Do I wanna be free?

I want to break free

It's dark out, probably somewhere around 1 or 2 am. The museum looks rather beautiful when lit from below by a cool light. It's surprising that such a great museum has such horrible security.

Patches sits outside in a bush, waiting. Mark was supposed to arrive by now. Where is he? They've been waiting for ages, did he forget? No, he's not that dumb...

With a soft sigh, Patches gets up, dusting their dark clothes and adjusting their mask, and sneak over to the entrance to the museum. With a quick whip of their grappling hook, they shoot themselves up into the vent they spotted.

It's a little claustrophobic but they try their best to ignore it. It's just a vent, they'll be out soon. Arriving at an opening in the vent system, they gently drop down.

There's not a single guard here. This'll be a piece of cake.

As they get ready to move on, they hear yelling in the distance. Is that..?

Yep. Before them falls Mark, landing surely on the platform Patches was standing on. They prop their hands on their hips and look down at Mark.

"Took you long enough," they snicker. "Lost your way?"

"Nahh, just went for a look around the museum."

Patches grips their dark purple sweater and lets out a quiet yet dramatic gasp. "And without ME? How could you.."

Mark just shakes his head. "Remember the plan? We've been planning this for years, there's no way you could have forgotten this."

"Yeah, no, I remember. I came up with most of it, after all." Patches crouches down to point at Mark's bag where the notes on the plan are.

He just lets out an awkward laugh. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyways, know that if you get in trouble, I'm not coming back for you, okay?" Mark winks and Patches just rolls their eyes.

"Oh and look who's talking! Didn't I have to bail you out of prison recently cause you got caught stealing from a shop?"

"Hey, that was ONE time!" Mark points a finger at Patches, but they just laugh silently. "Alright then, good luck. And stick to the plan!"

And there he goes, running off like a child seeing a candy store. He's silly and often has trouble making decisions for himself but he knows what he's doing. For the most part, at least. It's quite charming, really.

Patches and Mark sneak through the museum, distracting the few guards that are there with steaks and balls. They act like puppy dogs, so they were easy to deal with.

A few stunts from Mark later, they arrive at a large vault. Two guards emerge from the vault, leaving Mark and Patches to scramble into hiding as fast as they can. They're chatting between themselves, talking about how they love their job and how how this vault is amazing for needing two keys to open instead of one.

As soon as the guards leave, Mark comes out of hiding. "So, we need two keys. That wasn't in the plan..."

"Maybe we should spit up for now. We each find one key so we'll be done with this whole heist quicker," Patches suggests. Mark nods in agreement.

"Good idea! I see my ideas are rubbing off on you~"

"It's just so we get out of this place as fast as possible. Don't get used to it, dear."

"Alright, alright. Be back in a flash!" And he's off, grappling to the ceiling... Aaaaaaaand falling into the big pile of boxes. He emerges surprisingly unharmed.

"You good?" Patches tilts their head to see if they can spot a bruise of some sorts. Mark just gives them a look.

"Be back in a flash."