What a Night for a Knight
Night had fallen as Tech, Rev and Rip were walking along a road that was deserted. The boys couldn't contain their excitement over the movie "Tremors" they saw just earlier.
"Gosh! That movie was so awesome!" Rip said. "The way that Val, Earl and Rhonda were stuck on that rock and used poles to escape back to her truck was cool!"
"Yeah! And the way they fed that bomb to one of those worms and blew it up, I couldn't contain myself!" Rev added. "It was pure genius!"
"And the amount of guns, big and little that Burt and Heather had, was my favorite!" Tech added. "Being a gun collector has it perks."
After reminiscing about the movie, the boys continued their walk to rejoin the gang. Then, a loud howl of a coyote sounded off and it temporarily caused the boys to freeze.
"Ok, how about we pick up the paste a little?" Tech asked. "I'm pretty sure that was not a nice coyote."
"Sure thing." Rip agrees.
With that, the boys walk faster and then they are startled when they hear a loud screech of tires followed by a big bang.
"What was that?" Rev asks.
"Sounded like a car crashed a little further up." Rip suggests.
"Let's go see." Tech says.
The boys walk down the road and come across the crash scene. It was a dark blue pickup truck. In it's bed, they notice a large crate that was open and empty. They check the front and notice that there was no driver. He must have left after crashing. The boys look around and find a shopping invoice.
"Found something." Rev says and the others gather. "It looks like whatever was in that crate was a package for the County Museum. And it says here that it was for a man named R. Necros."
"I also found this handkerchief with a "W" on it." Rip adds.
"Hmm. This is really weird. Well, let's find the others and tell them what happened." Tech decides.
After meeting up with the others and telling them everything that happened on the road, Ace decides that a mystery has been uncovered and they head to the museum in their van. When they arrive, they park next to the museum and walk up to the side of the building. Then, a man in white clothes walks up.
"Hello there, kids. I'm the museum curator, Mr. Wickles. I'm sorry but the museum is closed." Mr. Wickles greets.
"Forgive us, sir but our friends found a truck with a missing driver and a delivery notice. It was addressed to this museum." Ace says. Mr. Wickles then gives a strange reason why the driver was missing.
"It must be HIM who got the driver. These parts aren't safe at this time of night. HE might catch you." Wickles advises.
"Who is this "He"?" Lexi asks.
"One of our suits of armor has come to life in the form of the Black Knight. He has been haunting the museum grounds at night. You kids had better be on your way for your safety." Wickles advises and walks off.
"Talk about a Knight waking up clanky and cranky." Duck jokes. The others give a laugh.
"Well that settles it. We have found a mystery. Our first move is to get inside that museum." Ace declares.
"Since the museum is closed, the front door is probably locked." Slam deduces.
"Well, there's gotta be another way in." Rip says. The team look and Tech looks up.
"Hey look! There's a window open up there." Tech points out. The window is on the second floor and it's too high for anyone to reach it. Rev and Rip go back to the van and lift a ladder off the van's roof and place it along the wall, allowing the window to be reached.
"Alright. Rev, you Rip and Tech go in and see if you can unlock the front door. We'll wait out here and look for clues before joining you." Ace instructs.
"You got it, Ace." Rev accepts. Rev goes up first, followed by Rip, then Tech. Rev peeks over the open window and notices a guard walking around the floor. "Watch it. There's a guard. We need to be quiet."
"What else can you see?" Rip asks.
"Aside from a lot of dark, I can see an elevator on the other side of the room." Rev responds.
And the trio climb onto the floor. They hug the darkest shadows and manage to slip past the guard who walks with his flashlight in circles around two large display cases. Rip sees some kind of a headdress and takes it. They reach the elevator and press the button. It gives a small "ding!" and opens. They get in and press the first floor button. It goes down and they enter the first floor. The main hall has a little more light. They head for the main door, open it, and let the others in.
"Great work, you three." Lexi congratulates.
"It was quite easy to get past that guard." Tech says.
"It feels kinda spooky in here." Duck says.
"Not as spooky as upstairs." Rip says.
"So what's the plan?" Slam asks. But before Ace can say anything, the lights suddenly turn off, turning the entire hall pitch black.
"Who turned off the lights?" Rev asks with worry.
"Nobody move." Ace orders.
"I wouldn't move in a pitch black room without a light." Rev responds.
Then, heavy clanking footsteps rattle the hall, causing the group to give a shout of fright. Some smacks are heard and the footsteps walk away. Then the lights suddenly come back on, the gang is knocked onto the floor and to the gang's horror, Lexi and Duck are missing!
"Lexi? Duck? Where'd they go?" Ace ask with worry as the group get up.
"It must have been the Black Knight. Those loud steps must have been him." Tech deduces.
"Alright, we're gonna have to split up. You three search the first and second floors. Slam and I will search the third and fourth floors." Ace says. "When we find Lexi and Duck, give a signal on our phones and we'll all meet here."
"You got it, Ace." Rip says. "Let's hope we don't run into that Knight on the way." With that, Ace and Slam go to the elevator and head to the third floor. The trio take the elevator back up to the second floor.
"Uh-oh. The lights are on up here." Tech notices. They quickly duck into the Hall of Presidents gallery room where figures of the Presidents are spread all over. The guard does not notice. Then they hear "I'm not a crook." with Richard Nixon's voice. "Hey, that was Nixon."
The trio move through the room and find a tape recorder in front of Richard Nixon's figure and pick it up.
"We must have heard it from this tape recorder." Rip deduces. "Let's hold onto it. It may come in handy." They put it in a backpack Rev has and leave the room. They duck behind one of the large rectangle display cases and monitor the guard's movements. They get to the other side of the room without him noticing and go into the Hall of Fine Arts. Inside is a large sculpture in the middle of the room with magnificent paintings scattered all over the walls.
"We'll be lucky if we can find anything in this room." Rev says. "But at least we can marvel the art." The trio search the room and find nothing. Then Rev goes to the sculpture and places his hand on one of the barrier poles around it and unknowingly pushes a secret button. Then, a secret door opens in the wall to reveal a secret room.
"Well that's our lucky break!" Tech says excitedly. "Come on." The team enters the room and notices that it's some kind of a workshop for art.
"Why would a workshop be hidden like this?" Rip asks.
"No idea. Let's look around." Tech answers. The trio begin their search.
"Hey! Get a load of this." Rev calls. The others join him. They have found two paintings that look alike, but with a slight color difference.
"Hmm. It looks like we've stumbled upon an art swindling operation." Tech deduces. "Making fakes that look almost exactly like the real ones to replace the real pieces of art to sell them on the black market."
"Alright. Let's go find Duck and Lexi. I sure hope Ace and Slam are having the same amount of luck we have." Rip says. Before they leave, they take a paintbrush and a roll of canvas and put it into Rev's bag as evidence. They leave the room and leave the secret door open. They prepare to leave the Art Hall. Tech peeks around the doorway.
"Snap! The guard's stopped in front of the elevator. No way to get through him." Tech says with frustration.
"Hm." Rev thinks and comes up with an idea.
The guard notices Rev coming out of the Art hall and blows his whistle. He runs after Rev, but the moment he enters the Art Hall, he slips on a puddle of soapy water, slides across the room and hits his head against the wall, knocking him out.
"Nice thinking, bro!" Rip congratulates his brother.
"Thanks. Good thing that bucket of water was there." Rev responds.
"Alright. Let's go before he wakes up." Tech says.
"Wait. He dropped a key." Rip points out. He picks the key up and puts it in his pocket and the trio leave the Art Hall and take the elevator back down to the first floor.
"Well, that takes care of the second floor." Tech says. "Where to now?"
"Let's check the Egyptian Wing." Rip suggests. The trio enter the Egyptian Wing. They are amazed at how the Egyptian Wing is arranged. Three caskets along the walls, a Pharaoh's chair, models of soldiers, a large golden casket for a Pharaoh and Egyptian art all over the walls.
"Gosh. This place is amazing." Rev marvels. "Let's hope that Lexi and Duck are alright."
"I'm sure they are." Tech assures.
They search the caskets first. The first two have mummies inside of them, while the third is empty except for a bag of sand at the feet of the casket. They place it in another bag that Rip has. Then they come across a door that's locked.
"It's locked." Rev says.
"We need a key." Tech says. Then Rip remembers the key the guard dropped.
"Let's try the guard's key." Rip suggests. He tries the key and to their surprise, it unlocks the door. "Pay dirt!"
The trio open the door and go down some steps into a basement. They look and find a large lamp on a table and take it, putting it in Rip's bag and head back to the Egyptian Wing. Upon returning to the Wing, they notice a hallway in the wall and go to it. Rev peers around the corner and sees a large green casket with a menacing blue face at the other end.
"I think a see something on the other side besides the large casket." Rev says.
"Gosh, that casket is terrifying." Rip nervously says.
"Don't worry, Rip. It'll be fine." Tech assures Rip. The trio enter the hallway and the moment they do, the casket suddenly opens. Tech reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small smoke bomb. As they inch closer, from out of the casket comes the Black Knight who gives a roar and stomps towards the trio. Tech throws the bomb and the Black Knight is surrounded by smoke, temporally stopping him. "What now?!" Rev looks to the Egyptian wall drawing to their immediate left and remembers the headdress he picked up earlier. He takes out the headdress and motions the others to the drawing.
"Quick!" Rev shouts and the trio merge into the drawing and look like Egyptian nobles in a very convincing way. The smoke dissipates and the Knight furiously looks around. He looks at the drawing then turns and leaves the hallway and out of the Egyptian Wing. The trio exit their disguises and breathe a sigh of relief.
"Oh, man that was close." Tech says with relief.
"When he came out, I nearly had a heart attack." Rip says. "Good thinking, bro."
"Sure thing." Rev responds with a relived sigh.
The trio go the other end of the hallway and find another key right next to the casket and pick it up. They then leave the hallway and exit the Egyptian Wing. They then go into the Dinosaur Wing on the other side of the room. Inside, the animatronic dinosaur skeletons and models are active. The skeletons are swinging their necks and tails, the models are giving roars and the rex models are attacking the space right underneath them.
"This should be the last room we can search." Rip says. "Still nothing from Ace and Slam?"
"No signal yet." Rev says. "They must be nearly done with their search and still haven't found Lexi and Duck yet."
"With any luck, maybe we'll find them in here." Tech assures them. "Let's avoid getting whacked in the process."
The trio begin their search, dodging the skeletons and models along the way. They manage to get past the rex models without losing a hair. They reach the end of the Wing and find Lexi and Duck chained to a pillar and gagged.
"Lexi! Duck!" Rev cheers and removes their gags. "You guys alright?"
"We're fine." Lexi replies. "But we're really tied up."
"What happened?" Rip asks.
"When the lights went out and those loud steps came, Lexi and I were grabbed and knocked out." Duck says. "When we woke up, we were tied to this pole. That Knight also put this lock on to make sure we don't get loose."
"Please tell us you found the key." Lexi begs. "My arms are falling asleep."
"Mine too." Duck adds.
The trio think and remember the key they found in the Egyptian Wing where the Knight ambushed them. Rip pulls it out of his pocket.
"We found this key in the Egyptian Wing." Rip says. He tries it and it opens the lock, allowing Lexi and Duck to get free.
"Alright! Nice work, guys!" Duck congratulates. "Where's Ace and Slam?"
"Searching the third and fourth floors." Tech replies. "I'll let them know we found you. We'll meet in the entrance hall." Tech activates the signal and the group leave the Dinosaur Wing and return to the main hall where Ace and Slam are waiting.
"Lexi! Duck!" Ace cheers. He and Lexi hug while Slam and Duck high five. "Rev, Rip, Tech, great work guys! Now that were all together again, have we found anything else?"
"Our search was pretty eventful" Rip says. He, Rev and Tech talk about everything from their close encounter with the guard and Black Knight to all the clues they found.
"A secret paint workshop, huh?" Ace says surprisingly. "Well, Slam and I found another one on the fourth floor, but it was empty and we couldn't find anything."
"Well it seems that we've stumbled onto an art smuggling operation." Tech declares. "It would seem that the Black Knight is involved in this."
"Right, Tech." Ace says. "Well our next option is to trap him. And with all the other stuff you found, we just might do it. Let's go to the Egyptian Wing."
The gang goes to the Egyptian Wing and starts planning the trap. Ace uses the tape recorder to record Slams growls, Lexi and Duck tie the chain around the heavy sand bag and lift it up high while Rev, Rip and Tech uncoil the canvas and hang it over slightly to the right of the door to the main hall. The gang gather in front of the door.
"Alright team, I can guarantee that the Black Knight is here on the first floor." Ace says. "Here's the plan. When the Knight enters the Wing, I'll use the flashlight to shine my shadow onto the canvas."
"And I'll use the tape recorder to play Slam's growls at slow speed to make them sound really scary and give your shadow a real fright power." Lexi adds.
"When the Knight is frozen in fear from the sight of the shadow, Slam and I will release the chain and dropping the sandbag onto his head." Duck adds.
"That will take him out hard and we'll have him!" Slam concludes the plan.
"That just leaves us to lure him in here." Rev says and Rip and Tech agree.
"You got it, Rev!" Ace says. "Just be careful alright?"
"Always." Rev responds and high fives Ace. Then Lexi checks outside the Wing and notices footprints going into the Dinosaur Wing.
"Hey, check it out." Lexi says. "Looks like our friend's in the Dinosaur Wing."
"Well at least we know where to find him." Rip says.
"Well then, let's get to it." Tech says. And with that, the trio head into the Dinosaur Wing and follow the footprints to the end of the Wing close to where they found Lexi and Duck.
"Alright. He must be close." Rip says with anticipation.
"Get ready." Rev cautions.
The trio get past the Rexes and sure enough, the Black Knight is on the other side and he gives a loud roar. But this time, he has a sword in his hand.
"He's got a sword!" Tech screams.
"Run for it!" Rip screams and the trio flee with the Knight in hot pursuit.
They manage to dodge all the models and make it to the Egyptian Wing. They give the signal and as soon the Knight enters the Wing, Ace shines the flashlight on himself, casting a big shadow on the large canvas. He stands still, waving his arms and while Lexi plays the recording of Slam's growls played slow on the tape recorder causing the Knight to freeze with fright at the sight of the shadow. Then Duck and Slam release the chain, dropping the sandbag directly on the Knight's head, causing him to fall on to the ground on his butt. As the Knight sits defeated, a whistle blows and the guard rushes into the Wing.
"Hey! What's going on in here?" The guard calls out. The group emerge from their places and converge on the Knight.
"We just knighted the Black Knight!" Rev jokes and the gang all laugh.
"We're the Loonatics, officer." Ace introduces. "And you arrived just in time for the unmasking of an art smuggler."
"An art smuggler you say?" The guard asks.
"Let's find out who he is" Tech says and he pulls the helmet off. "Mr. Wickles, the museum's curator!"
"He was using the Black Knight get-up to scare people away so he could carry out his plan." Ace deduces. "With everyone afraid to come to the museum, he had time to forge the paintings and steal the originals, which he sent off to the Black Market."
"Sometime tonight, he was bringing supplies to the museum to make more forgeries when he crashed." Rev adds. "In his haste to clear out before Tech, Rip and I arrived, he left the invoice and the handkerchief with the "W" behind, proving he was the driver of the pickup truck we found."
"And I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids." Wickles says in spite.
"You kids sure did a good job solving the mystery of the Black Knight." The guard congratulates.
"There's one last thing." Lexi adds. "The only thing that doesn't make sense, is why the invoice Rev found was made out to R. Necros."
"If you know what's good for you, you kids will never find out..." Wickles warns.
"I think that's a mystery better left for the police." Rip suggests.
Wickles is removed from the armor, handcuffed and taken away in a police cruiser. The gang returns to their van.
"Well, it's only 8:30." Ace says. "What do you say we head for dinner at our favorite restaurant?"
"I'm in." The gang says in unison. They drive off to the restaurant. At the same time, a mysterious figure watches from his monitors in a high tech room with frustration.
"Those meddling kids have foiled my art forgery operation, and led to the capture of one of my henchmen! Perhaps I can find a way to use their curiosity against them..." The figure declares.