Chapter 19
When the space rocket safely landed on the moon, everyone got off ot it. Before going outside, Arthur asked DJ Grooves if he had spacesuit to breathe. However, the disco penguin assured him that the air was actually breathable, much to the boy's surprise. And he was right, Arthur was actually able to breathe on the moon without a spacesuit! Not only that, but there was also a city there. An actual city! The moon in this universe was definitely different from his home world's.
DJ Grooves led Arthur and Hat Kid on a small stage that was set up inside the city, with a giant poster of the disco penguin on the wall behind it. A large crowd of Moon Penguins were gathered in front of the stage. Some had cameras, others had notebooks with pens. Arthur already felt nervous being surrounded by so many people.
"Welcome to the first day of shooting, darlings!" DJ Grooves said joyfully.
"So... what are we supposed to do here? Do some penguin dance in disco clothes and an afro?" Arthur asked jokingly, making Hat Kid laugh.
DJ Grooves chuckled and said, "None of that, darling. For this movie, we need to transform you both into the biggest movie stars the bird world has ever seen! You need to become... divas!"
"Divas? Does that mean we're... gonna sing...?" Arthur asked anxiously.
Singing in public? No way in hell he'll be doing that! He felt uncomfortable enough at the idea of being at the center of attention, so singing in front of everyone? That was a no-no. And he wasn't the only one, Hat Kid didn't like singing in public either. So they hoped the disco penguin wouldn't make them sing.
To their relief, DJ Grooves shook his head and explained, "You won't have to. I've called for a press conference here on our moon set. All you need to do is get out there in front of the cameras, and electrify the public, darlings! Get 'em really up and going for your movies!"
"Seems simple enough I guess..." Arthur said, still a bit hesitant.
"Once you've got them going crazy, come back here and we'll show off our new prop! That's right, we'll unveil our new movie prop to the masses!" the disco penguin said in excitement. This caught the two children's interest. He must be talking about one of the Time Pieces he had. Hopefully, he will let them keep it after that.
"One last thing, darlings," DJ Grooves said as he pulled out a remote control from his pocket and handing it out to them. "I've set some endorsement moments all around the city for our movie. If you spot anything that looks special, press the button on this remote control and I'll come sliding right at your sides to help you two build quite the good reputation!" Hat Kid took the remote control and put it in her pocket.
"Now you're ready and set, darlings! Go on and show the public the extent of your wonderful talents!" DJ Grooves said with a smile. The two children nodded.
The duo looked at the crowd of penguins who were giving them their full attention. Hat Kid took a step forward on the stage to get closer to them.
"Hello!" Hat Kid greeted them, waving her hand. The crowd cheered and began taking pictures of her. The small girl grinned and began doing a few poses for the public who cheered even more. Arthur decided to stay back and let Hat Kid do her thing, since he didn't like being at the center of attention.
When she was done, Hat Kid motioned for Arthur to follow her, then she jumped off the stage to walk further in the city. The crowd stepped aside to let her through. Arthur sighed and began to follow her. He pulled his cowboy hat down slightly and looked down to hide his face from the cameras as he walked by the penguins.
He joined Hat Kid who was looking at a fountain in the middle of the plaza. At the top of it was a cutout of a puppy. It was strangely similar to the one they saw in 'Murder on the Owl Express'. Hat Kid figured it was one of the special setups that DJ Grooves talked about. She pulled out the remote control that was given to her and pressed the button.
"You called, darlings? Looks like it's endorsement time!" the disco penguin's voice was heard coming from the remote, surprising both children.
Within a few seconds, DJ Grooves arrived near the fountain, accompanied by a group of Moon Penguins carrying a camera.
"All you penguins out there know my name... DJ Grooves! And I'm telling you, these young children here are the next hot thing. Guaranteed!" the disco penguin said to the camera, as he motioned to the two children. Hat Kid waved with a smile, while Arthur looked away and simply raised his hand in discomfort.
"Just look, as they'll climb up this statue and rescue the poor puppy that has gotten stuck!" DJ Grooves said, showing the puppy cutout on the fountain. "Right, darlings?" he asked the duo in expectation.
Hat Kid noticed that Arthur seemed hesitant to move, so she decided to take the initiative herself. She firmly nodded and climbed up the statue fountain with ease. When she made it to the top, she attempted to grab the cutout. However, she accidentally tripped and bumped into it, causing it to fall on the ground and break into pieces.
Hat Kid turned her head towards the camera and said, "Oops...", as she smiled nervously and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.
"Uhh..." DJ Grooves said, rubbing the back of his head nervously, as he tried to think of a solution to cover up the girl's mistake. He smiled when he had an idea.
"Look at that! She helped the puppy down, safe and sound! Too bad it ran off, and definitely didn't break into multiple pieces," he said with a nervous chuckle. The penguins clapped and cheered for Hat Kid. DJ Grooves sighed in relief, before continuing, "This is truly a diva I can get behind. Let it be known that this lil' girl is all about animals!"
The disco penguin then noticed that Arthur remained on the side, alone and quiet. Not wanting the young boy to be left aside, he decided to speak up for him.
"And of course, her trusty companion is always here to give support in her times of need. It's the devotion of a true divo!" DJ Grooves said, motioning to Arthur.
The camera turned in the boy's direction, causing him to take a step back in surprise. Peck... Now that he was put on the spot, he had to say or do something. Arthur waved his hand timidly and gave everyone an awkward smile. Way to make a fool of himself...
However, the Moon Penguins cheered louder, which surprised the young boy. Normally when people were giving him their attention, it was usually to criticize or laugh at him. But it was different this time... people were cheering for him. It was... a different feeling... but even so, he was still not comfortable with it.
"Make sure to join their fanclub! DJ Grooves... out!" the disco penguin said to the camera. His fellow penguins clapped before walking away with the camera in hands.
Arthur let out an exhale, relieved that the Moon Penguins were now gone. Hat Kid jumped down from the statue fountain and landed next to the young boy. DJ Grooves pulled out a device from his pocket that showed the amount of members in Arthur and Hat Kid's fanclub. He smiled when saw the numbers rising up.
"Nice work, darlings! The audience loved the performance!" the disco penguin said happily, showing the device's screen to the children. Arthur and Hat Kid's eyes widened. They already had 107 fans in such a short amount of time!
"Keep going at 'em like that, and you'll soon become Max Divas!" DJ Grooves added excitedly. "Call me again when you see anything else that makes a good endorsement moment in the city. Alright, darlings?" he said before walking away, leaving the duo alone in the plaza. Hat Kid made a motion with her head to tell Arthur to follow her, which he did.
While they were walking down the street, a paparazzi penguin suddenly came out of nowhere and took a picture of the duo with his camera. The two children were not prepared for this, and they covered their faces with their arms by reflex.
"Thanks!" the Moon Penguin thanked them happily, before walking away.
"Jesus... I would appreciate it if they'd not do that!" Arthur hissed in an irritated tone. Hat Kid had to admit, she didn't appreciate the element of surprise neither. But it was done now, no use dwelling on it.
They continued to walk down the street, waving at a few penguins who waved back happily. They also made sure to avoid the car traffic in the streets and some small UFOs floating around. These alien spacecrafts were so stereotypical, which annoyed Hat Kid slightly but she chose to ignore it.
Eventually, they arrived at the entrance of a dark alleyway and spotted two penguins whispering to each other. The way they were acting looked very suspicious, and that made the duo wonder what these two were up to. Just to make sure, Hat Kid pulled out the remote control and pressed the button, so DJ Grooves could come see this.
After receiving an answer from the disco penguin, the latter and the penguins carrying the camera quickly arrived on the scene. Upon seeing them coming, Arthur slightly pushed his hat down to hide his face in anticipation.
"All you penguins out there know my name... DJ Grooves! And I'm telling you, these young children here are the next hot thing. Guaranteed!" DJ grooves said to the camera, before stepping aside to show the two children and the suspicious-looking penguins. "Look how street-smart these divas are. They're standing in this sinister alleyway, right next to some potential wrongdoers!" he announced.
The two suspicious penguins then noticed that everyone was looking at them. Remembering what they were supposed to do, they quickly ran out of the scene. Arthur and Hat Kid both looked at each other and shrugged.
"Danger are their middle name, and they're not afraid to step outside of their comfort zone!" DJ Grooves said. Arthur quietly shook his head. Honestly, he had been out of his comfort zone the moment these Moon Penguins started filming him and taking pictures of him. Hell, maybe even since he arrived in this world... "Make sure you join their fanclub! DJ Grooves... out!" And with that, the penguins left again.
The two children continued to explore the city, walking down the streets, going on the rooftops by using some springboards. Since the gravity on the moon was less important than on Earth, their jumps were higher, which made them easier to make. For a while, they did some photo posing and waved at other penguins they came across. Their ratings skyrocketed very fast, and they quickly went over 10,000 fans.
Hat Kid was having a lot of fun doing all of this. Arthur, on the other hand, felt very uncomfortable and anxious with all of these paparazzi penguins filming him and taking pictures of him. He couldn't help but try to hide his face from the cameras, and he even attempted to slip away when they were focused on Hat Kid. However, every time he did, other penguins would get in his way and attempt to take pictures of him or ask him tons of questions.
DJ Grooves was watching the children do their thing from afar, and he eventually noticed Arthur's uneasiness. The disco penguin couldn't help but feel concerned for the boy. Maybe all of that was a bit too much for him to handle. He would have to ask him about that after the recording.
When walking on the rooftops, the duo spotted a poker table with four eggs wearing fedoras and fake beaks. It was probably here to simulate Moon Penguins playing a card game. The two children figured it was something that DJ Grooves put in place for another endorsement moment. Hat Kid pulled out the remote control and pressed the button once more. Soon enough, DJ Grooves and the other penguins were here with the camera.
"All you penguins out there know my name... DJ Grooves! And I'm telling you, these young children here are the next hot thing. Guaranteed!" the disco penguin repeated to the camera, before motioning to the card game setup. "Watch as they beat these hard-boiled card players at their own game... on their first try!"
Arthur and Hat Kid looked at him with raised eyebrows. He wants them to beat these card players on their first try? How were they supposed to do that?
"This game is easy to understand, darlings. You just guess which number of card the other player is holding, from 1 to 10," DJ Grooves explained to the duo. He showed one of the 'players' holding a card in its 'hand' – which was just a stick shaped into a hand. "Which card do you think he's holding, darlings?"
The two children looked at each other in confusion. They had to guess which card the 'player' was holding on their first try? How? None of them were seers! There was no way they could guess which card the 'player' was holding.
Suddenly, they noticed that one of the Moon Penguins next to the camera was raising up three fingers with his flipper. Was he silently giving them the answer? That would be cheating, but then again it was for the sake of the movie.
"Uhh... Three?" Arthur said hesitantly.
"Alright, darling. Moment of truth..." DJ Grooves said, taking the card from the egg's 'hand' and looking at it. He smiled, before showing the card to the camera. It indeed had the number 3!
"Wow! Fantastic! Incredible! The answer is indeed three! Folks at home, you have just witnessed the stunning intuition of true stars," the disco penguin said enthusiastically. The two children sighed in relief, though they felt bad for getting help in 'guessing' the answer. "Make sure you join their fanclub! DJ Grooves... out!" he said once again, before walking away with the other Moon Penguins. Once the duo were left alone again, Arthur sighed.
"It doesn't feel right to cheat like that. I feel like a fraud..." he said glumly. Hat Kid nodded sadly, feeling the same way. However, they knew it was for the movie, so it was best to not dwell on it. "Come on, let's move," Arthur suggested.
The two children continued to explore the city. They were able to find two yarns on the rooftops, more photo shots and penguins to greet. They now had over 150,000 fans! They were becoming quite the celebrities! They returned in the streets, and came across a table which had a big tuna on it, in front of a restaurant. Hat Kid had a feeling it was something else that was set for the movie, so she called for DJ Grooves again. And sure enough, he and the Moon Penguins showed up with the camera.
As the penguins were getting the camera ready, DJ Grooves took this as an opportunity to tell something important to the children.
"Now, darlings, I have to mention this. Cooking show hosts have a terrible track record of getting angry and swearing on-screen. Try not to use the P-word, OK? Don't say p-e-c-k," the disco penguin said, grimacing when he mentioned the forbidden word. The two children looked at him confused, before eventually realizing what he meant.
"Oh, you mean pe-" Arthur's question was cut off when DJ Grooves covered his mouth with his flippers.
"Yeah, that word... Don't say it," the disco penguin said sternly. He then removed his flippers from the boy's mouth, allowing him to speak again.
"Heh... sorry," Arthur apologized as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"The Conductor is old-fashioned. He throws that word around a lot. It'll get him in trouble someday!" DJ Grooves explained. "Until then, let's keep our show clean."
"Sounds good," Arthur said with a nod, earning a relieved smile from the disco penguin. Hat Kid, on the other hand, seemed to have other plans judging by the slight smile that showed up at the corner of her lips. Although neither Arthur or DJ Grooves seemed to have noticed it.
One of the Moon Penguins gave a thumbs up to DJ Grooves to signal him that the camera was up and running. The disco penguin nodded and began to speak.
"Hello viewers! Even the biggest celebrities have to eat, and I've got with me the biggest celebrities of them all," DJ Grooves said enthusiastically, motioning to the two children. He turned to them and asked, "Now tell us darlings, what kind of condiment do you like on your tuna sandwiches?"
As Arthur thought of an answer, he looked at Hat Kid and found her having the biggest mischevious grin she ever had on her face. Uh oh... That look didn't mean anything good... What did she have in mind now- Arthur's eyes widened, suddenly realizing what she was about to say.
"Hat Kid, don't you dare..." the young boy threatened through gritted teeth. However, Hat Kid's composure remained unchanged. "If you open that mouth of yours, I'm gonna-"
"PECK!"
Too late...
"DARLING!" DJ Grooves shouted in shock. The other Moon Penguins all gasped. One of them even fainted.
"Oh my god..." Arthur muttered, covering his face with both hands in embarassment.
After that, Hat Kid bursted out in laughter, wrapping her arms around her side. She just had to do it, it was too tempting!
"I-I mean... fellow viewers! Look at the mouth on this young girl. She's really something," DJ Grooves stammered nervously, sweat dripping from his forehead.
The small girl was in an uncontrollable laughing fit at the moment, under the annoyed and embarassed look of Arthur. As much as he hated to admit, DJ Grooves found himself being slightly amused at the sight.
As Hat Kid slowly stopped laughing, the disco penguin got closer to the duo and whispered to them, "Now shoo, get out of this endorsement as soon as you can, before the old penguins watching TV notice what just happened." The two children obliged and ran away from the scene.
"Dammit, Hat Kid! You need to get ahold of yourself sometimes! It'll be a miracle if these penguins don't lynch us before the end of this movie!" Arthur said in an annoyed and angry tone, while the two of them were still running away. Hat Kid only giggled sheepishly.
Despite what happened in the last endorsement, the duo continued doing some picture shots and waving at the Moon Penguins. To their surprise, some of them told them that they found the last endorsement hilarious, especially DJ Grooves' reaction. Arthur felt relieved upon hearing it, but that still didn't mean Hat Kid should do it too often.
Back on the stage, DJ Grooves was looking at the amount of fans the duo had, and he was impressed. Their fanclub counted over 1,000,000 members! They were now Max Divas! He decided that now was the right time to show off the new movie prop he got.
"The audience is going crazy, darlings! Come over here and show off our new stunner... our new prop!" DJ Grooves' voice was heard coming from the remote control in Hat Kid's pocket.
The two children smiled at each other, knowing they will finally be able to get the Time Piece. They made their way back to the stage, where the disco penguin was waiting for them, along with a crowd of paparazzi penguins.
"Alright, darlings! You do the honors!" DJ Grooves said with a smile, as he gave the Time Piece to Hat Kid.
The purple-hatted girl stepped closer to the crowd and did a pose while holding the Time Piece up in the air for everyone to see. The crowd of penguins cheered and clapped loudly, taking pictures and repeating Hat Kid and Arthur's names enthusiastically.
Once again, Arthur felt a bit overwhelmed to hear all of those penguins calling his name and cheering for him. It was the same feeling he had back when the Mafia men called him a hero after he and Hat Kid saved Mafia Town during the lava incident. And he still wasn't getting used to it.
DJ Grooves picked up his microphone and announced, "All right, ladies and gents, this marks the end of our brand new movie: Picture Perfect! Thank you, fellow penguins, for being here tonight! And you, fellow viewers, for watching us on TV!" He turned his head towards the two children. "And thank you too, darlings, for getting the public in the groove and giving us some great shooting!" Hat Kid grinned from ear to ear and nodded, while Arthur simply smiled timidly and rubbed the back of his head. The disco penguin turned his attention back to the public.
"Remember to join their fanclub, as they are the new generation of true stars! DJ Grooves... out!" he said, pushing down his sunglasses and winking at the public. The crowd clapped and cheered once again.
After a moment, the crowd of penguins scattered and left the scene, leaving the trio alone on the stage.
"You two were wonderful tonight, especially you Hat Kid darling! The audience was on fire before your graceful poses," DJ Grooves said with a smile, earning a giggle from Hat Kid. She really had a lot of fun tonight! It's too bad that it was already over. Oh well, she will probably be able to do something similar in the next recording. DJ Grooves glanced at Arthur for a second, before looking back at Hat Kid.
"Could you give us a moment, darling? I need to speak with Arthur in private," he asked. Hat Kid slowly nodded, confused and curious at the same time.
The disco penguin put his flipper behind Arthur's back and guided him a few feet away from Hat Kid to talk.
"W-what's going on?" the young boy asked anxiously, fearing that he might be in trouble for acting awkwardly in front of the cameras. However, the disco penguin's expression softened and he put his flipper on the boy's shoulder.
"Darling, are you okay?" DJ Grooves asked with concern in his voice. Arthur was taken aback by the sudden question.
"Me? Uh, y-yeah. I'm all good," he answered, though the disco penguin wasn't convinced.
"Showing off in front of the cameras isn't really your thing, is it? You don't have to do it if you don't want to, darling. We can have your friend perform in the next movie, and we can give you something else to do, like holding the camera," DJ Grooves suggested sympathetically.
Arthur was surprised by his concern. This movie director was actually the first person in his entire life who actually gave him a choice depending on how he was feeling. However, the boy shook his head. Now that people have seen him on screen, they will probably expect him to be alongside Hat Kid in the next movie. He had to keep doing this. For Hat Kid and the Time Pieces.
"I... appreciate it, DJ Grooves. Don't worry about me though, I can keep doing it," he said.
"Are you sure, darling?" DJ Grooves asked, still seeing that he seemed unsure.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Wouldn't want the public to be disappointed with your next movie just because I'm not in there," Arthur said nervously.
"The audience won't mind. I'm sure of it," the disco penguin assured.
"I just... I have to do it. It's for the best..." Arthur said with a sigh. He didn't want to make more people mad at him just because he gave a damn about his own feelings for once. There was enough folks who were mad at him in the past just because he didn't meet their standards. He didn't want to go through that again.
Seeing that he wasn't going to change his mind, DJ Grooves sighed and said, "As you wish, darling. But let me know if it's too much for you, okay?" Arthur nodded in appreciation. DJ Grooves smiled at the boy, then the two made their way back to Hat Kid's side.
"Thank you for being here tonight, darlings. The premiere for the movie will be tomorrow morning, I'll see you two there," the disco penguin said to the duo. He then eyed the Time Piece in Hat Kid's hands and said, "You can keep this movie prop as a reward for your efforts, darlings. You've earned it."
"Thank you!" Hat Kid thanked him happily. She really liked DJ Grooves. He was so nice and funny! She couldn't wait for the next recording session with him.
After waving goodbye to the disco penguin, the two children used the Time Piece to return to the spaceship. As soon as they did, they both went to their respective beds and flopped on them, exhausted after a long day of recording with the two movie directors.
The next day in the morning, everyone was gathered in the movie theatre of Dead Bird Studio to watch 'Picture Perfect' on screen. Arthur and Hat Kid were sitting next to DJ Grooves as they watched the movie. The purple-hatted girl had a huge grin on her face as she rewatched the poses and actions she did during the recording. Arthur, on the other hand, felt a bit embarrassed to watch how shy he acted on screen. Thankfully, the audience didn't seem to mind it, believing it was part of an act. Some even said that it gave him some kind of mysterious side, which they liked.
The movie had a lot of funny moments, especially when Hat Kid said 'peck' on screen. A large part of the audience laughed when they watched that scene, mostly because of DJ Grooves' reaction in it. As the credits rolled, the public clapped and cheered. Hat Kid was starring as 'The Mysterious Diva' and Arthur as 'The Shy Divo'. The young boy wasn't too sure what to think of that name, but he figured it fit how he acted in the movie.
After the credits, the reviews were revealed. 864 points! The movie was a better success than 'Murder on the Owl Express'. DJ Grooves smiled happily, knowing that he was now ahead of the Conductor.
"Oh wonderful! The audience loved it! See, darlings? I knew you two were natural-born movie stars!" the disco penguin said excitedly to the duo, earning a smile from the two children.
Unknown to them, the Conductor was at the back of the theatre... and he was furious. He growled in frustration, unable to believe that his rival managed to get more points than him. This is bad... If this kept going, he was going to lose a second award against that peck neck. He needed to up his game considerably if he wanted to win this... Maybe more action in his next movie? The strange owl then grinned as he got the perfect scenario idea for it.
"Yer may have won this round, DJ Peck Neck, but we'll see if yer can outmatch me next movie. It's going to be... the bomb! Hehehehe," he whispered to himself with an evil chuckle, rubbing his hands together.
A/N: Hello everyone! Hope you all enjoyed this new chapter on 'Picture Perfect'! Next up is 'Train Rush' and you can already have an idea on how it's going to go. Although, before going to that part, the next chapter will be about two time rifts: the purple one and the blue one on the Conductor's train. As well as another character from early chapters who knows Arthur and Hat Kid and will return... Who, you may ask? Heh... It'll be revealed in the next chapter. But if you've played the game, you can have an idea who returns in this part of the story.
Anyway, time to answer reviews!
To Katoptris12: Thanks! I'm glad to hear you liked the moment with the Conductor, even if you expected it to go differently. ^^
To Mad King C: Thanks! I really enjoyed writing that moment and portraying the Conductor that way. Also yeah, I felt pretty motivated to write those chapters. ^^
To OddCombo: Thank you very much! It means a lot to me that you're enjoying this story. And don't worry, I'll make sure all of my chapters come out great! Quality before quantity as you say. ;)
To Maoshin: Thanks! I enjoyed writing the moment between Arthur and the Conductor. ^^
To Rub37: Thanks! Don't worry, I've got some juicy dialogues in mind for the confrontration between the duo and Mustache Girl in the Finale. ;)
That's all for today, folks! See you all in the next chapter!