The Great and Very Lowkey Heist

The day it happened, it was a rainy day. Although Dart supposes the rain is scheduled: just like Omelette said. It had been a few months since the ceremony and banquet, and they have settled into their new lives well. Dart feels a little guilty- after all he knows it won't last long, especially with what he planned. It is likely the Queen wouldn't accept his friends if they found out he stole her precious jewels and secret information. They're all known as good friends, and associating with someone who committed treason is dangerous. It would mean their new life of servitude is over, something he is happy about, but the others less so. Omelette likely would need to live with them outside the dome, and her dream of being a warpainter would be crushed.
It annoyed him. I need those answers, I need to find out what the humans were doing. Why they built this dome, why they created us. I know that there's some secret human blueprints in there.

Unfortunately, Dart decided that it was needed. He wasn't usually the type to follow authority anyway. He hopes his friends will forgive him.
He had come to accept that not many dinosaurs stayed for long. He also accepted that it was his own fault for these things: the stuff he does isn't exactly celebrated. 

Dinos usually knew him as a thief, and he could not disprove them, after all he does go through anywhere he can find to look for human items. Though he told no one of why he does it, he has long embraced the title of thief.

Dart's most fine possessions are maps- they intrigue him and there is always good to be found on them. Some have markings of buildings, and there was one time he found a map of both islands: and found out that they are named Isla Kela and Isla Pera. The discovery of Atlantis intrigued him very much since it meant there was possibility more maps to be found. There had not been a map found that showed Atlantis ever existed.

As a thief, you come to know other thieves. In the Kiama Islands there are many thieves, usually animals like crows, vultures and seagulls, though they are primarily food thieves. Material thieves, like Dart, are also plenty. To be sneaky is usually the best way to steal, though to Dart all he needs is his spikes and bright colors to fend off most things. 

Dart decided, for this plan, he needed backup. This would mean to bring other dinos in to the dome. He found a few secret pathways through the immense jungle on his way through- he marked his way with claws on trees as he passed. It became his signature.
Dart came to know of an old bull styracosaurus called Bruce that frequented a stretch of savannah down south of Isla Pera. He knew him to be quite strong and physically fit, a good suit for a bodyguard, disregarding his temper.
He thought if need be he could break in with force: the Bounty was hidden in a bunker quite far from most other buildings. It looked more like a basement than a bunker, but it was nicely hidden towards the back by heavy jungle. Towards the back there was a big panel with a grate stuffed with overgrown foliage. It was large enough to fit him.
This, Dart decided, is where they'll sneak in. It's likely a vent which is always a good way of entering. We'll have to be careful to not make too much noise.

One thing Dart learned about stealing is that most often, there's a lock. With only styracosaurus hands, he cannot unlock most things. The unknown torments him: he used to store many chests and safes in safe places to return to once he found a way to crack open that material. This struggle lasted until he met Magpie- a very friendly but selectively mute pachycephalosaurus. Magpie was very skillful at lockpicking, as she had small nimble hands and a kit she found for it, no doubt originally a human item. Magpie's speciality was to steal shiny things and hoard them. Somewhere on top of a large sloping tree, on a large mountain in Isla Pera, is a wonderful nest full of shiny rocks they have found over the years. Dart always wanted to know what they found, as she had found human items before. He found out that if it wasn't shiny, she didn't like it that much. This was okay for Dart, as some interesting human things were shiny. Magpie was immediately enthusiastic about the job Dart had proposed to her, and immediately had set off for Atlantis.
For the few months that they were there, Magpie was supposedly scouting the whole place out. Dart knew that this was probably a front, and that Magpie was looking for anything shiny at first glance that they could take to their nest. He conceded that he couldn't stop her, as long as she knew of the plan with Bruce.

Getting Bruce to agree was another challenge in itself. Not much could convince him, as he was a very grumpy old bull. Dart knew that he had been through something and that he had lost a brother, but he didn't dare ask about it. All he knew is that Bruce decided he was going to better himself. This didn't mean he wasn't a grumpy old bull- he would still get angry if you woke him up in the middle of the night, or infringed upon his territory. Thyme had told him it all happened when she was younger, and that he was a sort of guardian to her. He also knew he loved to fight and protect others, which will definitely prove useful in the heist.

It was when Bruce finally arrived after cutting his way through the jungle that Dart knew it was time. He was on guard duty along with his friends, Thyme and Omelette, right outside the front of the entrance. The entrance, a large wooden door locked with a padlock, seemed unbreakable. Bruce had whispered to him from the bushes next to the building to tell him he was going to camp out the back for a little while.
All they were to do in this moment was wait until Magpie got here. Dart had no idea how to get to her quickly- she could have been anywhere.
He thought for a second to do something silly and crow to attract her to where they were. Miraculously, it worked and he saw her head pop out from the bushes.

Dart was positioned closest to the forestline. He was to patrol the side of the building and the back of it. Thyme was to guard the entrance and she stood right directly in front of it. Omelette was keeping watch to the front of the building, patrolling the perimeter.
Because Dart could go into an area covered from view, he could speak with dinosaurs hidden in the bushes. Large vines and broken trees were scattered around the back entrance, so they could go in and out quietly.

"Magpie, have you brought your kit?" Dart whispered to her in the bushes, not looking towards where he knew she was hidden.

She didn't respond, but he could hear the slight jingle of something in her hands. She had also stuffed a small empty bag into the bandanna around her neck, to carry things home with. Dart was pleased. "You need to sneak behind Thyme and lockpick the lock. Once it's open- you're small you can slip right in without a sound. The door isn't very well built." He turned around and started walking back, only talking quietly as she moved through the bushes and behind him.
"Once you're in, let Bruce in from the back, and I'll come in after, once he's inside."
As he spoke, she sneaked from behind him to behind Thyme, quick as a flash.

"....Magpie?" Thyme noticed them immediately. Still she didn't dare move and only stared straight forward as she spoke very quietly. "I'll cover you, but what are you doing? You're going to get me killed!"
"Shineys…."
Thyme knew of Magpie's obsession, even encouraged it, but this time she was way more hesitant. Magpie only ever said words like shineys or trinkets or treasure. She thought it was endearing.
"Please, be very quick!"

After Dart had paced the sides a few times, on the way back he noticed that Magpie had gone and Thyme looked worried. Dart still had time to distract her from what was going on by asking her about everything.

"Are you alright?"
"Oh, Dart, Magpie just snook in." Thyme looked straight still, not turning to look at him. "I know she's going in there for shineys, but I don't want to get caught. The queen will hate me." Dart looked around for a minute, seeing Omelette walking the outer perimeter. "I hope she doesn't take too much."

"What if it's all shineys and she takes it all?"

"Well, I guess we won't be doing guard duty anymore."

Thyme huffed, "We know they take inventory afterwards. They'll find out and kick us out."

"And free us? Thank the dome."

Thyme seemed highly unamused. "I don't know why you don't like this place. It's nice and warm, and everyone is really nice. It's just a few people disagree and that's okay."

"But you know if you disagree with the queen, you'll die?"

"I know that. That's not good but-"

"Thyme, I don't think any good dino would kill another to help themselves. I know it's been a lovely time we had here, and we'll remember our friends. But it's time to go home. You know your mother would like to see you again, especially with your new paint."

Thyme looked proud for a second, as she forgot to be angry at Dart for disobeying the queen. She looked hard at her warpaint, atleast all she could see as it was at the base of her neck.

"Remember when they imprisoned you? When you were pleading and crying and Omelette had to convince Mantell to let you go. They would have left you there forever." Dart was looking into her eyes now, trying his hardest to convince her to come with him.

"I don't want you to get killed here. You should come with us, back home."

"Why are you bringing this up now, though?" Thyme was having a wild range of thoughts all at once until she realised. "Are you and Magpie…?"

Dart didn't have time to respond before he heard a loud noise. He cursed to himself slightly for not telling Bruce to be quiet. The loud thud that they heard was likely him falling into the back door. He turned to Thyme hurriedly.

"Thyme, you need to help us right now. I need you to keep doing our duty until tonight. Once the Iguanodons realise their stash is missing tomorrow, they'll be looking at us." He wasn't looking towards her now, and turning to pretend to do another patrol around near the back.

"We need to leave tonight. Be ready." Thyme looked worried, but she said nothing.

When Dart got there, the back entrance was almost completely torn apart. Still hidden between two trees, he squeezed through the entrance and dropped down into the basement.

The bunker was very dark, and the only light they could see was light coming in through the crawlspace they came through. Dart's eyes adjusted to the light as he immediately zoned in on a large chest in the middle of the room.

"Magpie, could you open this one please? Also, good job on the stealthy entrance, Bruce." Dart made a point to look at Bruce snarkily.
"Oi, watch it." Bruce had a strange way of speaking, almost like a human would, with a slight accent. Dart had no idea where it came from, but he found it highly amusing. "I tried to be as quiet as I could. I'm twice the size you are you know."

As they looked at each other, Magpie got to work and laid down her lockpicking kit next to the chest. While she started on this, the other two decided to start filling up bags with shineys for her, and other points of interests they could find. Bruce found a container with a symbol on it, a symbol that looked eerily familiar to Dart. He remembered it being plastered all over the walls in posters and documents in the Lab he was born in.

"Hey, put that one in. That looks interesting."
Bruce did so and put it inside the bag. Here and there they found pieces of armor, something they were sure they could bring to someone on the surface who could use them to fight back. They found lots of shineys- to Magpie's pleasure, there were already bags full of doubloons, and even some scattered about on the floor. Dart thought about how it'd be impossible to get everything.

Once they had all the bags they could tie up done, they turned to Magpie, still working on the lock.

"Is it a different lock?" Dart wondered outloud. Magpie turned to him with a look of confusion, as if they didn't exactly know how to pick the lock.

"Whatever, forget it for now. You need to help us get these bags outside so we can stash them."

So they began to heave up bags one by done, Dart helping Magpie put bags ontop of Bruce's back, while Magpie went back out to drag it outside. There were atleast 5 bags outside by the time Dart noticed it was getting dark. Too dark. 

"Magpie, try and see if you can still pick that lock. You still have your personal bag. take anything interesting- PLEASE if you see a rag or paper with writing on it- please take it with you." He looked pleadingly at Magpie. She nodded contently and went back to work trying to figure out the lock.

"Bruce, I need you to stash these bags. In tree trunks, under logs or vines, even bury them if you can along the route you took to get here. It should be hidden enough that way that not a lot of dinos will go to." He looked very intensely at Bruce's face, "Then you can both get out of here as soon as possible. We'll come back tomorrow to bring the bags to the surface."

Everyone nodded in unison as they all understood their tasks. Bruce got to hauling the first bag over his shoulder, which was tied with rope to another bag. He would bury the bags all seperately, using his horn to cut the worn rope.

As Dart made his way back to the front, Thyme was standing up and looking around frantically, until her eyes rested upon Dart in the shadow of the jungle.

"Dart! You're back. It's the end of our shift in a few hours." She looked him up and down, "You guys are…done?"

"Yes, yes, we're done." Dart smiled at her. She didn't seem too angry this time. He wondered if he had managed to convince her completely, until she spoke again.

"Once our shift is over, we should leave." Dart found himself nodding along frantically, overjoyed. "You were right, we can't stay here-but I need to talk to the queen before we go. I'll make something up that we want to patrol outside and do ambassador work. I'm sure she'll let me do it."
He looked less enthusiastic now, but happy atleast that she'd come around for the most of it. He thought about what the next day was going to be like, and he hoped that whatever happened, maybe his friends would come with him after all.

As they stood for their last hours, it felt like an eternity. He had convinced the other two to take sneaky naps- after all no one else was awake at this time of night. He knew that they would need it for their swift escape.
Drifting off to sleep, he could hear noises at the back of the building where Magpie was resealing the back entrance. He hoped that she had brought something interesting for him to look at once they were free.