Chapter 7
Arthur screamed as he was launched toward the sky at high speed. The mix of rain and wind were blinding his vision as his body continued getting higher and higher in the air. After a few seconds, the laws of gravity began to take effect and soon he was falling down. He ended up face-planting on the ground, but he wasn't dead or injured as the fall wasn't too high. It still hurt a bit though.
The twelve-year-old boy let out a groan, mentally telling himself to never jump in a cannon again. Using both of his hands, he lifted himself up a little until he felt something landing on his back, forcing his face back down against the hard ground and causing him to say "Ow!" at the sudden impact. He shook his head a little and looked up behind him to see Hat Kid lying on top of him. Realizing that she was the one who landed on him, Arthur gave her an annoyed look, causing the small girl to smile at him sheepishly.
"Get off me!" Arthur said irritated as he pushed Hat Kid off to the side. The purple-hatted girl pouted at him in response.
The two children got up to their feet and patted the dust off of themselves. They looked ahead and their eyes widened at the view of the entrance of the Mafia's HQ. The building appeared to be some sort of restaurant or resort. There were giant smiling cutouts of two Mafia men with a whale, an octopus, a squid, and a swordfish. Though, these seemingly welcoming cutouts had their touch of irony added in with a big red sign above the closed iron gate that said 'Go away! (Please).' Arthur and Hat Kid were both clearly unamused by this.
"Well, at least they're being polite about it. Ish," Arthur said with a shrug. Hat Kid nodded.
"You two took your time!" a familiar feminine voice said in an impatient and annoyed tone. Arthur and Hat Kid looked to the left, and saw Mustache Girl standing on top of a red and yellow tarp. She was using her arms to block crumbled-up paper balls and empty tin cans being thrown at her by three Mafia goons on the ground below her.
"Help me out here! Get these brutes off my case and we can go inside!" she ordered impatiently. Arthur rolled his eyes at the red-hooded girl's tone.
"Calm down, princess. We're coming," the twelve-year-old boy said jokingly, pulling out his crowbar. Hat Kid giggled and pulled out her umbrella.
"I heard that!" Mustache Girl shouted in annoyance.
The two children ran toward the three Mafia men. Hat Kid jumped and did a homing attack on the first one, knocking him out. Arthur ran up to the second one and hit him in the guts with his crowbar, causing the Mafia man to crouch and cough. Using that momentum, the young boy proceeded to whack him in the head, knocking the Mafia man out as well. The third Mafia goon saw his two friends down. Getting angry, he attempted to punch Arthur who was the closest one to him, but Hat Kid jumped forward and whacked the man hard in the head before he could hit the young boy. The Mafia man did a spin before falling face first on the ground and passing out. Arthur was surprised that Hat Kid helped him, but he nodded at her gratefully, earning a smile from the girl.
"Good job, you two!" Mustache Girl congratulated her two allies, her hands on her hips.
"So that's what you call 'scouting ahead'?" Arthur asked jokingly.
"Shut up, Arthur!" the red-hooded girl retorted as she jumped off the tarp and onto the ground.
"You know, I've seen princesses in movies squealing like scared rats when they were in danger. But a tough cookie with a mustache? Nope. Never," the young boy continued in a teasing tone. Hat Kid couldn't help but laugh at that joke. She had to admit, Arthur could be pretty funny at times. Mustache Girl rolled her eyes at him.
"Very funny, cowboy. Anyway, do you guys have the jars as planned?" Mustache Girl asked, smirking widely. Arthur and Hat Kid looked at each other nervously. At this point, they had completely forgotten about them. And even so, neither of them wanted to get them in the first place. Looks like it was time to come up with an excuse.
"Uh yeah... About that... we searched everywhere but, uh, we couldn't find any..." Arthur lied as he rubbed the back of his head. Hat Kid nodded nervously to back up his lie. Hopefully, that should be enough to convince the red-hooded girl.
Mustache Girl's smile dropped. Arthur and Hat Kid stared at her nervously, worried that she saw through their lie. Thankfully, she shrugged and said, "Oh well, they probably have plenty of them inside their base. So let's go in there already!".
With that, she ran off toward the entrance. Arthur and Hat Kid both sighed in relief. That was close... Though they hoped they wouldn't find any jars in here as well. None of them wanted to be a part of the mustached girl's 'mush and jar' massacre.
Mustache Girl ran in front of the entrance and stepped on a button on the ground. She turned to look at her two allies and motioned for them to step on the other two buttons. Hat Kid did as she was told and went to step on the second button.
'Three buttons? How convenient...' Arthur thought as he stepped on the third button. As soon as he did, the front door of the Mafia's HQ opened.
"Let's go, it's showtime baby!" Mustache Girl said eagerly as she ran inside. Arthur and Hat Kid looked at each other for a second before glancing at the now-opened front door. Arthur took a deep breathe, preparing himself mentally for what might happen once they go inside.
"Here goes nothing," Arthur said as he walked in, with Hat Kid following close behind.
When they walked inside, the two children's eyes widened as they looked around the place. It looked like some sort of casino with gambling tables, slot machines, and there even was a bar. Also, they could notice the big amount of Mafia men present in this place, as well as the smell of smoke. Arthur and Hat Kid already felt out of place.
Mustache Girl looked at them and whispered, "Alright, so here's what we're gonna do. There's a back door in the kitchen that leads into the cold room. There's a vent inside that will lead us right to the Mafia Boss area. I think they keep the door locked though, so you guys search around for the key, and I'll sneak into the kitchen and meet you there." She then gave her two allies a stern look. "And keep a low profile! We only got one shot at this!"
"You really think they won't notice a bunch of kids roaming around in here?" Arthur asked sarcastically in a whisper. As he carefully looked around, he could already see that some Mafia men were looking at them menacingly.
"You got a better idea maybe, smart guy?" Mustache Girl whispered in an irritated tone.
Arthur remained silent for a second, then whispered, "No..." with a sigh. Indeed, there didn't seem to be any other way leading to the Mafia Boss, and they were clearly outnumbered here so fighting wasn't an option either. It looked like they had no choice but to stick with Mustache Girl's plan. The red-hooded girl smiled in satisfaction.
"That's settled then, so let's get started! I'll meet you guys in the kitchen," Mustache Girl said. She then snuck past the numerous Mafia men and made her way through the door behind the bar, which Arthur and Hat Kid assumed it was leading to the kitchen.
As Hat Kid looked around the place some more, she spotted a Mafia man who had something of interest sticking out of his pocket. A Time Piece! The man in question walked into an area that seemed to lead to the theatre judging by the sign above the entrance. The purple-hatted girl ran after him but, before she could go through, a Mafia man guarding the entrance stopped her with a firm hand.
"Little child not allowed in. Mafia only," the goon said sternly. Hat Kid frowned at him. In another situation, she would have just pulled out her umbrella and beaten him up with it. But she remembered Mustache Girl's request to keep a low profile and she didn't want to give the Mafia a reason to throw her and Arthur out of the base. She huffed in frustration as she had no choice but to turn back and hope that she would be able to get that Time Piece another way.
As she went back to Arthur's side, she abruptly stopped as she felt something hit her cheek. Startled, she rubbed her cheek and looked down to see an empty tin can on the floor. Someone just threw that at her! How rude! She formed an irritated expression on her face and looked to the right to see the culprit: a Mafia man behind one of the gambling tables who didn't seem to appreciate the children's presence here.
"Little kids, shoo! This is Mafia base!" the Mafia goon said angrily as he threw another projectile at Hat Kid. This time, she was able to dodge it.
Arthur had witnessed the whole scene, and he was not happy. Getting bullied was one thing, but watching someone else getting bullied? That he couldn't stand, even if he had his differences with Hat Kid. The young boy felt anger boiling in him and he greeted his teeth. He pulled out his crowbar and suddenly lunged at the Mafia man. He then proceeded to beat him repeatedly with his crowbar under the shocked looks of Hat Kid and the numerous Mafia men around. Within a few hits, the Mafia goon was out cold on the floor. Arthur breathed heavily, letting out all the frustration he had, and turned around to see that the other Mafia men were looking at him with their jaw dropped. He was now at the center of attention and it was a feeling that the twelve-year-old boy didn't like. He stared daggers at each and every one of them.
"Anyone else has a problem with us being here?!" Arthur asked threateningly through gritted teeth. The Mafia men glanced away nervously, prentending they didn't see anything. They really didn't want to suffer the same fate as the unfortunate goon.
Arthur huffed as the anger left him and he put his crowbar away. He walked back to Hat Kid and found the girl staring at him, surprised that he stood up for her.
"You're welcome," the twelve-year-old boy said blankly, looking away from her. Hat Kid then smiled at him. He really wasn't as bad as she first thought he was. Perhaps it was not too late to make amends and make friends with him.
"Anyway... we should probably start searching for that key," Arthur suggested, trying to change the topic. Hat Kid nodded in agreement.
"Greetings, young ones."
Arthur and Hat Kid jolted at the sudden voice coming from behind them. They quickly turned around and were about to pull their weapons out until they saw a familiar glitchy figure. Arthur immediately recognized him. It was the Badge Seller.
"My apologies for startling you both. I tend to greet people from behind, it is a bad habit," they apologized. Hat Kid relaxed and sighed in relief. She had already met them before as well and knew they meant no harm.
"Oh, hi there!" Hat Kid greeted happily as she waved her hand at them. Arthur looked at her puzzled.
"You know this person?" he asked her.
"She bought one of my badges for her hat earlier. They give the owner some special abilities that can be very helpful for them," the Badge Seller explained with a smile. Hat Kid nodded, pointing at said badge on her hat. It was green and it had a magnet drawn on it. Arthur never noticed that before, probably because he was too caught up in their rivalry to even pay attention to that.
"So you sell like, what, magical badges?" Arthur asked curiously.
"Indeed. Badges with special abilities to be more precise," the Badge Seller said with a nod.
"That's... great... I guess..." Arthur said, unsure what to make of this information. It sounded too good to be true. But then again, a lot of things out of the ordinary have happened ever since he arrived in this strange world. Like the fact that this guy's body was still glitching for example... Arthur will still need some time to get used to it. The Badge Seller then turned their attention to Hat Kid.
"I have some new items to sell that may be of some interest to you, young miss. Do you want to take a look?" they asked. Hat Kid nodded eagerly with a grin. The Badge Seller smiled and pulled out some sort of pin.
"This pin will allow you to equip a second badge on your hat. That way you can have two different abilities at once. 50 pons only," they explained. Then they pulled out a pale yellow badge with an open umbrella drawn on it. "And this is the 'Hover Badge'. This badge will allow your umbrella to automatically open when you fall from a high height and slow down your falling speed before you hit the ground. That way you won't be fatally injured when falling from a high height. 100 pons."
''Pons'? Must be the money system of this planet...' Arthur thought.
Hat Kid checked her pockets and pulled out two small bags. One with 100 pons and another one with 50 pons. She was able to get all of those pons by exploring Mafia Town and saving an old man who was being picked on by a group of Mafia men, before she saved Mustache Girl and Arthur at the pile of TNT barrels earlier. She handed the bags over to the Badge Seller, and the latter gave her the pin and the badge. Hat Kid eagerly put both of them on her purple top hat.
"Thank you!" Hat Kid said with a smile. The Badge Seller smiled back at her.
"I may be able to have more items of interest later on. Come visit me again when you have the chance," they said. Hat Kid nodded at them gratefully.
The purple-hatted girl began to walk away, but she stopped when she noticed Arthur wasn't following her. She looked at him to ask him if he was coming.
"Uh, you go on ahead and search for that key. I'll catch up," Arthur said to her. He still had some questions for the Badge Seller. Hat Kid gave him a curious look, but she shrugged and began to search around for the key. Arthur turned his attention back to the Badge Seller, and apparently the twelve-year-old boy's thoughts were readable on his face.
"You probably have some questions that need answers, young one," the Badge Seller said with anticipation.
"Uh, actually I do..." Arthur said, looking around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. Thankfully, Hat Kid was gone, Mustache Girl was still in the kitchen, and every Mafia men were too busy minding their own business to pay attention – and if they did, they surely weren't showing it.
"How do you know my name? I mean, my full name. I don't recall meeting you before Mafia Town," the young boy whispered, reminding the glitchy seller about their previous conversation where they had called Arthur by his full name.
"I have my ways to know," the Badge Seller simply answered with a smile.
"What ways?" Arthur asked skeptically.
"There is only so much I can say for the time being. You will have to be patient, young one" they said. Arthur was confused, but he shrugged nonetheless. It didn't seem like he was gonna get a better answer right now. Though... he didn't know why but... he still couldn't shake the feeling that he already met the Badge Seller somewhere before he came to this world. He shook his head. It was probably his mind playing tricks on him.
"However, I can say that I know that you are not from this world, Arthur Jones," the Badge Seller said, catching the boy's full attention.
"You know?" Arthur asked with a shocked expression, earning a nod from the glitchy seller. They were probably the only one so far to know that he wasn't from here... but how? He had never told anyone that he was from another world before, because he knew people would call him crazy if he did.
"How?" he asked. The Badge Seller remained silent for a second before he answered.
"Like I said, there is only so much I can tell unfortunately," they said. Arthur sighed in defeat.
"So... where am I exactly?" the twelve-year-old asked.
"You are in another version of the Earth as you know it. A different one where everything works differently from the way you know it. To be more precise, you are in another dimension," the Badge Seller answered. Another dimension? Well, that definitely explained all of the things out of the ordinary that he had seen until now.
"Well, that explains a lot..." Arthur muttered as he looked down for a few seconds. Then a question came through his mind and he looked back at the Badge Seller.
"Do you... know how I can go back to my home world? A portal had brought me here, so is there a way to summon another one that could take me back?" he asked. The Badge Seller shook his head.
"There might be a way, but I do not have the knowledge for it. I could do some research, but it could take years before I can give you a result," they answered sadly. Arthur's eyes widened. Years?! Did that mean that he was going to be stuck on this planet for this long?
"Does anyone else out there know how to summon a portal?" he asked, hoping to get a positive answer.
"I am afraid not," the Badge Seller said as they shook their head. Arthur looked down sadly before an idea came to his mind.
"The girl with the hat... She is collecting those magical hourglasses. An hourglass was what summoned the portal that brought me in this dimension after I broke it. Is there anything that can be done with them, aside from breaking them?" Arthur asked in a desperate tone.
"These hourglasses... are not what you think they are, Arthur," the Badge Seller answered sadly.
"So what are they then?" Arthur asked, getting more frustrated by the second.
"This is something that you will discover very soon, young one," the Badge Seller said as they put an hand on the boy's shoulder. Arthur pushed their hand away in frustration and turned away from them. He couldn't believe it! He was going to be stuck on this planet for years?! Arthur sighed sadly.
"Perhaps you can try to see all the good things that this world has to offer. Maybe there is a place for you out there," the Badge Seller said. Arthur chuckled dryly in response.
"A place for myself? I've been trying to find one for years and I've been only met with disappointments. And so far, only bad things have happened to me in this world... What proves that it will be any different from the one I know?" Arthur said in a depressed tone.
"Give it time, Arthur. Maybe one day, your efforts will be rewarded," the Badge Seller reassured him.
"I guess..." Arthur said with a sigh.
He honestly doubted that he would find a place for himself eventually. A long time ago, he had hope that everything would get better eventually. But as the years passed, the same misery kept happening to him and it only seemed to get worse every day. Soon, he had lost all hopes for things to get better for him, and now, all he wanted was to die so he wouldn't have to suffer anymore. But of course, he could never bring himself to just end it right here and then... He even had a chance to die earlier on that wireline, but he couldn't bring himself to let go of the tightrope when he grabbed it... because he was a coward. But none of this mattered now...
"Badge Sel-" Arthur began to say as he turned around to look at the glitchy vendor. But when he did, the Badge Seller was gone. The young boy sighed. Once again, they just disappeared without a trace when he least expected it.
"God dammit..." Arthur mumbled as he covered his face with his hand.
To be honest, he didn't know how to feel about this. A part of him was glad that he wouldn't have to see his drunk father again or the people who made fun of him for a long time. But at the same time, that meant he was going to be stuck on a planet he is unfamiliar with and that made him feel very anxious. What was going to happen to him now? What was he going to do on this planet? Was he going to remain here forever? Was he gonna die within the next few days? He didn't know what to expect...
Arthur sighed and went to sit on one of the stools at the bar. Normally, he hated bars due to what alcohol had turned his father into, but right now he didn't care. He just needed to sit down and... think for a while... The Mafia man in charge of serving drinks at the bar noticed the boy's glum look and walked up to him.
"What's troubling you, little boy? Mafia not know what child drink," he asked while he cleaned an empty glass cup with a cloth, catching the young boy's attention.
"I'm fine..." Arthur lied, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. The last thing he needed was one of these brutes coming over to bother him. However, the Mafia barman could see right through him.
"You don't look fine. Little boy need someone to talk?" the man asked with concern in his voice. Mafia men showed concern now? What a joke...
"Why would you care? You're a Mafia man," Arthur stated coldly. The Mafia barman shook his head.
"Mafia do bad things, but Mafia not heartless. Mafia always open for advice," he said. Arthur sighed. Well... what did he have to lose talking to this goon? Life was laughing at him already, so might as well add more to the list...
"It's... been a tough day... Long story short, I can't go home," Arthur said in a sad tone. He was preparing himself mentally for the goon to start mocking him and throwing insults at him. But surprisingly, he didn't.
"Little boy not worry. Mafia sure you will find a way home eventually," the Mafia barman reassured the twelve-year-old boy. Arthur shook his head.
"If I'm being honest... I'm not sure if I wanna go back there. My life at home was hell for me," Arthur explained, starting to open up a little more.
"Then you should find new home. Little boy can't stay in place that make him not happy," the Mafia barman suggested. Arthur sighed, knowing he was right. However, he still doubted that there could be some place out there where he could be happy. Not to mention that he felt like he didn't belong in this new world.
"I wish it was that simple... I feel like... no matter where I go, there's no place I belong," Arthur said in a depressed tone.
"Little boy not lose hope. Everyone can find place where they belong eventually. Just like Mafia did," the Mafia barman said. Arthur slightly nodded. Though he still wasn't convinced, the Mafia man's words actually helped a little. He looked up at the goon. The young boy wasn't smiling but he wasn't frowning either.
"Thank you..." Arthur said genuinely.
"Don't mention it," the Mafia barman said with a smile, before he went back to cleaning up glasses.
It was needless to say that Arthur was surprised that the Mafia man actually wanted to help and not laugh at him like most people would. Maybe the Mafia wasn't as bad as he thought they were. Well, some of them at least. That made him hesitate more about following Mustache Girl through her plan to get rid of the Mafia. But it wasn't like he had a choice anymore. He was here now, and as long as the Mafia was around, he was still unable to leave the island by boat.
Arthur was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a tug on his arm. He looked behind him and saw Hat Kid tugging on his arm.
"Hey. You found the key?" Arthur asked her. Hat Kid nodded, then motioned for him to follow her.
"Alright," he said, getting up from his seat. As he did, Hat Kid noticed that he seemed a little sad and she gave him a concerned look. Arthur noticed her stare and said, "I'm fine. Just lead the way."
Hat Kid could see that he was lying, but he clearly didn't want to talk about it. The purple-hatted girl shrugged and began to walk, with Arthur following close behind.
A/N: Hey everyone! So I don't have much to say about this chapter, but I'd like to make an announcement. I'm gonna be away for two weeks, starting from Tuesday, 30 July. That means I'll be unable to write or post new chapters until I'm back home. I'm supposed to come back on Saturday, 17 August. In the meantime, I hope you guys will be patient enough to wait for my return. I promise I'll do my best to get back on track once I return home.
Thanks for your attention, everyone! Now it's answers to reviews time!
To Shadow Necro: Indeed, Arthur will soon learn why Hat Kid treated him the way she did before. But that's not for until after they've defeated the Mafia Boss.
To Maoshin: Thank you. To answer your question, I try to plan the story ahead but they're only bits and pieces until I actually start writing the chapters. While I'm writing, sometimes I get new ideas and I'm adding them in despite the fact that I hadn't originally planned to add them. I'm doing it as long as it works.
Alright, that's all for today, folks! See you all in two weeks!