: What? Under my club? (to Esma) You can't mine here! I own this property!

ESMA: What? Ha! I won't obey your property rights, peon! No rules apply to Esma, ruler of all existence!

SAPPHIRE: Omigosh guys she called us peons! That's so funny yet so not nice at the same time!

ROOK: What were you guys mining for down there? What's destinite?

BRANDI: Mining? Why, I don't know what you're talking about! We're just planting trees.''

ESMA: I have heard of no "mining operation!" See ya, peasants!

ROOK: They left. It seems Brandi has learned a bit about loose lips... Which is too bad. She was a veritable fountain of information.

DJ CANDY: ''What?! What do they mean?

ROOK: It means that they already found what they were looking for...

DJ CANDY: Well, at least my concerts can return to normal!

ROOK: I'm glad I could help, Candy. Now if you'll excuse me, something tells me I'm not quite done with Morcu Corp.

DJ CANDY: Well, you saved Club Candy! Thanks, Rook!! Good luck with that other stuff, though.

(New dispatch missions! New glasses! New visor!)

ROOK: I checked in with the Doc.

ROOK: Dr. F, we're back.

DR. F: Yes, yes. Just put the squirrels over there if you must.

ROOK: Still not delivering squirrels. We have information about Morcu Corp.

ALEXA: What did you find?

ROOK: Some Morcu Corp employees are mining a mineral called destinite.

ALEXA: Odd. Destinite isn't common, but it doesn't have any real value. What else?

ROOK: They also tried to steal DJ Candy's sonic amplifiers.

DR. F: Zounds!!! Alexa, don't you see? If you stress destinite with ultra high-powered sonic frequencies, you can transmute it into fortunite!

BUDDY: What's fortunite?

DR. F: It's an incredibly rare and powerful substance. In fact, only one specimen was ever discovered!

ROOK: The crystal from the Nightmare Crown!

DR. F: Exactly. This Morcubus has a very clever science indeed...

ALEXA: Can he really make his own fortunite?

DR. F: Yes, but it would be slightly imperfect. The only way you could possibly counter its power would be to find... THE ORIGINAL CRYSTAL!!!

BUDDY: How do we find the original fortunite, pal?

ROOK: I'm not sure, Buddy, let's head back to the HQ. Maybe there's a clue somewhere in Evelyn's journal.

DR. F: Good luck, Rook!

ALEXA: We'll bill you for the consultation later!

(Disco ball trophy! Disguises! And still more missions!)

ROOK: We returned to HQ. Evelyn and I hit the books while Buddy talked to Jenny.

BUDDY: ...and that's what happened in the industrial district.

JENNY: Wow! Do you really think you guys can find the original crystal?

BUDDY: I don't know how we'll do it, but Rook will find a way.

EVELYN: Rook, I might have something. There is one reference to "fortunite" in my father's journal.

ROOK: That's great, Evelyn. What does it say?

EVELYN: Not much, but dad associates the crystal with a man named Cyrus Boudreaux. Maybe this Cyrus worked with my dad in the Nightmare Crown!

ROOK: Sounds like a good place to start. Hey, Jenny!

JENNY: Already looking him up on the internet.

BUDDY: Way to go, Jenny!

JENNY: Found him! He's dead.

ROOK: WHAT?!

JENNY: Yeah, it just happened. Now his niece, Zoe, is holding a dinner party at the Boudreaux mansion.

EVELYN: Is it really the appropriate time for a dinner party?

JENNY: She wants to gather Cyrus' friends and family so she can read his will. Apparently, someone is going to inherit his entire estate. Including a very rare gem.

ROOK: Great work, Jenny! When is the will reading? Where do we go?

JENNY: No idea. It's by invitation only, so it doesn't list the time or location.

EVELYN: No! So close, and now another dead end...

ROOK: We've got to figure out a way into that dinner party.

BUDDY: Hey, Rook, doesn't Poppy have a sister named Violet?

ROOK: I think she does.

BUDDY: Well, according to this article, one of the people on the guest list is Ms. Violet Nightshade.

ROOK: That is Poppy's sister! If she's going, maybe Poppy received an invitation as well.

I wonder why she wouldn't be directly on the list, if so.

BUDDY: Let's go ask her!

ROOK: I decided to hang out a bit more while waiting for Barney's mission to come back. In the meantime, y'know. I'd talk to the people at HQ.

ROOK: Hello Roxie, how are you?

ROXIE: Rook, why aren't you in the field! My machines will collect dust if I'm not using them. I MUST ANALYZE!

ROOK: Evelyn, you look a little worried.

EVELYN: Rook, we've got to get the 'fortunite crystal before Morcubus!

ROOK: I'm sure Poppy will help us out, Evelyn.

EVELYN: I hope so, we need that invitation if we are going to stay ahead of Morcubus!

ROOK: Hey Buddy!

BUDDY: Hey pal! I'm sure going to miss Cyrus Boudreaux.

ROOK: Buddy! You've never even heard of him before today.

BUDDY: Yeah pal, but I bet he was a great guy. We could have played mahjong together!

WOLFAH: (It's a picture of Wolfah on a boat. He doesn't look particularly happy! I guess he's more of a land animal.)

ROOK: I decided to get the updates on those other two missions.

JENNY: Agent Walker seemed quite impressed with the team's stakeout. He also sent details on the Some Kind of Pizza mission.

(New mission: "Pizza Investigation!")

JENNY: So, the team utilized incredibly advanced technology and made... some cocoa for Dr. F? I guess that merits some kind of reward.

(A giant robot apparently an early non-functional model from his famous "Maim-O-Tron" series. Hopefully it remains non-functional... anyway, it has 2 Smarts. Also, a spaceship with 1 Paranormal and 1 Smarts. And a new mission: "F, Robot"!)

ROOK: I decided to talk to the returned agents. In the Hangar...

ROOK: Hey Elmira.

ELMIRA: I feel lazy just hanging around the HQ, Rook! Send me out on a mission.

ROOK: Hello, Roger.

ROGER: This HQ is large enough for me to get sweaty running around. I love it!

ROOK: As long as you shower every few hours...

ROOK: Hey, Rosalyn.

AGENT ROSALYN: A will reading? That is paperwork of the most tragic kind.

ROOK: ...and in the Basement.

ROOK: Hey, Travis.

TRAVIS: You've got to stop Morcubus, Chief! If he gets his hands on that crystal, we're all in for a nightmare!

ROOK: Hello, Preston.

PRESTON: I have to admit, this HQ is pretty impressive. Maybe I'll buy it off you someday.

ROOK: What's up, Pinky?

PINKY: I want to solve cases, just like you, Rook! Maybe you could send me on a mission.

ROOK: Well, you just got back from one... but I'm sure you'll get another! By the way, how do you like our walls?

PINKY: Not so much, but at least the sink is a nice blue! And the hot tub, and the pipes...

ROOK: I got tired of waiting, and set off to leave, stopping to talk to Yuki, at my peril.

ROOK: Um... you're still here?

YUKI: Yuki is contemplating your complexion.

ROOK: What?

YUKI: Yuki is thinking you need moisturizer. Yuki knows optimal face-biting is only achieved with proper skin care.

ROOK: I shudder to think how she became an expert on the subject. Anyway, I left for Main Street, and went to talk to Poppy.

ROOK: How's it going, Poppy? I might need your help.

POPPY: My help? Yay! Okay, Rook!

ROOK: So, have you received an invitation in the mail recently? For a will reading?

POPPY: Um, maybe. I don't know.

ROOK: You don't know?

POPPY: No. That mean Derek has been stealing people's mail. For a couple weeks! I've missed two packets from my "Seed of the Week" gardening club.

ROOK: And with the invitation that's three stolen letters! That's a federal offense!

POPPY: I don't know what that means, but it's super naughty.

ROOK: Don't worry, Poppy. I'll take care of this.

ROOK: I would need to talk to Derek, but first, the other people in my neighborhood.

The construction worker builds for you-oo / the buildings that you can go to-oo...

ROOK: Umm... what...?

Never mind.

ROOK: You keep saying that...

ROOK: Hey Patrick, how's it going?

PATRICK: Oh you know, same ol', same ol'.

ROOK: Out by the salon...

ROOK: Do you know where Derek is?

SHIRLEY: Oh, I'm sure he's off at Fort Derek, hon.

ROOK: What's Fort Derek?

SHIRLEY: Oh, it's his cute little clubhouse out in the forest. It's up on a ledge in the back.

ROOK: Excellent! Thanks, Shirley.

ROOK: Hi Luis. Have you heard anything about Poppy's missing letters?

LUIS: Sorry, Rook, I haven't. And don't worry, I won't ask you to buy a newspaper this time.

ROOK: That's okay, Luis! I don't mind you asking all the time!

LUIS: Great! So do you want to buy one, then? It's for my college education.

ROOK: Maybe later, Luis, I still have to work right now.

LUIS: Arrrgh! I knew it!

ROOK: Hi Gino. Poppy is missing some letters. You haven't seen any around, have you?

GINO: Which letters? Some of my favorites are G, N, and O! Haha! I make a little joke there!

Eerie, I was just thinking along those lines...

ROOK: Wait, in your other... "playthroughs", you say, you've never talked to Gino at that point before?

Never! I'm being more thorough than usual, and seeing all kinds of dialogue I've never seen before.

ROOK: Cool.

Yeah, I'm seeing this happen with my other liveblogs. Describing the action is making me notice all kinds of things I was missing.

ROOK: Huh. Well, glad that's working out for you. I entered the forest and started looking around. He got my attention before long by calling down from a ledge.

DEREK: Looking for me, agent? You're not allowed up here in Fort Derek. Scram!

ROOK: I'd just have to use my "passcard". By which I mean my F-Space Manipulator. I used the trash bin and two tires to make a way up. Once up there, I confronted him.

ROOK: What do you know about Poppy's letters?

DEREK: Hey, how did you get up here?!

ROOK: Cough it up. Why have you been stealing Poppy's mail?

DEREK: Screening duty! Morcu Corp says that is I find any useful information, I'm supposed to pass it on to them! Afterwards I toss them in the woods. The animals can use them in they want them. HA!

ROOK: I balanced across a branch and jumped around some ledges to find... a letter! I crossed another branch to a nest with three large eggs. No letters, though. I decided to have the eggs analyzed.

ROOK: Hey Roxie, what kind of bird laid these eggs?

ROXIE: That's a cyanocitta packaboo, a bird that likes to build many nests using any materials it can find.

ROOK: I decided I would ask around about birds, once I got down from there.

ROOK: I found one of the letters you stole.

DEREK: Oh...really? Fine with me.

ROOK: But I only found one. It appears that the mama bird took the others to use to make nests.

DEREK: Haha! I guess they did a better job of stealing than I did! Good luck, agent!

BARNEY: Land ho! We've done it! We've found the legendary Lost Isles of Thule. Soon the whole world will know what the natives put on their pizza bagels. We'll all be famous! And it's all thanks to this fine crew. Thanks, Rook, I couldn't have done it without them.

ROOK: I could wait on the bird recon. I went back to HQ to check in with Jenny.

JENNY: I heard about the team's voyage' for Barney. Sounds nuts. Almost as cool as an episode of Starcruiser X. Almost.

(Water Tanks: 2 Smarts.)

Here are the new missions!

• F, Robot

DR. F: Disaster! My newest humanoid robot, the F-Bot, has escaped. He's out there, somewhere, pretending to be me... I need a skilled team to find him, since he looks exactly like me except 229 feet tall.

ROOK: Oh, yeah. That would make them tough to tell apart.

3 stars. 15 minutes. Smarts/Charismatic. New outfits and a new dispatch mission.

• Equipment Recovery

ALEXA: I know you'll never believe this, but Dr. F's peanut butter helicopter "experiment" had a bit of a mishap — over the ocean. I need a deep-sea recovery team to salvage as much as possible.

2 stars. 20 minutes. Athletic/Smarts. New outfits and a new dispatch mission.

• OMG Glow Sticks!

SAPPHIRE: Omigosh, you guys, someone totally stole my box of glow sticks?! Please help, Rook! I'm running low on chemiluminescence!

2 stars. 15 minutes. Smarts/Charismatic. New outfits and a new dispatch mission.

• Roadie Despair

ANNIE: It's terrible, Rook. My latest tour is in danger of being canceled. All my roadies are on strike and I can't stage a show without them!

1 star. 20 minutes. Charismatic/Smarts. Objects and recruit.

• High School Yearbook

MAKOTO: I have obtained knowledge that high school girls desire to be "popular." Since I am a high school girl and not a robot, if I get enough humans to sign my yearbook, then I will achieve "popular" status. Please assist.

3 stars. 10 minutes. Charismatic/Paranormal. Object and a new dispatch mission.

And the mission you're rewarded with has, as one of its rewards, the ability to recruit Makoto.

• Missing Bugs

GERTRUDE: Hey there, this is Gertrude. I've got a bit on a bug problem. Oh no, I don't need help getting rid of them. They're my friends! But I do need help gathering them all up before they get stepped on.

2 stars. 30 minutes. Nature/Athletic. Objects.

• Pizza Investigation

WALKER: Our investigations have led us to a humble pizza parlor — Or Is It? I suspect it's really a Morcu Corp front, and could use assistance in investigating it. Anybody hungry?

2 stars. 10 minutes. Charismatic/Smarts. Outfits and a new dispatch mission.

• Candypaluna

DJ CANDY: Well, I promised the fans and now it's time. I'm gonna stage the first concert ever on the moon! Now I just need help with a few... logistics.

(Players of My Sims Kingdom may recall that this was an idea that your player character gave her.)

2 stars. 30 minutes. Athletic/Smarts. Object and new dispatch mission.

• Failing Forest

PETAL: Rook, it's awful! I awoke today to find that the trees and flowers in our forest are suddenly dying! What's going on? Is there anything we can do to revive our plants? Help!

3 stars. 15 minutes. Nature/Paranormal. Object, paint, new recruit.

• Missions
  • Candypaluna: **; A/S; Object, Mission (NEW!)
  • Episode X: **; S/P; Object, Trophy
  • Equipment Recovery: **; A/S; Outfits, Mission (NEW!)
  • F, Robot: ***; S/C; Outfits, Mission (NEW!)
  • Failing Forest: ***; N/P; Object, Paint; Recruit (NEW!)
  • High School Yearbook: ***; C/P; Object, Mission (NEW!)
  • Legendary Cheese: *; A/N; Outfits, Trophy
  • Missing Bugs: **; N/A; Objects (NEW!)
  • Ol' Gabby's Mine: **; S/N; Objects
  • OMG Glow Sticks!: **; S/C; Outfits, Mission (NEW!)
  • Pig, Camera, Action!: *; N/C; Outfits, Recruit
  • Pizza Investigation: **; C/S; Outfits, Mission (NEW!)
  • Roadie Despair: *; C/S; Objects, Recruit (NEW!)
  • The Sadness Parade: **; C/P; Outfits (ON HOLD)
  • Snack Thief: ***; S/C; Outfits, Object, Trophy
  • Tainted Broth: ***; P/N; Object, Paint, Recruit
  • Yeti Begins: **; P/N; Objects, Paint

• Recruits and Recruitables
  • Beebee: N,A,3C
  • Elmira: P,N,3S
  • Leaf: 3N,2C
  • Nova: 2P,N,2S
  • Pinky: P,4C
  • Preston: A,3C,S
  • Roger: 5A
  • Agent Rosalyn: 2P,3S
  • Travis: 3C,2S
  • Agent Vic: 3P,C,S
  • Wolfah: 3N,2A

Next Time: The Mail Animal!

edited 23rd Feb '10 1:10:05 PM by Nyperold

Depending on whether or not I feel too tired to do so, I'll probably get started on the next part either tonight or tomorrow.

ROOK: I decided to go ahead and go back without sending anybody out. I started at Town Hall.

ROOK: Have you seen any birds recently?

SKIP: I always keep tabs on the wildlife in my city! I have seen some over the salon and also in the construction yard.

ROOK: Next, the park.

ROOK: I found one of your letters.

POPPY: Oh thank you! This is happy and good!

ROOK: There's still more to find. It seems they've been carried away by a mama bird. Have you seen any birds around?

POPPY: Hmm...well I have seen a cute little bird around the salon. Maybe she has the letter!

ROOK: The pizzeria...

ROOK: Have you seen any birds around?

GINO: I have, Rook! I was talking to Patrick in his trailer about my new pizza idea! Super Pork Deluxe!! A whole pig on a pizza! And then I saw a bird, carrying a piece of paper in its beak! It had made a nest on top of the girders.

ROOK: That might have been one of Poppy's letters...great! Thank you!

ROOK: Town square...

ROOK: Have you seen any birds outside the forest?

LUIS: Yes, I have! Over on the construction site! You could check with Patrick.

ROOK: Have you seen any birds around?

RHONDA: I have! I was getting my hair done at Shirley's salon and saw a big bird on the roof!

ROOK: Oh really? On the roof?

RHONDA: Exactly. I think you can talk to Shirley about getting up there, if you need to.

ROOK: In front of the Salon...

ROOK: Hi Shirley. Have you seen any letters?

ROOK: Why did I ask that? Oh well.

SHIRLEY: No, but there's some racket going on up on my roof! Sounds like animals!

ROOK: Have you gone up to check it out? It might have something to do with my case.

SHIRLEY: Oh, hon, you are so kind. These old knew could never climb up there. But you could probably make it. Go down the street, outside the construction site, and look for some crates to hop onto the roof.

ROOK: I made my way up and over, and indeed, one of her letters was in the nest.

ROOK: I found this letter on your roof, in a nest.

SHIRLEY: Fabulous! So now the noise from those animals will stop!

ROOK: There was a mama bird making a nest on the roof of your salon. She was using the envelopes from Poppy's mail. I'm trying to track them all down.

SHIRLEY: I see. Well, hon, thank you kindly.

ROOK: Next stop: the construction site. And there it was.

ROOK: Hey Patrick, how can I get up to that bird's nest?

PATRICK: Birdwatchin', eh? You'll be able to crawl your way up the construction site, if you manage to turn on the crane.

ROOK: How can I do that?

PATRICK: We'll you'll have to do a bunch of things. First, you'll need to find my crane keys!

ROOK: Where are they?

PATRICK: I forgot...I'm sure I put them somewhere safe, though!

ROOK: I'd have to poke around. The bulldozer probably doesn't qualify, but I'd be proud to doze some bulls in that thing. I went into the trailer... someplace safe... oh no, he couldn't mean... the safe? I picked the lock. There they were!

ROOK: OK! I got the keys. What next?

PATRICK: Great work, Sport! Now you'll need to power up the crane.

ROOK: How would I do that?

PATRICK: The generator is in the basement of the building over there. You just need to flip it on!

ROOK: Great. Thanks!

ROOK: My first order of business was to stack crates to make a way up, since that door wouldn't open. Once down below, I took a look at the generator. ...I had to hack it, for some reason. That done, I stacked some crates to make it possible to get back out, then to get over to a box with a crate I could open for a Charismatic bed...

Ha. 1 Charismatic.

ROOK: ...and a Paranormal bed.

1 Paranormal.

ROOK: Then I left the building.

ROOK: OK. I powered up the crane! What now?

PATRICK: You'll need to fix the control panel. It got struck by lightning, Sport!

ROOK: Where's the panel? Up that ladder?

PATRICK: Sure is, Sport. You'll probably have to salvage a bunch of vehicle parts to fix it!

ROOK: Good to know. Thanks, "Sport."

PATRICK: Ha! I'm no sport, Sport. You're the sport!

ROOK: I felt a little odd about doing that. I mean, they aren't as far as I'm aware, artificially intelligent, but after that little episode... anyway, I climbed the ladder and fixed the panel. A pipe moved into place. I hopped the crates back into the building. Then I moved some other crates into position so I could hop onto another block, and from there to a concrete platform. I balanced across the pipe, climbed stairs, and looked into a bucket. It's a figurine of Travis! I balanced across a couple of girders and a board, and reached the nest. The last letter! I took it to Poppy.

ROOK: Case closed, Poppy!

POPPY: YAY!

ROOK: I recovered all of your mail, including that dinner party invitation.

POPPY: NEAT!

ROOK: Listen, can I use your invitation? I need to look for a special crystal at the will reading. It's important.

POPPY: Sure thing, Rook! I wasn't going to go anyway.

ROOK: You weren't?

POPPY: Violet said it wasn't a good idea. She told me that some of the people there might be bad people.

ROOK: She did? Interesting. Well, I'll keep an eye on her for you.

POPPY: Thanks, Rook. Don't let the bad people get you.

ROOK: Okay, Poppy. Now, I'd better get this invitation back to HQ.

POPPY: Are you going to fire up the jet?

ROOK: I am!

POPPY: YAY! Oh, by the way, were you going to help my with my float problem?

ROOK: Oh. About that. I hear I'm getting some special recruits for that very soon. I think you'll be pleased with the selection.

POPPY: Oh... okay!

(New cases! Also, a replica of the Town Center statue for the trophy case! And an agent outfit!)

ROOK: I went back to HQ.

(Netting you an evening gown, a blue suit, anf a cow-themed top hat and monocle.)

ROOK: Hello, Yuki.

YUKI: Yuki is tired of spying on you. Why can't she just bite your face now?

ROOK: Yuki, have you considered talking to someone about this obsession?

YUKI: COME TO YUKI!

ROOK: I went inside and changed into the evening gown. I also considered sending some recruits on missions.

• The Bushido Code

SAMURAI BOB: ''Honesty, loyalty, courage—these are Bushido! Rook, I desire to share the wisdom of Swordless Bushido with the world. Send me pupils!

3 stars. 10 minutes. Athletic/Charismatic. New outfits and an object.

• H 4 XXOR 3 D!

SPENCER: ''Oh, this is terrible! I've been unable to log in to Pallyquest Online — I think someone's hacked into my account! Help me recover my account before someone sells off my epic items!

4 stars. 10 minutes. Smarts/Charismatic. Object and Recruit.

• Missions
  • Candypaluna: **; A/S; Object, Mission
  • Episode X: **; S/P; Object, Trophy
  • Equipment Recovery: **; A/S; Outfits, Mission
  • F, Robot: ***; S/C; Outfits, Mission
  • Failing Forest: ***; N/P; Object, Paint; Recruit
  • H 4 XXOR 3 D!: ****; S/C; Object, Recruit (NEW!)
  • High School Yearbook: ***; C/P; Object, Mission
  • Legendary Cheese: *; A/N; Outfits, Trophy
  • Missing Bugs: **; N/A; Objects
  • Ol' Gabby's Mine: **; S/N; Objects
  • OMG Glow Sticks!: **; S/C; Outfits, Mission
  • Pig, Camera, Action!: *; N/C; Outfits, Recruit
  • Pizza Investigation: **; C/S; Outfits, Mission
  • Roadie Despair: *; C/S; Objects, Recruit
  • The Sadness Parade: **; C/P; Outfits (ON HOLD)
  • Snack Thief: ***; S/C; Outfits, Object, Trophy
  • Tainted Broth: ***; P/N; Object, Paint, Recruit
  • The Bushido Code: ***; A/C; Outfits, Object (NEW!)
  • Yeti Begins: **; P/N; Objects, Paint

• Recruits and Recruitables
  • Beebee: N,A,3C
  • Elmira: P,N,3S
  • Leaf: 3N,2C
  • Nova: 2P,N,2S
  • Pinky: P,4C
  • Preston: A,3C,S
  • Roger: 5A
  • Agent Rosalyn: 2P,3S
  • Travis: 3C,2S
  • Agent Vic: 3P,C,S
  • Wolfah: 3N,2A

Next time: Gonna have big fun on the ba-yo!

EDIT: Never Mind, Ninja'ed!

edited 24th Feb '10 3:58:12 PM by SpaceJawa

Ok, now that I've caught up with your latest update, I'll go with the following:

• Pizza Investigation: Travis, Pinky, Elmira
• H 4 X X O R 3 D!: Agent Rosalyn, Preston, Nova
• Pig, Camera, Action!: Wolfah, Beebee, Leaf

Heh, and now that I'm back, I'll implement it. You'll probably see it tomorrow sometime. And I'll start catching up on those other bloggings!

ROOK: Based on my source, I reorganized the squads. I recruited Nova...

NOVA: Agent Nova, reporting for duty. I'm ready to deal with all your conspiracies.

ROOK: ...sent them on their respective missions, checked in with Roxie...

ROOK: Hey, Roxie, how are you?

ROXIE: Rook, are you aware there are over 7 million forms of dirt found in the swamp?!

ROOK: I'll make sure I wipe my feet before I get in the jet.

ROXIE: THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

ROOK: Roxie, are you going to be ok?

ROXIE: This job is killing me...

ROOK: ...and set off for the dinner party.

BUDDY: Hey, I heard Cyrus' mansion is down in the bayou. So, I don't know if I'm up for this, Rook... I've got too much to do already. I'm swamped!

ROOK: ...

ROOK: We arrived and parked near the bridge to the mansion. I suppose the other guests had to park farther away, but VTO Ls rock like that. Anyway, we looked around, crossed the bridge over swampy water, and entered the mansion, where...

????: Good evening, friends.

...we came face to face with a zombie!

BUDDY: GAH!!!

CARL: Yeah, I get that a lot. May I see your invitation, please?

ROOK: Of course.

ROOK: I handed him the invitation intended for Poppy. He looked it over.

CARL: I see. Right this way..."Poppy".

ROOK: I got the impression that he didn't think I was Poppy... but since he didn't seem to care that much that I wasn't Poppy, who was I to complain?

CARL: Do you have any bags I can take?

ROOK: No, we don't. If I feel like I need a change of clothes, all I need is a mirror.''

Heh, good thing the actual changing is never shown.

ROOK: No kidding.

CARL: Good. That lady in the yellow dress brought so much luggage, I thought my arms were going to fall off.

ROOK: In fact, one did. He reattached it, though. Buddy seemed disturbed by this.

CARL: Oh, great. ... The others have already arrived. Madame Zoe was just about to begin. Right this way, please.

ROOK: A bald, bemelanined man with a monocle seemed to be arguing with a man who seemed to be taking the phrase "All the world's a stage" as a little more than metaphor.

??????: I'm telling you, Trevor, he's going to leave the fortunite to me!

TREVOR: Nonsense! Dear Cyrus would only entrust that powerful crystal to MEEEEEEE!

??????: They say the fortunite can show you your future. What exactly are you hoping to see, Trevor?

TREVOR: Oh, nothing! I just need the crystal as a prop in my new play, "Trevor Finds the Crystal."

??????: That's ridiculous. You're a ridiculous man.

ROOK: A rather more flamboyantly dressed woman with short pink hair, a hat, a peacock tail, and the aforementioned yellow dress spoke:

??. ??????: Darlings, if I get the crystal, I will use it for something worthwhile: foreseeing new fashion trends!

ROOK: Wow. Sounds like these people only came to the will reading to get the fortunite crystal.

BUDDY: Isn't that why we're here?

ROOK: Well... sort of. I mean, they're planning on using it, but...

ROOK: A young woman in a black dress and gray vest, and with a bat-shaped ponyholder, weighed in:

??????: You know, there's more to this estate than just the crystal.

ROOK: Just then, a voice came from the top of the stairs.

???: Ca c'est bon! Everyone is here.

ROOK: We turned to face the speaker: a young woman of color with a purple, scarlet, and yellow dress with bones on it, and a hat with a skull.

ZOE: Thank you all for accepting my invitation. As You Know, we have gathered tonight to read the will of my great uncle, Cyrus. Soon we will know who among us will inherit uncle's estate. But first—

BUDDY: We eat dinner!

ZOE: Yes, sir, dinner is planned, but before that we should all adjourn to the Crystal Room. I wish to hold a reading with all of you.

BUDDY: Well, uh, yeah, that's why we're here.

ZOE: I mean with the crystal. Hence why we're going in the Crystal Room.

ROOK: Hmm. Interesting.

ZOE: If you would please follow me to the Crystal Room, we may begin.

ROOK: She went in. Soon...

ZOE: EEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!

ROOK: I rushed inside and found her crying.

ZOE: Oh, Rook, it's terrible...

Rook? Not Poppy, whose invitation you came in on? Guess she saw you coming...

ZOE: The crystal! It's been destroyed!

ROOK: She began sobbing again.

ROOK: That's not good...

ZOE: We must tell the others right away!

BUDDY: Hey, cool, pal! Am I narrating now?

Yeah, for a little bit. But only because Rook was out of the room.

BUDDY: That's fine with me! So the rest of us were gathered near the door.

??????: What's going on in there? We heard a scream!

TREVOR: I hope no one's in danger!

BUDDY: Don't worry, everyone. Rook's in there right now. I'm sure everything is fine. Don't let her elegant attire fool you; she's tough as bricks!

ROOK: Well, it looks like someone snuck in there and smashed the fortunite!

BUDDY: Okay, pal! Take it away!

ROOK: Thanks, Buddy. This news was, understandably, not welcome.

TREVOR: What?! Everything is not fine! It is not fine at all!!

??????: No! This...this can't be!

ZOE: I'm sorry, everyone. I...I know you're only here for the crystal. I don't know how this happened! I understand if you want to leave.

TREVOR: Our prize lays shattered upon the floor!

Lies.

ROOK: No, it's the truth. I saw it.

No, I mean it lies upon the floor. Not only is it better grammar, but it makes a nice rhyme with "prize".

TREVOR: If you're finished... I see no reason to stay.

ROOK: I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to leave the mansion until we figure out who smashed the fortunite.

ROOK: The crowd dispersed.

??????: I can't believe it's gone...'

ROOK: I decided to check out the crystal room. Upon examining the crystal, I found that it had been dented: a tool was used to break it. A search for footprints revealed two sets. I looked at the fireplace, and noticed that the soot had been disturbed, and the curtains swayed in the wind even though the windows were shut.

WALKER: Well, your agents have arrived, and they look... hungry. Well, at least they don't look like they'll blow our cover.

ROOK: I left the room. Two sets had entered; one set left? Huh. I backtracked along the path. Along the way, I looked at the pictures: Morcubus?!? A relative, perhaps, of Roxie's; Barney; Faith Connors? I found a figurine of her for my trophy case.

SPENCER: Ok, your agents have all arrived in my parents' baseme — I mean, my Fortress of Light. Wow, what a crew — I should have cleaned this place up! Phew! Ok, time to begin. FOR JUSTICE!

ROOK: On the way out, I decided to ask Zoe and the guests about the crystal.

ROOK: Please tell me about the crystal.

ZOE: Oh, it was so wonderful. Just gazing into it allowed one to see glimpses of the future.

ROOK: And you said it was made of pure fortunite?

ZOE: Yes, it measured 97.9 gibbospratz on the Sprattler-Gibson purity scale.

ROOK: That's pretty pure. And can you think of why anyone would want to destroy it? Or how it would be destroyed?

ZOE: Steal it, yes. Destroy it? No. And I'm unsure what could damage such a strong crystal. Gordon might know more about fortunite.

ROOK: Interesting. thank you, Zoe.

ROOK: By process of elimination — ruling out the other girls from the guests I didn't know — I figured that was the bald man. I approached him for information.

ROOK: What do you know about fortunite?

GORDON: I know a good deal about its properties. Was there specific information you wanted to know?

ROOK: I was looking for information on what could break a fortunite crystal.

GORDON: Ah! That information is kept in the authoritative fortunite reference book: Fame and Fortunite, A Complete Reference.

ROOK: Do you have a copy on you?

GORDON: No, but Cyrus had a rare first edition copy of it in a cardboard box at the top of the library.

ROOK: Thanks, Gordon!

ROOK: I decided to postpone the track following to pursue this book. First, I'd have to find the library.

ELMIRA: Pizza? Now there's an extravagance. A simple baked dough circle with cheese, sauce, and toppings should be good enough for anyone!

ROOK: The first room on the wall to the left of the front door was the kitchen.

RENEÉ: Yay! Your team is treating my pigs very well and seem to know how to get them around. Let's get started!

ROOK: The second door was the dining room. Inside, I found a cabinet of expensive tchotchkes... and a figurine of Gordon with a scepter and skull? Huh. Anyway, I tried conversing with the girl...

ROOK: Tell me about yourself, Violet...

VIOLET: I don't like to talk about myself.

ROOK: Could you at least tell me anything about how you knew Cyrus?

VIOLET: I don't like to talk about my past.

ROOK: Okay, Violet. I guess I'll leave you alone.

ROOK: ...but you see how that went. I briefly considered the lampshade schtick, but decided against it.

WALKER: Phase one of the mission is complete: we've entered the pizza parlor and found important evidence. One, the restaurant is huge on the outside, but only has four tables. Two, it's called Papa Morc's. Sounds familiar somehow...

ROOK: Back in the foyer, I noticed a picture of Violet with Cyrus on a magazine cover on a desk.

NOVA: Hmm, do virtual worlds have artificial gravity...?

ROOK: Back up the stairs was the only door connected to the foyer that I had not gone through. It was locked, however, but that wasn't going to stop me. I entered, and poked around. I found a podium...

1 Charismatic, 2 Smarts.

ROOK: ...and a spooky-looking book...

2 Paranormal, 1 Smarts.

ROOK: ...in a box on the main floor, and a set of paints among some shelves. But it was time for the voyage to the top of the library. I F-spaced a box over by a shelf unit, and climbed on top. From a distance, I set some boxes and a pile of books near some more shelves and used them to get on top. Speaking of tops...

PINKY: You probably think I don't have a favorite pizza topping, but I do: bleu cheese! Hah!!

ROOK: I made my way onto some more shelves and hopped from box to box to a chest with a cookie jar...

2 Natural, 1 Charismatic.

ROOK: ...a piano, different from the one from the mountain summit...

2 Charismatic, 1 Smarts.

ROOK: ...and an ant farm inside.

2 Natural, 1 Charismatic.

BEEBEE: Me and Preston go to the movies all the time! I bet it'd be more fun if we brought all my bunnies.

ROOK: I went back to the shelves and walked on a wide board with piles of books. One book was called "Stacking Boxes: How To Move Up In the World."

SPENCER: Step one of our plan is going well: we've obtained a second account to see if someone is using my character, Lord Galahad.

ROOK: Another board led to a wooden chandelier. Some of the chandeliers had books on them! Good thing the chandeliers are secure. I leapt to a platform, then another, and onto boxes and crates. Farther along the platform was a stack that was too high to jump over, but I used F-space to create a path around it.

WALKER: We've examined the menu, and we're ready to put the next phase of our plan into place. We're not sure what toppings to investigate. What should we order? High-yield explosive or deep dish veggie?

ROOK: I decided the explosive would yield the best results. At any rate, I found the book! Apparently, silver hammers are the only thing that can damage fortunite. That discovered, I took the trek down to thIIIIEEEEE!!! OW! You said you weren't going to do that!

Sorry! I tried, but I overshot the second chandelier! I'm not used to going the long way...

ROOK: I feel sorry for your Sims. At any rate, I got back to tracking.

WALKER: Wait a minute, this isn't a pizza at all! It's some kind of plastic explosive designed to look like pizza. It's even got cheese and sauce on it! Glad we didn't take a bite of that. This evidence will really help our case!

ROOK: I wondered what tipped him off: the texture, or the fact that that's what he ordered?

PRESTON: My family financed the development of an online game once. Turns out it's a lot harder than it looks.

ROOK: I went outside. On the way to wherever the tracks were leading, I saw a door in a stump. It was locked, but you know how that goes.

RENEÉ: ''Ok, we've managed to wrangle the pigs onto the highway. Now we're really moving.

ROOK: Inside were two chests: one with a capelet, a desk...

1 Charismatic, 2 Smarts.

ROOK: ...and a chair in it...

2 Charismatic.

ROOK: ...and the other with a soundtrack in it.

"Swank Swamp Rock". 4 Charismatic, 1 Paranormal.

TRAVIS: Hey, Rook. Check it out! I programmed my phone to order pizza with the press of a button. Oops, I ordered 37 pizzas while the phone was in my pocket...

ROOK: Back outside the stump, I decided on a whim to get on top of it. Once there, I found a figurine of Carl as a fire fighter! Back at the trail, I found that they came from a toolbox. A locked toolbox. Simple enough to open. There was a hammer inside, so...

ROOK: Roxie, can you analyze this hammer? I need to know if it's made of silver.

ROXIE: Yep, it's a silver hammer. What's more, I found traces of some kind of crystal on it!

SPENCER: Oh no, someone is trying to sell Lord Galahad's Legendary Blade of Extermination! We're going to track down the culprit. With this L33t crew, I'm sure we can do it!

WALKER: We've done it! We've discovered that Papa Morc's is a subsidiary of MorcuFront, Inc. and this MorcuFront company provides the weapons hardware that Papa Morc's then distributes. Rook, we're close to something, I can feel it!

ROOK: I decided to take the jet back to HQ for a bit to collect rewards and see if I wanted to start another mission.

LEAF: Check out all these hot cars! I wish we had more cars in the forest and less pigs.

...fewer...

JENNY: Man, I really want a pizza now. Do you think that since the mission was a success, Ewan would order us all pizza?

ROOK: We apparently got ninja outfits out of that, and a new mission.

• Sewer Search

WALKER: Ok, we're closing in on MorcuFront. I've traced the weapons delivery trucks from the pizza place to a utility access grate by the sewers. Following this sewer passage should reveal the truth. Who's with me?

3 stars. 20 minutes. Smarts/Nature. New object and trophy.

• Missions
  • Candypaluna: **; A/S; Object, Mission
  • Episode X: **; S/P; Object, Trophy
  • Equipment Recovery: **; A/S; Outfits, Mission
  • F, Robot: ***; S/C; Outfits, Mission
  • Failing Forest: ***; N/P; Object, Paint; Recruit
  • H 4 XXOR 3 D!: ****; S/C; Object, Recruit (IN PROGRESS)
  • High School Yearbook: ***; C/P; Object, Mission
  • Legendary Cheese: *; A/N; Outfits, Trophy
  • Missing Bugs: **; N/A; Objects
  • Ol' Gabby's Mine: **; S/N; Objects
  • OMG Glow Sticks!: **; S/C; Outfits, Mission
  • Pig, Camera, Action!: *; N/C; Outfits, Recruit (IN PROGRESS)
  • Roadie Despair: *; C/S; Objects, Recruit
  • The Sadness Parade: **; C/P; Outfits (ON HOLD)
  • Sewer Search: ***; S/N; Object, Trophy (NEW!)
  • Snack Thief: ***; S/C; Outfits, Object, Trophy
  • Tainted Broth: ***; P/N; Object, Paint, Recruit
  • The Bushido Code: ***; A/C; Outfits, Object
  • Yeti Begins: **; P/N; Objects, Paint

• Recruits and Recruitables
  • Beebee: N,A,3C (ON A MISSION)
  • Elmira: P,N,3S
  • Leaf: 3N,2C (ON A MISSION)
  • Nova: 2P,N,2S (ON A MISSION)
  • Pinky: P,4C
  • Preston: A,3C,S (ON A MISSION)
  • Roger: 5A
  • Agent Rosalyn: 2P,3S (ON A MISSION)
  • Travis: 3C,2S
  • Agent Vic: 3P,C,S
  • Wolfah: 3N,2A (ON A MISSION)

Yay! You're back!

OMG Glow Sticks!: Travis, Pinky, Elmira

ROOK: I sent Travis, Pinky, and Elmira to see Sapphire and find out what was up with her glow sticks, and headed back. I traced the footprints from the toolbox back to the door...

AGENT ROSALYN: Hmm...making a virtual identity for yourself? It's just like going undercover!

ROOK: ...into the kitchen, and to the dumbwaiter. I tried to force it open, but even F-space didn't work. I decided to question people.

ROOK: I need some help identifying male footprints.

??. ??????: Please, darling. I don't concern myself with men's footwear.

ROOK: So, you don't know whose shoes this print would match?

??. ??????: No, darling. Men's shoes are so droll. I can hardly tell them apart myself.

ROOK: I paused to wonder if she meant "dull", and asked someone else.

ROOK: Trevor, may I check your shoes?

TREVOR: Woe! Did I step in something?

ROOK: Nope. Just checking your shoes.

TREVOR: Fantastic!

ROOK: After a quick examination...

ROOK: Hm...looks like these aren't the shoes I'm looking for. Thanks, Trevor.

SAPPHIRE: Omigosh I am so totally psyched about these smart guys you sent to help me because I was scared that everything was doomed except now I think that it's okay.

ROOK: ...Okay.

RENEÉ: Oh, no! There's a detour! Should we follow it or try to find a shortcut?

ROOK: I advised them to take the detour, and got back to my questioning.

ROOK: May I check your shoes?

GORDON: What, I'm a suspect now?

ROOK: Just being thorough, Gordon.

GORDON: I suppose that's fair. Help yourself.

ROOK: Good news, Gordon! Looks like your shoes don't match the footprints I found. Thanks for your cooperation.

ROOK: Two pairs of shoes down, one to check. I went to the kitchen again.

ROOK: Carl, may I check your shoes?

CARL: Oh, this is so awkward...

ROOK: What is?

CARL: If I lift my foot too far off the ground, it may fall off...

ROOK: Hmm. Well, we can't have that, can we?

ROOK: I need to get Carl's footprints, but this kitchen floor is too clean. He isn't leaving any footprints! Could I get the floor dirty?

SPENCER: Unfortunately the culprit teleported away and we weren't able to stop him. He's still out there, controlling Lord Galahad. Oh, the shame! QQ

ROOK: Huh. I guess the crew I sent wasn't ell-thirty-three-tee enough. I decided to go back to HQ.

JENNY: The team failed to recover Spencer's eitch-four-ex-ex-zero-ar-three-dee account. Guess his raiding days are over, huh?

ROOK: Maybe a different mission would be in order...

• Missions
  • Candypaluna: **; A/S; Object, Mission
  • Episode X: **; S/P; Object, Trophy
  • Equipment Recovery: **; A/S; Outfits, Mission
  • F, Robot: ***; S/C; Outfits, Mission
  • Failing Forest: ***; N/P; Object, Paint; Recruit
  • H 4 XXOR 3 D!: ****; S/C; Object, Recruit
  • High School Yearbook: ***; C/P; Object, Mission
  • Legendary Cheese: *; A/N; Outfits, Trophy
  • Missing Bugs: **; N/A; Objects
  • Ol' Gabby's Mine: **; S/N; Objects
  • OMG Glow Sticks!: **; S/C; Outfits, Mission (IN PROGRESS)
  • Pig, Camera, Action!: *; N/C; Outfits, Recruit (IN PROGRESS)
  • Roadie Despair: *; C/S; Objects, Recruit
  • The Sadness Parade: **; C/P; Outfits (ON HOLD)
  • Sewer Search: ***; S/N; Object, Trophy
  • Snack Thief: ***; S/C; Outfits, Object, Trophy
  • Tainted Broth: ***; P/N; Object, Paint, Recruit
  • The Bushido Code: ***; A/C; Outfits, Object
  • Yeti Begins: **; P/N; Objects, Paint

• Recruits and Recruitables
  • Beebee: N,A,3C (ON A MISSION)
  • Elmira: P,N,3S (ON A MISSION)
  • Leaf: 3N,2C (ON A MISSION)
  • Nova: 2P,N,2S
  • Pinky: P,4C (ON A MISSION)
  • Preston: A,3C,S
  • Roger: 5A
  • Agent Rosalyn: 2P,3S
  • Travis: 3C,2S (ON A MISSION)
  • Agent Vic: 3P,C,S
  • Wolfah: 3N,2A (ON A MISSION)

Next Time: Zomday His Prints Will Come!

I just picked up this game today, so I guess I'll play along as I follow along with the rest of this liveblog.

Well, I had a close call. I was playing SSBM when the power flickered, and the Wii didn't come back on. And it was the Wii; it wouldn't come on even when plugged into an outlet that I knew worked, and something else plugged into it did work. But I plugged it in again, and it seemed fine. So I'm going to go ahead and play until I finish the two outstanding missions.

removed by Nyperold

edited 7th Jun '10 6:48:57 PM by Nyperold

ROOK: I returned to the scene. I saw a jar of jam that I could use to get footprints. The top was stuck, so I used my F-Space Manipulator... to just whack it.

Isn't technology wonderful?

ROOK: Yeah, but... I kinda miss the crowbar, y'know? Anyway, I went over to Carl.

ROOK: I'm hungry, Carl. Can you make me something?

CARL: Certainly. It would be my pleasure. How about a sandwich?

ROOK: That sounds great! Thanks, Carl.

ROOK: He went over to make the sandwich, and wouldn't you know it, his prints matched. I decided to speak to him about it.

ELMIRA: Glow sticks? How I hate dancing and frivolity! I think I'll just stand over here, tap my foot in disapproval, and practice my sour facial expression.

RENÉE: The detour went right through the mud and the pigs loved it! We're making great time.

ROOK: Your footprints put you at the crime scene.

CARL: Well, yes. I'm often in there to clean the crystal or just to check on it.

ROOK: You're one of the few suspects with access to the crystal. You certainly had opportunity to smash the crystal!

(singing) A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun...

ROOK: Hush!

CARL: But I didn't! I would never smash the crystal! Why would I want to destroy something I've been protecting for years?

ROOK: I'm not sure. It does seem out of character, but this doesn't look good for you, Carl.

ROOK: I decided to ask around about why Carl might've done it. One look at Violet told me she wasn't going to be helpful, so I went to see...

ROOK: Trevor! I could use your help.

TREVOR: Is the investigation going well, my good detective?

ROOK: I think I've got a suspect, but I'm just not sure about the motive.

TREVOR: Motive?! Why, if you need to search deep into the hearts of your audience, the only way is to put on a play!

ROOK: A...play...?

TREVOR: Indeed! A reenactment of the crime for all to see!

ROOK: Thanks Trevor. That's certainly...an option!

ROOK: Well, a play needs costumery, so I asked Ms. Nicole.

By the way, in the original My Sims, Ms. Nicole was Shirley's sister. If the same is true here, then Ms. Nicole would be Derek's mother, or another aunt.

ROOK: Interesting.

ROOK: Can you help me make a costume?

MS. NICOLE: Why of course I can, darling! I always bring a sewing kit with me! A costume of whom, exactly?

ROOK: Of Cyrus, if possible.

MS. NICOLE: Certainly, but I'll need some fabric. If you could find me something purple, I could make you Cyrus's favorite tuxedo.

ROOK: I'll see what I can find, Ms. Nicole.

ROOK: I went from room to room, looking for suitable fabric. I finally found purple curtains in the crystal room! I took some...

SAPPHIRE: Omigosh so I know Zack and Candy wouldn't do this to me because they are the best friends since ever, but somebody nearby must have walked off with my hyper-fluoro-chemiluminescent glow sticks!

WOLFAH: Woof! Yip yip woof!

ROOK: ...that sounded hopeful — and delivered it to Ms. Nicole.

ROOK: Here's some cloth!

MS. NICOLE: Well, it's not exactly Italian silk, but I suppose I can whip something up!

ROOK: She finished quickly, and handed the finished product back.

MS. NICOLE: Here you go, darling — one tuxedo that just screams: "I'm wearing a tuxedo!"

A tuxedo wearing a tuxedo?

ROOK: No... I figured I'd also need a fake moustache, so I went to Trevor.

ROOK: What do you know about fake moustaches?

TREVOR: I know that if you're trying to impersonate a man who doesn't have a moustache, wearing a fake one to do so is quite a ridiculous thing to do!

ROOK: Well, this man does.

TREVOR: Oh, then: on my way in, I spied some wispyweed out in the swamp. That would certainly make for a fine mustachio...of wonders!

ROOK: Okay. Mustachio of wonders. Got it.

ROOK: I went out into the swamp to harvest some. I found three suitable pieces. The final ingredient: some white powder for a ghostly pallor. I found some in a crate in the kitchen. I went to Trevor.

ROOK: I'm ready!

TREVOR: Indeed! You've a tuxedo, a grand moustache, and a sack of flour to give you that ghostly pallor. Now...let us launch our ruse, wherein we'll catch the conscience of the crowd!

ROOK: I got Buddy ready, and went to the foot of the stairs.

ROOK: Attention, everyone! Could everyone gather around please?

ROOK: The guests and butler did so.

GORDON: What's this all about, Rook?

ROOK: Buddy and I have been investigating the mansion, and we would like to hold a little reenactment.

MS. NICOLE: You have some insight into what happened to the fortunite?

ROOK: Yes. Using scientific investigation methods, we've discovered some clues that have allowed us to recreate the events of the crime as accurately as possible.

ROOK: I cleared the impromptu stage, and Buddy came on, disguises as Cyrus. Oddly, he had no flour on his skin, but all over the clothing.

BUDDY: Hiya, pals! I'm Cyrus' ghost. Woooooooooooooooooo!!!

Heh, his icon is disguised.

TREVOR: I'm playing the part of the fortunite!

MS. NICOLE: Rook! What have you done to the suit I made you?!

ROOK: Sorry, Ms. Nicole. Solving mysteries is messy work sometimes.

MS. NICOLE: Sorry? Whatever for, darling? I love it! I will call this new look "Spirit, by Nicole!"

ROOK: Um...okay. Let's just proceed with the reenactment.

BUDDY: Wow, you sure are valuable, fortunite crystal! I'd sure better give you to somebody else now that I'm dead and stuff.

TREVOR: ...! I AM SHATTERED!!!

ROOK: He hammed up a death scene as Gordon booed, then got up, bowed, and left the stage.

BUDDY: Oh no, pal! My crystal! Good thing my ghost was here and I saw who did it. It was... YOUUUUUUU!

ROOK: Carl started weeping.

BUDDY: The end!

GORDON: That was the second worst play I've ever seen in my life.

Hey, you got a Cyrus suit.

ROOK: Don't expect me to wear it.

And new dispatch missions! We'll check those out when the outstanding ones are done.

ROOK: Right. I went to tell Zoe.

ROOK: I've solved the case!

ZOE: Wonderful, chere. Do tell!

ROOK: We gathered everyone again: Zoe, Buddy, and me at the top of the stairs, and everyone else at the bottom.

ZOE: Attention, everyone. Our friend here has some important news for all of you.

ROOK: The investigation has been going well. We followed a number of leads, and we've come to a conclusion... it looks like Carl smashed the fortunite crystal.

ROOK: Everyone was shocked... including Carl!

GORDON: It was the zombie!

TREVOR: I have starred in twenty-seven different plays where "The Butler Did It"...How did I not see this coming?!

CARL: NO!! I...I wouldn't Cyrus was my friend!

ZOE: Carl! I am shocked at this betrayal. You have destroyed a priceless treasure and ruined everyone's evening.

CARL: Why won't you listen? Oh, what's the use...

ROOK: He ran for the kitchen.

VIOLET: 'Carl!

ROOK: She followed.

ROOK: Buddy, I'll be right back.

ROOK: I followed them.

BUDDY: So, do we have dinner now, or...?

ZOE: Now we say "Good night." I am sorry to have wasted all of your time. Thank you for bringing this terrible matter to a close.

ROOK: In the kitchen...

CARL: Violet, you know it wasn't me. Cyrus and I have been friends since before the Nightmare Crown incident.

VIOLET: I know, Carl.

ROOK: I came in about this time.

CARL: To think of all the research Cyrus and the others did...all they sacrificed. And now...

VIOLET: Carl, it's not your fault!

ROOK: He left via the dumbwaiter. I was dumbfounded!

VIOLET: Rook, you don't really believe that Carl destroyed the fortunite, do you?

ROOK: Hold up a second — How on earth did Carl just use that dumbwaiter?! I couldn't get anywhere with it!

VIOLET: Oh, he has some special trick for it... I'm sure if you fiddled with the dumbwaiter's gears you could get it working again.

ROOK: So if I go up in the dumbwaiter, I'll find Carl?

VIOLET: Probably, but this is a very old house. It's filled with secret passages, you know.

ROOK: Really...interesting... alright, Violet, I'm going to keep investigating.

I decided to try the "fiddle with gears" thing first. After getting it working, I used it, and found myself above the foyer. Through a nearby door, I found Carl's room. And... Carl!

PINKY: OK, Quiz time! What color are sapphires?

ROOK: I chose blue rather than red.

RENÉE: Phew! We made it to the movies with time to spare! OK, time for some popcorn and slop.

ROOK: So now what's left is for the glow stick case to be solved. But back to my part.

ROOK: Carl, why did you break the crystal?

CARL: I don't know, Rook. To be honest, I don't even remember breaking it!

ROOK: How can you not remember? Your hammer was used and your footprints are all over the room!

CARL: I just haven't been sleeping well lately. It's those voices.

ROOK: Whoa whoa whoa. Tell me about the voices.

CARL: They're like whispers...I hear them at night. It's like the moon is telling me things. Things about Cyrus and fortunite.

ROOK: And where do there voices come from, Carl?

CARL: At first, I thought it was coming from my heating vent. But now I know — they're coming from inside my head!

ROOK: Carl, tell me about that vent. I'd like to check it out.

CARL: Oh, it comes into my room through the rafters. It goes almost all the way up to the roof.

ROOK: I decided it would be worth my time to investigate. On my way, I found a crate with statues of armor, another with a couple of vases...

PINKY: You win! Yay! Of course sapphires are blue. They're the best gem in the world! It's no wonder that Sapphire is named after them!

ROOK: ...and another with video games! Near that last crate was a vent... the vent that was used to carry voice to Carl's room! Also, I found a feather that looked... familiar. I decided to consult with Ms. Nicole once I got down.

ROOK: Ms. Nicole, do you recognize this feather?

MS. NICOLE: Yes of course! Those old things? They must belong to Madame Zoe.

ROOK: To Madame Zoe I went.

ROOK: I'd like to ask you a few more questions.

ZOE: Certainly, mon chere! Whatever I can do to wrap up this case quickly and forever.

ROOK: Do you have any other supernatural hobbies?

ZOE: I do dabble in the satisfying art of hypnosis.

ROOK: Oh, but I'm sure your skills have limits. You couldn't hypnotize me if I was unwilling, could you?

ZOE: Nonsense! My craft has been passed down by the ancients into my able hands! There is no task I cannot perform.

ROOK: Wow! Could you hypnotize me into committing a crime? Hypothetically, I mean.

ZOE: Yes! I can even do that!...Although, I never actually would do that, of course.

ROOK: Mmhmm. Thank you, Zoe.

ROOK: I went into the crystal room for further investigation. A close examination of the clock revealed that while the clock's hands were stopped, something was happening inside. I went on a spare part hunt.

SAPPHIRE: Omigosh they've narrowed down the suspects to totally two people: Dr. F, who glows green when he leaves his lab at night, and Yuki who is kind of a klepto. Who should we focus on?

ROOK: I chose Dr. F, and got back to work. Once I collected enough parts, I went back to the clock. When I fixed the clock, the fireplace turned once. A secret passageway! I entered it.

SAPPHIRE: So we waited for Dr. F to come out of his lab and he was totally glowing green! But it wasn't from my glow sticks because it was actually just intense amounts of gamma radiation.

ROOK: There were certainly plenty of places to use F-space! I found some notes about the crystal, and a locked trunk. Of course, I picked it, and found... a bunch of fortunite crystals?! That didn't seem likely.

ROOK: Roxie, can you analyze these crystals? I want to know if they're real fortunite.

ROXIE: Every crystal sample is coming back negative. Those crystals are definitely not fortunite, Rook.

ROOK: This made me wonder about the one in the crystal room. I rotated some stairs and left through the fireplace into... the dining room. I went back to the crystal room.

TRAVIS: Yeah, I've got a glow stick app for my cellphone, but man, it really kills the battery.

ROOK: Roxie, I've got another fortunite sample for you to analyze.

ROXIE: Another fake, Rook! There's no fortunite in that sample.

ROOK: That clinches it. The crime was a setup. I went to see Violet.

ROOK: I've solved the case!

VIOLET: Wonderful! Let's gather everyone and settle this once and for all...

ROOK: We all gathered in the foyer again.

MS. NICOLE: ''Darling, what are we doing here. I thought this matter was settled.

ZOE: Yes. So did I. completely settled.

ROOK: Exactly the way you wanted it to look, Madame Zoe... since you are the one who told Carl to destroy the fortunite.

ZOE: What?! That's ridiculous! You can't prove it!!

ROOK: I can and will.

(rimshot)

ROOK: ... Here's what really happened. We know that Carl broke the crystal with his silver hammer, but Zoe forced him to do it. We found one of Zoe's feathers outside of a vent in the attic. It was the perfect place to whisper hypnotic suggestions down to Carl while he slept.

CARL: So I was just sleepwalking! But... I still destroyed Cyrus' crystal!

BUDDY: Not necessarily...

ROOK: We found a secret passage in the mansion that was hiding a trunk. It was full of fake crystals. Using that same secret passage, Zoe snuck into the crystal room and swapped the peal fortunite with one of the fakes... and then hypnotized Carl into doing the dirty work.

CARL: So that means...I only destroyed a fake?!

BUDDY: Yup! The real fortunite crystal is perfectly safe.

ROOK: Isn't it, Madame Zoe?

ZOE: Hmph. Very clever, Rook. Here's the real crystal.

ROOK: She reluctantly handed it over.

GORDON: Incredible! But how did you come to suspect Madame Zoe?

ROOK: I knew something didn't feel right as soon as Buddy and I arrived. We were promised dinner and the will reading, but Zoe was surprisingly eager to get everyone into the crystal room.

BUDDY: She knew that as soon as everyone saw the smashed crystal, they would lose interest and go home, right pal?

ROOK: Exactly, Buddy. She wanted everyone gone so she could keep the crystal and the mansion to herself.

TREVOR: Then she must have suspected that she wouldn't inherit the estate!

ROOK: In fact, I'll bet she knew. Maybe Zoe peeked into the fortunite a little early to see who would be named in the will. Only you didn't like what you saw, did you, Zoe? Would you please hand your uncle's will to Buddy?

ROOK: She handed that over reluctantly, as well.

BUDDY: Let's see..."I, Cyrus Boudreaux, being of sound mind, do hereby entrust the entirety of my estate... to Miss Violet Nightshade!"

MS. NICOLE: Her?!

TREVOR: WOE!! The cruel ladies of fate have left poor Trevor empty-handed yet again!

ZOE: Congratulations, Violet. You can keep the house and that miserable crystal. There must be more fortunite out there somewhere... and I'm going to find it!

ROOK: She ran off!

BUDDY: HEY!!

VIOLET: It's okay, Buddy. I don't think we'll see her again. Rook, thank you so much for all you've done. May I walk you out to your jet?

ROOK: Carl led us out.

VIOLET: I trust you can all see yourselves out?

GORDON: I'm going to go ahead and file this as the worst' dinner party ever.

ROOK: Outside...

ROOK: There is still one thing I haven't figured out. What is the connection between your family and Cyrus?

VIOLET: I suppose there's no harm in telling you. My mother and Cyrus were good friends. My sister and I used to play here all the time when we were younger.

AWWWWWWWWWWWW! So cuuuuuuute!

ROOK: ...What?

Look. (Nyperold shows her the picture. It depicts Mrs. Nightshade and Cyrus with a yellow beverage, possibly lemonade, in glasses. Not too far into the background? Violet and Poppy when they were little.)

ROOK: Awwww, how precious!

BUDDY: That's why you refer to him as uncle Cyrus?

VIOLET: Yes, he was like family. But there was more... he and mother were both part of a special project... a group that researched the properties of the fortunite.

ROOK: The same group that made the Crown of Nightmares?

CARL: Yes! I'm surprised you've heard of it. Cyrus and the others worked very hard to keep that a secret.

VIOLET: That crown is evil. It can do terrible things!

CARL: I'm unliving proof of that! The first time it was used, I was turned into the miserable creature you see before you.

VIOLET: And one of the other scientists, Paul, was transformed into a monster!

BUDDY: Yeah. Hey, so can we keep your fortunite?

VIOLET: What?!

ROOK: Let me, Buddy... Violet, Morcubus is after the Crown of Nightmares. We think he's been trying to manufacture his own fortunite.

VIOLET: Morcubus? I remember him from the lab. He was terrible to us...

ROOK: We heard he was in a fight with the others in the group.

VIOLET: Oh, yes! Once they realized how dangerous the Nightmare Crown was, they pledges to destroy it. Morcubus was furious. He wanted to keep the crown for himself.

BUDDY: Why does he need the fortunite?

CARL: I think it was supposed to focus the energy that went into the crown. It was part of what gave the crown its power.

ROOK: Violet, if you let us keep the fortunite, we promise to do everything we can to keep it safe.

VIOLET: Well, you helped Carl even when the evidence was stacked against him. I think I can trust you. But be careful. Morcubus cannot be allowed to get the crown.

ROOK: But what if he just makes his own crown?

VIOLET: He can't. Maybe he could make a powerful enough crystal to replace the fortunite... but the crown is unique.

ROOK: So he can't do anything unless he finds the actual crown. Do you know where it is?

CARL: No one knows. Cyrus only led the research on the fortunite. The actual crown was created by Dr. Gray.

BUDDY: Evelyn's dad!

CARL: But he disappeared, and the Nightmare Crown disappeared with him.

VIOLET: Keep the crystal safe, Rook, and don't underestimate Morcubus.

ROOK: Thank you, Violet.

BUDDY: Take care, guys!

ROOK: They went back to the mansion, and we flew back to HQ.

BUDDY: Well, that sure was an interesting bunch. And I'm really glad I met Carl. I've never saw a real zombie before! He's actually a really nice guy. You know, for a shambling undead monstrosity.

You got a fortunite replica for your trophy case! And there are new recruits available: Trevor, Gordon, Zoe, Ms. Nicole, Carl, and Violet. There's a jacket, surfing outfits, and swimwear in your Derobeinator, and a couple of new dispatch missions!

BUDDY: Well, we got the crystal, but how are we going to find the actual crown?

EVELYN: My father's journal hasn't given me any clues on what we're looking for...and I've nearly read it cover to cover!

ROOK: Hmmm...if Morcubus finds out that we got to the fortunite, he'll redouble his efforts to get the Nightmare Crown.

BUDDY: What if he's already searching for it?

ROOK: Hey, he might be! Let's see in Morcu Corp has any new "projects" in the city. It might point us in the right direction.

EVELYN: That's a brilliant idea!

BUDDY: To the internet!

JENNY: I've got something. It looks like a new MUBA shop just opened up on the boardwalk.

BUDDY: What's a "MUBA" shop?

JENNY: It's a SCUBA shop. but it's owned and operated by Morcu Corp!

ROOK: ... Morcu Corp SCUBA..."MUBA". These guys aren't even trying anymore.

EVELYN: What's Morcubus looking for at the beach?

ROOK: I don't know. We should go check it out. Feel like taking a trip to the beach, Buddy?

BUDDY: YES! Boardwalk food! I'm gonna get a a turkey-on-a-fork!''

JENNY: Oh, sure, you guys go to the beach. Lots of hard work to do at the beach. I'll just sit behind this desk!

ROOK: Jenny, why don't you take the rest of the day off and hit the beach?

JENNY: Thanks, but I need the rest of the day off to update my blog. Have fun, though!

Aww...

ROOK: Evelyn, keep searching for clues in your father's journal. There's got to be something we can use. Buddy, let's catch the next train to the boardwalk!

ROOK: I changed to the cutest swimsuit I could find: a light blue, greenish-brown, and pink top that parted in the middle, and light blue bottoms. There were also beads around my wrist and waist, and pink flip-flops on my feet.

Well, that is a cute swimsuit, but... say, Rook... where's your bellybutton?

ROOK: ...My what, now?

Bellybutton. Sort of like a hole or knot? It's generally on the tummy?

ROOK: I don't think I have one. I've never seen or heard of them.

Come to think of it, I didn't see one on Sapphire, either.

ROOK: Umm... right. I'm just gonna talk to Roxie now. Hello Roxie.

ROXIE: ARGH!! Now the beach? Rook, I... I don't think I can handle this job anymore.

ROOK: It'll be OK, Roxie.

ROXIE: Do you think you could go to a hermetically sealed retreat for your next mission?

ROOK: I asked Jenny for a debriefing.

JENNY: I heard that all the pigs really enjoyed the movie. Here are the rewards for a job well done.

(Renée is now available! Also, now there's a headset in my Agent gear, and square glasses in Makeover Mirror!)

ROOK: I hung around a while longer, waiting for that last mission.

SAPPHIRE: Omigosh, so it really was Dr. F who took my glow sticks but then it turns out he only wanted to install cold fusion reactors in them and now they'll glow for 3 billion years! Yay!

JENNY: Sapphire is so pleased with the way the team helped her with her glowstick problem. Like, OMG', I think she's got another one for us.''

(Strawberry clothing! No, not clothing for strawberries, but clothing with a strawberry motif. And, a new mission!)

(The new missions are:

• Gonk Need Food, Badly

GONK: Gonk Hungry. Gonk lose track of time teaching Bobaboo to poke rock with stick. You send food? Or send team to help Gonk get food?

4 stars. 20 minutes. Nature/Athletic. New Object and Recruit.

• Magical Assistant

Marlon: Being the royal wizard is hard work! I just don't have enough time for all my Kingdom Pals — I mean magical... research. I need an apprentice! Perhaps a search committee could be formed to help me find one?

3 stars. 20 minutes. Charismatic/Paranormal. New Object and Dispatch Mission.

(For those who don't know, "Kingdom Pals" are toy animals. Maybe I should've blogged My Sims and My Sims Kingdom first...)

• Red Buddy

SAPPHIRE: Heya, Rook. My energy drink company is testing a new sports product we call "Red Buddy." Think you can, like, send over some taste testers?

3 stars. 15 minutes. Paranormal/Athletic. New Outfits, Object, and Trophy.

• The Prominence

THE AMAZING DARYL: My competitor, the nefarious Beigestone, has figured out the secret to my exploding bellhop trick! I need help devising a new illusion that will take the magic world by storm!

3 stars. 20 minutes. Paranormal/Smarts. New Outfits.

• Reagent Run

WENDALYN: I'm running out of reagents for the magical potion I drink that keeps me looking so yo— well, it's none of your business what it's for. But I could use some help gathering ingredients. Newt eyes don't grow on trees, you know!

2 stars. 30 minutes. Paranormal/Nature. New Outfits and Recruit.

And the new recruitables:

CARL: ''Rook, I heard your call to action and I cannot resist. Please let me help you. It's the least I can do after nearly letting Zoe get away with the fortunite crystal!

3 Paranormal, 1 Nature, 1 Smarts.

GORDON: Well, hello again, friend! I was quite impressed with your deductive reasoning during that dinner party debacle. Maybe I should challenge my own intellect as an agent?

5 Smarts.

MS. NICOLE: Darling, I've been meaning to tell you: Your agent "uniform?" Dreadful. And just look at your HQ layout!! Gasp, darling, just gasp! You need me there.

I didn't know she had an interest in building layout, but whatever. 4 Charismatic, 1 Smarts.

RENÉE: I'm Renée! I'm volunteering to protect the animals. And you better not have any bacon in that fridge of yours! Remember, pigs are for hugging, not chewing!

ROOK: Uh oh. That was part of Buddy's inspection: "Point 17: Fridge must be big enough to fit 32 pounds of bacon." I hope she doesn't check...

3 Nature, 2 Charismatic.

TREVOR: But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is Trevor, master of disguise. man of a thousand voices! I was born' to agent, Rook!

5 Charismatic.

VIOLET: That was impressive work back at the mansion. Perhaps I should take a more active role in protecting the world from evil men. And I'd be closer to Poppy...

3 Paranormal, 1 Natural, 1 Smarts.

ZOE: Ah, so you desire help from the all-seeing, all-knowing Madame Zoe, chere? Well it'd be a dang sight easier if someone hadn't taken my crystal!!!

4 Paranormal, 1 Smarts.

• Missions
  • Candypaluna: **; A/S; Object, Mission
  • Episode X: **; S/P; Object, Trophy
  • Equipment Recovery: **; A/S; Outfits, Mission
  • F, Robot: ***; S/C; Outfits, Mission
  • Failing Forest: ***; N/P; Object, Paint, Recruit
  • Gonk Need Food, Badly: ****; N/A; Object, Recruit (NEW!)
  • H 4 XXOR 3 D!: ****; S/C; Object, Recruit
  • High School Yearbook: ***; C/P; Object, Mission
  • Legendary Cheese: *; A/N; Outfits, Trophy
  • Magical Assistant: ***; C/P; Object, Mission (NEW!)
  • Missing Bugs: **; N/A; Objects
  • Ol' Gabby's Mine: **; S/N; Objects
  • The Prominence: ***; P/S; Outfits (NEW!)
  • Reagent Run: **; P/N; Outfits, Recruit (NEW!)
  • Red Buddy: ***; P/A; Outfits, Object, Trophy (NEW!)
  • Roadie Despair: *; C/S; Objects, Recruit
  • The Sadness Parade: **; C/P; Outfits
  • Sewer Search: ***; S/N; Object, Trophy
  • Snack Thief: ***; S/C; Outfits, Object, Trophy
  • Tainted Broth: ***; P/N; Object, Paint, Recruit
  • The Bushido Code: ***; A/C; Outfits, Object
  • Yeti Begins: **; P/N; Objects, Paint

• Recruits and Recruitables
  • Beebee: N,A,3C
  • Carl: 3P,N,S
  • Elmira: P,N,3S
  • Gordon: 5S
  • Leaf: 3N,2C
  • Ms. Nicole: 4C,S (NEW!)
  • Nova: 2P,N,2S
  • Pinky: P,4C
  • Preston: A,3C,S
  • Renée: 3N,2C (NEW!)
  • Roger: 5A
  • Agent Rosalyn: 2P,3S
  • Travis: 3C,2S
  • Trevor: 5C (NEW!)
  • Agent Vic: 3P,C,S
  • Violet: 3P,N,S (NEW!)
  • Wolfah: 3N,2A
  • Zoe: 4P,S (NEW!)

You may have noticed that The Sadness Parade is now OFF hold, because the character you would probably be most interested in using is here.)

edited 7th Jun '10 6:46:57 PM by Nyperold

The work I'm expecting hasn't arrived yet, so I plan on continuing this sometime tomorrow. So if you have a new mission ready by then, I'll be able to do it.

ROOK: I decided against sending out agents at this time, and headed for the beach.

BUDDY: I can't wait to walk around the beach, Rook. Oh, wait, can we go back to HQ real quick? I didn't bring my can of Crab-Off! I don't wanna be swarmed by crabs!

ROOK: We arrived at the boardwalk. Two girls in one-pieces were talking. One was dark-skinned, with black hair in pigtails with pink ribbons, and wearing an orange and yellow one-piece and yellow sandals.

??????: Clara, you've got to get over this whole "imaginary friend" thing. It's making you look less cute.

ROOK: The other one, Clara, apparently, had light skin, red hair in lower pigtails with a daisy in it, and green eyes. She wore a purple one-piece with pink spots and trim, and purple and pink flip-flops.

CLARA: Mr. Suckers is not imaginary. He's real! And he's going to have a tea party with me!

??????: Look, I'm going to see Chaz's stunt show later. Don't embarrass us in front of Chaz. He's soooo dreamy!''

CLARA: Ewww, he is not!

ROOK: I decided to poke around for cases, but first, I'd talk to the other beachgoers and business-sims. Down the stairs, I saw a pair of familiar faces!

ROOK: What are you doing at the beach, Dr. F?

DR. F: Research! Studying the amazing science behind those tiny umbrellas they put in drinks. It's fascinating!

ROOK: Ah! Of course. Carry on, Dr. F. Hello again, Tobor.

TOBOR: Pardon me, fleshie, but I need to maximize my relaxation time while I have it.

ROOK: On my way around, I found a skirt outfit, and some paint. Back up on the boardwalk, I talked to the local Turkey-on-a-Fork purveyor...

ROOK: Great day at the beach, isn't it?

???? ???: Oh yeah. Yippee. I love standing out in the sun, getting sunburned, selling Turkey-on-a-Fork. My life's dream is fulfilled!

ROOK: ...the sushi chef...

ROOK: A sushi stand on the beach?

???? ????????: Indeed! My perfect sushi rolls require fish of incredible freshness. So now when I need fish I can go right to the source!

ROOK: I see. Smart plan!

ROOK: ...and another familiar face, the SCUBA MUBA shop proprietoress.

ROOK: Hey. So now you're at the beach?

YUKI: Yuki likes the beach. SCUBA gear to rent and lots of red faces to bite.

ROOK: So you're running the MUBA stand?

YUKI: That's right! Come by for a free lesson! Or face biting.

ROOK: Out in the water, I talked to the girls.

ROOK: You seem to be enjoying yourself.

??????: Don't you just love the ocean? It's so big and blue. And I look so cute standing next to it!

ROOK: Enjoying the weather?

CLARA: You bet! When it's this nice out, I like looking for animals in the water. I saw two dolphins and a surfer already today!

ROOK: I also spoke with the lifeguard, a light-skinned girl with blond hair in a ponytail, and blue eyes.

ROOK: So, you must be the lifeguard on duty?

??????: You betcha! Welcome to the beach! Please have fun and be safe!

ROOK: Sure thing, Summer.

ROOK: In back of the stands and shops, the parking lot seemed to have a lot of not-cars in it. Specifically, some crates, some hay bales, and some road cones, blocking access to a pair of ramps on either side of a hoop. There was a van with a face on it, but you'd expect that. There were also trash cans, one of which had a radio on it. I talked to the guy in the stunt outfit.

ROOK: What's going on over here?

CHAZ: Well, chump, you're a little early. Chaz, king of the beach, is getting ready for his most extreme stunt yet.

ROOK: Hmph. I'm no chump!

ROOK: I decided talking to the guy with the doggie hood would be more pleasant.

ROOK: What's all this setup for?

???: Hey, Chaz-fans! Here for the most extreme stunt ever attempted? Get to the back of the line and have your ticket ready!

ROOK: Err...there is no line.

???: There will be once you get in it.

...They're just setting themselves up for Hype Aversion, aren't they?

ROOK: Hype Backlash, at least. It looks pretty ordinary, I've gotta say. Anyway, I went to see the tattoo parlor proprietor.

ROOK: What's doing, Justice?

JUSTICE: Sorry, kid, no time for idle chat. My crab traps are missing!

ROOK: That's no good. Anything I can do?

JUSTICE: Well, kid, you can find out who did it so I can bring 'im a world of hurt. Interested?

ROOK: Yeah, I'll look into it.

JUSTICE: Right on, kid. Let me tell you what I know.

ROOK: Go ahead, Justice.

JUSTICE: Thanks, kid! Sorry to bug ya, but like I said: I got real problems with my crab traps.

ROOK: I didn't know you kept crab traps!

JUSTICE: Kid, I've been all over this world and eaten a lot of different grub. Take it from Justice, there is no finer food in life than the crabcake sandwich.

Well, there is this little thing called differing tastes...

ROOK: Yeah, crabcakes are pretty good.

JUSTICE: They're the best! That's why I set up my own traps. I'm addicted to fresh crab!!

ROOK: But now—no traps...

JUSTICE: And no crab! Ya gotta help me, kid. Find out who stole my traps.

ROOK: Any idea about who would want to take your crab traps, Justice?

JUSTICE: Well, I have some suspicions. Like that girl, Clara, and that sushi chef...

ROOK: Why do you think it was Clara?

JUSTICE: ...Because I caught her the other day trying to free one of my crabs. Said it was "mean" to trap them.

ROOK: Do you think she tried again?

JUSTICE: I scolded her pretty good when I caught her the first time. I'd be surprised if she tried again, but you never know...'

ROOK: Justice... if it was her... you wouldn't really hurt her, would you?

JUSTICE: ...Well... no, I guess not. But maybe I could get Luke or Summer to talk to her.

ROOK: Good. So, what about Chef Watanabe?

JUSTICE: Well, his business is raw fish, and crab meat is the most delicious food ever. Maybe he got tempted...

ROOK: Do you have any proof that the chef did it?

JUSTICE: Well, I didn't actually see him do anything.' If I knew it was him, I wouldn't have mentioned Clara. But, I installed a camera on the roof of my tattoo parlor; maybe it caught him in the act.

ROOK: First, I checked in with the shopkeepers.

ROOK: Hey, Luke, how are the waves today?

LUKE: Well, the swell is killer, but there's something up with the water near the buoys past Summer's lifeguard chair.

ROOK: What's up with the water?

LUKE: Well, I was shreddin' over that way earlier, and I started feelin' a lil' ill and kinda itchy. Also the waves were sorta glowin'.

ROOK: Glowing?!

LUKE: Totally! Killer, right? I must have really been shreddin'!

ROOK: I don't think shredding does that... anyway, on to Mr. Sunshine...

ROOK: What are your thoughts on the missing traps?

???? ???: I have some ideas. But business is down, and I only get paid on "drumstick commission," so I can't talk now.

ROOK: But there's no customers in sight. What will it take to get your help?

???? ???: You could buy Turkey-on-a-Fork. It's turkey. On a fork. I'm required to ask if you want extra gravy.

ROOK: Who wouldn't want extra gravy?

ROOK: I bought, and ate. It was pretty good!

???? ???: Mmm, a meal fit for a tourist. So remember when I said business was down? It's because of Chef Watanabe over there.

ROOK: That's it? What does that have to do with the missing crab traps?

???? ???: Well, he has a new special: Super Jumbo Crab Meat Roll. You do the math.

ROOK: I should talk with the chef, but first...

ROOK: Know anything about the missing crab traps?

YUKI: Yuki doesn't know about cages for crab. Yuki likes Turkey-on-a-Fork!

ROOK: Got it. So you didn't see anything suspicious?

YUKI: Nope, Yuki's been at her stand all day, renting "MUBA" things. Not even a face bite today!

ROOK: And finally...

ROOK: Know anything about missing crab traps, chef?

CHEF WATANABE: No! Why should I?

ROOK: No reason. Any idea who would want to take them?

CHEF WATANABE: Hai! That girl, Clara. She thinks it's "cruelty to animals to make sushi! Does she not realize it's delicious?

ROOK: Then I went out to the beach. I didn't feel I could ask Clara directly—

Yeah, the "Talk" icon was faded out, meaning you'd just get the same conversation as earlier.

ROOK: ...Of course. So I went to the others.

ROOK: Have you seen anything suspicious recently?

SUMMER: Something suspicious? How do you mean?

ROOK: Anyone lurking in the water nearby that could have taken Justice's crab traps?

SUMMER: No...but now that you mention it, I did see something strange the other day.

ROOK: Strange, how?

SUMMER: While on duty here, I thought I saw a weird boat way out in the ocean. When I got my binoculars, it had disappeared into the water!

ROOK: I wondered if her sighting was related. Anyway, I figured I'd get something harder than hearsay by checking Justice's camera. To get to it, I had to jump onto the newspaper box, from there to the phone booth — Whoa, phones come in booth form now?

Uh, you saw one back on Main Street...?

ROOK: Oh, right. From there, I jumped to Luke's surf shop roof where I found a chest with surf tunes and paint patterns. I crossed the sign to the sushi stand, and from there to the roof of the tattoo parlor.

Huh. I didn't see it before, but the sign on the MUBA shop looks like Morcubus's hair.

ROOK: Well, yeah. That makes sense. Anyway, I hopped onto the crate and proceeded to hack the camera. The footage showed Yuki going behind the surf shop, but it wasn't aimed in a way that lets you see the traps.

ROOK: You went behind the surf shop. Can I ask why?

YUKI: Yuki did no such thing!

ROOK: Well, the video surveillance I watched says differently.

YUKI: Oh, that. Yuki had to make a...business call.

Ew.

ROOK: I don't think that's what she meant. Besides, I think she's... trained.

ROOK: What kind of business?

YUKI: "MUBA" stuff.

ROOK: I figured it might be worth a try to hack the phone. And what do you know, it worked. The number turned out to be 1-800-555-PAINT-IT, which seems like too many numbers. And why did they turn up as letters, anyway? I decided to talk to Dr. F.

ROOK: What's up, doc?

DR. F: Never Heard That One Before. So, did that tantalizingly noxious radiation drive you to the far end of the beach? May I pour you a tall glass of "Electronade"?

ROOK: So, how are things back at the lab?

DR. F: Superb! The Foliage Fusion Drive has been a great success in gardening circles! Alexa is currently hitting the tradeshows.

ROOK: Ah, so that's why she's not here.

Just as well, as she'd probably be in a labcoat, herself.

ROOK: Um, is that a smart idea? Mass-marketing a device that vaporizes plant-life?

DR. F: The smartest!! Overgrown lawns beware! Wait 'till you see my next invention: the Pet Prevention Engine!

ROOK: Okaaay, so... "Electronade"?

DR. F: My latest breakthrough in the beverage sciences. I hook a single lemon up to a car battery and shock the juice right out of it!

ROOK: Sounds...electrifying!

DR. F: ...And refreshing!

ROOK: Wait...what?! Radiation?

DR. F: Yes! Good ol' trace nuclear waste! The other end of the beach reeks of it!

ROOK: Poor Luke... and the other beachgoers, too... but why are there traces of nuclear fallout on the beach?!

DR. F: There are dozens of potential explanations! Mutant sand-dollars? Nuclear mini-subs pulling water-skiers? We may never know!

ROOK: Is there any way I can find the source of this radiation?

DR. F: Find me some scientific items and I will fashion you a Super Detector! It will detect anything! Or at least, radiation...

ROOK: I'd have to collect a megaphone, an atomic convertor, and an auxiliary sensor. First...

ROOK: Might you have an auxiliary sensor to spare?

TOBOR: Oh, sure. Just gut the robot for parts! He won't feel anything...

ROOK: Yeah...that'd be great, Tobor!

TOBOR: Why is sarcasm always lost on fleshies? Fine! One less auxiliary sensor is that much less I have to listen to human insanity.

ROOK: He handed it over.

ROOK: Thanks, Tobor!

TOBOR: Huh?! What? Did you say something?!

ROOK: {The doctor says I need a gadget, and the only prescription is more megaphone. I think I saw a couple on that sign there. I'll only need one...}

ROOK: I snagged it, and looked for an atomic converter. I wondered if those crates by the train platform would hold one. Indeed, the big one did! While I was there, I opened a chest with a punching bag, a sports ball sculpture, and a new set of boxing gloves! Back to the doc.

ROOK: Hey doc, I think I have all the parts for that gadget you mentioned...

DR. F: Excellent! I will fashion you the most devastating Super Detector ever! This will only take a moment...

ROOK: He took the detector and worked on it a bit. Then he handed it back. I went to a spot in the water lined up with the lifeguard chair, equipped the Super Detector, and headed away from Dr. F's end. Soon enough, the detector picked up traces of radiation, which I followed. I found it strongest near a cliff wall where a storm drain let out higher up. I went up near where the drain was and F-Spaced some rocks down from in front of a cave, unblocking it and making a crude stairway up. I climbed up, and opened a chest containing end tables in stone, wood, alien theme, and... floating? I entered the cave. I hopped onto a crate, and from there to a thing with a chest on it! This one contained a Morcubus figurine, and some more paint patterns. Back on the ground, there was a crate with more paints. Over by some paint cans, I found an order invoice for paint, tying Yuki to this submarine! I also found a broken control station, which I repaired, and raised the sub. An investigation of the propeller revealed a length of rope tangled around it. Interesting. I had just about everything I needed. I'd checked just about everywhere, except... the scene! I headed over to the actual former locations of the cages. I looked around near where the cages were, and saw... a thick, shiny black liquid. I sent a scan to Roxie.

ROXIE: My analysis shows that substance you found in the water is a special type of aquatic lubricant.

ROOK: That clinched it. I went to see Justice.

ROOK: ''Hey, Justice, I think I know what happened to your traps...

JUSTICE: Tell me now, kid!

ROOK: We went outside.

JUSTICE: So, what did ya find out, kid? Do you know who stole my lunch?

ROOK: Well, it turns out that nobody stole the crabs at all. The traps were smashed by propellers.

JUSTICE: Propellers? But all the boats docked here are sailboats! Kid, I'm no agent, but that doesn't make sense.

ROOK: It seemed strange at first to me, too, but I followed a radiation signature to a hidden Morcu Corp submarine dock. Turns out, Yuki has been driving a mini-sub around... unfortunately, I'm not exactly sure why she's doing it!

YUKI: Yuki loves driving the Yukisub!

ROOK: Yuki! Why are you joyriding around in a nuclear submarine?!

YUKI: Yuki doesn't have to tell you! Are you charging Yuki with something? Yuki requests her lawyer.

ROOK: Kid has a surprisingly good grasp on the legal system.

YUKI: Morcu Corp lawyers are great for biting and high-stakes corporate litigation!

ROOK: Sorry about the traps, Justice, but I've got to learn more about what's going on here...

JUSTICE: Hey, I understand, kid. Thanks for the help. Guess I've got some online crab trap shopping to do!

(And you've got new missions!)

• The Finest Blade

CHEF WATANABE: Greetings, Agent Rook. This humble chef is saddened to inform you that my sushi knives, handed down from my old master, are thoroughly worn out. A sushi chef must have the sharpest of blades to be able to slice perfect cuts of fish. Please, help this chef find the edge he needs for his art.

3 stars. 15 minutes. Nature/Smarts. New outfits & new dispatch mission.

• Justice for Justice

JUSTICE: Hey kid. Justice here. Look, I'm having trouble with some old...friends of mine. They've started a rival tattoo parlor, and they're stealing all my designs! I know they're doing it, but I need proof to get them shut down by the city tattoo board!

5 stars. 10 minutes. Athletic/Charismatic. New outfits & a trophy.

• Missions
  • Candypaluna: **; A/S; Object, Mission
  • Episode X: **; S/P; Object, Trophy
  • Equipment Recovery: **; A/S; Outfits, Mission
  • F, Robot: ***; S/C; Outfits, Mission
  • Failing Forest: ***; N/P; Object, Paint, Recruit
  • The Finest Blade: ***; N/S; Outfits, Mission (NEW!)
  • Gonk Need Food, Badly: ****; N/A; Object, Recruit
  • H 4 XXOR 3 D!: ****; S/C; Object, Recruit
  • High School Yearbook: ***; C/P; Object, Mission
  • Justice for Justice: *****; A/C; Outfits, Trophy (NEW!)
  • Legendary Cheese: *; A/N; Outfits, Trophy
  • Magical Assistant: ***; C/P; Object, Mission
  • Missing Bugs: **; N/A; Objects
  • Ol' Gabby's Mine: **; S/N; Objects
  • The Prominence: ***; P/S; Outfits
  • Reagent Run: **; P/N; Outfits, Recruit
  • Red Buddy: ***; P/A; Outfits, Object, Trophy
  • Roadie Despair: *; C/S; Objects, Recruit
  • The Sadness Parade: **; C/P; Outfits
  • Sewer Search: ***; S/N; Object, Trophy
  • Snack Thief: ***; S/C; Outfits, Object, Trophy
  • Tainted Broth: ***; P/N; Object, Paint, Recruit
  • The Bushido Code: ***; A/C; Outfits, Object
  • Yeti Begins: **; P/N; Objects, Paint

• Recruits and Recruitables
  • Beebee: N,A,3C
  • Carl: 3P,N,S
  • Elmira: P,N,3S
  • Gordon: 5S
  • Leaf: 3N,2C
  • Ms. Nicole: 4C,S
  • Nova: 2P,N,2S
  • Pinky: P,4C
  • Preston: A,3C,S
  • Renée: 3N,2C
  • Roger: 5A
  • Agent Rosalyn: 2P,3S
  • Travis: 3C,2S
  • Trevor: 5C
  • Agent Vic: 3P,C,S
  • Violet: 3P,N,S
  • Wolfah: 3N,2A
  • Zoe: 4P,S

Next time: Luke, I am your surfer!

edited 5th Jul '10 5:21:20 PM by Nyperold