Chapter 16

Arthur slowly opened his eyes as he started waking up. He sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He hadn't slept very well last night. Indeed, the events of the day before at Dead Bird Studio have been bothering him a lot.

He and Hat Kid were now a part of the Conductor's and DJ Grooves' movies at the same time. It was a lot of pressure for him since both movie directors will be relying on him to win, and also because of the audience. Arthur had never acted in a movie before, and the viewers will obviously expect something good. Will they even like him as one of the main characters of the movies? Will they hate his performance and make fun of him? Will the movie directors be mad at him if that happens?

Not only that, but he also had a nightmare. It was about him being in a recording session for a movie, but he kept messing up in every takes. The Conductor was here, yelling at him for messing up, then the strange owl's face had morphed into his dad's and the yelling and insults grew worse. Arthur woke up in the middle of the night and had trouble going back to sleep after that. At least, he had been able to keep some shut-eye.

It was very common for him to have nightmares, but... God, it wasn't fun when he had them... Sometimes, Arthur wished he was never born in the first place or that he could just put an end to his entire existence so he wouldn't have to suffer anymore. But of course, his survival instincts and cowardice just wouldn't let him do it.

Arthur sighed sadly, then he looked to the side. He gasped and jolted in surprise when he saw a statue made of ice just standing there.

"The hell?" Arthur asked in total confusion, as he got up to his feet. How did this statue get here in the first place? Did Hat Kid find it and bring it back here? And if she did, why?

Observing at the ice statue, he noticed that it was doing a little pose and a V-sign with its right hand. Its face looked... oddly familiar. The boy looked a little closer, then his eyes widened as he recognized the face.

"Hat Kid?" Arthur said with a shocked expression.

Suddenly, without a warning, the ice statue broke itself and a small figure emerged from it, screaming, "BOO!", loudly.

"AHH!" Arthur jumped in surprise and fell back on the floor. He quickly crawled away from the figure in total panic.

The person who jumpscared him started laughing after seeing the boy's reaction. Arthur was confused by this, then as he calmed down and stared at the figure, he frowned in annoyance. It was Hat Kid wearing a new hat she made. A blue beanie with bear ears and snowflakes on it. She had called it the Ice Hat, since it allowed her to turn into an ice statue temporarily.

"Ugh, you damn fool! You trying to give me a heart attack or what?!" Arthur hissed angrily.

"Sorry, couldn't resist!" Hat Kid apologized as she slowly stopped laughing.

However, the twelve-year-old boy didn't appreciate the prank. He got up to his feet and approached the small girl. He stopped inches away from her face and looked at her dead serious, causing her to grow a fearful expression.

"Don't do that again," Arthur said in a serious and threatening tone, pointing his finger at her. Hat Kid gulped and nervously nodded her head. "Good," he said, turning away from her.

Hat Kid sighed in relief. For a moment there, she thought that he was going to punch her on the face. Thankfully, he didn't. But her prank didn't turn out the way she wanted it to. She expected Arthur to just merely feel annoyed and roll his eyes, but the reaction he had... It was scary... Now she felt bad for pranking him.

"Sorry..." Hat Kid apologized as she rubbed her arm in shame.

Arthur sighed and said, "Like I said... Just don't do it again," still keeping his back on her. Hat Kid noticed that he seemed troubled. Though something told her it wasn't about her prank anymore. She walked around him so she could look at his face and she gave him a concerned look. Arthur sighed sadly.

"I just... Look, we shouldn't be a part of those birds' movies. Their competition and their award... it's none of our business. I've never acted in a movie before, and I'm pretty sure you haven't either. We've been dragged into something we shouldn't be involved in. That's why I think we should just ask them to give us back the Time Pieces so we can move on," Arthur explained.

Hat Kid understood where he was getting at. Indeed, the priority remained the Time Pieces and maybe they shouldn't have gotten involved into the two movie directors's situation. However, DJ Grooves was so nice to them and he even helped them when the receptionist wanted to send them to jail. She didn't want to let him down after he went through all of that trouble for them.

Plus, she had to admit that she was excited to star in those movies. It's like everyone's dream to appear on the screen and play a role for everyone to watch and enjoy. But then again, Arthur wasn't really a people person, so perhaps being confronted to a movie audience wasn't his cup of tea.

But it is worth a try! The Conductor had given them one of her Time Pieces after hiring them as actors. So if they kept playing along and acting in their movies, maybe the two directors will reward them with more Time Pieces. For now, it seemed like the only thing to do.

"You still wanna play the movie star, do you?" Arthur deadpanned, as if he was reading the girl's mind. Hat Kid firmly nodded. The young boy sighed in annoyance, seeing that he wouldn't be able to change her mind no matter what he says. He had learned that she could be quite stubborn when she wanted to.

"That's a recipe for disaster, you know? But whatever, we do the birds' bidding and then we ask for the Time Pieces. Sounds good?" Arthur asked. Hat Kid nodded with a smile.

"Alright. So the first recording session is this morning with... the Conductor..." Arthur said with a sigh. He really didn't want to see the Conductor right now, but he knew he had to do it for the Time Pieces. "So when does it start?"

Hat Kid's smile dropped, and she suddenly put her hands on her mouth and gasped. They were supposed to be already at the Conductor's movie set about five minutes ago! Arthur's eyes narrowed, figuring out why the girl reacted that way.

"Oh, don't tell me we're late already!" the young boy said in an irritated tone. Hat Kid slowly nodded with a panicked expression on her face. Arthur groaned and placed his hand on his face in annoyance.

"You goddamn idiot! You should've woke me up earlier instead of pulling that prank on me!" he scolded. Hat Kid smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head nervously in response. "Well, let's go already! Hopefully, the Conductor won't make a meal outta us just yet."

Not wasting any more time, Arthur and Hat Kid ran towards the hatch and jumped off, aiming for Dead Bird Studio.

"Finally... The train is moving. Now I can get to work..."

In a dark room inside the Conductor's train, a shadowed figure picked up a knife that they had secretely hidden under a mattress. They had been planning this for a while... and now, they were finally ready to act.

"I've heard the two kids with the hats will be on this train too. I've got a little something in store for them. Ohohoho, this is going to be fun..." the figure said darkly to themselves, feeling the blade in between their fingers.

The two children were nearing Dead Bird Studio at a fast speed. Hat Kid then spotted a train moving on some rails. She remembered the Conductor telling them that they were going to record on it, so she aimed for it. She and Arthur landed at the caboose of the train.

"Welcome back, ye two!" a familiar voice in a Scottish accent greeted them. Arthur and Hat Kid spotted the Conductor leaning against the barrier of the caboose, a walkie-talkie in his hand.

"Hey, uh, Conductor. Sorry for being late... Our alarm clock malfunctioned," Arthur lied, hoping that the strange owl would buy it. He and Hat Kid expected him to get angry and rebuke them for being late, but to their surprise, the Conductor merely shrugged.

"Eh, it's fine. I haven't written the script for me next movie yet, so we're not recording!" the strange owl answered calmly. "In the meantime, you can go in me train and get familiar with the place. I'll call for yer when the script is ready."

Arthur and Hat Kid looked at him skeptically. That's weird... The day before, he was getting all angry at them and was dead serious about not being late. But right now, he was... oddly calm, like he had a switch in his back that allowed him to become calm or angry when flipping it. It was strange... but at least they weren't being yelled at.

"Uhh... Alright then. See you later... I guess," Arthur said with a shrug.

With that said, the two children went inside the train to explore while waiting for the movie script to be ready. Suddenly, they were stopped by a sketchy tall black crow wearing a brown coat and fedora.

"Why, hello there, fellow owls. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting?" the crow greeted them.

"And you are?" Arthur asked as he raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious of the crow.

"As you can tell, I am also an Express Owl. I do much hooting," the crow answered. Arthur and Hat Kid looked at each other in confusion. This guy? An Express Owl? No, he wasn't. He was a crow. And the duo were not owls either. Before Arthur could point that out, the suspicious crow continued speaking.

"Between one owl to another, we can share details, yes? What is your uncle's sister's maiden name?" he asked. Arthur and Hat Kid both had puzzled expressions on their faces. Why did this crow wanted to know that? This was all very sketchy...

Arthur didn't feel comfortable with the crow's presence. Something about him felt off... Though the young boy had a feeling the crow wouldn't leave them alone until they answered his question. So he decided to just give a random name, especially since he never had an uncle in the first place.

"Samantha," Arthur said, hoping the crow would buy it and leave them alone. The suspicious crow nodded.

"Oh, it is Samantha? I see, I see. This is the kind of uncle's sister's maiden name I would expect I would expect from a fellow Express Owl. Thank you. Have a good day, fellow owls," the crow said. And with that, he walked away from the duo.

'Wow, can't believe that worked... What an idiot,' Arthur thought, relieved to have been able to get the suspicous crow off their back. He glanced at Hat Kid and noticed that she was giving him a confused look.

"I gave him a fake name. Never had an uncle to begin with. I just wanted him to go away," Arthur said with a smirk.

"Oh," Hat Kid said before giggling. She had to admit, that was pretty smart of him.

"Still, I wonder what this was all about," Arthur said, still confused about why the crow wanted to know this kind of information. He shrugged and said, "Come on, let's move."

The duo walked a bit further, until they were stopped by someone else. It was yet another suspicious crow, but not the one from before.

"Hello, fellow Express Owls. Do you care about security? I care about security a whole lot. You should not be going around telling informations to strangers. It could be a security risk!" the crow said.

"No, I would totally run around and scream my phone number at the top of my lungs for everyone to hear," Arthur said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, well, you shouldn't be doing that, fellow Express Owl. It is very risky," the crow answered, failing to understand the boy's sarcasm. Arthur raised an eyebrow at him, while Hat Kid put her hand on her face at the crow's stupidity.

"I think you need a serious lecture on how to detect sarcasm, pal," Arthur said with an unamused look. The crow ignored the boy's remark and continued speaking.

"Just know, I can help your daily life become more secure. What is your favorite combination of numbers?" the crow asked. Arthur and Hat Kid looked at each other annoyed. Another one of those sketchy questions? It looks like they were going to have to say something random again.

Arthur smirked as he had an idea and said, "1234." One of the least secured combination of numbers. Hat Kid had to cover her mouth to suppress a laugh from coming out.

"I see, I see. 1234 is also my favorite combination of numbers," the crow said, before walking away. As he did so, they duo could hear him say to himself, "I will definitely use this combination for my safe."

As soon as he was out of sight, Arthur snorted and said, "Dumbbell." Hat Kid couldn't hold it anymore and laughed after hearing him say that. Those weird crows were so gullible. You can say anything to them, and they'll believe it.

The duo continued walking and came across an Express Owl. An actual one. Like the two children, the owl seemed confused by the suspicious crows's presence here.

"Did you notice there's suddenly a lot of crows on this train?" the Express Owl asked the duo.

"Considering two of them came to bother us before... hard to not notice. They asked us about personal details. Weird..." Arthur answered.

"I know, right? They all got on at the last stop," the owl stated.

"Wait, there's more of them?" Arthur asked with widened eyes. The Express Owl nodded. "Great. More questions to add to the pile of weirdness..." he muttered in annoyance.

"Say, at which stop did you two get on the train?" the Express Owl asked, recalling that he didn't see the two children get on the train before. Arthur and Hat Kid looked at each other awkwardly. The way they got on the train will definitely sound a bit strange to hear.

"Actually... we, uh, fell from the sky..." Arthur stated awkwardly. The Express Owl stared at him blankly for a few seconds.

"...what do you mean you fell from the sky?" the owl asked in total confusion.

"It's... complicated. Don't ask us how and why," the young boy simply answered. The Express Owl was confused by this, but he decided to shrug it off. "Anyway, we won't disturb you any longer."

"Okay, well, have a good day! Just be careful around those crows. They look very sketchy," the owl said nervously. Arthur and Hat Kid nodded, then they continued walking.

The duo were about to go through the door that led to the next train car, but they were once again stopped by another crow.

"Did you know that having a pet helps improve self-confidence and relieves stress?" the crow asked the two children.

"Does it now?" Arthur asked curiously. He wanted a dog when he was younger, but of course his damn father just wouldn't allow it. He said dogs were dirty, annoying, and wasted a lot of your time. Well, that is quite hypocrital, since that's what alcohol turned him into. You just have to add 'violent' and 'abusive' to the list...

"It does! Did you also know that pets can have pets?" the crow asked. Arthur and Hat Kid both raised an eyebrow at him. What kind of nonsense was he babbling now?

"It is true! Unfortunately, us Express Owls are not allowed to have pets. It is a sacrifice we must make in the name of hooting," the crow said. The two children gave him an annoyed look. Seriously? Those weird crows still keep pretending they are owls? Was it some kind of game for them or what? "But, if you had a pet, what do you think the name of your pet's childhood pet would be?" he asked.

Hat Kid thought for a moment. A name for pet's pet? Well, she didn't really have a pet, but she still had her cleaner robot, Rumbi. If it had a pet, it would probably be a smaller version of it. She would probably name it Rumbo.

"Rumbo," Hat Kid answered. The crow nodded.

"Rumbo is certainly an interesting name for a pet. Even for a pet's pet," he said.

"Whatever you say, buddy. Let's go, Hat Kid," Arthur said as he waved his hand in a dismissive manner, getting impatient.

The two children walked past the crow and went through the door. The next train car appeared to be some sort of library. There were a few Express Owls in there, and of course, a crow standing in front of a blackboard... A nervous Express Owl noticed the duo's presence and decided to start a conversation with them.

"Have you noticed all these crows around the place? They keep asking for personal details, and I never know what to answer!" the owl said nervously.

"Just tell them random stuff, they'll buy it. They ain't so bright," Arthur said.

"Okay then. Anything that gets them off my back," the Express Owl answered with a nod. The duo nodded and walked away.

The two children tried to walk past the crow near the blackboard unnoticed. Unfortunately, the latter spotted them and turned his attention to them, much to the duo's exasperation.

"Hello, fellow Express Owls. I am stuck on an advanced mathematical and scientific issue. Do you see this advanced formula on the blackboard? I cannot decipher it," the crow explained. Well, at least he wasn't asking for personal informations. Not yet at least... "Can you decipher the scientific formula for me? What does it say?" he asked.

Arthur and Hat Kid looked at each other and shrugged. They could probably give it a try, since it wasn't about giving out any kind of personal information. Neither of them were good at math, but they will do their best.

The duo took a look at the blackboard, but they immediately formed unamused expressions on their faces. It wasn't even a scientific formula, it was just some scrambled letters and numbers, like the ones you see in an online form.

"I don't see how it's a scientific formula. All it says is DCB 4IL OSE," Arthur stated. Hang on a second... The last five letters sounded like they said 'I lose'. Is there some kind of hidden joke behind it?

"I see! The solution is DCB 4IL OSE! It was obvious! Thank you, fellow Express Owls," the crow said. Then he smirked and added, "And thank you for agreeing to the terms and conditions on the back side of the blackboard." The two children gave him confused looks.

"Wait what?" Arthur asked puzzled.

The duo walked around the blackboard and they frowned at what they saw on the back side of it. 'Terms and Conditions' was written as a title, followed by several lines on different rules and conditions. The worst part is they couldn't even read them, because the lettering was so tiny! They wanted to scold the crow for tricking them, but he was no where to be seen. He must have run off when they weren't paying attention.

"Oh, that sneaky peck neck!" Arthur hissed angrily, not immediately noticing he used one of the Conductor's insults. Hat Kid gave him a surprised look upon hearing this. The young boy then realized what he just said.

"Great, now I'm starting to speak like the Conductor. Won't be long before I start barking orders at people and talking in a Scottish accent," the twelve-year-old boy said jokingly. Hat Kid couldn't help but giggle as she imagined Arthur in a train conductor uniform, giving orders and yelling at actors for messing up during the recording.

"Anyway, we should probably keep moving. I hope those terms and conditions won't force us to do anything against our will," Arthur remarked, earning a nod from Hat Kid.

The two children continued to make their way across the train car. On the way, they were stopped by another crow who asked them about what it would feel like to be a superhero and what name they would use if they were one. Arthur remained quiet, because he didn't know what to answer and he was also tired of answering all of these questions. Hat Kid chose to answer instead and decided to say 'Super Hat Kid', considering most superheroes use 'super' as a prefix for their name.

After a strange answer from the crow saying he would write Hat Kid's answer down real quick, the two children hurried themselves through the door leading to the cafeteria. Their eyes widened and their jaws dropped when they entered the room. On the right side were multiple crows sitting at some tables, eating dinner. Thankfully, they didn't notice the children's presence here as they were too busy telling 'jokes' and laughing. Honestly, neither Arthur or Hat Kid found their 'jokes' funny, but they didn't want to dwell on it.

The duo spotted a door at the end of the room, but it was locked. Deciding to search around for a key, they walked up the stairs leading to more tables. They gasped when they saw a crow standing there, apart from the others. They tried to avoid him, but he spotted them and walked up to them.

"Us Express Owls all have a part of our body we're ashamed of. This is why some owls choose to pluck their feathers. Which body part of yours are you the most ashamed of, fellow Express Owls?" the crow asked the duo.

Arthur immediately grew uncomfortable with the question. It was definitely a topic more sensitive for him than all the other questions from before. Honestly, he was ashamed of everything about himself. His pathetic existence itself was like a curse for him. His life was hell, people made fun of him, and he got hurt in more ways than one. As a consequence, he now struggles with depression and anxiety.

Something in his guts told him that he shouldn't be honest with the crow, so he decided to simply give a single part of his body that is less likely to be made fun of as an answer.

"Uh... My eyes?" Arthur said nervously. The crow gave him a look of sympathy.

"Oh, poor Express Owl, you shouldn't be ashamed of your eyes. But you'd better get your eyes checked out by a doctor. I read online it could be a sign of bird flu," the crow said.

"If you say so... Anyway, we should get going," Arthur said, visibly troubled by the personal question. He quickly walked away to get away from the crow. Surprised by his reaction, Hat Kid went after him.

The young boy walked over a passage leading next to an overhanging blue trapdoor. He stopped at the corner and let out a sigh. Hat Kid put her hand on the boy's shoulder and gave him a concerned look.

"I'm fine, I just... I'm not very comfortable when it comes to talking about myself, you know?" Arthur said sadly. He wasn't being entirely truthful with the small girl. It is true that he wasn't comfortable with the crow's question, but the entire reason was much harder to talk about. "Anyway, we should probably focus on finding that key," he said to change the topic. Hat Kid slowly nodded, understanding that the boy didn't feel like talking at the moment.

The purple-hatted girl looked at the blue trapdoor and noticed it had a white snowflake symbol drawn on it. By the looks of it, she probably needed to use her Ice Hat on it. She switched her regular top hat with her Ice hat, and she stepped on the trapdoor. She focused herself and turned herself into an ice statue, like she did when she pulled the prank on Arthur earlier. The weight of the statue caused her to do a ground pound on the blue trapdoor, and it launched her to another trapdoor on the other side of the cafeteria. She used her ability again to be launched back at the starting point, near a visibly impressed Arthur.

"Ta daaa!" Hat Kid beamed, doing a little pose proudly.

"Gotta admit, this new ability of yours is pretty awesome. If I need to freshen my soda someday, I'll make sure to call for you," Arthur joked with a wink, causing Hat Kid to giggle in amusement.

Hat Kid switched back to her top hat, then she and Arthur climbed up a ladder that led up to an upper platform. There was a door leading to the VIP room. Before heading in there, Hat Kid grabbed a yarn that was on a small platform on the right.

Inside the VIP room, the two children could see two tables with chairs gathered all around them. There was also an Express Owl blocking the entrance leading to the second part of the room. The duo were about to ask him if they could get through, but the owl stopped them before they could.

"Wait, don't come in here. I lost my contact lens somewhere... please don't step on it! I can't move out of the way, I might step on it myself!" the Express Owl said in a panicked tone.

"Okay, okay. We'll be on our way then," Arthur said as he raised his hands up in defence. The Express Owl sighed in relief and nodded in appreciation.

Well, that was a bummer... They couldn't check the rest of the VIP room for the key as long as the Express Owl was here. And they didn't want to risk stepping on his contact lens, as the owl needed them for his vision.

However, when they turned around, the duo spotted something on one of the tables. It was a key! Probably the one that unlocks the door they saw back in the cafeteria. Hat Kid picked it up and put it in her pocket.

The two children returned in the cafeteria and quietly walked past the crows at the tables who were still telling 'jokes' to each others. Standing in front of the locked door, Hat Kid pulled out the key and used it on the lock. A small 'click!' confirmed that the door was unlocked.

They headed inside and found themselves at the front of the train, or the locomotive to be more accurate. However, there was no one inside, except for a mysterious present sitting in the middle of the room.

"A gift box? Is it the Conductor's birthday today?" Arthur asked confused. Hat Kid only shrugged.

Curious, the two children walked up to the present and read the name tag. However, to their surprise, it said 'To the two kids with the hats.' Wait a second... The gift box wasn't for the Conductor. It was for them!

"For us? Is it your birthday today, kid?" Arthur asked, looking at Hat Kid curiously. The small girl shook her head in response. "Weird... Well, let's open it up and see what's inside," the young boy suggested.

Hat Kid knelt down in front of the package and proceeded to unwrap it. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside.

"So... what is it?" Arthur asked curiously. The small girl pulled out the content, which made the twelve-year-old boy very confused upon seeing it.

It was two crime-solving outfits. The first one was a brown detective coat with a black bow tie and black belt, a brown flat cap, beige pants, and dark brown boots. The second one looked the same, except the entire outfit was black and there was a black bowler hat instead of a cap.

"Detective clothes? What for?" Arthur asked in total confusion. He looked at Hat Kid and found her already changing her clothes for the brown detective outfit excitedly. He sighed and said, "Well, might as well put mine on too."

Arthur changed his regular clothes for the black detective outfit and replaced his cowboy hat with the bowler hat.

"So... how do I look?" the young boy asked. Hat Kid clapped her hands excitedly and gave him a thumbs up to tell him he looked awesome. "Thanks. Now we just need a monocle, a pipe, a magnifying glass, and we'll look the part," Arthur stated jokingly, making Hat Kid giggle.

Suddenly, a ringtone was heard inside the locomotive. It sounded mysterious and suspenseful. The two children turned their heads towards the source of the ringtone and spotted a phone on the wall. They looked at each other curiously, before shrugging. Since no one else besides them were here to answer, they should probably pick up the phone and see who it was. Arthur took the initiative and answered the phone.

"Hello?" he asked. However, the answer he received was not something he expected.

"Is this one of the kids with the hats? I hope you two like my present... he he he," a scratchy and distorted voice answered.

"Uhh... who is this?" Arthur asked in a nervous tone.

"It doesn't matter who I am. Go to the back of the train. Your uncle's sister Samantha has come to visit you," the mysterious voice said. Arthur formed a confused expression on his face. His 'uncle's sister'? Was it one of the crows pulling a joke on him? Before he could ask about it, the voice spoke again.

"You better show your fam' some love, or I'll be talking to a corpse next time," they said in a threatening manner. A chill ran down Arthur's spine upon hearing this. If this was a joke, it wasn't funny at all!

"W-What? Just who are you-"

*CLICK*

Arthur's question was cut off as the mysterious person hung up on him. Visibly confused and troubled by the phone call, the boy slowly placed the phone back on the wall while keeping a blank expression the whole time. Just who was this person? What the hell was going on here?

"Arthur?" Hat Kid asked in a worried tone. Arthur slowly turned around to face her.

"I... I don't... they..." he stuttered, unable to find the right words for it. He took a deep breathe before speaking again. "I don't know who it was, but they said we have to go to the back of the train to see my uncle's sister. And if we don't... they said they'll kill us," Hat Kid gasped upon hearing this.

"First the crows, and now this? Something strange is going on here..." Arthur said nervously. He sighed and said, "We should probably check the caboose first; like the person on the phone said we should." Hat Kid nodded in agreement.

The two children exited the locomotive, and returned to the library. Arthur opened the door leading to the caboose of the train.

"I swear if this is a prank those damn crows have set up, I will-" the young boy began to say angrily, before forming a look of horror as he was met with a horrifying sight. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Upon hearing him yell, Hat kid quickly headed inside the room. She suddenly gasped and covered her mouth with her hands in horror.

In the middle of the room was a cutout of an old lady, and at its feet... was a dead Express Owl with a knife stuck in his back. Blood escaped from the corpse and was spilling everywhere on the ground. Someone had just murdered that poor owl! Who could have done this? And why?

The two children couldn't believe it. What was supposed to be their first session of recording turned into a murder case... And unknown to them yet, they will soon be the ones who will have to uncover it.

A/N: Hey everyone! So here it is: Murder on the Owl Express! I admit, I had a bit of a loss of motivation for this one, but that's mainly because I'm usually tired from work at the end of the day and therefore it crushes my motivation to write a little. Don't worry though, I still make sure to update this story from time to time. ^^

Anyway, this chapter was more of an introduction to the act. The next one will be the one where Arthur and Hat Kid will be on the case to find out who murdered that poor Express Owl.

And now, it's time to answer some reviews!

To Katoptris12: Yeah, he probably will. XD

To Mad King C: The antagonist of the Battle of the Birds chapter in this story will be revealed soon. And yeah, a few things about Arthur were revealed in this chapter. More will come in the future, but you will have to be patient. ;)

To PatoMayo: Thanks! It means a lot to me! ^^

Anyway, that's all for today, folks! See you all in the next chapter!