Chapter 3: Museum Trip
Shortly thereafter, Kendra and Seth had made their way outside and into the yard in front of the house, along with Warren, Ingrid, Bright and Clover.
"So, do we have everything we'll need?" asked Kendra.
"Let's see," said Warren, who was holding several pieces of paper in his hands. "We've got all the information on the glove that Grandpa and Trask were able to find. We've got the Translocator, along with the fairies and the dragons. I think we'll be fine."
"Don't forget the fake glove," said Seth, holding up the phony glove in his hand.
"So, the Smithsonian's located in Washington D.C, isn't it?" asked Ingrid. "How long will it take to get there?"
"Two seconds," replied Warren. "I've been to D.C. before, so it won't take too long for us to reach the actual museum."
"We're going to use the Translocator?" asked Ingrid, pointing to the artifact that Warren was holding within his hands.
"Yeah," said Kendra. "Aren't you excited?"
"But, what if something... goes wrong?" asked Ingrid.
"You mean like if it sends us to the wrong place?" asked Seth. "Or it causes all of us swap heads? Ooh, you'd better watch out, Ingrid!"
Ingrid dropped her jaw in shock.
"Don't worry, Ingrid," said Kendra, patting Ingrid on her shoulder. "Seth's just being his usual, bratty brother self. As long as it's working properly, the Translocator is actually a perfectly safe way to travel."
"Well, if you say so," said Ingrid, who still seemed to be displaying a slightly terrified look on her face. "Though the properly part sound a bit disconcerting."
"It's fine," said Warren. "The Translocator always sends you to where you want to go. Except for that time when Oblivion had cast a spell to mess with the wavelengths of the instruments. Boy, was that ever crazy. But don't worry, that's all long behind us."
"All right, already," said Seth. "Let's get going!"
"I guess we might as well stay out of sight now," said Bright. Clover nodded in agreement.
"How come?" asked Ingrid. "You two can pass for humans when you're full size. Nobody will know that you're fairies."
"It's unlikely," said Clover. "However, we're going to be out in public, where there's plenty of people. And, you never can be sure if there's someone else out there who can sense magical creatures like Bright and myself."
"You two seem really overprotective about your identities," said Seth. "I'd be willing to bet money that nobody would spot you if you didn't hide yourselves."
"Well, we're just not that comfortable if we have to be away from the preserve and around so many unfamiliar humans," said Bright.
"Let us know if you need anything," said Clover. "We'll be right by your side."
Clover then vanished in a poof of green sparkles, while Bright likewise did the same with rainbow-colored ones.
"Where are they going?" asked Ingrid.
"Don't worry," said Kendra. "They're still with us. Sort of. And when we travel with the Translocator, they'll follow along anyway."
"There's nothing to be afraid of," said Warren, holding out the Translocator. "Just place your hand on it and we'll be off."
"Okay," said Ingrid cautiously, as she, Kendra and Seth each placed a hand onto the Translocator. Warren then twisted the artifact with his other hand, and soon the group was pulled in by it.
A moment later, Kendra and Seth found themselves standing on a large field of grass.
"Hey, where are we?" asked Ingrid, looking around at her surroundings.
"We're here," said Warren. "Washington, District of Columbia."
Kendra and Seth both looked around, and could see that they were beneath some tree branches in some sort of large park. In front of them was what appeared to be a long pool surrounded by grass.
"Hey, that's the Reflecting Pool!" said Kendra, as she walked over towards the aforementioned pool that stretched across in front of her.
Looking to his left, Seth was able to see the Washington Monument in the distance. To his right, he could see the Lincoln Memorial.
"I can't believe we're here!" said Ingrid, seemingly still fascinated by the power of the Translocator.
"Hey!" said Seth, looking down at the Lincoln Memorial. "Isn't that where they have that large statue of Abraham Lincoln?"
"I think so," said Kendra. "But right now, we've got to get to the Smithsonian. Where is it from here, Warren?"
"Not too far," said Warren. "Probably a few minutes if we take a taxi. Let's go find one."
The group then proceeded to walk towards the nearest road.
"I don't get it," said Ingrid. "Why not just use the Translocator to travel directly to the museum?"
"It can only take you to anywhere you've already been," said Kendra. "Warren's been to this part of Washington, but not the Smithsonian."
"I guess we couldn't have gone the rest of the way with Raxtus and Geminus, huh?" asked Ingrid.
"Too impractical," said Seth. "Besides, it's risky riding through a city on a dragon. Best to avoid doing so if you can."
Soon they had reached a road where several taxis were parked. Warren climbed into the passenger seat of one, while Kendra, Seth and Ingrid seated themselves in the back.
"Where to?" asked the cabbie.
"Museum of Natural History," answered Warren.
"You got it," said the cabbie, as he turned on the ignition and proceeded to drive off.
The drive down Constitution Ave was quick and smooth. As Kendra and Seth gazed out the window to admire the sights that they passed by, they took in as much as their eyes could absorb. In less than five minutes, the taxi had pulled over in front of the entrance to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
"Thank you," said Warren, passing a twenty dollar bill over to the cabbie, as he climbed out of the front seat. Kendra, Seth and Ingrid followed Warren out of the taxi, and they walked up towards the entrance to the museum.
"I hope that glove really is here," said Seth.
"Well, if it's not," said Kendra, "then this whole trip wasn't a huge loss. At least this place is interesting."
"Hey, how come you didn't use the Oculus to check and make sure that the glove is really here?" asked Ingrid.
"Well, none of us have seen the glove first hand," said Kendra. "Just those low resolution pictures. And it looks just like Coulter's glove, so it would be hard for us to pinpoint it using the Oculus."
"Besides, it's not like coming here was too much trouble," said Warren, as they entered the front door of the building.
Seth and Kendra gazed around at the large room they had entered. It was a rotunda, several stories high, with balconies of the upper floors surrounding them. In the center of the entry hall was a display where a stuffed African elephant stood.
"It says here that the African elephant is the largest terrestrial animal known to man," said Ingrid, reading an inscription on the display.
"We've seen bigger," said Seth. "A lot bigger!"
Kendra then looked around the rotunda a bit more, wondering to herself where they were supposed to be going. "So, where's the glove even supposed to be?"
"According to Trask's research, it's upstairs in another part of the museum," replied Warren. "Come on."
After passing through the entry hall, the group made their way over towards an elevator and rode it up to the second floor. They then traveled down a hallway, passing by all sorts of intriguing exhibits and displays. Had they not been on a mission, Seth and Kendra would've enjoyed taking their time to look around the museum. However, finding out about this glove was their priority.
"Where exactly is this glove?" asked Seth.
"That's what we need to find out," said Warren. "The information that Trask got wasn't very specific. And because the origins of the glove are unknown to the museum, it's hard to determine just where they could've put it."
"Look, why don't we just ask a guide where it might be?" asked Ingrid.
"Well, I'd rather not give anything away to the staff that somebody's suddenly interested in this glove," said Warren. "Interested to the point where we brought pictures of it to the museum. The less that they know about what we're planning, the better."
"Still, if all else fails," said Kendra. "I suggest that we ask. But for now, let's just keep on the lookout."
"Okay, but let's try to stay together," said Warren. "We'll take this investigation one room at a time."
The group proceeded into a room where many animal specimens and parts were on display.
"I don't think the glove's anywhere in here," said Ingrid, looking around at their surroundings, which consisted mostly of skeletons and stuffed bodies.
"Is that a unicorn horn?" asked Seth, walking towards a waist-high display case.
Kendra snorted. "No, Seth! It's just a narwhal tusk."
Seth looked into the case and gazed at the long, spiraling tusk. It was massive, much longer than an actual unicorn's horn really was.
"You're not the first one to make that connection, Seth," said Warren. "In the olden days, people who didn't know what these tusks actually were theorized that they might've been unicorn horns."
"You think any of these so-called tusks actually are unicorn horns?" asked Ingrid.
"You never know," said Warren. "These ones are kinda big, though."
Kendra looked down at the inscription on the case and read it. "It says here that the tusk, which is exclusive to male narwhals, is a biological mystery. They always spiral counter-clockwise, forming a left-handed helix."
"Just like unicorn horns," said Warren. "I wonder if there's some connection?"
"Why always counter-clockwise?" asked Seth.
"Well, with narwhals, their tusk isn't centered, causing it to be asymmetrical. But unicorn horns are always in the very middle of the forehead."
"Yet unicorn horns are asymmetrical," said Kendra. "Strange."
After exploring the floor for a good little while, the group had found their way into a room full of ancient treasures and trinkets.
"Hey, I think I found it!" said Ingrid, drawing over the attention of her allies from the other side of the room.
Seth, Kendra and Warren all scurried over to the small display case where Ingrid was currently standing. They then gathered around the case and peered down through the glass.
Sitting by itself in the case, the glove was seemingly just lying down in plain sight, with its backside facing upwards.
"No way!" said Seth, gazing at the glove, which was a dead ringer for the one that had once belonged to Coulter.
"I think this is it," said Warren, nodding in approval.
"Let me take a picture," said Kendra, as she pulled a digital camera from out of her handbag. She then held it up to her face and started to take pictures of the glove once it came into focus. Next, she proceeded to move around to the sides of the case in order to get shots of the glove from different angles and perspectives.
Seth looked around the room. There were a few other people paying attention to some of the other displays, but none of them were in the direct vicinity.
"You think we've been attracting too much attention so far?" asked Seth.
"Aside from responding to Ingrid, not really," said Kendra.
"Sorry, I just got excited," said Ingrid.
"It is better if we keep a low profile," said Warren. "Now that we've got some better pictures, we can go and compare them to our own glove."
The group made their way out of the room and into a hallway, where they sat down on an unoccupied bench. Warren then opened his bag and removed both the real glove that they owned, along with the phony one that Clover had conjured up. From what Kendra and Seth could tell, the only distinguishing feature between the two gloves was the twine that had been tied around the pinky finger of the real one.
"There's no mistaking it," said Kendra, looking over the pictures she had taken of the glove that was on display, and comparing it to their gloves. "This glove looks just like ours."
"But is this glove that's here even magical?" asked Ingrid, as Warren slipped the two gloves back into his bag. "I mean, it could just be a huge coincidence that they look alike."
"Well, maybe Coulter's glove wasn't unique to begin with," said Seth. "It's possible somebody just took an ordinary glove and enchanted it or something. This glove that's here might just be another one that was never anything special."
"Hold on," said Warren. "Let's go back to the glove."
The group then got up from the bench and made their way back into the other room where the glove was.
"The more I look at this glove," said Seth, "the more I'm certain that it's just like ours."
"Let me check the inscription," said Kendra, looking down at the small plaque that was embedded on the front of the case.
"What does it say?" asked Ingrid.
Kendra winced. "It says that the glove's origins are unclear. It was last in possession of an anonymous couple who had inherited it twenty years ago, but they don't know where it came from. Unable to get an appraisal on the glove, they donated it to the museum."
"Weird," said Seth. "I guess this means that if the glove even is magical, its previous owners were completely unaware of it."
"So, how are we supposed to get a hold this glove?" asked Ingrid.
Warren shifted his eyes from side to side, then proceeded to speak in a whisper. "There are cameras in this room, along with other visitors. To remove the glove from the display right now would be suicide. That's why we'll come back here when the place is closed and make an effort to get it then."
"But what about the cameras?" asked Seth.
"That's the other part of my plan," said Warren, as he led the group away from the glove on display. "We need to find the security room, so that when we come back here after hours, we can incapacitate the guards, shut off the alarm system and take the glove."
The group made their back down to the first floor, and proceeded to explore around the place for a fair bit of time. Soon they had discovered a small hallway. In it were two doors. One was labelled as a fire exit, while at the end of the hallway stood another door that was marked "Staff Only".
"This may be it," said Warren. "Clover, come out."
"What is it?" asked the green fairy, once she had appeared before the group.
"Can you bypass the door, make a note of what's on the other side, then return to us?"
"I'll give it a shot," said Clover, as she flew up towards the Staff Only door, then vanished in a cloud of green sparkles.
Roughly ten seconds later, Clover had reappeared and flew back over to the group.
"There's three men in uniform in there," said Clover. "They didn't notice me, because they were all watching TV or something."
"Good job," said Warren. "This is where we want to be later. Thank you."
"So, what do we do now?" asked Seth, as he glanced at his watch. "This place won't be closed until the evening, and it's not even lunch time yet."
"Well, that gives us several hours to kill," said Kendra. "What'll we do until then?"
"Well, I'll call Stan and let him know about what we found," said Warren. "But for the rest of the day, as long as we're here in Washington D.C., we might as well take in the sights. Be tourists."
For the next few hours, the group spent time looking around the history museum at all sorts of outstanding and interesting artifacts and specimen that were on display. Eventually, they stopped to eat lunch, then opted to ride around the city on a tour bus, allowing them to see the sights.
The bus passed by all sorts of landmarks, including the White House, the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Mall, the National Archives, the Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
After the bus ride had ended, the group, proceeded to walk around the town for the next little while. There wasn't really enough time for them to visit another landmark, but they didn't mind, for they were here on a mission.
Afterwards, the group had discovered a restaurant where they sat down and ordered dinner for themselves.
"This city sure has a lot of memorials," said Ingrid.
"Well, a lot of people have died throughout history," said Warren. "People fought with each other over ideals and beliefs. In some parts of the world, this fighting still persists."
"Reminds me of Murdred," said Seth. "I know that he'd try to conquer our world if he could. Man, just the very thought of it gives me goosebumps."
"You know, there's more to the memorials than to just remind us of people who died in the past," said Kendra. "They also serve as a reminder for us that if people do fight with each other, the results can be devastating and tragic.
"What are we supposed to do?" asked Seth. "There's way too much conflict going on in the world for us to do anything about it. If only we'd been more careful with the instruments, instead of letting them sit in the Fairy Kingdom all this time."
"Using magic to fix everything won't do anything to improve the human race," said Warren. "We'd grow lazy and become too reliant on using magic to solve everything. Learning to get along with each other is the most sensible option, and it doesn't require any magic."
"Right now I just want to get the glove, so that maybe we can have a better shot at stopping Murdred," said Seth. "I don't think any amount of love or reasoning will work with him."
"We'll get the glove," said Warren. "Right after we finish dinner."
