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It was a big day for Meka, he had been careful to dust down his best suit and even washed his car for the occasion. The handover of the GAD crown was certainly not something to be taken lightly, Tony had said so himself in their last meeting. Practically everyone would be there, all the notables, staff, regulars and even most of the newbies (at least, those who understood the whole event and hadn’t been banned that week).
With a light step, Meka entered the hallowed halls of the SR Towers and followed the signs to the great hall. The hall itself was majestic in appearance, the ceiling reached 60 feet at it’s highest point and was decorated with all types of game character. At the far end stood a raised platform with two reading stands either side, held by a lifesize Mario and Sonic replica. Rows of seats had been layed out along the hall for all the members, with regular FOG contributors at the front and smaller forums at the back. Meka noticed that several WWE forum members had already arrived and were trying out grappling techniques with Ant.
Ant turned around, letting go of the newbie after explaining how a proper headlock should look.
“Hi Meka. Big day for you today, eh?!” He smiled.
Meka looked slightly embarrassed, but smiled none-the-less. “Well, it’s not every day that the crown passes to a new owner.”
“It sure isn’t…” said a voice behind him. It was pb.
“Hey, pb. You’ve brought the crown I hope?” asked Ant.
“Of course! The ceremony wouldn’t be able to go ahead without it. I left it with Snuggly for safe keeping until the right time.”
They wondered down the great hall, catching up on recent events as other SR members entered the building. In the background, a shadow slid un-noticed across the far wall and in to Snuggly’s office.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Horns played a fanfair as the people rose to see Tony, standing at the front of the hall. The horns were slightly off key, though, Loki and Snuggly tried their hardest to learn how to play them at such short notice, but hadn’t quite got there. Everyone winced at the end note.
“Ahem! Thank you for that…interesting entrance. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” Said Tony, much to the amusement of the crowd and embarrassment of the two staff members.
The Notables all sat at the front of the hall, Ant was getting a bit restless, as he hadn’t had any sugar for 2 hours now and was beginning to feel the effects. Sheepy was cheering every word that Tony had said, much to the embarrassment of Grix, and Sniper just sat their grumbling.
“We have been brought here today for a very special reason.” He continued, “Today, the GAD crown is past from one member to another in recognition of winning the most GADs. It is my privilege to announce that the crown goes from one notable to another, would pb and Meka please come to the front.”
The two notable stood up and walked over to where Tony was standing. Meka whispered to pb. “Last time I did something like this I was getting married!”
Pb looked at Meka, “Well, as long as you don’t get any funny ideas then…”, they both chuckled.
Tony continued, “Meka Dragon has written some of the best articles of recent times on this site, and he is well deserved of his GAD title. Pb, would you like to say a few words?”
Tony went off stage to get the crown from the safe as Pb gingerly stepped up to the microphone. “Um. Well, while I’m sad to relinquish my GAD crown, I am also glad to see that it has gone to Meka. I’ve always liked his posts and thought that every one of them was a GAD winner, so I am happy to pass the crown….”
He stopped mid sentence as whispers went around the audience. Turning to look at where a thousand faces threw their eyes he saw Snuggly frantically debating something with Tony, who had just appeared from his office.
Tony sheepishly stepped up to the mike. “aha, well, um, it seems that there is a slight technical problem. Someone has taken the crown…”
A gasp emanated from the hall as they all took in the news. The notables stood up, as one, and Grix said aloud “We will find the crown, Tony. Don’t worry.”
“Snuggly.” Tony said to the man on his right, “Go with the Notables and show them where the crown was.”
“Yes sir.” Replied Snuggly as they ran down the hall.
“Everyone else, please feel free to help yourself to refreshments in the small hall to the right.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grix and Goatboy rushed around the corner, followed by the others including Ant who, by now, was in serious need of sugar refreshment. They were following a shape that Ant had noticed in the hallway as they looked for clues to the missing crown.
“It’s no good.” Said Goatboy, “He got away.”
“He…or she.” Said Stryke.
“What?” everyone else said in unison.
“Well, it could have just as easily been Mystique or Rosalind.”
“Not when they’re right behind you.” Explained Sheepy.
“d’oh!”
They discussed their various (and sometimes ludicrous) theories as they slowly walked back to the hall. The problem was that so many people had turned up, it was impossible to really see who was there and who wasn’t, apart from the people at the front.
“Well, I think that Sheepy did it and is covering up.” Said Nomad Soul, until Sheepy pointed out that Nomad was sitting directly behind him all the time.
“hm.” Said Meka, “The thing is, Snuggly said it was in the safe the whole time, and he saw Tony put it in there.”
They nodded. No one could understand how it got out of the safe. Frustrated and tired from all the running, they went to the staff canteen.
As they sat there on one of the long dinning tables, Rasta flicking peas from his plate at Sniper, who was deflecting them in a makeshift goal made from a paper napkin, Goatboy noticed something glistening on the floor.
“What’s this?” he said, stooping to pick up the shiny object.”
“Looks like a jewel from the crown to me.” Said Grix, looking over his shoulder.
“Yes, and it looks like it ripped a piece of fabric from the person holding it too.” Goatboy replied as he tore the denim patch attached to the jewel. “Could be that we’ve found our first clue!”
Ant made a Scooby Doo noise, while the others looked on in disdain.
Thinking that they might find out more from the scene of the crime, they ran off to Tony’s office. Once inside, they scoured the area round the safe, but found nothing unusual.
“Look over by the desk, there are some papers on the floor over there.” Said Pb.
Sniper jumped up from behind the desk. “Already done!” He said, energetically. “And look what I’ve found!”
It was a piece of paper with a map to the event. They traced the map back from SR Towers down through motorways and across small roads, until they came to an X marking somebody’s house.
“That’s funny, that’s where Dringo lives!” said Ant, innocently.
“Yes,” replied Goatboy, “and this patch matches his jacket completely.”
They tried to remember if they’d seen Dringo in the hall, but none of them could recall him being in there when they’d entered.
“I think I’ve found something too.” Said Mystique. “It’s a piece of paper with what looks like the code to a safe. It must have come from Tony’s desk.”
“Come on then, we’ve got to get back and warn Tony and Snuggly.” Said Edgy as he ran out the door.
Grix stopped Pb as the others went out of the office. “Something doesn’t add up right, I think we should wait here.”
The rest of them rushed back to the side hall, where everyone else who had come was busy eating and drinking all the free food. Tony stood there watching.
“They’re like gannets, look at them.” He said, shaking his head. “Have you found anything?”
“Well, not yet, but I think we have a good idea now who it could be.”
Goatboy nudged Rasta and pointed over to the shadowy corner where a silent Dringo stood eating and furtively glancing around. To Tony’s surprise, they ran over and grabbed Dringo before he could run away.
“What’s going on guys?” Dringo spluttered as he gulped down his drink as they dragged him from the table. As he flew backwards, his knee banged the top of a chair, which knocked over a couple of cakes. From underneath its decorative cover, something else rolled towards them as everyone turned and gasped.
Tony picked up the crown and dusted it down. “hm. Back to my office, we have some sorting out to do.”
“You’re coming with us!” said Meka as he made sure Dringo didn’t escape.
Tony and Snuggly followed them back to the office, where Grix and Pb were waiting. After carefully replacing the crown in the safe, while making sure nobody else was looking, Tony sat at his desk while the others gathered around Dringo.
“I can’t understand how he got the safe open though.” Puzzled Tony, as he looked at Dringo. “No one knows the code but me.”
“I believe he found it in your drawer, Tony.” Explained Rasta, “and we found a patch from his jacket stuck to the jewel.” He matched the patch to the hole in Dringo’s jacket, as if to prove the point once and for all.
Grix and Pb stood at the back while Tony deliberated over what to do with the thief.
“Well, the crown is returned, so that’s sorted out. I won’t call the police or anyone, I believe in second chances for one so young as yourself Dringo.”
Dringo didn’t say anything, he just nodded his head.
As they were about to leave, Grix stepped forward.
“Er, don’t forget the ceremony. We need the crown back.” He explained as he saw Tony rise from his desk. “Don’t worry Tony, you’ve had enough excitement for one day, Snuggly will get the crown for you.”
Snuggly duly excepted and went off to the other room to get the crown.
They waited a few minutes before Snuggly arrived back in the office, holding the crown.
“Hang on,” said Tony, finally working something out. “How did you get that? The safe was locked!”
Snuggly quickly panicked and darted toward the door. Unfortunately for him, Pb was already holding it and shut it seconds before he reached it, making Snuggly screech to a halt and bang his head on the door.
Grix turned to the assembled group. “It was a bit too obvious, finding a square patch from Dringo’s jacket actually attached to the jewel, but it wasn’t until I saw the map that I realised Dringo was innocent.”
The others waited for an explanation, they still couldn’t see why a map of Dringo’s house would mean he was innocent.
“The cross, “said Grix, pointing to the map, “is on Dringo’s house. Who puts a cross on where they are coming from, rather than where they are going too? Unless, of course, the destination for them is usually their starting point.”
“But what about the paper with the code on?” asked Venombyte.
Tony stood up, now grasping the idea. “Well, I never actually wrote the code down in the first place, besides, that’s not my handwriting.”
They looked at Snuggly, who looked up with wide eyes, as if caught in the headlights of a car. “ok, it was MY handwriting, I knew I should have been more careful.”
“But why, Snuggly?” asked Tony.
“You never give me enough money to cope with this lot. You expect me to read all those posts about spam and Notable elections, then choose a winner from every single thing written on the forums each day! I never get anything in return!” Snuggly cried.
It was Pb’s turn to step forward. “No, I’m sure Tony doesn’t make Snuggly do all that, and besides, ‘Snuggly’, what would you possibly want with a GAD crown anyway?”
“What?” asked Snuggly.
“Well, unless you wanted to be the GAD champion, perhaps. But that would be silly wouldn’t it. After all, only people like Shaneo would want something they know they can’t have.”
Snuggly now looked even more scared and tried to reach for the door handle. Ant stood in his way as Grix reached for his face.
“That’s because you aren’t really Snuggly, are you?” He said as he pulled the well made mask from the imposter’s face. You’re Shaneo!”
The others gasped.
“Yeah!” said Shaneo, pulling bits of mask from his mouth and ears. “And I would have got away with it if it wasn’t for you pesky Notables! Bah!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The whole of SR re-assembled as Tony took the stage again. “Well, it’s great to finally crown Meka king of GAD at last. Especially as we now have the crown back to do it!”
He gave the crown to Pb, who placed it on Meka’s head as a great cheer rang out in the large hall.
With a light step, Meka entered the hallowed halls of the SR Towers and followed the signs to the great hall. The hall itself was majestic in appearance, the ceiling reached 60 feet at it’s highest point and was decorated with all types of game character. At the far end stood a raised platform with two reading stands either side, held by a lifesize Mario and Sonic replica. Rows of seats had been layed out along the hall for all the members, with regular FOG contributors at the front and smaller forums at the back. Meka noticed that several WWE forum members had already arrived and were trying out grappling techniques with Ant.
Ant turned around, letting go of the newbie after explaining how a proper headlock should look.
“Hi Meka. Big day for you today, eh?!” He smiled.
Meka looked slightly embarrassed, but smiled none-the-less. “Well, it’s not every day that the crown passes to a new owner.”
“It sure isn’t…” said a voice behind him. It was pb.
“Hey, pb. You’ve brought the crown I hope?” asked Ant.
“Of course! The ceremony wouldn’t be able to go ahead without it. I left it with Snuggly for safe keeping until the right time.”
They wondered down the great hall, catching up on recent events as other SR members entered the building. In the background, a shadow slid un-noticed across the far wall and in to Snuggly’s office.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Horns played a fanfair as the people rose to see Tony, standing at the front of the hall. The horns were slightly off key, though, Loki and Snuggly tried their hardest to learn how to play them at such short notice, but hadn’t quite got there. Everyone winced at the end note.
“Ahem! Thank you for that…interesting entrance. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” Said Tony, much to the amusement of the crowd and embarrassment of the two staff members.
The Notables all sat at the front of the hall, Ant was getting a bit restless, as he hadn’t had any sugar for 2 hours now and was beginning to feel the effects. Sheepy was cheering every word that Tony had said, much to the embarrassment of Grix, and Sniper just sat their grumbling.
“We have been brought here today for a very special reason.” He continued, “Today, the GAD crown is past from one member to another in recognition of winning the most GADs. It is my privilege to announce that the crown goes from one notable to another, would pb and Meka please come to the front.”
The two notable stood up and walked over to where Tony was standing. Meka whispered to pb. “Last time I did something like this I was getting married!”
Pb looked at Meka, “Well, as long as you don’t get any funny ideas then…”, they both chuckled.
Tony continued, “Meka Dragon has written some of the best articles of recent times on this site, and he is well deserved of his GAD title. Pb, would you like to say a few words?”
Tony went off stage to get the crown from the safe as Pb gingerly stepped up to the microphone. “Um. Well, while I’m sad to relinquish my GAD crown, I am also glad to see that it has gone to Meka. I’ve always liked his posts and thought that every one of them was a GAD winner, so I am happy to pass the crown….”
He stopped mid sentence as whispers went around the audience. Turning to look at where a thousand faces threw their eyes he saw Snuggly frantically debating something with Tony, who had just appeared from his office.
Tony sheepishly stepped up to the mike. “aha, well, um, it seems that there is a slight technical problem. Someone has taken the crown…”
A gasp emanated from the hall as they all took in the news. The notables stood up, as one, and Grix said aloud “We will find the crown, Tony. Don’t worry.”
“Snuggly.” Tony said to the man on his right, “Go with the Notables and show them where the crown was.”
“Yes sir.” Replied Snuggly as they ran down the hall.
“Everyone else, please feel free to help yourself to refreshments in the small hall to the right.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grix and Goatboy rushed around the corner, followed by the others including Ant who, by now, was in serious need of sugar refreshment. They were following a shape that Ant had noticed in the hallway as they looked for clues to the missing crown.
“It’s no good.” Said Goatboy, “He got away.”
“He…or she.” Said Stryke.
“What?” everyone else said in unison.
“Well, it could have just as easily been Mystique or Rosalind.”
“Not when they’re right behind you.” Explained Sheepy.
“d’oh!”
They discussed their various (and sometimes ludicrous) theories as they slowly walked back to the hall. The problem was that so many people had turned up, it was impossible to really see who was there and who wasn’t, apart from the people at the front.
“Well, I think that Sheepy did it and is covering up.” Said Nomad Soul, until Sheepy pointed out that Nomad was sitting directly behind him all the time.
“hm.” Said Meka, “The thing is, Snuggly said it was in the safe the whole time, and he saw Tony put it in there.”
They nodded. No one could understand how it got out of the safe. Frustrated and tired from all the running, they went to the staff canteen.
As they sat there on one of the long dinning tables, Rasta flicking peas from his plate at Sniper, who was deflecting them in a makeshift goal made from a paper napkin, Goatboy noticed something glistening on the floor.
“What’s this?” he said, stooping to pick up the shiny object.”
“Looks like a jewel from the crown to me.” Said Grix, looking over his shoulder.
“Yes, and it looks like it ripped a piece of fabric from the person holding it too.” Goatboy replied as he tore the denim patch attached to the jewel. “Could be that we’ve found our first clue!”
Ant made a Scooby Doo noise, while the others looked on in disdain.
Thinking that they might find out more from the scene of the crime, they ran off to Tony’s office. Once inside, they scoured the area round the safe, but found nothing unusual.
“Look over by the desk, there are some papers on the floor over there.” Said Pb.
Sniper jumped up from behind the desk. “Already done!” He said, energetically. “And look what I’ve found!”
It was a piece of paper with a map to the event. They traced the map back from SR Towers down through motorways and across small roads, until they came to an X marking somebody’s house.
“That’s funny, that’s where Dringo lives!” said Ant, innocently.
“Yes,” replied Goatboy, “and this patch matches his jacket completely.”
They tried to remember if they’d seen Dringo in the hall, but none of them could recall him being in there when they’d entered.
“I think I’ve found something too.” Said Mystique. “It’s a piece of paper with what looks like the code to a safe. It must have come from Tony’s desk.”
“Come on then, we’ve got to get back and warn Tony and Snuggly.” Said Edgy as he ran out the door.
Grix stopped Pb as the others went out of the office. “Something doesn’t add up right, I think we should wait here.”
The rest of them rushed back to the side hall, where everyone else who had come was busy eating and drinking all the free food. Tony stood there watching.
“They’re like gannets, look at them.” He said, shaking his head. “Have you found anything?”
“Well, not yet, but I think we have a good idea now who it could be.”
Goatboy nudged Rasta and pointed over to the shadowy corner where a silent Dringo stood eating and furtively glancing around. To Tony’s surprise, they ran over and grabbed Dringo before he could run away.
“What’s going on guys?” Dringo spluttered as he gulped down his drink as they dragged him from the table. As he flew backwards, his knee banged the top of a chair, which knocked over a couple of cakes. From underneath its decorative cover, something else rolled towards them as everyone turned and gasped.
Tony picked up the crown and dusted it down. “hm. Back to my office, we have some sorting out to do.”
“You’re coming with us!” said Meka as he made sure Dringo didn’t escape.
Tony and Snuggly followed them back to the office, where Grix and Pb were waiting. After carefully replacing the crown in the safe, while making sure nobody else was looking, Tony sat at his desk while the others gathered around Dringo.
“I can’t understand how he got the safe open though.” Puzzled Tony, as he looked at Dringo. “No one knows the code but me.”
“I believe he found it in your drawer, Tony.” Explained Rasta, “and we found a patch from his jacket stuck to the jewel.” He matched the patch to the hole in Dringo’s jacket, as if to prove the point once and for all.
Grix and Pb stood at the back while Tony deliberated over what to do with the thief.
“Well, the crown is returned, so that’s sorted out. I won’t call the police or anyone, I believe in second chances for one so young as yourself Dringo.”
Dringo didn’t say anything, he just nodded his head.
As they were about to leave, Grix stepped forward.
“Er, don’t forget the ceremony. We need the crown back.” He explained as he saw Tony rise from his desk. “Don’t worry Tony, you’ve had enough excitement for one day, Snuggly will get the crown for you.”
Snuggly duly excepted and went off to the other room to get the crown.
They waited a few minutes before Snuggly arrived back in the office, holding the crown.
“Hang on,” said Tony, finally working something out. “How did you get that? The safe was locked!”
Snuggly quickly panicked and darted toward the door. Unfortunately for him, Pb was already holding it and shut it seconds before he reached it, making Snuggly screech to a halt and bang his head on the door.
Grix turned to the assembled group. “It was a bit too obvious, finding a square patch from Dringo’s jacket actually attached to the jewel, but it wasn’t until I saw the map that I realised Dringo was innocent.”
The others waited for an explanation, they still couldn’t see why a map of Dringo’s house would mean he was innocent.
“The cross, “said Grix, pointing to the map, “is on Dringo’s house. Who puts a cross on where they are coming from, rather than where they are going too? Unless, of course, the destination for them is usually their starting point.”
“But what about the paper with the code on?” asked Venombyte.
Tony stood up, now grasping the idea. “Well, I never actually wrote the code down in the first place, besides, that’s not my handwriting.”
They looked at Snuggly, who looked up with wide eyes, as if caught in the headlights of a car. “ok, it was MY handwriting, I knew I should have been more careful.”
“But why, Snuggly?” asked Tony.
“You never give me enough money to cope with this lot. You expect me to read all those posts about spam and Notable elections, then choose a winner from every single thing written on the forums each day! I never get anything in return!” Snuggly cried.
It was Pb’s turn to step forward. “No, I’m sure Tony doesn’t make Snuggly do all that, and besides, ‘Snuggly’, what would you possibly want with a GAD crown anyway?”
“What?” asked Snuggly.
“Well, unless you wanted to be the GAD champion, perhaps. But that would be silly wouldn’t it. After all, only people like Shaneo would want something they know they can’t have.”
Snuggly now looked even more scared and tried to reach for the door handle. Ant stood in his way as Grix reached for his face.
“That’s because you aren’t really Snuggly, are you?” He said as he pulled the well made mask from the imposter’s face. You’re Shaneo!”
The others gasped.
“Yeah!” said Shaneo, pulling bits of mask from his mouth and ears. “And I would have got away with it if it wasn’t for you pesky Notables! Bah!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The whole of SR re-assembled as Tony took the stage again. “Well, it’s great to finally crown Meka king of GAD at last. Especially as we now have the crown back to do it!”
He gave the crown to Pb, who placed it on Meka’s head as a great cheer rang out in the large hall.
It was a big day for Meka, he had been careful to dust down his best suit and even washed his car for the occasion. The handover of the GAD crown was certainly not something to be taken lightly, Tony had said so himself in their last meeting. Practically everyone would be there, all the notables, staff, regulars and even most of the newbies (at least, those who understood the whole event and hadn’t been banned that week).
With a light step, Meka entered the hallowed halls of the SR Towers and followed the signs to the great hall. The hall itself was majestic in appearance, the ceiling reached 60 feet at it’s highest point and was decorated with all types of game character. At the far end stood a raised platform with two reading stands either side, held by a lifesize Mario and Sonic replica. Rows of seats had been layed out along the hall for all the members, with regular FOG contributors at the front and smaller forums at the back. Meka noticed that several WWE forum members had already arrived and were trying out grappling techniques with Ant.
Ant turned around, letting go of the newbie after explaining how a proper headlock should look.
“Hi Meka. Big day for you today, eh?!” He smiled.
Meka looked slightly embarrassed, but smiled none-the-less. “Well, it’s not every day that the crown passes to a new owner.”
“It sure isn’t…” said a voice behind him. It was pb.
“Hey, pb. You’ve brought the crown I hope?” asked Ant.
“Of course! The ceremony wouldn’t be able to go ahead without it. I left it with Snuggly for safe keeping until the right time.”
They wondered down the great hall, catching up on recent events as other SR members entered the building. In the background, a shadow slid un-noticed across the far wall and in to Snuggly’s office.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Horns played a fanfair as the people rose to see Tony, standing at the front of the hall. The horns were slightly off key, though, Loki and Snuggly tried their hardest to learn how to play them at such short notice, but hadn’t quite got there. Everyone winced at the end note.
“Ahem! Thank you for that…interesting entrance. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” Said Tony, much to the amusement of the crowd and embarrassment of the two staff members.
The Notables all sat at the front of the hall, Ant was getting a bit restless, as he hadn’t had any sugar for 2 hours now and was beginning to feel the effects. Sheepy was cheering every word that Tony had said, much to the embarrassment of Grix, and Sniper just sat their grumbling.
“We have been brought here today for a very special reason.” He continued, “Today, the GAD crown is past from one member to another in recognition of winning the most GADs. It is my privilege to announce that the crown goes from one notable to another, would pb and Meka please come to the front.”
The two notable stood up and walked over to where Tony was standing. Meka whispered to pb. “Last time I did something like this I was getting married!”
Pb looked at Meka, “Well, as long as you don’t get any funny ideas then…”, they both chuckled.
Tony continued, “Meka Dragon has written some of the best articles of recent times on this site, and he is well deserved of his GAD title. Pb, would you like to say a few words?”
Tony went off stage to get the crown from the safe as Pb gingerly stepped up to the microphone. “Um. Well, while I’m sad to relinquish my GAD crown, I am also glad to see that it has gone to Meka. I’ve always liked his posts and thought that every one of them was a GAD winner, so I am happy to pass the crown….”
He stopped mid sentence as whispers went around the audience. Turning to look at where a thousand faces threw their eyes he saw Snuggly frantically debating something with Tony, who had just appeared from his office.
Tony sheepishly stepped up to the mike. “aha, well, um, it seems that there is a slight technical problem. Someone has taken the crown…”
A gasp emanated from the hall as they all took in the news. The notables stood up, as one, and Grix said aloud “We will find the crown, Tony. Don’t worry.”
“Snuggly.” Tony said to the man on his right, “Go with the Notables and show them where the crown was.”
“Yes sir.” Replied Snuggly as they ran down the hall.
“Everyone else, please feel free to help yourself to refreshments in the small hall to the right.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grix and Goatboy rushed around the corner, followed by the others including Ant who, by now, was in serious need of sugar refreshment. They were following a shape that Ant had noticed in the hallway as they looked for clues to the missing crown.
“It’s no good.” Said Goatboy, “He got away.”
“He…or she.” Said Stryke.
“What?” everyone else said in unison.
“Well, it could have just as easily been Mystique or Rosalind.”
“Not when they’re right behind you.” Explained Sheepy.
“d’oh!”
They discussed their various (and sometimes ludicrous) theories as they slowly walked back to the hall. The problem was that so many people had turned up, it was impossible to really see who was there and who wasn’t, apart from the people at the front.
“Well, I think that Sheepy did it and is covering up.” Said Nomad Soul, until Sheepy pointed out that Nomad was sitting directly behind him all the time.
“hm.” Said Meka, “The thing is, Snuggly said it was in the safe the whole time, and he saw Tony put it in there.”
They nodded. No one could understand how it got out of the safe. Frustrated and tired from all the running, they went to the staff canteen.
As they sat there on one of the long dinning tables, Rasta flicking peas from his plate at Sniper, who was deflecting them in a makeshift goal made from a paper napkin, Goatboy noticed something glistening on the floor.
“What’s this?” he said, stooping to pick up the shiny object.”
“Looks like a jewel from the crown to me.” Said Grix, looking over his shoulder.
“Yes, and it looks like it ripped a piece of fabric from the person holding it too.” Goatboy replied as he tore the denim patch attached to the jewel. “Could be that we’ve found our first clue!”
Ant made a Scooby Doo noise, while the others looked on in disdain.
Thinking that they might find out more from the scene of the crime, they ran off to Tony’s office. Once inside, they scoured the area round the safe, but found nothing unusual.
“Look over by the desk, there are some papers on the floor over there.” Said Pb.
Sniper jumped up from behind the desk. “Already done!” He said, energetically. “And look what I’ve found!”
It was a piece of paper with a map to the event. They traced the map back from SR Towers down through motorways and across small roads, until they came to an X marking somebody’s house.
“That’s funny, that’s where Dringo lives!” said Ant, innocently.
“Yes,” replied Goatboy, “and this patch matches his jacket completely.”
They tried to remember if they’d seen Dringo in the hall, but none of them could recall him being in there when they’d entered.
“I think I’ve found something too.” Said Mystique. “It’s a piece of paper with what looks like the code to a safe. It must have come from Tony’s desk.”
“Come on then, we’ve got to get back and warn Tony and Snuggly.” Said Edgy as he ran out the door.
Grix stopped Pb as the others went out of the office. “Something doesn’t add up right, I think we should wait here.”
The rest of them rushed back to the side hall, where everyone else who had come was busy eating and drinking all the free food. Tony stood there watching.
“They’re like gannets, look at them.” He said, shaking his head. “Have you found anything?”
“Well, not yet, but I think we have a good idea now who it could be.”
Goatboy nudged Rasta and pointed over to the shadowy corner where a silent Dringo stood eating and furtively glancing around. To Tony’s surprise, they ran over and grabbed Dringo before he could run away.
“What’s going on guys?” Dringo spluttered as he gulped down his drink as they dragged him from the table. As he flew backwards, his knee banged the top of a chair, which knocked over a couple of cakes. From underneath its decorative cover, something else rolled towards them as everyone turned and gasped.
Tony picked up the crown and dusted it down. “hm. Back to my office, we have some sorting out to do.”
“You’re coming with us!” said Meka as he made sure Dringo didn’t escape.
Tony and Snuggly followed them back to the office, where Grix and Pb were waiting. After carefully replacing the crown in the safe, while making sure nobody else was looking, Tony sat at his desk while the others gathered around Dringo.
“I can’t understand how he got the safe open though.” Puzzled Tony, as he looked at Dringo. “No one knows the code but me.”
“I believe he found it in your drawer, Tony.” Explained Rasta, “and we found a patch from his jacket stuck to the jewel.” He matched the patch to the hole in Dringo’s jacket, as if to prove the point once and for all.
Grix and Pb stood at the back while Tony deliberated over what to do with the thief.
“Well, the crown is returned, so that’s sorted out. I won’t call the police or anyone, I believe in second chances for one so young as yourself Dringo.”
Dringo didn’t say anything, he just nodded his head.
As they were about to leave, Grix stepped forward.
“Er, don’t forget the ceremony. We need the crown back.” He explained as he saw Tony rise from his desk. “Don’t worry Tony, you’ve had enough excitement for one day, Snuggly will get the crown for you.”
Snuggly duly excepted and went off to the other room to get the crown.
They waited a few minutes before Snuggly arrived back in the office, holding the crown.
“Hang on,” said Tony, finally working something out. “How did you get that? The safe was locked!”
Snuggly quickly panicked and darted toward the door. Unfortunately for him, Pb was already holding it and shut it seconds before he reached it, making Snuggly screech to a halt and bang his head on the door.
Grix turned to the assembled group. “It was a bit too obvious, finding a square patch from Dringo’s jacket actually attached to the jewel, but it wasn’t until I saw the map that I realised Dringo was innocent.”
The others waited for an explanation, they still couldn’t see why a map of Dringo’s house would mean he was innocent.
“The cross, “said Grix, pointing to the map, “is on Dringo’s house. Who puts a cross on where they are coming from, rather than where they are going too? Unless, of course, the destination for them is usually their starting point.”
“But what about the paper with the code on?” asked Venombyte.
Tony stood up, now grasping the idea. “Well, I never actually wrote the code down in the first place, besides, that’s not my handwriting.”
They looked at Snuggly, who looked up with wide eyes, as if caught in the headlights of a car. “ok, it was MY handwriting, I knew I should have been more careful.”
“But why, Snuggly?” asked Tony.
“You never give me enough money to cope with this lot. You expect me to read all those posts about spam and Notable elections, then choose a winner from every single thing written on the forums each day! I never get anything in return!” Snuggly cried.
It was Pb’s turn to step forward. “No, I’m sure Tony doesn’t make Snuggly do all that, and besides, ‘Snuggly’, what would you possibly want with a GAD crown anyway?”
“What?” asked Snuggly.
“Well, unless you wanted to be the GAD champion, perhaps. But that would be silly wouldn’t it. After all, only people like Shaneo would want something they know they can’t have.”
Snuggly now looked even more scared and tried to reach for the door handle. Ant stood in his way as Grix reached for his face.
“That’s because you aren’t really Snuggly, are you?” He said as he pulled the well made mask from the imposter’s face. You’re Shaneo!”
The others gasped.
“Yeah!” said Shaneo, pulling bits of mask from his mouth and ears. “And I would have got away with it if it wasn’t for you pesky Notables! Bah!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The whole of SR re-assembled as Tony took the stage again. “Well, it’s great to finally crown Meka king of GAD at last. Especially as we now have the crown back to do it!”
He gave the crown to Pb, who placed it on Meka’s head as a great cheer rang out in the large hall.
With a light step, Meka entered the hallowed halls of the SR Towers and followed the signs to the great hall. The hall itself was majestic in appearance, the ceiling reached 60 feet at it’s highest point and was decorated with all types of game character. At the far end stood a raised platform with two reading stands either side, held by a lifesize Mario and Sonic replica. Rows of seats had been layed out along the hall for all the members, with regular FOG contributors at the front and smaller forums at the back. Meka noticed that several WWE forum members had already arrived and were trying out grappling techniques with Ant.
Ant turned around, letting go of the newbie after explaining how a proper headlock should look.
“Hi Meka. Big day for you today, eh?!” He smiled.
Meka looked slightly embarrassed, but smiled none-the-less. “Well, it’s not every day that the crown passes to a new owner.”
“It sure isn’t…” said a voice behind him. It was pb.
“Hey, pb. You’ve brought the crown I hope?” asked Ant.
“Of course! The ceremony wouldn’t be able to go ahead without it. I left it with Snuggly for safe keeping until the right time.”
They wondered down the great hall, catching up on recent events as other SR members entered the building. In the background, a shadow slid un-noticed across the far wall and in to Snuggly’s office.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Horns played a fanfair as the people rose to see Tony, standing at the front of the hall. The horns were slightly off key, though, Loki and Snuggly tried their hardest to learn how to play them at such short notice, but hadn’t quite got there. Everyone winced at the end note.
“Ahem! Thank you for that…interesting entrance. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” Said Tony, much to the amusement of the crowd and embarrassment of the two staff members.
The Notables all sat at the front of the hall, Ant was getting a bit restless, as he hadn’t had any sugar for 2 hours now and was beginning to feel the effects. Sheepy was cheering every word that Tony had said, much to the embarrassment of Grix, and Sniper just sat their grumbling.
“We have been brought here today for a very special reason.” He continued, “Today, the GAD crown is past from one member to another in recognition of winning the most GADs. It is my privilege to announce that the crown goes from one notable to another, would pb and Meka please come to the front.”
The two notable stood up and walked over to where Tony was standing. Meka whispered to pb. “Last time I did something like this I was getting married!”
Pb looked at Meka, “Well, as long as you don’t get any funny ideas then…”, they both chuckled.
Tony continued, “Meka Dragon has written some of the best articles of recent times on this site, and he is well deserved of his GAD title. Pb, would you like to say a few words?”
Tony went off stage to get the crown from the safe as Pb gingerly stepped up to the microphone. “Um. Well, while I’m sad to relinquish my GAD crown, I am also glad to see that it has gone to Meka. I’ve always liked his posts and thought that every one of them was a GAD winner, so I am happy to pass the crown….”
He stopped mid sentence as whispers went around the audience. Turning to look at where a thousand faces threw their eyes he saw Snuggly frantically debating something with Tony, who had just appeared from his office.
Tony sheepishly stepped up to the mike. “aha, well, um, it seems that there is a slight technical problem. Someone has taken the crown…”
A gasp emanated from the hall as they all took in the news. The notables stood up, as one, and Grix said aloud “We will find the crown, Tony. Don’t worry.”
“Snuggly.” Tony said to the man on his right, “Go with the Notables and show them where the crown was.”
“Yes sir.” Replied Snuggly as they ran down the hall.
“Everyone else, please feel free to help yourself to refreshments in the small hall to the right.”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Grix and Goatboy rushed around the corner, followed by the others including Ant who, by now, was in serious need of sugar refreshment. They were following a shape that Ant had noticed in the hallway as they looked for clues to the missing crown.
“It’s no good.” Said Goatboy, “He got away.”
“He…or she.” Said Stryke.
“What?” everyone else said in unison.
“Well, it could have just as easily been Mystique or Rosalind.”
“Not when they’re right behind you.” Explained Sheepy.
“d’oh!”
They discussed their various (and sometimes ludicrous) theories as they slowly walked back to the hall. The problem was that so many people had turned up, it was impossible to really see who was there and who wasn’t, apart from the people at the front.
“Well, I think that Sheepy did it and is covering up.” Said Nomad Soul, until Sheepy pointed out that Nomad was sitting directly behind him all the time.
“hm.” Said Meka, “The thing is, Snuggly said it was in the safe the whole time, and he saw Tony put it in there.”
They nodded. No one could understand how it got out of the safe. Frustrated and tired from all the running, they went to the staff canteen.
As they sat there on one of the long dinning tables, Rasta flicking peas from his plate at Sniper, who was deflecting them in a makeshift goal made from a paper napkin, Goatboy noticed something glistening on the floor.
“What’s this?” he said, stooping to pick up the shiny object.”
“Looks like a jewel from the crown to me.” Said Grix, looking over his shoulder.
“Yes, and it looks like it ripped a piece of fabric from the person holding it too.” Goatboy replied as he tore the denim patch attached to the jewel. “Could be that we’ve found our first clue!”
Ant made a Scooby Doo noise, while the others looked on in disdain.
Thinking that they might find out more from the scene of the crime, they ran off to Tony’s office. Once inside, they scoured the area round the safe, but found nothing unusual.
“Look over by the desk, there are some papers on the floor over there.” Said Pb.
Sniper jumped up from behind the desk. “Already done!” He said, energetically. “And look what I’ve found!”
It was a piece of paper with a map to the event. They traced the map back from SR Towers down through motorways and across small roads, until they came to an X marking somebody’s house.
“That’s funny, that’s where Dringo lives!” said Ant, innocently.
“Yes,” replied Goatboy, “and this patch matches his jacket completely.”
They tried to remember if they’d seen Dringo in the hall, but none of them could recall him being in there when they’d entered.
“I think I’ve found something too.” Said Mystique. “It’s a piece of paper with what looks like the code to a safe. It must have come from Tony’s desk.”
“Come on then, we’ve got to get back and warn Tony and Snuggly.” Said Edgy as he ran out the door.
Grix stopped Pb as the others went out of the office. “Something doesn’t add up right, I think we should wait here.”
The rest of them rushed back to the side hall, where everyone else who had come was busy eating and drinking all the free food. Tony stood there watching.
“They’re like gannets, look at them.” He said, shaking his head. “Have you found anything?”
“Well, not yet, but I think we have a good idea now who it could be.”
Goatboy nudged Rasta and pointed over to the shadowy corner where a silent Dringo stood eating and furtively glancing around. To Tony’s surprise, they ran over and grabbed Dringo before he could run away.
“What’s going on guys?” Dringo spluttered as he gulped down his drink as they dragged him from the table. As he flew backwards, his knee banged the top of a chair, which knocked over a couple of cakes. From underneath its decorative cover, something else rolled towards them as everyone turned and gasped.
Tony picked up the crown and dusted it down. “hm. Back to my office, we have some sorting out to do.”
“You’re coming with us!” said Meka as he made sure Dringo didn’t escape.
Tony and Snuggly followed them back to the office, where Grix and Pb were waiting. After carefully replacing the crown in the safe, while making sure nobody else was looking, Tony sat at his desk while the others gathered around Dringo.
“I can’t understand how he got the safe open though.” Puzzled Tony, as he looked at Dringo. “No one knows the code but me.”
“I believe he found it in your drawer, Tony.” Explained Rasta, “and we found a patch from his jacket stuck to the jewel.” He matched the patch to the hole in Dringo’s jacket, as if to prove the point once and for all.
Grix and Pb stood at the back while Tony deliberated over what to do with the thief.
“Well, the crown is returned, so that’s sorted out. I won’t call the police or anyone, I believe in second chances for one so young as yourself Dringo.”
Dringo didn’t say anything, he just nodded his head.
As they were about to leave, Grix stepped forward.
“Er, don’t forget the ceremony. We need the crown back.” He explained as he saw Tony rise from his desk. “Don’t worry Tony, you’ve had enough excitement for one day, Snuggly will get the crown for you.”
Snuggly duly excepted and went off to the other room to get the crown.
They waited a few minutes before Snuggly arrived back in the office, holding the crown.
“Hang on,” said Tony, finally working something out. “How did you get that? The safe was locked!”
Snuggly quickly panicked and darted toward the door. Unfortunately for him, Pb was already holding it and shut it seconds before he reached it, making Snuggly screech to a halt and bang his head on the door.
Grix turned to the assembled group. “It was a bit too obvious, finding a square patch from Dringo’s jacket actually attached to the jewel, but it wasn’t until I saw the map that I realised Dringo was innocent.”
The others waited for an explanation, they still couldn’t see why a map of Dringo’s house would mean he was innocent.
“The cross, “said Grix, pointing to the map, “is on Dringo’s house. Who puts a cross on where they are coming from, rather than where they are going too? Unless, of course, the destination for them is usually their starting point.”
“But what about the paper with the code on?” asked Venombyte.
Tony stood up, now grasping the idea. “Well, I never actually wrote the code down in the first place, besides, that’s not my handwriting.”
They looked at Snuggly, who looked up with wide eyes, as if caught in the headlights of a car. “ok, it was MY handwriting, I knew I should have been more careful.”
“But why, Snuggly?” asked Tony.
“You never give me enough money to cope with this lot. You expect me to read all those posts about spam and Notable elections, then choose a winner from every single thing written on the forums each day! I never get anything in return!” Snuggly cried.
It was Pb’s turn to step forward. “No, I’m sure Tony doesn’t make Snuggly do all that, and besides, ‘Snuggly’, what would you possibly want with a GAD crown anyway?”
“What?” asked Snuggly.
“Well, unless you wanted to be the GAD champion, perhaps. But that would be silly wouldn’t it. After all, only people like Shaneo would want something they know they can’t have.”
Snuggly now looked even more scared and tried to reach for the door handle. Ant stood in his way as Grix reached for his face.
“That’s because you aren’t really Snuggly, are you?” He said as he pulled the well made mask from the imposter’s face. You’re Shaneo!”
The others gasped.
“Yeah!” said Shaneo, pulling bits of mask from his mouth and ears. “And I would have got away with it if it wasn’t for you pesky Notables! Bah!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The whole of SR re-assembled as Tony took the stage again. “Well, it’s great to finally crown Meka king of GAD at last. Especially as we now have the crown back to do it!”
He gave the crown to Pb, who placed it on Meka’s head as a great cheer rang out in the large hall.
Very good post. Loved it.