Chapter 21: Audience

A/N: So, I noticed something recently. Remember how I was worried at the start that this story wasn't gonna be long enough? And now we're 21 chapters deep and nowhere NEAR the ending sequence. Ain't that great? Now, this begs the question of how long the story is gonna go on for now, to which I have no idea. Somewhere around 40, maybe...? All bets are off. But either way, a short, great story is better than a long, boring one.

Oh, and, I'm still open to chapter ideas if ya have em. Now, on with the show.

P.S.: MAJOR spoilers for the final battle of A Hat and a Tie in Time near the end of the chapter.

Don't you DARE say I didn't warn you.

Next stop: Dead Bird Studio.

We found ourselves walking in and seeing the place... rather busy.

Lots of people seemed to be crowded around the receptionist, seemingly asking questions, and the poor bird was completely unable to keep up with it. The crowd noticed us and began to swarm around us, as well, a torrent of unintelligible nonsense flooding my ears as a result.

"What's going on here?" I asked over the chaos..

"Oh, what perfect timing," He groaned, "The directors announced that production of their newest movie would have to be put on hold for an indefinite period of time, and the people won't stop asking about it!"

"'Put on hold'?" I questioned, "Why?"

"Wish I knew, so I could get these people out of my feathers!" He yelled.

"Any idea where we could find the directors?" I inquired.

"Just run around the studio until you find them, we have bigger problems than you two snooping around," He grumbled, "And you two are legally birds anyway."

"But this place is huge!" Hailey pouted.

"Then run around where you think they may be. And when you find them, tell them that I need a pecking pay raise!" He shouted.

Yikes.

We quickly slipped up to the vent so we couldn't be followed by the crowd, and climbed into the studio.

He was right, I'd completely forgotten that we were legally allowed to be here by ourselves.

But looking for the crazy birds was gonna be like searching for a needle in a silo full of hay.

"Well... I guess let's start looking. And ask anyone we come across where they may be," I suggested.

"Mhm," Hailey agreed, taking the lead.

We uh... we ran around aimlessly for quite a while.

After what seemed like an eternity of running through corridors, empty recording rooms and whatever else, and seeing literally nobody, I gave up on finding them.

"Forget this," I grumbled, "We can come back here later. We aren't ever gonna find them."

"We'll be just as likely to find them as we will be to find our way out!" She giggled nervously.

I froze at the realization.

Yeah... we were completely lost. And this place was far too big to afford getting lost in.

"This ain't good..." I muttered, "Well, I guess we have no choice but to run around until we find someone."

But then I heard something.

A muffled, unmistakeably accented voice.

"Well, ain't that our luck," I said, "Let's go find em."

We followed Conductor's muffled voice until we got outside of a small break room. I heard DJ Grooves, too.

Now that we were close, I could tell that they both didn't sound happy. Not mad, but... sad. Not an emotion you saw too often with Conductor.

We both decided to listen in on their conversation.

"I still don't fully understand why you want to cancel this movie, darling," DJ Grooves said, "Isn't that... jumping the gun a little?"

"Eh... I get what ye mean, but did ye not see how the lass was? Even when she gets outta the hospital, she'll be in nae a condition for any performin'. It was a great idea, the two o' us finally putting aside our differences for the sake of the movie and our stars, but it just won't work now that there's only one ready for duty," Conductor replied.

... They really did that because she got sick?

Heh... good thing Hailey got better as fast as she did, I knew she'd have NOT been happy to hear it got cancelled because of that.

"That changes nothing! You're making it sound like she died! We can just do what we're already doing: put it on hold until she's better!" DJ Grooves shouted.

"I think now's a good time to get involved," I told Hailey.

"Before they start yelling at eachother again? Yeah," She agreed.

We both stepped into the room.

"Couldn't help but overhear what you two were talking about..." I began as they turned around, "And DJ Grooves is right, cancelling an entire movie 'cause one actor got sick is a horrible idea. Especially considering that said actor is already (mostly) back to normal.""

"Oh... well... glad to see yer better, lass. That's a huge relief! And I guess yer right, lad," Conductor admitted uncomfortably, "I guess I was just too worried and it messed with me."

I shrugged.

"It happens," I said, "But you're right about one thing, she's still in no condition to be acting. She was told not to over-exert herself until we're sure this sickness is completely gone."

"Completely understandable, darling," DJ Grooves assured me, "So I guess we're still putting it on hold for now?"

I shrugged.

"You're the directors, that's your decision," I replied, "If you need me for anything though, I'm ready for some acting, or whatever else you might need me for."

DJ Grooves grinned.

"What if we recorded a music-"

"No."

Both Hailey and Conductor chuckled at that.

"Well... it was worth a try," DJ Grooves chuckled as well.

Conductor seemed to clear his throat.

"Ey... did we ever tell ye what our movie's gonna be about?" He asked.

"... Not that I remember," I muttered, "Hailey?"

"Um... I don't think so," She said.

"'Hailey'?" Both directors asked in unison.

Oh, right.

"Uh... yeah," I confirmed, "That's her name."

"If I may ask... how did this come about, darling?" DJ Grooves asked.

I smirked at how curious everyone was today.

"Well, a lot of stuff happened, which eventually led to me adopting her and giving her a name, because she didn't have one," I said.

"Wait, wait, wait, did ye say adopted?! Like, yer her father now?!" Conductor exclaimed.

In response, Hailey climbed onto my back and wrapped her arms around my neck, nuzzling into my shoulder.

A smile came to my face. I'd never get tired of that.

"That's right. I'm her dad now," I declared.

To my surprise, Conductor chuckled relaxedly as he calmly walked up to me, and calmly shook my hand. I was expecting a huge reaction.

"Heh... good on ye, lad. It took peckin' long enough," He said.

I raised an eyebrow.

"You knew, too?" I said blankly.

"Of course! I had kids of me own, remember? Grandchildren, even! If anyone could spy out someone actin' fatherly over someone, it's me!" He chuckled.

"Well, I guess that makes sense," I muttered, "I wish someone would've told me, though."

Conductor shrugged.

"I didn't wanna interfere, it ain't me place to," He explained.

... Well, that was understandable.

"Fair enough," I said.

He perked up, seemingly remembering something.

"Oh and, lad, I know what it's like to start being a parent. When I had me first child, I was horrified! So, if ye ever need parenting advice, or anythin' else, I'm yer bird. Ye got that?" He declared.

Oh, yeah... I had no idea how to be a father.

Good thing I realized this now... cause... he was completely right... I was gonna be in for a HARD reality check otherwise.

I smiled at the idea of listening to Conductor's advice.

"I'd absolutely love that. Tomorrow, maybe?" I suggested.

"Ye got it, lad," He agreed.

I looked over my shoulder at Hailey, who was still on my back.

"Would you be fine with spending a few hours with DJ Grooves tomorrow, then?" I asked, "If he's not busy, of course."

"I'm never busy for you two, darling," DJ Grooves interjected,

Hailey then grinned and nodded rapidly.

I smirked and turned back to the directors.

"Well. It's a date, then," I declared, "What time?"

"Whenever works for ye," Conductor answered, "We don't really have much of a schedule right now."

"Alright," I said, "Well, we should probably get going. We still have a couple places to be."

Conductor nodded and walked toward the door, motioning to follow him.

"Let's get ye outta this maze," was all he said.

We waved goodbye to DJ Grooves and followed after Conductor.

After being led back to the studio's entrance, we waved goodbye to Conductor and returned to the ship.

I took a deep sigh of relief.

Knowing that I'd have Conductor's wisdom and advice, it was like a weight I didn't even know was there was lifted on my shoulders.

I guess I was scared... and I didn't even know it.

"Are you okay?" Hailey asked.

"More than okay," I answered.

... Funny how timing works.

Cause right after I said that, a wave of energy washed over me that sent my head into agony as I felt... something be torn apart.

"AGH!"

I sat there, clutching my head and screaming in pure torment for what seemed like ten quadrillion years.

After an eternity, the pain finally subsided enough for me to get a grip of what was going on around me- oh.

I had a pretty good idea what was the source of that horrible headache.

It was... it was... it was that sense the Traveller showed me.

I felt something being torn apart... not just my head...

but the fabric of reality, too.

And with that realization, another one came.

One that brought with it a sense of complete and utter doom.

It was happening.

It was happening.

IT WAS HAPPENING.

I slowly began to stand up, and I opened my eyes to see Hailey standing in front of me, a look of pure terror on her face.

"Hailey," I said, "I... I need to go."

"Go where? What's happening?!" She screamed.

Everything began to shake. Hailey noticed it, too.

A loud noise rocked the spaceship.

A chill ran down my spine, as I had a good idea what it was.

"We're too late..." I said, "You'd better think carefully about what you say next... because as much as I hate to say it, they'll probably be your last words. Or the last words ever spoken."

"Wha-?" She shouted.

I sighed.

"Come and look."

We walked out to the main hub and looked out the main window.

"What the peck is THAT?!"

As I thought.

A deep, crimson and black gash larger than the planet had appeared, tearing straight through the cosmos.

"The Multiverse is tearing up," I said, "It's already begun... I don't think it can be stopped now... all of existence is doomed."

She was silent.

"No... that... can't be right," She stuttered, "T-this can't be the end..."

I looked down and closed my eyes. All this... for nothing.

Because all good things must come to an end. Always.

"Wait... do you see that?" Hailey asked.

I opened my eyes again.

"See what?"

She was pointing out the window, so I looked through the dimensional rift. My jaw dropped at what I saw.

A warped image...

That boy with the tie... he was on one knee, battered and bruised, holding a yoyo, at the center of what seemed to be the source of the dimensional tearing, standing in front of... someone? something? It was humanoid, but it had a white sphere for a head with... a weird eye I couldn't describe, and a bunch of green halos around him.

It was an unmoving image, likely an etch of the timeline, but one with enough detail and context to understand roughly what was happening.

And I felt two intense dimensional energies emitting from the rift, even from this far away. It WAS the source of the tearing! Or should I say... they were? I wasn't sure... but I knew one thing: it wasn't the Cross-Collapse itself...

Ah.

I knew exactly what was happening now.

Two dimensional masters, one of which I (hardly) knew... fighting in the center of the Multiverse over their own fates. A false alarm for the Cross-Collapse, but still a danger to the Multiverse nevertheless.

But the tie kid was losing. I could see it. He was in bad shape... but it wasn't just that, he looked hopeless. Was he giving up before he was even beaten?

Someone needed to cheer him on...

With that thought, I heard voices. Muffled, unintelligible voices, but voices nonetheless. Coming from the rift-no. Coming from other universes, coalescing into the rift.

If their voices can be heard...

If I spoke... would he hear me? Could I root him on? Cause I knew he had to win... he could fix this. The other creep was probably trying to destroy everything.

Screw it, I had to at least try. This boy... which something told me was called Tie... he needed to win. He needed support. He had to know that people everywhere were rooting for him. The whole multiverse was his audience.

"We need to cheer him on," I said, "He can fix this. He needs to win."

"The tie boy?" She asked.

"Yeah. Deep down, I know he can hear us," I explained, "So let's root him on."

"You can do it!"

"Come on, Tie! Win this!"

The tear warped, and switched to another image.

He was slowly getting back up.

The look on his face told me that our cheers were heard. And everyone else's, too. Deep down, I knew that Julia and the cowboy kid were cheering for him, too.

We'd succeeded.

I knew he'd win now. Someone like him doesn't go down that easily.

"Did we do it?" Hailey asked.

"I believe we did," I answered, "All we can do now is wait for this to be fixed. Because I know it will be."

I sat down and looked out the window, watching the rift.

After a while, it slowly began to mend.

But before it completely sealed, a voice boomed through the rift, one that wasn't Tie's.

It sounded weak, yet determined. Like someone who was saying their dying words... and knew full well of it. Was it Tie's opponent...?

"Moustache! If even one of you can hear me, that will be enough! I want you to know, that even if you feel alone, even if you make mistakes, you will come out alright in the end! I know, because of all you did for me! How you changed my short life that you made worth living! Because you are my Hero! And I am your Rookie!"

Oh...

"Thank you... for my life..."

The second dimensional energy I felt disappeared.

And the rift sealed shut.

Tie won... but was did it cost?

At least he could rest well, knowing his dying words were heard. Not just by one Moustache Girl, but all of them.

I'd have to ask Tie for his opponent's story the next time I saw him.

He deserved to be known.

A/N: Well... the final battle of OP's story was one of the best final battles I'd ever seen, and given what its theme was and whatever else, I absolutely had to include it. And it fits with what he had in mind for the final battle anyway, one that is intense enough that the whole Multiverse reels from it.

And, again, I warned you that there'd be major spoilers, so there'd better not be any complaints or I'm not going to be happy.

Anyway, as for the part in Dead Bird Studio? Well, it only seemed reasonable that Conductor, who has grandkids, would be the guy to go to for parenting advice, yeah? Markus is a dad now, he needs to start learning how to act like one.

Well, as for the next chapter, paying Mafia Town a visit. And something else, too.

Also, one thing, it's kinda funny how this worked out. Because I was gonna have them visiting Mafia Town next anyway to let CC and Moustache Girl know that Hailey was better and whatever else, but now that Voice's message to all Moustache Girls rang out through the Multiverse, Markus probably has a bit of explaining to do as well.

Killing two bi-wait, that would sound really messed up in the context of this story... um...

... what could I replace that with?... Err...

Well, whatever. You get the point. It worked out super well.

No reviews this time... so I guess that's all for this chapter.

See y'all next time!