Chapter 9: Infiltration
A/N: Yes, two chapters in one day again. I assure you, it won't be so common once the week is over. However, I hated writing about the Mafia Of Cooks time rift and I didn't want to end the day feeling annoyed about my writing so I decided to go ahead and start Battle Of The Birds, as I was looking forward to it. So, enjoy as Hat Kid and Bow Kid get swept up into a rivalry between a peck neck and a darling.
Hat Kid woke up and jumped out of her bed. She was full of energy, and saw Bow Kid still sleeping peacefully. Then, a mischevious thought came to her mind, and she grabbed her pillow, then stealthily climbed up onto her first officer's bunk, and whacked her with the pillow, then jumped off and pried open the doors and ran into the main hub, then hid behind a barrel.
"HEY!" Bow Kid shouted angrily. Hat Kid was just barely able to keep herself from laughing, and Bow Kid ran into the main hub, and looked around for her captain. She wandered around for five minutes looking for her, until she looked over a barrel and saw her sitting there.
"Good morning!" Hat Kid said joyfully, jumping up, and Bow Kid huffed. "What?" Hat Kid asked mischeviously, "I was getting payback for when you pranked me in the Mafia base!"
Bow Kid stared at her, then sighed. "Okay then, I guess we're even now." She said weakly. Hat Kid ran into the kitchen to grab something to eat, and was suprised to see Cooking Cat there. After Cooking Cat quickly explained that she wanted to make a welcome meal for the two girls, and asking them if they preferred steak or salad, the two girls waved goodbye and ran over to the door to the Machine Room.
Hat Kid tapped a monitor, and power was restored to the room. Doing a little jig, she dove into the door, which opened, and slid down into the room. They ran up to a telescope, and Hat Kid looked through it and peered down into the desert with train tracks on it, seeing a building with a large parking lot next to the tracks.
She motioned for Bow Kid to look through the telescope, and pointed down at the telescope.
"That's where we're going next." She stated. The two girls then ran out of the room and over to the hatch, and jumped down to the desert below.
They landed in the parking lot of the building, with large letters and a symbol on it saying "Dead Bird Studio" and ran inside, but stopped when they saw an angry bird... raptor... thing and a calm, groovy looking penguin arguing.
"This movie studio is too big enough for the both of us, DJ Grooves!" The 'bird' shouted angrily in a foreign accent, showing just how much he hated the penguin. "The movie should be made by REAL birds!" Hat Kid thought of how ironic that statement was. The bird continued. "You Moon Penguins are just gonna write some LOUD, NOISY DRIVEL! If I wanted a bunch of peck necks to dance around while on birdseed, heh, I'd visit me grandchildren!"
The penguin, who they guessed was named DJ Grooves, was unfazed. "Nonsense, darling, nonsense!" He replied calmly. "You Owl Express birds are just gonna record another boring train related western. You've done so for the last ten years, darling!"
The owl express bird seemed shocked. "Wha-? No we haven't ye buffoon!" He shouted angrily.
"Conductor, darling, this year we'll be winning the annual bird movie award, as our new props will bring in the audiences!" He smoothly stated, and Hat Kid and Bow Kid gasped when they saw the 'props' were Time Pieces. "These shiny things fell from the sky! They will light our movie sets and fill them with glimmer!" He seemed proud of himself.
"Oh yeah?" The Conductor replied smugly. "Well, this time around, we're also spicin' it up with our newest movie props!" The two girls were not pleased to see that the Conductor also had some Time Pieces. "These hourglass thingies will be the grand jewel in our train heist western!" He shouted confidently.
The two birds were quiet as they realized what was happening. The Conductor was, unsurprisingly, the first to speak up about it. "WHADDA WHAT?" He began, furious. "You no-good dirty peck necks! You copied our props!"
DJ Grooves also seemed a little angry, but became passive-aggressive, instead of just, well, aggressive. "I would NEVER, darling! Clearly you're the one that took inspiration in my flashy new props!"
The Conductor became even more enraged at the accusation. "Ohh that does it! Get outta here with yer, I've got a movie to record!" He yelled, voice full of venom.
DJ Grooves gladly did so as he walked over to the giant double doors on his side of the room. "Fine by me, darling, but we'll be the ones who win the annual bird movie award, mark my word!" He replied angrily, then opened the doors and sashayed through them, with the props following him.
The Conductor grinned evilly. "Oh yeah?" He began mischeviously, "Let's see how well you do when you can't get into the reception!" He then laughed maniacally as he boarded up the doors, then realized the mistake he made. "Oh wait, uh, shutting the peck necks inside the studio will force them to work harder." He said uncomfortably, then walked over to his side of the studio. "Alright, time to go owls, let's make our KILLER movie!" He then walked over to the double doors, but stopped and looked at the receptionist. "Oh, and, receptionist, can you please close off that vent already? I don't want the smell of penguin to come anywhere near my crew!" The receptionist nodded, and the Conductor walked through the double doors and some owls followed him.
Hat Kid groaned. Now they were going to have to sneak throughout this strange studio and get their Time Pieces back without ever being seen, or they'll be in huge trouble. Wondering if there was another way, she walked up to the receptionist, who noticed her immediately.
"Oh, hey little chirper!" He began happily, "They're recording right now, so no one is allowed in!" Hat Kid frowned, disappointed. "We're only insured for bird staff. Letting you in would be a liability. Don't even think about sneaking inside." Hat Kid rolled her eyes, which did not please the receptionist. "Young lady, if I catch you inside the studio you'll recieve a ticket so big you'll be in debt for years!" He hissed angrily, causing Hat Kid to take a step back, alarmed.
Bow Kid then ran up to her and gave the receptionist a nasty look, who just ignored it. The girls, curious, turned to a machine with shades in it, and Hat Kidcranked the lever on it, who was then given a pair of sunglasses. She then jumped excitedly about it, and Bow Kid cranked the lever again, getting a pair of shades for herself. Curious, Hat Kid cranked the lever again, but accidentally tripped over Bow Kid's foot and plowed into the machine, destroying it.
The receptionist was not pleased. "Young ladies, you just commited destruction of property, thats a 3,000 pon fine!" He yelled. Hat Kid's eyes widened, and Bow Kid panicked. They did not have that kind of money, and they shivered thinking about how much money it would cost if they disrupted studio recordings. The receptionist was about to walk towards them and boot them out of the studio, but the girls saw this and climbed up a trophy case, onto a screen, over to the vent, then took it off the wall and climbed through.
"Hey!" The receptionist yelled, furious. "Trespassing, that's a 7,000 pon fine! Get back here right now!" The girls ignored him and landed on a platform, then saw the Moon Penguins carrying the case of Time Pieces on some device and flick a lever, causing them to go over to the other side of the studio.
"Come on!" Hat Kid whispered to Bow Kid, then stuck her fingers up in a finger gun, and Bow Kid did the same. After jumping up, avoiding a Moon Penguin on the phone, evading some cameras, and sneaking by the DJ, who was recording who-knows-what, and walked onto the device and flicked the lever, going over to the other side of the studio.
The two girls were amused to see The Conductor freaking out at his actors, then wondered how they were going to get by them, but saw a pipe they could run across, and did so. Hat Kid then jumped up onto a platform, and Bow Kid jumped up before Hat Kid could move out of the way and bumped her into a piece of lighting equipment, sending it crashing to the abyss below. Destruction of property, that's another 1,000 pons. The duo then jumped up, snuck by an Express Owl, then walked inside a saloon-type building with a cactus blocking their way.
Hat Kid whacked the cactus with the umbrella, knocking it over. The two girls proceeded inside the building, jumped over some owls, then jumped up the side of the building, and Hat Kid grabbed a new ball of yarn. Excitedly, she created a new hat, a blue toque with a snowflake on it, and gave Bow Kid a replica of it. After that, Hat Kid whacked a lever, causing another device to slide by them. Hat Kid then waited for the owl guarding the lever to turn around again, then whacked the lever again, and the two girls jumped onto the device, just barely missing the gaze of the owl, who chirped out in alarm, but saw nothing and went back to his routine.
Arriving at another platform, they saw DJ Grooves recording another strange movie, and snuck by a Moon Penguin. They then jumped on some sandbags to get over to another platform, and barely caught the attention of a moon penguin, who shouted out in suprise, but saw nothing and pawned it off as his eyes playing tricks on him.
The girls then jumped on some more sandbags and arrived at Conductor's side of the studio again, and saw him freaking out at a recording of two sides throwing an ungodly amount of fake projectiles at eachother. They then jumped down to another platform, saw an owl guarding another lever, waited for him to turn his back to it, and Hat Kid ran up to the lever and whacked it, then hid behind some tipi props. After the owl turned his back again to the lever, Bow Kid whacked it and the two jumped on the device that arrived there, going back to Grooves' side of the studio.
After jumping on another platform, they climbed up some giant stereos and jumped onto another platform guarded by Moon Penguins and cameras, and saw no way to go. Bow Kid then saw a spark, and turned to an electrical box. She whispered a plan to Hat Kid, who nodded her head in agreement, and Bow Kid turned off the electricity and they ran as fast as they could before the power turned back on.
Both directors were annoyed by the sudden power loss, and the receptionist realized it was most likely the two girls tampering with electronics, then summoned some security guards and ran into the studio.
After turning off the power again, they made it to the other side of the cameras and penguins and continued their infiltration, hopping on another device and flipping the lever. The device began moving very slowly, and they passed by DJ Grooves recording inside a room and the Conductor recording inside another room, and used their new Ice Hats to turn into ice statues, fooling the owls and penguins into thinking they were new props.
When they stopped at another platform, they jumped off the device and knocked over a large tipi prop, giving them a makeshift bridge over to another platform. They then jumped up, evaded some owls, and walked under a UFO prop (well, at least they thought it was a prop)
They came to a larger platform with a wall, with two entrances and exits beside the wall guarded by two Express Owls. Hoping it would work, Hat Kid wall jumped off of the wall, and climbed over it, and Bow Kid followed suit. They saw another platform with a narrow twisting hallway with a Moon Penguin walking from one end of the hallway to the other, and waited for him to walk away, then jumped up into a small hole in the wall and let him pass by. After he walked by them, they jumped down and ran out of the hallway.
The duo then jumped off of some sandbags and landed on a red carpet. Excited, Hat Kid ran across the red carpet, and Bow Kid ran after her. Both girls stopped when they saw DJ Grooves marveling over a large trophy.
"Magnificent! Stunning! This trophy is everything I desire, on the shelf in my living room!" He rambled, full of awe. "Of course, this big trophy is just a plastic replica. The actual trophy is really tiny." Hat Kid slowly took a step back, but the floor creaked under her, and the DJ turned around, suprised.
"Oh my, Oh my! What is this I see?" He began joyfully, "Is it true inner beauty? An innocent soul soul with a heart of gold?" Hat Kid stepped back, uncomfortable and suprised about what the DJ just said, and Bow Kid failed to repress her laughter. She'd never seen her captain so uncomfortable before.
The DJ then noticed he was just looking at a little girl. "Oh, no. It's just a little girl. Hello!" He stated warmly. "Oh wait, you're not a penguin-" He was going to keep speaking, but was cut off by a shout.
"Hold it right there!" A familiar voice yelled. It was the receptionist. He ran up to the trio and got his security guards to try to pick up the two girls, who retaliated and stood back to back with their umbrellas out, swinging at them. The receptionist turned to a shocked DJ. "Apologies for the interruption, DJ, but these two brats snuck inside the studio, destroyed property, tampered with electronics, and harrassed employees. Allow us to take them away." He said calmly. Then, the two girls yelped as the security guards managed to pick them up, and they squirmed and tried getting out, but it was futile.
The DJ was not liking how they were treating two little girls, and put a plan into action. "Receptionist, darling, no need for you to stress yourself with these two troublemakers." He responded, amused. "I'll deal with them personally." Hat Kid's eyes widened as she heard his tone of voice. What was he going to do?
The receptionist was completely suprised. "Grooves, are you sure? It's my job to deal with intruders, you have recording to do!" He asked uncomfortably.
"Relax, darling. I'm on my break anyways." DJ Grooves replied smoothly. The receptionist huffed.
"Okay, but if they get out of hand, just call us and we'll be here immediately." The receptionist said, giving up. He then remembered one thing, and turned back to Grooves. "Oh, and here is their bill." He continued, handing the penguin a piece of paper.
Hat Kid and Bow Kid were released, and the penguin turned to them. "Sorry about that, darlings, judging by how you two act I find it hard to believe you caused all that mayhem on purpose." He said apologetically. Hat Kid then took the bill, and her heart dropped when she saw the amount on it.
"22,000 pons" She said drearily. The DJ then turned to a more business-like tone.
"Here's the biz, I need your help. I'm on a terrible losing streak, and I just have to win this next annual bird movie award." He began sadly, then became excited. "Seeing the way you two defended eachother, there's no doubt; I absolutely MUST have you two as the stars! Here, let me take care of this..." He then grabbed the bill from Hat Kid's hands and tore it in two. Hat Kid grinned from ear to ear in joy, and Bow Kid just sighed in relief.
The penguin then jumped behind some photo stand. "We need to give you bird passports, darlings!" He stated happily, then looked at Bow Kid. "Step right over here." She then did so, and DJ Grooves then told her: "The most important part of a passport is the picture, darling!You have to look flashy and stunning!" Hearing this, Bow Kid then adjusted her bow and shades, then smiled warmly as DJ Grooves took the picture, and checked to make sure the picture went well, then turned to Hat Kid. "Okay, now your turn, darling!" He said as he looked at Hat Kid. Seeing the energy of the girl, he then said; "Okay, put on a smile, and stand still please! Don't move!" Hat Kid then put on her signature top hat, adjusted her shades, and gave Grooves the biggest smile of her life, but the picture wasn't taken, as Grooves was having technical difficulties.
Bow Kid ran up to him and helped him, and he took the picture just as Hat Kid stopped smiling.
"Let's see how the picture turned out..." He rambled as the picture came out, and he cringed. "Wh-wha?!" He then turned to Hat Kid and gave her a disappointed glare. "Darling, you're not very photogenic, huh?" Hat Kid stepped back, hurt, and his expression softened. "Oh, sorry darling, that was rather rude, huh?", DJ Grooves said apologetically, then became excited again. "We've got to fix this ugly mugshot up with some old-fashioned photo doctoring! Here, take these markers and turn yourself into the most stylish, fashionable young lady!"
After some drawing, Hat Kid gave the penguin her doctored photo, and he grabbed two passports. "Perfect!" DJ Grooves shouted happily. "Let's slide these into your passports, and here you go! Two passports for you!" He gave the two girls their passports, and they smiled happily. DJ Grooves was over the moon (pun intended). "Wonderful, darlings, just wonderful! Meet me at the movie set tomorrow, and we'll make you two into stars!" He then jumped out from behind the stand and sashayed off.
Hat Kid and Bow Kid could barely contain their excitement. Now they can mess around the studio without being bothered, and they were going to become movie stars! What could be better for their current situation? However, they were interrupted from their thoughts when a certain yellow bird ran out from behind the giant trophy and pointed aggressively at the two girls.
"HEY! WATCHA THINK YER DOIN'?" The Conductor shouted, startling both girls and causing Bow Kid to jump. He then ran up to Hat Kid, and he seemed mad. "Ohh, ye can't just jump in and fiddle with the annual bird movie awards! That's frauud! FRAUUUUUUUUUD! HEY EVERYONE! WE'VE GOT SOME FRAUDSTERS OVER HERE!" He shouted angrily. He grumbled as no one showed up, and Hat Kid smirked at him. "Where are my owl guards at?! Why are the owls so darn useless?" Hat Kid giggled, and the Conductor grumbled again. "Alright, listen here lass! The both of ye are in big trouble! If you're helping crooked DJ Grooves win the awards, and I can't take ye to jail, then ye gotta help me even the score!" He shouted confidently.
Hat Kid's eyes widened, and Bow Kid looked concerned. "That's right, the two of ye have gotta be the star of MY movies, too!" He stated smugly. "Here, take our newest prop, practice showing it off, and bring it to my movie set tomorrow. Ye got that? Don't be late!" He then handed Hat Kid a Time Piece, who took it gladly and did a pose with it, which satisfied the Conductor, who calmly walked off back behind the trophy.
The two then made their way back to the parking lot of Dead Bird Studio, apologized to an annoyed receptionist, and went back to the spaceship. They needed to get ready before their first big day of shooting.