One Night - Night at the Museum

Twenty-Six: Out of Time

They exited the museum through the front, finding the others gathered outside.

"Lawrence, Attila and your boy secured the lady-guard in her booth, but I don't know how long it'll hold," informed Teddy.

"We'd better make sure someone doesn't let her leave," said Larry. Laaa grunted. "Laaa, you know what you have to do?"

"Stay!" said Laaa, holding his hands out in front of himself.

"Yeah, that's right, good job, now go!" Laaa hurried off, still holding his hands out. "Now come on, we've got to find Lancelot," Larry said, starting down the front stairs.

"But Dad, he could literally be anywhere in the city right now," said Nick.

"We've got to try." With that, Larry took off, the others following.

"He came this way," Sac announced, using her expert tracking skills. "Traveling four leagues per hour."

Hearing sudden screams up ahead, the group found that the life-size lion statues out in front of the museum had come to life as well.

"Whoa!" cried Larry.

"Never run from a big cat, Lawrence," instructed Teddy.

"Gigantor, get your flashlight out!" cried Jed. "These cats want to play!"

Larry did so, shining the beam onto the pavement before them. The whole group watched in amazement as the lions pounced and chased the light.

The cats now distracted, the group turned back to the chase.

"Where the devil could Lancelot be?" questioned Teddy.

That was when Larry saw it: an advertisement on the side of a bus for a musical playing at a nearby theatre. A musical called 'Camelot'. "There!"

-------------------------------

"Was that who I think it was?!" cried Nat after they had cut through the theatre and unintentionally interrupted the performance.

"Yeah, it was!" cried Larry. 

"Hugh Jackman! No way!"

They chased Lancelot up onto the theatre roof. 

"Hey! Give me the tablet!" called Larry. 

Lancelot threatened them with his torch. "Stay back! Stay back," he ordered. Larry only stared, as did the others. "What?" demanded the knight.

Who was going to break it to him? "Uh, your nose..."

"What, what about my nose?"

"It's dripping-"

"What?"

"It's melting, from the fire."

Indeed, the wax statue's nose had begun to melt into a long drip of wax. Seeing this, Lancelot cried out in terror, immediately extinguishing the torch. When Larry moved to step forward he drew his sword. "How bad is it?"

"It's – not great."

"I said, how bad is it?"

"Pretty bad - okay really bad."

"But I'm Lancelot!"

"There never was a Lancelot," cried Larry. "He's a legend, you're not real."

"Larry!" cried Nat. Did he really think that would help right now?

"I-I don't understand..."

"I know, I know it's a lot to take in but just please give me the tablet," cried Larry.

"Oh and then what? Back to the museum?" demanded the knight. "Stand there as little children ogle and point?"

"And learn," said Teddy. "And become inspired to do great things. There are far less noble fates, my friend."

"Not for me there aren't! If there is no Camelot, no King Arthur, no Guinevere, no Lancelot, then I'm nothing. I'm just a sad lump of misshapen wax - STOP LOOKING AT MY NOSE!" The knight once again advanced on Larry with his sword.

"I wasn't looking," Larry insisted. "Now please just give me the tablet-"

"Yes you were, I saw you. How hard can it be? No one shall look at or mention my nose FROM THIS MOMENT FORWARD!" Lancelot practically roared. There was a pause. "I'm sorry, I've forgotten what we were talking about."

"Ahh!" Suddenly, with a great cry, Attila fell down the steps, collapsing in a heap on the ground.

"Lawrence," cried Teddy, before he too fell back.

"Oh Teddy!" Sac rushed to his side, but had soon frozen, becoming wax.

"Larry-" Ahk, now looking even more on the brink of death than before, clung to the railing for support. "We've run out of time."

Panicking now, Larry approached Lancelot. "Listen to me, you've got to straighten the pieces. Straighten the pieces now or they're all going to die!" He was shouting now. "You too!"

"A world without Camelot is not a world worth living in." The knight remained firm.

With a pained wail, Dexter collapsed too.

"Dad!" cried Nick.

Larry knelt by the monkey's side. "Dex, hey, it's going to be okay, it's going to be okay, buddy." Dexter raised his arm. "You want to slap me? Okay, go ahead, go on, slap me in the face-" But Dexter only grabbed a hold of his finger and closed his eyes. "Dex? Dexter? Oh no, oh no, no no no-" Dexter's grip on his hand loosened until he fully let go.

"Dexter?" Larry tried again. "Dex..."

"Dad, he's gone," cried Nick.

Larry sunk back, shakily getting to his feet, looking around at their friends.

"L-Larry," Nat said gently. He didn't reply, only buried his face in his hands. She came over to him, wrapping him up in a hug. He clung to her, dazed.

"I understand now." They turned to face Lancelot when he spoke. "The monkey was the quest. It was never about the tablet, it was about them." The knight knelt down, leaning on his sword. "Please, forgive me. It is I who have been the fool." He held out the tablet.

Larry quickly took it from him and turned the pieces. The tablet flashed with golden light and the corrosion vanished, the surface now shimmering with new life in the moonlight. 

(That scene with the nose it too funny!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :) Very near the end now!)