[cut to a gritty hotel lobby] [at the front desk is Metal Sonic, the robot as cool and as blue as Chuck Norris with frostbite] [he sighs, picks up a pen, and hands it to a female grey Dark chao] [the Dark chao signs her name on a sheet of paper and hands the pen to the chao next to her] [the chao signs it then hands it to the NEXT chao] [he signs it, and gives it back to the female chao, who hands it back to Metal] MS: *reads sheet* Alright, Shade... and... Chaosky.. and, uh..... Zay-goo? Zagu. Right. [Metal searches among the keys in the front desk, and hands one to the female Dark chao] MS: Well, we can give you room 302. Just take the elevator to the third floor, and.. it's the first door on yer..... left. [the chao move down the hallway, and into a pod-shaped elevator] [they ride it upwards to the third floor, and then step out] [on the way to Room 302, they pass a wasp robot whose room is across the hall] [the Dark chao finds the room and unlocks the door] [inside is your average hotel room] [the three chao look at each other] [the Dark chao puts on a trilby hat] [the camera pans through Stardust Speedway Zone, Act 2, a la Sonic CD] [it stops panning at a giant statue of Doctor Eggman] [a large sign on the statue reads "Hotel Stardust"] DJay32 presents... [the camera shows time progressing, and lots of badniks coming and going from the hotel] A new mystery in the world... [Eggman is always seen going in and out every day] ..of Dark Chao. [one day, Eggman stops leaving] PROFESSOR (SHE)SHADE-ON AND THE DIABOLICAL HOTEL [Mecha Knuckles steps outside, and looks around, curious] A spin-off tale of Dark Chao Adventures [he steps back inside] Starring the female Shade. :D PROLOGUE "Hotel Stardust: Room 302" (3:45 PM - 4:00 PM) [Room 302] [close-up of the Dark chao wearing the trilby hat; "Shade" appears on-screen] (Ka-wik little note: We'll call her "Shade," rather than "SShade" for this series.) Shade: Well, here we are. Hotel Stardust, just as Mecha requested. [close-up of a different chao; "Chaosky" appears on-screen] Chaosky: Speaking of, what did Mecha want? Why are we here? Shade: I don't know... he just called me up and told me my detective skills were needed again. [close-up of the other chao; "Zagu" appears on-screen] Zagu: This place is weird. Awful lot of robots around here. Shade: Well, obviously this is an hotel for badniks. I mean, what better place for one than in an Eggman statue? [Shade sets a briefcase down on the bed] Chy: Yo, Prof. I've been meaning to ask you, what's in the case? Shade: Just some stuff... [Shade opens the briefcase, and pulls out a notebook and pencil] Shade: ..such as my memo pad, and other trinkets. Now, let's go find Mecha. [they leave room 302] [Hallway] Shade: Huh? There's someone out here. [it's a robot version of Knuckles the Echidna] Shade: Hey. [close-up of the robot; "Mecha" appears on-screen] MK: Hey, glad to see you made it! Shade: Of course. I wouldn't miss an opportunity to help you out, after how you helped me in my last case. [Shade notices that Mecha is holding a mop] Shade: What's with the...? *points at mop* MK: Oh, that? *nervous chuckle* I'm... kinda... the maid around here. [Chaosky and Zagu laugh; Shade holds back a smile] MK: Shut up. Shade: ...you're doing a good job. MK: Yeah, very funny. Shade: So, what's the problem? Why'd you want my help? MK: Oh, right, that. [Mecha looks around] MK: It's too open here. Follow me. [the chao follow Mecha around the hall into a laundry room] [Laundry] [it is a regular laundry room, exactly what you'd expect out of one] MK: Right, well... you see, it's about Eggman. Chy: Isn't he dead? Shade: He was, but... eh, people keep coming back to life these days. Just don't worry about it. Chy: Got it, Professor. ...sorry, Mecha. Carry on. MK: Thanks. Doctor Eggman is the owner of this hotel, and so, he keeps coming and going from here about every week. Shade: I take it he gets free food and such? MK: Yup. Anyway, a while ago, he kinda... Shade: Stopped coming? MK: Not exactly. He stopped GOING. Shade: Did you check the room in which he was staying? MK: Yeah, but nobody was in there. None of his stuff, either. It was as if he up and left. Zagu: Yet you say he didn't check out? MK: Correct. But, that's not the strange part. Shade: Let me guess. He still shows up every now and then. MK: About once a day, at exactly 7:25 PM, in the hallway. Zagu: This sounds like a freakin' GHOST story. MK: You're tellin' ME. I'm out here at that time every day, too, doin' my routine laundry check, and... ugh. Chy: Gives ya the jibblies? Do you ask him where he's been? MK: I try, but he's always walking around a corner, then when I follow him, he's gone! Chy: Like the G-Man... MK: An' it's always the same corner, too! The corner that leads up to where the stairs to the fourth floor used to be. Shade: What happened to them? MK: The stairs? Ah, we took 'em down. The fourth floor's all storage; we don't use it anymore. Shade: Does the elevator go there? MK: Nah, the elevator's for the first three floors only. Shade: Could Eggman possibly be staying up there? MK: Nope. First of all, he'd need access to the stairs, which he doesn't. Secondly, we'd hear him, wouldn't we? [Mecha looks as if he's about to say something, then hesitates] Shade: Hey. [Mecha looks at her] Shade: You were gonna say something. What is it? MK: Oh, it's.. nothing. Nothing at all. Shade: I highly doubt that. MK: Well, I don't! I've told you all I know, so you can go now. Shade: Alright, fine. [they leave] [Hallway] [Mecha grabs his mop and leaves] [Shade writes something down in her memo pad] Zagu: Now what, Professor? Shade: Now, boys... I feel like taking a walk. Come. [Shade leads the other two through the hallway, and into the elevator] [Floor 1 Hallway] [they walk through the hallway, and pass two large double-doors] [a sign in front says "Not Bad-nik Restaurant"] [they keep walking] [Front Office] [they reach the front office, and find Metal Sonic there] Shade: Hey, Metal. [close-up of the blue robot version of Sonic the Hedgehog; "Metal" appears on-screen] MS: You gonna pay fer the night now? Shade: Yeah. [Shade reaches into.. a.. pocket, or something] [her eyes go wide] Chy: Prof? Shade: I seem to have misplaced my cash. Excuse me. [she backs up, and pulls out her memo pad] MYSTERY: Misplaced Money (Mysteries go like this: Professor Shade will give you the run-down of everything, then leave the rest to you.) "Hmm. I seem to have misplaced the cash required to spend the night here at the Hotel Stardust. Let me look at the facts. -We got here. -We signed into the registry (no exchange of money, but Metal gave me the room key). -We took the elevator up to the third floor. -We saw a wasp badnik enter the room across from ours. -We settled into Room 302, and discussed why we came here (I opened my briefcase and took out my memo pad and pencil). -We left and found Mecha. -Mecha led us into the Laundry room. -Later, we left the room and came back to the first floor. -We passed the restaurant. -We arrived at the Front Desk. Where could my money be? I need that stuff." MEMO PAD: (This thing is your walking databank of everything within the story. After a while, it'll get pretty big.) Notes: (Things the Professor has written in her memo pad during the chapter) "What was Mecha about to say regarding hearing Eggman?" Characters: (Any important characters you need to know about in the context of the chapter) Professor Shade: Female, Dark chao, dons a trilby hat. Incredible detective skills. Chaosky: Male, third-party chao, made by Invader mLe. The Professor's funny apprentice. Zagu: Male, third-party chao, made by Scarlet. The Professor's other apprentice. Metal Sonic: Robot version of Sonic the Hedgehog. Manager of Hotel Stardust. Mecha Knuckles: Robot version of Knuckles the Echidna. Staff of Hotel Stardust. Friend of Shade's. Doctor Eggman: Male, unknown age (prolly middle-aged), fat. Owner of Hotel Stardust. Disappears a lot. Items: (Gadgets, trinkets, stuff like that; stuff the Professor has on her) Memo pad: You're reading it. Pencil: A writing utensil. Trilby hat: The Professor wanted to wear a hat, but top hats are too common these days. JOURNAL: (This thing appears after a break in the story, usually telling what mysteries have been going on so far.) -Mecha claims that Eggman disappears every day. (UNSOLVED) -We checked in, but I seem to have misplaced my money. (UNSOLVED)