Oh, no. You are DOOMED.

[mansionstaff]

Mother Nature had one hell of a temper, and if not that, then perhaps a sadistic sense of humor. The world was Her plaything, a marionette at best, and the people who lived on it, rather unfortunate victims to Her sometimes violent moodswings. For only She could start with an overcast, grey sky, and splatter across it heavy clouds, treacherous storms, and relentless armies of snowflakes that had lost all endearment only to become companions of inconvenience and burden. Someone or something had maddened her greatly - or so would have been the assumption if one gave reason to believe in Sprites of Nature who controlled an entire world's plethora of environments.

Yet Smash Academy had only been given a taste of what was to come. And since they were such diligent and well-behaved little pets, She had reason to reward them. With more entertaining obstacles that would, no doubt, impede their precious plans that somehow took precedence to pleasing and sating her. No, they had not appreciated their darling sunshine days, clear blue skies, and painful sunburns.

"Stop playing at your human-made technological machines and bask in the glorious sun I gave to you!" she wished she could have said. But somehow winter's torment, she knew, would be a far sweeter revenge upon ungrateful children.

And that was how it had begun.

By stand alone days of simple snowfall and ambitious winds, there would be no suspicion of greater minds and hands at work. Steadily through the week, each day became harsher than the last. And like a great many number of battles in a war, there came a pinnacle for Her success. She sent the most worthy blizzard down to the surface in its invincible path and rendered for them a weekend She was certain the town and academy's citizens would remember for some time to come.

One moment was mostly peaceful, and as calm as unruly weather would allow. In some places music played. In some places, lights were dimly lit to provide a pathway. In some places, there was the happy clicking and tapping at a computer. In some places, showers and baths were being taken, savored, and enjoyed. And in other places, unsuspecting people had taken to idle chitter and chatter with other friends who were likely down the hall.

But in the next...

All went black and silent, save for the whipping wind and strangling branches of trees, as if whispering threats of what people would find in the dark.

---

[OOC Notes:
The following is a reminder of how things are going down for the next few days.

♦ This will last from January 18 ~ 20.
♦ The following are affected by the blizzard: electricity, heaters, hot water, TVs, gadgets, gizmos, the network. Congratulations, you've been officially stripped of your luxuries. (No computers for you.)
♦ The school's backup generators will work for about one hour before mysteriously failing. What's causing it to fail? Maybe some of you should go check out the generators themselves...
♦ The blizzard causing this blackout is pretty powerful. You probably don't want to go skipping through it lest you get blown away (in a bad way) and never return.
♦ Power will be restored, and the generators repaired, by Monday morning, January 21.]

Comments

GENERATOR SHENANIGANS

[mansionstaff]

[For those who are tempted to... Well. Tempt fate.]

[maskxdemasque]

One Mr. DeLite knew the school had generators. He was very, very aware of this fact. He even knew the supposed life the generators should provide the school in the event of a power outage, but an hour wasn't right.

So once the power went out, Ron jumped and looked around him, confused. Perhaps it was just a glitch, and he would need to find someone with technical proficiency to get the power back up again. Without too much hesitation, Ron headed directly for the generators themselves. It was his duty to ensure that everything was alright!

It didn't take long for him to arrive at the scene. With him, he held a flashlight (which was now on), and he eased open the door that lead to the backup generators. Now, what could be the problem here...? He hoped to get down to the bottom of this.

[obfuskate]

"Hmph. You're slow."

Wait, wow, when did Shadow get here? Well, he was here and he was already on the case, fiddling with the machinery's hull to get into the nitty-gritty of the situation. He didn't even bother to look back at him, his ears having swiveled to pick up the noise of Ron approaching.

"This shouldn't have happened..." He grumbled, frustrated and worn as he loosened yet another bolt. He got here fast, faster than he normally would, but that was mainly because of Resetti screaming into his ears to get to the bottom of this.

[maskxdemasque]

Wow, so quick! Ron shuffled on over, being careful to avoid any wires or parts on the floor of the room, stopping short of the generator which Shadow so intently fiddled with.

"D-Did you find anything?" he asked, clutching the collar of his shirt with his free hand.

[trustycrowbar]

With a short sharp flash, a third flashlight joins the two, faced shortly by the disgruntled face and slouching posture of the physics professor. He halts in a similar manner to Ron when he finds people already working on the generator.

"...What's the prognosis?" He says to Shadow as he nears them, skipping formalities to get right to the point.

[obfuskate]

As soon as that metal plating came off-- woah. That scent of something that must have burned smacks him right in the face. This isn't good. It smells like someone stuck a skunk in the generator and let it burn inside.

Maybe- Maybe someone did? Anything could happen here.

"That should be indication enough," he squawks pathetically, his breathing shallow to reduce the amount of scent inhaled. "They've fried."

Not good. Not good at all. It'd take a hell of a while to get these back up and running if it's as bad as it smells.

[maskxdemasque]

Ron peers into the cavity of the generator with wide-eyed curiosity before having the same reaction as Shadow, pulling back and covering his mouth and nose with his sleeve. It sure did smell like a mechanical mishap...

"Th-Then, what can be done about this?" Ron inquired. He wasn't the best with circuitry, so he didn't bother to lean forward and see if he could figure anything out for himself. Leave it to those who know what they're doin' and all.

[trustycrowbar]

Gordon's smelled a hell of a lot worse in his lifetime, but even he recoils a little at his turn to peer inside, when the sudden sharp tang of burnt metal and plastic and god-knows-what else hits him. Holy god...

"We're probably staring down some metal fatigue burnt seals, at least... good God, did they not bother to maintain this thing for ten years and just hoped it would run?"

[obfuskate]

"I would not put it past them."

Shadow's eyes drifted to Ron for the briefest of moments -- yeah, he won't be of any good use at all, that kid -- and then wandered to Gordon. Now, that man actually seemed to have some semblance of logic and skill. He could utilize his abilities to make this job quicker.

"You." He quirked a brow. "You sound as though you know what you are doing, my good man." He was not above flattery to get what he wanted. "We could get this junk operating soon enough if we work together."

Then he'll toss him to the curb until he needs him again. Excellent.

[maskxdemasque]

Ron can tell when he's being ignored - it was a frequent occurrence with him (unless he was yelling). He sighed quietly to himself and walked around Gordon, giving the two of them ample space to work together on the massive generator. Perhaps he could get around to the other side and she if he could at least be of some assistance, and yet stay out of the way. He'd leave them be to work on getting it fixed.

The security guard, from his new perspective on the far side of the generator, began to look into the cords and cables, the beam of his flashlight skimming over the innards of the generator. It was a mess, but he knew this thing should be having some yearly maintenance... right? Ron wondered to himself about the state of the blackout and the connection with the generator. Perhaps there was a chance he'd be able to find a clue on his own, but he didn't keep his hopes up.

[trustycrowbar]

'My good man?' When he first met him in the library he got little more than a derisive snort. He casts a sidelong glance to shadow and then regards the huge generator all over again.

"The basic principle on these things are the same used since the twenties. First thing's first; I'll check the rotors for obstructions and blown components." He addresses the corinthian column with the shoulder pauldrons.

"Can you do me a favor and check the fuel line? There should be a tank in the next room." Because these huge machines always have components in different rooms. That's how gaming puzzles large industrial machinery works.

[obfuskate]

Oh, how situations changed Shadow's demeanor, all for his own gain. Was he really that nasty to disregard someone unless he actually thought they could give him something?

Well, yes. He's kind of a dickwad like that.

"Roger," he spoke, rising to his feet and preparing to run off in that direction before giving Ron yet another glance. He seemed all stupidly dejected in that corner of his...

...

Ah, whatever.

"You," he beckoned. "Come with me."

Better that he kept this one in his sights, anyhow, in case he fumbled around and screwed the generators up further.

[maskxdemasque]

"Ah," he gasped, looking up at Shadow. "A-Alright, I'm coming...!"

The way he spoke to him made him feel like dead weight, but... there was something, at least... Ron decided not to mention it.

[trustycrowbar]

He's worked with dickwads before. That's no big deal. In fact Shadow's behavior is refreshingly unsubtle. Gordon wrenches open the housing a bit more while they wander off and recoils again at the acrid charcoal that spills out.

"Tell me what you find!" He calls over his shoulder.

[maskxdemasque]

"V-Very well...!" called Ron as he followed Shadow out the door. He almost hesitated to say something, his eyes skimming over the generator, but he shut his mouth and continued on his way.

The security guard entered the next room, where Shadow was sure to be already. These two sure did get to work fast...

[obfuskate]

Shadow the Hedgehog never coined 'subtle' unless it suited his plans, silly Freeman. Right now, however, he had work to do. He'd reached the next area by the time Ron stopped calling out, moving swiftly without a second to waste.

"Check the biogas tank for leakage," he instructed him, giving unto him a relatively easy job. "I will check the machinery for malfunctioning parts."

[trustycrowbar]

With that, Gordon is relatively silent for about a minute, halfway lodged in the generator's housing and hoping to god they don't pull any mysterious switches while he's in there.

Occasionally one will hear a muffled "The hell, was there something actually living in here?" and "That's three rats so far. You'd think they'd eventually evolve and become smart enough to stay away from the transformer array." And "*BANGG!* OW! FFFFFF..."

Yeah, all in all? Not having a good time.

[maskxdemasque]

"Okay," he replied, looking to the tank with his free hand balled up in a determined fist. Surely, that should be easy enough.

He gave it a thorough check, wincing at each of Gordon's outcries and trying not to pay it too much mind. Rats, huh? Ron couldn't imagine why they would want to live in a generator, save for the fact that maybe the school really didn't hire any maintenance workers for the appliances. He couldn't find any leakages in the biogas tank, so Ron turned to Shadow and finally felt compelled to tell him what was on his mind.

"Umm, I don't see anything wrong with this tank, luckily," Ron informed him, a meek smile donning his features. "But... I think I need to go next door and see how things are going, i-if I'm not needed in here anymore..." He was fairly certain that Shadow would be the type to tell him that he was definitely not needed anywhere around here, but... that was just as well.

Besides, it sounded like Gordon wasn't having too enjoyable a time. Ron wondered if he'd found anything suspicious in there.

[obfuskate]

"Of course," he responded, shutting the hull and deeming the fuel machinery having passed inspection. "Our problem is obviously not here."

Their problem smelled more like vermin than fuel.

Shadow rose, heading to Gordon's sight in a matter of seconds with a flare of his jet shoes. He skidded to a stop, only for the smell of death to hit him. Dead rodents, even?

"Status report, Freeman." He's waiting.

[trustycrowbar]

"Nothing so far." He grumbled, rubbing his head and casting a hateful glance at the housing he'd just bashed his head into. Ventilation ducts were one thing; this damn thing was another.

"Except enough rats to take over a research laboratory... I think there was a whole colony in here before this generator started up." Do rats even form colonies? Eh, whatever.

"Fuel room looks good, I take it? Or at least, better than this?"

[maskxdemasque]

"Nothing seems off in there," replied Ron idly. He gravitated back to his previous position next to the generator, fixing his sight on the mess of cables that he had his eyes on just before. Something else seemed to be on his mind.

If there was an abundant amount of rats present, then his guess might stand -- he could have sworn that he'd seen something wrong with the wires from his corner that he dismissed himself to just minutes prior. Intently, Ron's eyes followed the beam of his flashlight until he noticed something deep in the cavity of the generator. There it was. The thief leaned forward and stared at the peculiar wire that ended so abruptly, a sheath of black covering a glint of wire that remained exposed. Certainly, that could not be right.

"Errrm," began Ron, never once letting his gaze wander. "I just wanted to ask if this is normal. W-Well, not really ask, since I'm already sure of the answer, but I suppose I wanted to bring it up, so... I think I found a problem?"

Sure enough, if the others were to have a look, a wire was snapped. The trained eye might notice that it wasn't as though it had snapped, but it appeared as though it had been deliberately cut.

[obfuskate]

Shadow was about to give his insight, at least if it was necessary, but once Ron pointed out that something was amiss, he followed his gaze to observe the problem. It didn't take him long to locate the snapped wire, and with that in his line of sight, he dove for it, immediately giving it a closer look.

That cut, needless to say, was already suspicious.

"This is too... clean." He crinkled his nose. "This was likely premeditated, a sabotage. Somebody cut this."

Who could have done it, though, and why?

[trustycrowbar]

"But who the hell would do that?" Gordon adds, echoing Shadow's mental question as he peers around the hedgehog's spikes. "Who would benefit from the whole Academy losing light, heat and power?"

...

"Someone we really don't want on school grounds. One of us should head up to Security and tell them about this, now."

[maskxdemasque]

Ron tilted his head.

"I'm part of security, really, so Security is technically already informed..." he said, weakly pointing an index finger to himself. Still, he knew that informing the Chief of Security was of utmost importance, and part of protocol. "However, um, I'll go tell Mr. Jensen right away. Leave it to me!"

[obfuskate]

Oh, was he really? Shadow gave the smallest roll of his eyes. How was this child part of security again? He was truancy, not even a full officer of the school, given he just had to rally up the ingrates, yet he still proved more fitting for the job.

Whatever.

"Fine," he started, "but don't do anything more. I will gather forensic evidence." He gave a curious hum. There were likely going to be fingerprints unless this one was actually a little bright.