Hat Kid hissed in pain as she ran the wound under cold sink water. That darn Conductor. What made him think putting up all those traps and hazards was a good idea? What if she didn't make it in time to shut off the bomb?
She only sighed, rubbing her eyes with her pointer finger and thumb, in frustration. She should have known fame was going to overrule common sense, but she worried it would have gotten to her head, not the directors themselves.
Shutting off the faucet, she shook her head. No, DJ Grooves hasn't been too bad. Unlike the Conductor, he mostly keeps his cool. She wrapped her wounded elbow with a pad and bandages and rolled her new shirt sleeve over it. Fixing the burnt hole on the other shirt was probably too advanced for her stitching skills, but she does enjoy a challenge.
As she began sewing up a cute puppy paw print patterned patch over the hole, she quietly began questioning if she should even go to DJ Grooves' next act tonight. But she quickly dismissed the thought. The award ceremony is tomorrow. If she doesn't show, then the Conductor will win unfairly because she went to both his movies and not both DJ Grooves' movies.
She finished sewing and hung up the shirt in her mostly empty closet. She then grabbed her umbrella, made her way to the hatch, and hopped down to the planet.
Besides, what could DJ Grooves come up with that will be extremely dangerous?
Floating down, Hat Kid's eyes widened. Surrounding the streets was a large crowd of birds. There was no way to land down there without being hit or mobbed. Luckily, the rooftops seemed clear. She landed on the one in the center of the town, where DJ Grooves was waiting.
Looking around, Hat Kid's eyes sparkled. She's never seen a parade before back home. The people that lived on her planet were not very festive. She saw giant floats with all sorts of colorful decorations, hanging wirelines with colorful lights, and giants switches and buttons. It all looked beautiful.
What was strange though was the 7 Express Owls standing in line with instruments. She walked up to them and questioned how are they in DJ Grooves' movie. One of them answered, "After the Conductor's film today, we wanted to be part of a movie that doesn't involve us getting blown to bits just for entertainment. Just uh...don't tell the Conductor. We need the job."
Hat Kid nodded. Their secret was safe with her. DJ Grooves walked up to her with a bright smile and shouted, "Glad you could make it, darling! Welcome to the largest studio set you'll ever see! We're about to start recording The Big Parade, the movie that'll take the breath away from audiences worldwide! You'll be the star, as always."
Hat Kid's eyes sparkled. Not only was it her first time seeing a parade, but she gets to lead the parade? She was wondering if her heart could take all the excitement and eagerness she was now feeling.
He then pointed up at a large golden celebratory ball hanging above them. Hat Kid squinted a bit, looking up to it, and noticed the familiar glow emanating from the inside. A Time Piece must be in there.
To confirm her assumption, DJ Grooves said, "For this movie, we'll need to use our special prop! It'll pop out at the very end." He then looked down at her and blinked. She was wearing the same outfit he normally saw her in. Does she not have a glamorous wardrobe?
"But wait, darling! Your current outfit really isn't fit for the parade. Luckily I had the Moon Penguins prepare you a lovely outfit." He then held out a present box, neatly wrapped in a bedazzling ribbon and outer space patterned wrapping paper. "Go on ahead and open it up, then get dressed."
Hat Kid's eyes lit up. A new outfit to go in her wardrobe along with the detective coat and hat? She eagerly opened it like a child would on Christmas. Inside was a lovely parade outfit. A red and white coat with golden threads, white dress boots, and above all, a tall red and gold parade hat with a mask, beak, and feather.
She eagerly put on the coat and hat over her old clothes and stood proudly. DJ Grooves smiled at her enthusiasm and said, "You look great, darling!"
"So...what exactly do I need to do?"
"Don't worry, this movie is really easy. Just keep moving around and the band will follow you. Just try not to bump into them. And keep an eye out for goodies! The audience loves a good parade and will throw treats your way if you get near them." Hat Kid nodded in understanding. She wasn't planning on diving down to the sea of birds, but going rooftop to rooftop shouldn't be difficult.
"Now the parade lasts a while; nothing you can do to speed it up. We'll let you know once we've got enough footage. Don't lose spirit!" Hat Kid smiled and saluted, causing DJ Grooves' smile to widen. He then hopped onto one of the floats with a DJ record table and speakers.
"Good luck, darling!" Hat Kid got ready to march as the band went behind her. DJ Grooves flipped a switch on his DJ record table and the music began. Hat Kid took off with the band following behind her and playing along with the music with their instruments.
At first, Hat Kid just circled the roof, wondering if the band could even keep up with her jumping to the next. Deciding to try it out, Hat Kid hopped off and onto a wireline. She then jumped to the neighboring roof and looked behind her. The band was right behind her, surprisingly as nimble.
With a confident smile, Hat Kid continued marching. A few penguins were standing close by and one of them tossed her a bag of seeds. Hat Kid caught it and gave a questionable look. "I guess this is what DJ meant when he said they would toss treats." Not wanting to be rude, she put it in her pockets and waved to the penguin in a way of saying thanks.
The real treats she got that she truly appreciated were the roses. She had enough to make a bouquet out of them. Looking down at them as she continued marching and jumping, she was smiling brightly. This had to be one of her best movie moments ever. No major dangerous stunts and nothing is planning to attack her.
DJ Grooves' voice was then heard as he spoke into his microphone. "It's time to turn the heat up in this movie!" The crowd below cheered wildly. He then looked to Hat Kid and asked, "Darling, can you turn on the pyrotechnics?" She nodded in confirmation and looked at the switches on the rooftops that were now lit up.
She jumped to one switch and whacked it hard with her umbrella, turning it on. The music seemed to intensify as she continued going, doing the same for the other two switches that were all on various rooftops. Once she hit the last one, she saw a spotlight shine on the center rooftop in town. It counted down 3 seconds, then sparklers went off. To Hat Kid's dismay, however, they seem to be hurting the Moon Penguins standing on the rooftop as they jumped up and down, yelping.
DJ Grooves was watching this as well. "Wait...that can't be right. The sparklers are meant to go off, but not also on the rooftop flooring." He shook away the thought. Probably a small mistake on his part. Besides, once the sparklers automatically turned off and went to the next rooftop, the penguins were fine.
Hat Kid saw the Moon Penguins were fine as well. Still, that looked like it hurt. She decided to watch her step as she continued marching. Besides, it was probably part of the act. The music picked back up its normal upbeat tune and Hat Kid smiled. Aside from dodging the rooftops that have sparklers going off, this was still enjoyable.
DJ Grooves watched her with a bright smile. Seeing her do her tricks on the wirelines and smiling brightly was exactly the inspiration he had for this movie. This child's joy was starting to rub off on him. But he then recalled the Conductor's latest action movie. Firstly, it was surprising she would still be able to come after something so intense. But secondly, the birds seemed to love the movie.
Concerned the movie isn't action-packed enough, he grabbed his microphone and said, "This movie needs more action! Darling, turn on the firework cannons for the big firework show!" Hat Kid's eyes sparkled. Fireworks? She hasn't seen those in a long time!
Excited, she ran to the first rooftop with a large power button sitting next to a cannon. She jumped onto it and began moving onto the next. But something felt wrong. She heard the cannon go off and she looked up, expecting to see a firework rocket blast in the night sky and rain down shimmering colors. But no rocket was there. Instead...it sounded close?
DJ Grooves looked up as well, wondering where the rocket was until he looked to Hat Kid, making sure she actually pushed the button. Maybe it was stuck. Then his eyes widened when he spotted the rocket. It wasn't going up; it was heading straight for her!
His flippers slipped as he scrambled to grab his microphone and shout, "DARLING LOOK OUT!"
Hat Kid turned around, confused. She then gasped, seeing the rocket coming up at her fast. She screamed and jumped out of the way, just barely catching the wireline close by. The owls followed her as the rocket blew up where she last stood. Firework rockets aren't supposed to do that, right?
She yelped when another one shot right at her, following her movement. She climbed up onto the wireline and ran as it blew up behind her and the owls. She was going to guess her answer for the previous question no, they're not supposed to do that!
But she had to continue the parade. If she didn't turn on all the buttons, the movie won't finish. She quickly began running to the next button, treating this as a life or death situation now as more missiles blasted at her.
DJ Grooves was watching with bated breath. "How did this happen? Surely I ordered firework rockets, not heat seeking missiles! They were supposed to shoot into the sky, raining down fabulous colors!" Seeing the missiles head for the panicked girl, he noticed how they looked similar to actual firework rockets. Someone must have sabotaged his props and replaced the rockets with these missiles.
With all buttons pushed, Hat Kid yelped as she jumped away from the rooftop as three colorful missiles were aiming straight for her. They exploded onto the previous rooftop and Hat Kid kept going, quietly hoping they were almost done with the movie now.
As she dodged a couple more missiles, she noticed her only landing she was heading straight for was the one with sparklers going off. Before she could stop herself, she landed right onto it, yelping in great pain as electricity shot right through her. Thankfully, they stopped before she was too weak to even stand. But an explosion directly behind her knocked her off the roof and falling to the crowd with a scream.
DJ Grooves gasped and closed his eyes. Thankfully, Hat Kid grabbed a close wireline and got back up on her feet. That was it. The movie has to finish. Otherwise, his star was going to get killed. He pushed a red button on his DJ record table and shouted, "Time to release the parade surprise! Grab it, darling!"
Hat Kid looked up and saw the Time Piece fall out along with some confetti. She quickly jumped up and caught it out of the air and held it up high, causing the crowd to cheer loudly. Once that was set, DJ Grooves literally cut the power. The laser lights, sparklers, and firework cannons all turned off. One more missile in the air still headed for Hat Kid. She quickly jumped out of the way, stumbling back to the edge of the rooftop.
DJ Grooves jumped off his float and grabbed her hand, pulling her back onto the roof. The cameras were off and the crowd began to quiet down and disperse below.
Hat Kid was panting and visibly shaking. Just when she thought she finally caught a break after the Conductor's film, all that happened. She sat down, hugging the Time Piece close, thankful it was over.
DJ Grooves knelt down, worried for her condition. "Are you alright, darling? I am so sorry! Those rockets were not meant to lock onto you or try to hit you. I had no idea how they were put into the cannons!" It wasn't until after he said that when he got the idea how. Something...or he should say someone must've put them in to try and sabotage his movie.
He growled under his breath at the assumption. But he shook his head. He'll give that person a piece of his mind later. Right now, he had to make sure his diva was still intact. He looked her over. Aside from a couple bruises, soreness in her body, and being shaken up from the experience, she seemed fine.
He then looked at the bandage on her sleeve. "Darling, what's this?" From what he saw in the Conductor's movie, he recalled that was the same spot she got burnt by the fire wall.
Hat Kid tucked her arm away and quietly replied, "Nothing."
He wasn't going to fall for that. He held her arm firmly and unwrapped the bandage despite her protest. His eyes widened when he saw the wound. It looked slightly less red, but it still looked and felt painful. A couple blisters were still there as well.
"...How did you get this?" He spoke in a serious tone, which concerned Hat Kid. He never normally spoke in such a manner.
"...Conductor." That was all she needed to say. He growled once more. He couldn't believe the Conductor would put this young girl in such danger like that and not care! Does he even know he caused this much harm to her?
"...Let's go to my office, darling. I've got something that can fix it right up." He gently took her other hand and the two walked to his office. It looked more glamorous than the Conductor's side of the studio. One difference was he did not have a room she spotted with a lot of golden Bird Movie Award Trophies. Instead, they were silver trophies and not neatly stacked. They seemed...tossed aside dismissively.
Once they entered his office, he set her down in his director's chair and dug through a cabinet. He pulled out a bottle filled with some strange gelatinous green liquid. Hat Kid shifted in her seat, wondering what he was going to do with it.
He knelt down to her level, squirting the liquid onto one of his flippers. He then set down the bottle and held out his other flipper while saying, "Your arm, darling." She hesitated, but held it out.
"...What is that?" It smelled nice at least. Something floral? No, it wasn't like a flower. But it smelled pretty. He applied it to her wound, making her flinch. It was a bit cold...yet soothing on her wound.
"Aloe vera, darling. Can help any burn wound like this." Once it was on, he put a cloth pad over the wound and bandaged it back up. Then he handed her the bottle. "Keep this on hand and applying it to the wound for the next couple days. It'll heal up in no time."
She looked down at the bottle, then the wound in surprise. It actually stung less now. She smiled warmly to DJ Grooves and hugged him, in a way of saying thank you. He smiled as well and patted her back. "Get some good rest, darling. The awards ceremony is tomorrow and it's going to be a big day for all of us."
Hat Kid nodded, then climbed down from the chair, making her way to the door exit. But before she left, she looked to DJ Grooves with a warm smile. She then stated, "Good luck."
With that, she left him alone in his office with a warm smile. As she made her way to the exit of the studio, a figure watched her leave and huffed. He then mumbled under his breath.
"We'll see who really wins…lassie."