The sun was setting behind a group of three friends as they walked up to a large building, with brown bricks and ornate ivory pillars. It'd been a few hours since college had ended for the day and the trio had just met up earlier to walk together.
"Basically we're just watching the place, it's as simple as that." Ember finished explaining as he stopped and turned to face his friends.
"Do I get to break stuff?" Spikes asked.
"No."
"Am I allowed to take notes? I think getting to study old artifacts and exhibits up close might help me with my tests." Pearl piped up.
"As long as you don't touch anything, sure."
"Couldn't you do that in the day time?" Spikes asked as he crossed his arms against his chest, looking past Ember's shoulder to the museum.
"I could, yes; but the artifacts I want to study are brand new additions that won't be on display for another week." Pear answered.
"Anyways, my uncle already left for his trip so all we have to do is go inside." Ember flashed a pair of gold keys, his friends smirked and the three continued to the museum.
The inside was as pretty as the outside, marble floors shined in the fading light and sunbeams reflected particles in the air as the various old items glowed in the sunset. The walls were maroon with gold vines stretching across the room, farther in the back the place was darker, making the vacant check-in desk hard to see.
"The unreleased stuff is in the back to the right of the building, you'll know when you get there because the entry hall is lined with white tape." Ember pointed to a large entryway to the right of the desk.
"Thank you." Pearl smiled at the boy, then she turned and walked off. Spikes started after her but a tug at his sleeve made him stop.
"Spikes, do not break anything. Got it?" Ember warned.
"Yeah yeah I know, I'm not gonna." The dog yanked away and followed Pearl with haste.
"Don't steal anything either!" Ember called after him, he sighed and turned towards the large crystalline windows at the front of the museum. "Hopefully this'll be a fun night." He said with a warm smile as the sun finally dipped below the horizon.
Pearl flinched when a light above snapped on with a dim red hue, similar lights equally spaced out popped to life down each hall casting an eerie glow on the two mobians.
"Scared of lights now?" Spikes teased.
"I bet you jumped too." Pearl hissed, she continued walking as she scanned the halls and rooms for her target.
"Nuh-uh, I ain't scared of nothin'."
She ignored him as she continued searching, when her eyes finally landed on the white tape she exclaimed: "Ah-hah!" and swiftly made her way to the hall. Lifting the tape the cat ducked under it and eagerly poked her head into one of the various rooms. "Woah." She breathed, stepping into the room and examining a chipped gold pot that sat on a pedestal behind red rope. "This looks like agruhmobian pottery, I never thought I'd get to see this stuff in real life!"
"Ah-gruh-mobian?" Spikes asked as he stopped behind his friend. "I haven't heard of that race before."
"Most people haven't, not even folks who're suuuuper into history. That's because the agruhmobian society is mostly just theorized, there's been cave paintings and some really old writings mentioning them before but never any actual artifacts!" Pearl reached into her pocket and retrieved a small notebook and pen, she began sketching out the vause as she continued speaking. "No wonder this exhibit has been locked away for so long, scientists are probably still trying to verify if this stuff is real or fake!"
"Why would it be in the museum if it's not verified yet?" Spikes asked bordely, his eyes had been caught on a glint from an amethyst amulet that hung from the wall on the far side of the room.
"Because the museum is the safest place to keep this stuff while they're studying it, ohh I really hope it's real, this could be a historical breakthrough!" She hugged her notebook to her chest and squeaked: "And I'm witnessing it first!"
Spikes merely hummed as he was drawn to the gem, Pearl's voice seemed to sink away into the void as his eyes focused solely on the necklace.
"I wonder if there's more-"
Spikes reached for the amulet.
"-Spikes!" Pearl barked, snapping the dogs attention back to her.
"What?" He demanded, turning around and crossing his arms.
"Ember told us not to touch anything." Her hands were placed on her hips as her long thin tail swished behind her.
"Nah, he told you not to touch anything, he told me not to steal anything." Spikes spat on the ground and rubbed his nose, trying to look cool. "And I wasn't gonna." He finished.
Pearl hard blinked, then huffed. "Whatever." She pushed passed the boy, making him grunt, as she looked up at the artifact that'd had him so fascinated. "Hmm, this also looks like agruhmobian style." The girl started writing information in her journal as Spikes turned toward the door.
Ember stepped into the room, looking around before his eyes landed on his two friends. "Thought I heard arguing." He smiled.
"Pearl's gotten wet over some fake merchandise."
"It's not merchandise!" Pearl swiveled around and screeched, causing Spikes to smirk as she blushed. "And i'm not-" She pouted, deciding not to humor him anymore.
"Riiiiiight." Ember bit his lip as he admired the vause. "So, I assume you're satisfied with your finds so far?" He asked the cat.
Pearl looked at him and smiled brightly. "Yes! Thank you so much for this opportunity!" She seemed like she could jump for joy.
"Any time." Ember walked over to them and looked up at the amulet. "Woah." He stopped. "That's pretty."
"It sure is." Pearl responded as she continued taking notes.
Spikes ignored the rest of the conversation as he exited the room, looking around the dark hall his eyes finally settled on a room and he walked into it. The same kind've stuff lined the walls, some more expensive looking items were locked safely behind glass cases. The dog stepped up to a display that held a gold tiara and a matching necklace, both were small and dainty looking as if made for the most elegant of princesses. He reached forward and tapped the glass a few times, then he began searching around the box with intent. Huh, no lock. He sighed as he stopped, placing one hand on the case. Come to think of it, I don't think any of these boxes have locks. Fuck, might have to break it... He looked behind him for a few seconds, after confirming no one was around he slipped out a knife and stuck it into the glass. He let out a breath as the only noise was a small tink and he started to apply pressure until the knife chipped into the box. Working with precision and speed Spikes cut into the glass, making sure not to shatter it, until after a few minutes he was able to pull a circle away and reach into the box.
"...Check this room." Spike's ears perked as he heard Ember's voice combined with footsteps, quickly he snatched both artifacts and stuffed them into his deep pockets. He turned just as the hedgehog entered the room, hoping his body shielded the hole from prying eyes.
"Oh, there you are." Ember said, he smiled as Pearl stopped beside him. "What're you doing?" He asked.
"Admiring the old gold?" Spikes answered, he struck a pose but immediatly lost his balance. "Whao-" He fell back and knocked over the case, shattering it behind him.
"Spikes!" Pearl shouted, she ran over to him and lended a hand. "Are you okay?"
"Ghh I'm fine, might have gotten a cut or two." Spikes took her hand and stood, dusting himself off as he looked down at the glass. "Shit man, I'm sorry."
"It's fine, the case was empty anyways. I'm glad you're okay at least." Ember smiled. The three exited the room and pointed themselves back toward the front of the building.
"Where are we heading?" Spikes asked.
"To the left side of the building, we are supposed to be watching this place after all." Ember said.
"Plus I've gotten' enough data for several tests so I wanna use the computers to do a little bit more research." Pearl said happily.
"Ah." Spikes slid his hands in his pockets, smiling when he felt the jewelry. As they walked something tickled the back of his mind, he stopped and look past his shoulder as he expected something to be there. All that there was was darkness seeping out of the hall. Spikes blinked, feeling like he was forgetting something... Shaking his head he continued walking after his friends, the rest of the night was spent chatting and telling stories and goofing around on the internet.
All the while, something glinted alone in the dark.