The Dragon's Ring

Chapter Eight

*TIME: 4:32 PM*

It took them a while but they made it to the Museum of Archaeology but they were shocked when they got there.  The entire museum was crowded with people, some were asking questions, some were yelling and screaming and some were shouting things that were hard to make out but they could tell that some of that sounded angry.

They pushed themselves into the crowd, pushing and shoving people out of the way and most of those people were angry and others shouted profanity at them as well.  When they made it out of the crowd, they saw Mr. Pepper being asked questions by news reporters for different news companies with his back turned to them.  They could tell that Mr. Pepper was getting frustrated and tired as they could hear that from the tone of his voice.

They walked up to him and Vixen tapped him on the shoulder, which made him jump and turned his head to look behind him.  He let out a sigh of relief and he turned back to the reporters that he has some company and will be right there.  He turned around to face them.

"Hello, fellers" he said, "What can I do for you?"

"Lets talk in private because we have something to ask you" Tony told him.  Mr. Pepper thought for a moment, then nodded his head.  They went to the far right side of the museum so no one could hear them talking.

"What is it that you want to ask?" Mr. Pepper asked them.

"It's about the Dragon's Ring" Robert said.

"Mikey has the Dragon's Ring on his right hands' middle finger and when he tried to get it off, it wouldn't come off" Vixen added.  Mr. Pepper didn't say anything for a moment before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry to tell you this but that ring will be permanently stuck to his finger" Mr. Pepper said to them and they looked at him with wide eyes, "It is said that once the ring is put on, it can never come off"

"But, that's not possible" Melissa said, "There has to be a way"

"I'm sorry, my dear, but there is no other way to take it off" Mr. Pepper began to say, "They say that the ring is cursed and those who wear it will be a dragon forever.  But, there is a way and it won't be easy"

"What's that?" Robert asked.

"They say that if one commits a selfless and heroic act, the spell will be broken and the wearer will be given the power of changing forms at will, though the ring will stay on one's finger" Mr. Pepper said and they all looked at each other.  Even though Mikey can't get the ring off, there is still hope on changing him back.

"One last thing, are there security cameras in the museum?" Melissa asked Mr. Pepper.

"Why yes, of course" Mr. Pepper said, "Why do you ask?"

"Because if we want to prove Mikey's innocence, the only way would be the security cameras catching the whole incident from last night on video" Vixen said, "Did anyone delete the footage from last night?"

"No" Mr. Pepper said, "The only way into the room with the security monitors is by passcode and I have the passcode"

"Sir, we need to get that footage" Vixen said, "What if someone managed to get into the room and deleted the footage and Mikey's innocence will never be proven"

Mr. Pepper thought for a moment and normally, he wouldn't let just anyone get in there during the night but the situation has gotten worse since the morning and he wanted this to be solved.  If he had to be honest with himself, the young fox/dragon was right.  Anyone would somehow find out the code, get in the room and delete the footage and believe it or not, he believes that Mikey is innocent.

"Very well, I will tell you the code" Mr. Pepper said and bent down and whispered the code in Vixen's ear.  He straightened up after telling her the code and she looks at him with a smile.

"Thanks, Mr. Pepper" Vixen said.

"You're welcome, my dear" Mr. Pepper said, "And be careful, the museum will be filled with guards so you will have to try to get to it without getting caught"

"Can do" Vixen said as she walked off with the others following behind her, unaware that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation.

*TIME: 6:02 PM*

Back in the hideout, Mikey was sound asleep and have been for quite some time now.  While he was waiting, he decided to take a nap and wait for them to come back because he needed all that rest after what happened throughout the day.

The sound of the hideout door opening and then closing woke Mikey up and he lifts his head up to see that they had come back.  He gets back up on all fours and sits down to the right side of the desk as Vixen stood behind and everyone else sat in their respected seats.

"Mikey, we have some news for you" Vixen began to say to Mikey and he turned his head to face her, "Listen, about the ring... well,... it's permanently stuck to your finger.  We learned that once you put it on, you can't take it off"

Mikey just looked at her with no expression on his face.  They didn't know what he was thinking at the moment because well, they are not him.  If they had to guess, he must be overwhelmed with shock by it.

"There is one way to change you back" Vixen said to him and he was giving her that look that he was paying attention, "Mr. Pepper told us that the only way for you to return to your normal form is to commit a selfless and heroic act.  That way, the curse on the ring will be broken"

Those words gave Mikey some hope that there is one way to change back.

"Plus, there are security cameras in the museum and they caught everything from last night on video" Vixen said, "Mr. Pepper gave us the passcode to the door so we will have to sneak into the museum tonight and get that footage.  Anyone have a-"

Vixen was not able to finished the sentence when Mikey cut her off.

"A flash drive?" Mikey said, "There is one inside the desk in the top left draw"

Vixen opens the top left draw and inside was a small red flash drive.  She picks it up and examines it.

"There is nothing stored in that flash drive, just so you know" Mikey said, "I knew it would come in handy"

Vixen looked at the others for a few silent moments before Tony broke the silence.

"So, I am going to guess is that all we need to do is download the footage into the flash drive and boom, we have the proof" Tony said.

"Yes" Vixen said, "So tonight, we will sneak into the museum, get the footage and prove Mikey's innocence"

"Lets do it" Robert said.

*MEANWHILE IN CATHY'S HOUSE*

"So, what are we going to do again?" Chris asked her as she pulled out a flash drive out of her dresser.

"We will sneak into the museum, get that footage, get out of there and prove Mikey's innocence" Cathy said and Chase cheered on that.

"But, what if someone else is trying to get to it?" Chris asked her.

"We will have to get there first before they do" Cathy said, "And besides, I know the passcode to the door"