Chapter 3
After his strange encounter with the Badge Seller, Arthur continued to walk through Mafia Town and managed to find the dock where a few boats were accosted. He used the ladders to get on the top of a nearby building to scout from afar, but he crouched to avoid being spotted by any of the Mafia men. And boy, that mustached girl from earlier wasn't kidding... The whole area was heavily guarded. Lots of Mafia men – some wearing hard hats – were walking and working around the place.
There was no way Arthur could sneak past them undetected, he would immediately be spotted and captured, and he surely didn't want to end up being used as a cannonball like those who had previously attempted to use the boats to leave. The twelve-year-old boy shuddered at the thought before he sighed. Clearly, getting on a boat wasn't an option at the moment... Perhaps he could wait until nightfall when most of the Mafia men would be home sleeping, it would probably be easier for him to sneak through and steal a boat. Until then, he was stuck on this Mafia-filled island.
Arthur climbed down the ladders and returned in the alleyways, looking for a good place to lie low until nightfall.
"I'm not going anywhere with you! Now let me go!" a voice screamed angrily. Arthur froze in his tracks when he heard that. Startled, he looked around to see who spoke but saw no one. It must have come from somewhere else, and it sounded like someone was in trouble.
"That voice..." Arthur whispered to himself. It was so familiar to him... He began to run toward the source of the voice, making sure to avoid the Mafia as he did. He eventually arrived in an open area that looked like some sort of market with booths, a tent, and a pile of TNT barrels in the center. Looking at said pile, he could see five Mafia men standing on it. Four of them were on each side of the pile and they were... dancing on it? Well, that didn't look safe. They must either be oblivious or plain stupid to be willing to do something like this... The fifth Mafia man was on top the pile and was holding someone in his left hand.
Arthur gasped. It was Mustache Girl! She was fidgeting in her captor's grip and was throwing various insults at him, ordering him to let her go immediately. The twelve-year-old boy frowned. He knew better than getting involved into this kind of situation, but he couldn't stand seeing the red-hooded girl getting bullied by the Mafia men. It reminded him of when other kids would gang up on him and no one around would come to help him, afraid of getting involved. No... He wasn't going to stoop to their level, he was going to help Mustache Girl somehow.
"I can't believe I'm about to do this..." Arthur muttered to himself. Taking a deep breathe, he began to walk toward the group of Mafia men. It took some great efforts for him to not start hyperventilating, but he managed to calm himself in time.
As he approached the group, one of the Mafia men dancing on the pile heard him coming and looked at him with a threatening look. Arthur immediately froze as he realized he didn't even bother making a plan to save Mustache Girl. He had just... walked into this mess. God, he could just be stupid sometimes... He soon found himself intimidated by the large man.
"What does little hat boy want? Mafia can't have boy witness when Mafia teaching lesson," the Mafia man said in a threatening manner.
"Arthur?" Mustache Girl said as she spotted him. She was surprised, yet happy to see him. Arthur took a deep breathe. He was here now, so he might as well just get on with it...
"Stop bullying the girl," he said sternly. The Mafia man sent the boy a glare in response.
"Little boy can't tell Mafia what to do," the large man said offended.
"Just let her go. She hasn't done anything wrong," Arthur said, trying to reason with them.
"Little mustached girl punched Mafia in the guts, so Mafia teach her lesson. Little boy should stay out of it," the Mafia goon said. However, the twelve-year-old boy stood his ground. He wasn't going to leave Mustache Girl to her fate out of simple cowardice.
"I said. Leave. The girl. Alone," Arthur said more firmly.
"Yeah! You tell 'em, Arthur!" Mustache Girl beamed as she raised a fist in the air to cheer on him. The Mafia man hopped down from the pile of TNT barrels and walked up to Arthur, looking down at him in an intimidating manner. The young boy placed his hands on his belt as a way to stand his ground and glared up at the man.
"Little boy should leave before Mafia makes him," the man threatened, getting impatient.
Arthur refused to even budge, and then he did something no one had expected him to do. Forming a ball of saliva in his mouth, he spitted on the Mafia man's shoes. The other Mafia goons were all shocked, while the one who was spitted on looked down at his shoes in disgust, and Mustache Girl was silently beaming.
'Ooohhhh, I like this kid!' the red-hooded girl thought with a huge grin on her face.
"Little boy spitted on Mafia's shoes! Now Mafia has to wash shoes," the Mafia goon said, clearly grossed out.
"Boss, what do we do with hat boy?" another Mafia man asked.
The Mafia goon who was holding Mustache Girl – the 'leader' – sent a glare at Arthur and said, "Throw him in barrel pile. Mafia will deal with him after teaching red mustached girl lesson." The Mafia man who had his shoes spitted on obeyed and grabbed Arthur by the collar of his t-shit.
"Hey! Let go of me!" Arthur shouted angrily. The Mafia goon ignored him and began to drag him up to the top of the pile. The young boy tried to punch the man, even clawing at his arm in an attempt to make him let go, but his efforts were in vain as the man kept a tight grip on the collar of his t-shirt. Once he reached the top, the goon lifted Arthur above a small hole in between the TNT barrels that seemed to be two barrels deep.
"No! NO!" Arthur screamed as the Mafia man dropped him, and he landed at the bottom on the hole. He tried to climb back up, but the width of the hole was too small for him to move properly.
"Me and my big mouth..." he muttered angrily to himself. Just what was he thinking? It was a dumb idea... And now he was stuck in this hole until the Mafia comes to punish him as well.
Suddenly, Arthur heard the Mafia men speak again, although he couldn't really figure out what they were saying. Then he heard some commotion, like a fight was going on.
He heard the leader shout: "Enough! Mafia won't bow to little girl! Prepare to feel Mafia's wrath!". Little girl? Did Mustache Girl manage to break free? Was she fighting them right now? However, it was soon proven to be false when Arthur saw the red-hooded girl being dropped in the same hole he was and landing right on top of him. Now he was crushed under her and it was very uncomfortable for him.
"Hey, get off me!" Arthur shouted angrily, trying to push Mustache Girl off of him.
"I'm trying!" she said as she struggled to get back up to the top.
The duo could hear some bouncing noises outside, and after a minute they stopped and they heard the leader jump off the pile of TNT barrels. Mustache Girl, being close enough to the top, used that momentum to climb out of the hole with Arthur's help.
Once she was out, Arthur heard her say, "Ah, you came right in time, fellow rebel squad!" Then he saw her lean over the exit of the hole, looking down at him.
"Arthur, that was awesome what you did! Spitting on this guy's shoes? That was sick!" Mustache Girl said enthusiastically as she extanded her hand down to help Arthur out of the hole.
"'Sick'? I got thrown in that darn hole and crushed under you for that!" Arthur said annoyed, grabbing the girl's hand.
"Aw, don't be such a whiner! Come on, the other member of my rebel squad got rid of the goons for us. Come meet her!" Mustache Girl said eagerly as she pulled Arthur out of the hole.
"And who is sh-" Arthur's question was cut short when his eyes landed on their 'savior'. The too-familiar purple hat on their head was enough to make his eye twitch in anger. It was Hat Kid with a Time Piece in her left hand. The small girl gasped when she saw Arthur.
"YOU?!" the two of them shouted before narrowing their eyes at each other in pure hatred.
"Of all the people, it had to be you!" Arthur spat angrily at Hat Kid. The purple-hatted girl only crossed her arms and glared at him in response. Mustache Girl was watching the scene confused.
"Wait, you two know each other?" the red-hooded girl asked in curiosity.
"That we do... Although I wish I didn't! If you expect me to make friends with her, you can forget about it!" Arthur said bitterly. Hat Kid rolled her eyes at him and let out a small "Hmpf!" in response.
"But she saved us, Arthur!" Mustache Girl attempted to reason with him.
"Well, that's fantastic. Let's give her a medal. That'll make my day," Arthur said sarcastically. Hat Kid blew a raspberry at him, making the boy roll his eyes.
"Come on, you guys! Just what happened between you two that made you hate each other like that?" Mustache Girl asked, attempting to defuse the argument.
"It's a long story..." Arthur simply said as he turned away from the two girls and crossed his arms in anger. Hat Kid nodded angrily, not wanting to get into details either. Mustache Girl looked between the two confused before she shrugged, deciding it was best to drop the topic for now.
The red-hooded girl turned her attention at Hat Kid and said, "Hey. You're alright, new kid. Do you have a name?".
The small girl remained silent though. She was a bit shy when it came to revealing personal informations such as her name, and she especially didn't want to say it with the twelve-year-old boy around.
"No? You shy? That's cool. You're a 'less talk, more fighting' kind of girl, I take it" Mustache Girl said before looking at the strange hourglass in Hat Kid's hand. "That thing you grabbed there... are you collecting them? Because I know where there's more of them." The last statement caught the small girl's interest and she listened attentively.
"They've been raining from the sky ever since you arrived. I've seen the goons bring them to their headquarters waaay up there," Mustache Girl explained, pointing up at the Mafia base supported in the air by a huge geyser. Hat Kid looked at the structure in awe. A floating base on a water geyser? That was impressive! Mustache Girl gasped as she suddenly had an idea.
"We should go up there and get your junk! It'll be fun! I'll take any opportunity that involves messing up the Mafia," the red-hooded girl said eagerly. Hat Kid was suprised Mustache Girl was willing to help her get her Time Pieces back. Well, she was probably offering that because she would get to fight the Mafia, but she wouldn't mind a little help. She only had retrieved two of her Time Pieces so far and there was still 54 more to go, so having someone helping her would be a plus.
"You with me, buddy?" Mustache Girl asked as she raised her hand up for a high-five. Hat Kid grinned and high-fived her back.
"Awesome!" Mustache Girl said with a huge grin on her face. She turned to look at Arthur who still had his back on them and asked," What about you, Arthur?". Arthur turned around to look at her.
"What?" the twelve-year-old boy asked with a perplexed look.
"Will you come along with us?" Mustache Girl asked. Hat Kid felt like her eyes were gonna pop out of her skull after she heard that. Having around the one who snuck on her ship and tried to steal her Time Pieces? No way! She pulled on Mustache Girl's arm and shook her head no, trying to change her new friend's mind.
"Come on, kid! This guy is alright. He tried to save me too before! I mean he failed but... you should've seen him spit on that dumbell's shoes! So cool!" Mustache Girl said excitedly. Hat Kid looked at Arthur skeptically. He tried to save Mustache Girl? Clearly, she wasn't too sure what to think of him right now. Arthur didn't like the way she was looking at him and crossed his arms as he sent her a glare.
"What? See something green, girl?" he asked in an irritated tone. Hat Kid frowed at him. He was so rude! She didn't like him at all...
Arthur sighed and said, "Look, Mustache Girl. I already told you, I don't want to get involved into this. It's your fight, not mine. So whatever you're planning, you leave me out of it."
"Come on, Arthur. It'll be easier with you. Besides, you said you wanted to get on a boat to leave, right?" said Mustache girl.
"Yeah?" Arthur asked as he raised an eyebrow at her. He had a feeling he already knew where this was getting at.
"If you help us, we'll make sure you get that boat in return. It's a good deal, right? Come on, Arthur. Please?" the red-hooded girl said in a pleading tone.
"Give me a break..." Arthur muttered, rubbing his eyes in annoyance. She was really persistent on this... Oh well, he had undoubtedly gotten the Mafia's attention on him after his little 'heroic' act, so it was probably best to stay with the girls for now. He sighed in defeat.
"Fine... I'll help, but you better not go back on your word. I'm expecting a way out of this island after this is over with," Arthur insisted.
"That's a promise!" Mustache Girl said cheerfully as she raised her hand up for a high-five with Arthur. Although Hat Kid was not pleased with this, but it was her friend's call so she decided to just deal with it.
"Sure..." Arthur muttered as he relucantly high-fived Mustache Girl back. He was really hoping she would keep her word. Every time people made promises to him, they were all broken at some point. He hoped this time would be different, though he seriously doubted it...
"Perfect! We have our squad! Now we need to plan our assault on the Mafia headquarters! Though we need a safe place to do that," Mustache Girl said, putting an hand on her chin in a thoughtful manner.
Hat Kid thought for a moment, then she had an idea. Her spaceship seemed like the safest place to plan everything out. No one would hear them talking, plus she had fixed and secured the hatch when she had returned on her spaceship with the first Time Piece she found before. That was definitely the right place for it! She pulled on Mustache Girl's arm to catch her attention.
"You know a place, kid?" Mustache Girl asked curiously. Hat Kid nodded and pointed up. The red-hooded girl looked up for a second and back at the purple-hatted girl.
"In the sky...?" Mustache Girl asked with a puzzled expression.
"The girl has a spaceship in space," Arthur explained. Mustache Girl looked at him as if he was crazy, then back at Hat Kid with a look that said 'Is that true?'. The younger girl nodded in a serious manner.
"So you're an alien?" Mustache Girl asked, blinking at her. Hat Kid nodded, although she didn't really like the term, but she was used to it by now.
"Crazy, I know..." Arthur muttered. Mustache Girl's surprised expression was turned into an excited one.
"Whoa! That's so awesome! Take us to it please!" she asked eagerly. With a smile, Hat Kid motioned for her to grab her hand and hold onto it. Mustache Girl was confused but she did as she was told. Although she didn't want to, Hat Kid motioned for Arthur to grab Mustache Girl's hand. The twelve-year-old boy relucantly did as he was told and grabbed the red-hooded girl's hand.
Hat Kid held her Time Piece up toward the sky, not before smiling mischeviously. The way she used to get back on her ship was quite surprising and frightening on the first try. That way, she could impress Mustache Girl and give a good scare to Arthur in the process.
"Wait, what are y-" Mustache Girl's question was cut short as the Time Piece in Had Kid's hand glowed brighter, and the next thing they knew the trio suddenly found themselves being projected at high speed toward the sky like a space rocket.
During the ride, Arthur and Mustache Girl were both screaming while Hat Kid was giggling like mad, amused by her way of travelling back to her ship and the high-pitched screams coming out from her two newfound allies. Soon, the blue sky was replaced by a star-filled void and Hat Kid's spaceship could be seen in the distance. They were getting closer and closer to it and it seemed like the trio was heading right toward the large window that gave view into the main room at high speed. Mustache Girl and Arthur screamed louder, feeling like they were going to faceplant right into that window. However, before the impact their vision turned white, and when it returned to normal the three children found themselves in the middle of the main room inside the spaceship.
Both Arthur and Mustache Girl were lying on the carpet and they were both a panting mess. Hat Kid couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the two as they were trying to catch their breath.
"Wow... That was... cool and all but... damn... Didn't expect that..." Mustache Girl said in between breathes.
"Never... again..." Arthur said, panting hard as well. Hat Kid only laughed harder, her arms wrapped around her sides, as the two children were trying to recover from that intense experience.
A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you all enjoyed this new chapter! I had a lot of fun writing this one, especially during the part where Hat Kid shows her unusual way of getting back to her spaceship to Arthur and Mustache Girl. I was laughing internally. XD
And yeah, as you can see, Arthur and Hat Kid are on bad terms at the moment, but don't worry they'll learn to get along eventually.
Anyway, time for answers to reviews:
To Linkone1: No need to apologize if you don't review immediately. My story isn't going anywhere and I read the reviews at any time, so take all the time you need if you want to review. And know that I'm not forcing anyone to review if they don't want to, so don't worry about not posting a review on each chapter. Anyway, thank you. ^^
To Shadow Necro: Hat Kid believed Arthur was here to steal her Time Pieces, that's why she was hostile toward him. Don't worry, she'll eventually learn that Arthur is not as bad as she thinks. Anyway, thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying this story and I plan on keeping it going as I'm having a lot of fun writing it. ^^
To Katoptris12: You can say that again. Arthur is going to have to overcome his fears for this one, but that won't be for a while.
That's all for today, folks! Have a good day and see you in the next chapter!