Chapter 20
"For the hundredth time, Hat Kid, stop looking at my drawings!" Arthur hissed angrily as he covered his drawing with his hand.
It was early in the afternoon at the moment. After watching the premiere of 'Picture Perfect' this morning, the two children had returned on the spaceship to rest for the day. Arthur had decided to spend some time to draw. And of course, Hat Kid tried to take interest in his work and wanted to watch him draw. However, the young boy was annoyed that she continued to step in his comfort zone, despite how many times he said he wanted to be alone. He eventually had enough and began to snap at her.
"I already told you, I ain't looking for a friend! All I ask is to have some peace and quiet when I'm drawing! How hard is that to understand?!" Arthur shouted with an angry look. Hat Kid took a step back, feeling hurt. She then glared at him.
"You jerk!" Hat Kid huffed angrily, stomping her foot on the floor in frustration. She was just trying to show that she cared about him and wanted to be his friend. But now, she had more than enough. Fine then! He can stay alone and continue being the big jerk he is! The purple-hatted girl walked away angrily and went in her bedroom.
Arthur shook his head and went back to drawing. However, after a minute, he slowly stopped drawing and his expression softened. He began to feel guilty for snapping at her like that. She wasn't doing any harm, she just wanted to look at his drawings. Was it a reason to get mad at her like that?
He sighed sadly. He really was the biggest jerk in the universe, wasn't he? Yeah, he was... Hat Kid had been kind enough to let him stay in her spaceship, and this is how he is thanking her? He should go apologize to her. That's the least he could do... He set his drawing aside and got up, before walking towards Hat Kid's room.
When he entered it, he found her sitting on her bed, her arms crossed and her back turned on him. Even though he couldn't see her face, Arthur could tell she was really mad right now. Not that he blamed her for it... He took a deep breathe, preparing himself mentally for what will come next. Will she even forgive him for his behavior? Probably not, he wouldn't either... But he had to apologize anyway. He will just have to face the consequences as they come...
"Hey, uh... Hat Kid..." he began to say with hesitation. Hat Kid didn't turn around and seemed to be ignoring him. Arthur sighed sadly. It was going to be much harder than he anticipated... "Listen, I... I'm really sorry for what I said before... I just... I've had bad experiences with people before, and I... I just learned to not trust anyone, you know?" He sighed again. "I know I tend to come off as a jerk. Hell, I know I'm a jerk... but that ain't no reason for me to treat you like that, especially since you let me stay on your spaceship and all."
Hat Kid still didn't look at him. Arthur sighed, knowing that he screwed up big time, but he should finish his apology nonetheless.
"Look... I'm not asking for forgiveness. It ain't about that... I just wanted to apologize for being such an angry, annoying, rude bastard... A..." he said before sighing again. He can just say it now... "A peck neck, as the Conductor would say. A peck neck... The worst in the whole universe... So... I'm really sorry, Hat Kid. That's... all I wanted to say," he finished his apology. There, he got that off of his chest. Whatever happens next... is up to her.
Finally, Hat Kid got off of her bed and turned around to look at Arthur with a serious expression, before approaching him. The young boy closed his eyes, bracing himself for what she might do next. Was she going to yell at him? Hit him? Tell him to never come back on her spaceship? To be honest, he didn't care. He deserved it for the way he behaved...
However, the reaction that Arthur got was not the one he expected. His eyes shot open when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck. Almost immediately, a mix of surprise, shock, confusion and disbelief overwhelmed him. Hat Kid was hugging him! Arthur was completely lost right now. Why? Why was she doing this? All he did was being a jerk to her, she should be mad at him! Why was she hugging him?
"I forgive you," Hat Kid said softly, hugging the boy tighter. Arthur's eyes widened in shock. She... forgives him? Even after everything that happened before? He... didn't know what to say.
Arthur hadn't had a hug for years. It felt... nice... comforting. And yet, he couldn't help but feel awkward. Receiving a hug from someone after such a long time... It was new to him. In response, he simply patted Hat Kid's back with one hand awkwardly. Though he didn't try to push her away and simply let her continue hugging him. Hat Kid suddenly pulled away and snapped her fingers as she remembered something.
"What's wrong?" Arthur asked puzzled. The small girl then grabbed his hand and began dragging him along with her. "Whoa, whoa! Where are you taking me?" he asked in surprise. Hat Kid didn't say anything and simply continued dragging him behind.
She took him to the machine room, then she led him through automatic double doors on the left. When they entered the room, Arthur's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in awe. The walls were covered in paintings. A lot of them featured Hat Kid, and others were painted objects and people they had met on the planet so far. Oddly, these paintings were similar to ones he saw back in his home world. But damn... they looked so good! Almost better than some well-known artists he knew from his world. Did Hat Kid painted all of them?
"Hat Kid, did you... did you do all of this?" Arthur asked dumbfounded and impressed. Hat Kid nodded with a grin, putting her hands on her hips proudly. "That's... that's really impressive. I... I had no idea you could paint," he said, his voice full of admiration. Hat Kid was an artist, and he didn't even know that.
The small girl then wrapped an arm around Arthur and pointed at a specific painting with her other hand. The young boy's eyes widened even more. No... No way. It was... a painting of him! The background was a desert, and a western-themed town could also be seen in it. Arthur's outfit in the painting was the same, expect he was wearing a sleeveless brown jacket and a dark red scarf. He was holding a revolver up in his right hand and he was riding a horse. He also had a smirk on his face in the painting, along with a wheat stalk in his mouth.
"You... You did that... for me?" Arthur asked amazed. Hat Kid nodded with a smile, unwrapping her arm from him.
The twelve-year-old boy felt something he didn't in a long time... Happiness. No one had ever done something like that for him before. Hat Kid wasn't faking it, she really cared about him and his interests. Perhaps he was wrong about her after all.
Arthur gave Hat Kid a genuine smile and said, "You know what, Hat Kid? I've misjudged you. I thought you were like all them folks who didn't give a damn about me or my interests. But you've proven me wrong today... You're all right in my book." The purple-hatted girl smiled, knowing that she finally managed to gain the boy's trust.
Hat Kid extended her hand out to him and asked, "Friends?". Arthur smiled warmly. So, even after everything that happened before, she still wanted to be his friend? Well, there was no doubt anymore. Hat Kid had proven that she was trustworthy. Perhaps, he could make an exception and allow himself to have a friend again.
"Friends," Arthur answered as he shook her hand. Hat Kid felt very happy. After all of those days where Arthur kept distrusting her and pushing her away, he finally accepted to become her friend. It was definitely a good step in the right direction.
"Warning. Intruder alert."
The two children jolted upon hearing the sudden alarm. An intruder, again? Who was it this time? Arthur and Hat Kid pulled out their weapons, and ran out of the art gallery. When they returned in the machine room, they found the intruder at the corner of the room. It was... just a jar? But what was more strange is that the jar contained a strange purple liquid with a pair of blue eyes floating in it. It also had a black mustache and a nose, and it was wearing a chef's hat on the lid. Right now, the jar was standing on a cart carrying a light blue luggage.
The duo approached it with confused expressions. Upon seeing the two children, the jar glared at them.
"So... we meet again. My arch nemeses!" the jar said bitterly. Arthur and Hat Kid looked at each other in confusion. They don't recall meeting it somewhere before.
"Do we know you?" Arthur asked with a raised eyebrow. The jar seemed offended.
"...WHAT?! You don't remember me?!" it asked dumbfounded. The two children shook their heads. "How rude! It's me, Boss of the Mafia!" the jar said, hopping up and down in anger. Arthur and Hat Kid's eyes widened in shock. The Mafia Boss? He was a jar now?
"Remember? You two knocked me out in our little indiscretion, and your young 'friend' finished me off and captured my remains in this jar!" the Mafia Boss said angrily.
"Oh no..." Arthur muttered as he put his hand on his face in disappointment, while Hat Kid formed a shocked look. Mustache Girl actually went through with her mush and jar plan? How far was she willing to go to achieve revenge?
"I'm without a body! I should be furious! But, it is okay. The past is the past, and I'll accept one of your carcasses as an apology," the Mafia Boss said, hoping that the children would accept to give him one of their bodies. The duo grimaced at the jar's request.
"Yeaaah, no... We kinda need our bodies right now. Sorry, buddy," Arthur said, grossed out at the idea of being used as a new body for the Mafia Boss. Hat Kid nodded nervously in agreement.
"WHAT?! YOU WON'T HAND THEM OVER?! Such nerve on such small children! If I had hands, I would slap the both of you!" the jarred crime lord shouted angrily. The two children simply rolled their eyes at him. "I'll just buy a new body then! There has to be some poor soul out there who would be willing to trade his corpse for money!" he muttered.
"If you say so, jar-stache. Well, if you're done shooting that big mouth of yours, I guess I can toss you back in space," Arthur said as he went to grab him. The Mafia Boss immediately grew nervous as the boy began approaching him.
"W-wait! I may not look like it right now, but I'm well-travelled. I know the whereabouts of all secrets on this planet!" the jarred crime lord said nervously, hoping to dissuade the young boy from kicking him out.
"Is that so?" Arthur asked with a skeptical look.
"Yes!" the Mafia Boss said, opening up his luggage with his... well... jar-that-serves-as-a-body and searching into it. Once he found what he was looking for, he jumped on the luggage to close it and leaned over to put down a certain item on it. It was a brown badge with some dotted lines and a cross drawn on it as to simulate a map.
"Buy my map badge, and it will show you where you can find relics that will make you rich!" he explained. Hat Kid was interested. A badge that can show where to find relics would definitely be handy when exploring a new area.
"How much it costs?" Arthur asked.
"400 pons," the Mafia Boss answered.
"400 pons? Damn. Your thing ain't cheap, pal," the twelve-year-old boy remarked.
"Neither is a body in perfect condition, boy!" the jarred crime lord retorted angrily.
"Well, before buying a new body – if you can find someone who is dumb enough to sell theirs – you should save your money for a magazine to solve your anger issues, jar-stache," Arthur said snarkily, making Hat Kid giggle.
"Oh, such rudeness! You're lucky I'm just a jar right now, boy!" the Mafia Boss exclaimed, hopping up and down in anger.
"Calm down. We'll take that badge of yours if it means you will shut up," Arthur said as he checked his pockets for pons. He pulled out a bag of 200 pons that he collected during his time in Dead Bird Studio, and Hat Kid did the same.
With two bags, they were able to pay for the badge. Hat Kid took the badge and put it in her pocket, while the Mafia Boss picked up the bags of pons with the top of his lid and put them in his luggage.
"Pull out my map whenever you need to find relics!" the Mafia Boss explained.
"Thanks, I guess," Arthur said.
"Now shoo! I need to think in peace," the jarred crime lord ordered.
"Who said you could stay on board?" Arthur asked as he raised an eyebrow. Hat Kid crossed her arms and nodded, agreeing with him.
"I lost my body because of you! Therefore it's only fair that I get to stay on your spaceship until I get a new body!" the Mafia Boss said sternly. "And once I have it, I'll have my revenge on you both and that little mustached girl!"
Arthur chuckled dryly. Then he picked up the Mafia Boss, bringing him up at the level of his eyes, and said, "Lemme give you a piece of advice, pal. Unless you wanna be picking the teeth of your future new body up off the floor, you'll leave us alone. Because mark my words on this, vengeance is an idiot's game." The jarred crime lord gulped upon hearing the boy's threats. Arthur then laid the Mafia Boss down on the side, causing him to roll on the floor.
"Hey! Put me back up this instant!" the Mafia Boss ordered in an irritated tone. Arthur ignored him and began to walk away, followed by Hat Kid. "Damn you, boy!" he cursed angrily.
Arthur turned his head to look at him and said, "Hey, I'm already damned," with a smirk. Then Hat Kid blew a raspberry at the Mafia Boss to taunt him.
With that, the two children walked out of the machine room, leaving an enraged Mafia Boss rolling on the floor and yelling out swear words.
For the next hour, the duo were able to have some peace in the main room. Arthur continued his drawing, and this time he let Hat Kid watch him do that without feeling uncomfortable or telling her off. This proved furthermore that Arthur now trusted the small girl and was comfortable with her presence, which made her happy.
"Alert. Time Rifts detected."
Upon hearing the alarm, Arthur sighed and said, "Well, there goes our day off. Better get this over with," before setting his drawing aside and getting up.
The duo made their way to the main computer, and Hat Kid began searching informations on the time rifts in question. The computer sent the following informations for the first time rift.
Rift Status: Purple.
Localization: Dead Bird Studio.
The screen showed a picture of the rift. It appeared to be at the top of a building, probably the saloon-type one on the Conductor's side of the studio. Since it was a purple time rift, this one was top priority.
Now, the informations on the second rift.
Rift Status: Blue.
Localization: The Owl Express
Wait, this one was on the Conductor's train! The two children hoped neither the movie director or the Express Owls would find it before they fixed it. The picture showed that it was in between a bench and a bar. The duo remembered seeing this place inside the cafeteria.
"Okay, we should split up like last time. Which one do you want to do? The purple one or the blue one?" Arthur asked Hat Kid. The small girl pointed at the picture of the purple time rift on the screen to show him her choice. "Alright, I'll take care of the blue time rift then. I just hope the Conductor hasn't found it yet. We don't want him or anyone else to know about the Time Pieces," he said. Hat Kid nodded in agreement.
Without wasting any more time, the two children headed for the hatch and jumped off to the planet. They landed in the parking lot of Dead Bird Studio. Arthur spotted the Owl Express parked on the rails, next to the parking lot. From a distance, he could see the Conductor, along with a few Express Owls. He seemed to be barking orders at the owls who were trying to load some crates inside the train.
"Looks like the Conductor is loading some stuff up on his train... Must be for tomorrow's recording. I'll think of an excuse to get on his train and find the rift before they do. You go deal with yours in the studio," Arthur said to Hat Kid. The small girl nodded, before heading inside the studio.
Arthur made his way towards the Owl Express. When he got closer, he could already hear the Conductor yelling at the owls in frustration.
"Hurry the peck up, owls! I need this stuff ready on me train before tonight! And DON'T DROP THEM! It's veryyyy unstable," the strange owl shouted impatiently. 'Very unstable'? Arthur wondered what was in these crates that could make them so unstable, but he had no time to think about it. His focus was the time rift, and nothing else. Hopefully, the Conductor will let him go on his train just enough time to fix it.
"Hey Conductor," Arthur said as he approached him. The Conductor jumped in surprise and turned around frantically.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT, PECK NE-" the strange owl began yelling, but he stopped when he saw it was Arthur. The young boy took a step back, startled by his sudden outburst. "Oh, uh, l-laddie? W-what are yer doing here? I'm, err, a tad busy right now," the Conductor said, sounding very nervous.
"Uhh, s-sorry Conductor. D-didn't mean to startle you," Arthur stuttered in fear. His outbursts reminded him of his father whenever the latter was mad at him.
"Oh, uh... i-it's fine, lad. Sorry for yelling at ye, I'm just a little on edge with DJ Peck Neck havin' the most points and all. Yer know how it is, right?" the Conductor explained in a nervous tone.
"Uhh, sure..." Arthur simply said as he slowly began to calm down.
"Ahem, anyway... what brings you here, laddy? We're only recording tomorrow," the Conductor asked.
"I just wanted to ask if I could get on your train for a few minutes. I, uh, forgot something that belongs to me in the cafeteria area and I need it back," Arthur said, hoping the strange owl would buy his lie. The Conductor seemed to grow nervous at the boy's request.
"I, errr... don't think now is the right time for this, b-but I can ask one of the Express Owls to go fetch the thing you lost if yer want," the strange owl offered with a nervous chuckle. Arthur shook his head, not wanting any of the owls to check the cafeteria and discover the time rift.
"Don't trouble yourself, Conductor. I'll be in and out within a few minutes. It won't take long," Arthur insisted.
The Conductor sighed and said, "Alright, lad. Just... don't touch any of the boxes inside, okay? They're stuff for my next movie, it's very hard to come by and extremely... fragile," in a nervous tone.
"Don't worry, I won't," the twelve-year-old boy reassured him. The Conductor let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, laddy. And please, be quick about it! I don't have time to wait around all day for yer to find whatever ye've lost," the strange owl said.
"Thanks," Arthur said.
The young boy then entered the train through the caboose. As he made his way through the train, he could spot different boxes that the Express Owls loaded on board. Although, what caught his attention were the words 'DANGER!' and 'EXPLOSIVES' on them. Did the Conductor... load explosives on his own train?
Arthur shook his head. Nah, he wouldn't. As far as he knew, the Conductor loved his train. He wouldn't risk putting something on that could cause its destruction. They must be boxes that will be used for decorative purposes in the Conductor's next movie. Well, he hoped so at least... However, he had no time to think about it right now.
Once inside the cafeteria, Arthur was able to find the blue time rift. Just like the one from Mafia Town, he touched it and entered the rift. When he did, he found himself back into a new set of white and blue-jeweled platforms. Spotting the faint light of the repaired Time Piece in the distance, Arthur began to make his way towards it, jumping from platforms to platforms.
In this rift, he had to solve a new system with pressure panels that he had to step on to unlock the path to the rest of the platforms. He also came across an Express Owl who seemed frightened. When the latter spotted Arthur, he panicked – believing him to be a threat – and began throwing clipboards at the young boy. Arthur asked him to calm down and stop his attacks, but the owl didn't listen and kept attacking him. The boy had no choice but to knock the Express Owl out with his crowbar to proceed. He also had to avoid some sleeping raccoons on his way.
This time rift required some wall climbing and diving, but it was a good training for Arthur. It goes without saying that he was starting to get more skilled and agile at platforming. Eventually, he managed to get to the top and he grabbed the Time Piece.
After a few seconds, he was back in the cafeteria of the Owl Express, and of course, the time rift was no longer here. He put the Time Piece in his pocket, then he exited the train.
"Ah, there you are, laddy. Didja find what yer were looking for?" the Conductor asked him.
"Yup," Arthur answered positively.
"Good. Yer didn't touch any of the boxes, did yer?" the strange owl asked nervously.
"No...?" Arthur said as he raised an eyebrow, noticing the movie director's nervousness.
"Oh, good!" the Conductor said, sounding relieved.
"You feeling alright, Conductor?" Arthur asked as he crossed his arms and eyed the movie director suspiciously.
"Who? Me? I'm perfectly fine! Why do ye ask?" the strange owl asked, getting defensive. Arthur didn't buy it, but he figured it was best to not push the subject at this point. The last thing he wanted was for the Conductor to throw a tantrum because he was being too nosy.
The twelve-year-old boy sighed and said, "Nevermind..." The Conductor seemed relieved to hear that. Though he did feel a little bad for talking a bit harshly to the boy. Normally, the strange owl didn't care about the way he talked to people, but it was different with Arthur. He was a kid who shared his love of western movies. It was rare to meet someone who had the same interests as him nowadays.
"Ahem... Anyway, have yer watched the movie I gave you?" the Conductor asked, trying to change the topic.
"Half of it, I'm loving it so far. I'll watch the rest when I can," Arthur answered.
"Glad to hear it, lad! I hope you and I can talk about more western stories tomorrow after the recording," the strange owl said with a smile.
"With pleasure, Conductor," Arthur said with a smile. "Anyway, I'll let you finish your work. See you tomorrow."
"Alright, laddie. See yer!" the Conductor said. After Arthur left, the strange owl turned around and found the Express Owls staring at him with surprised looks. It was strange for them to see the Conductor act so nice, when he usually speaks harshly and angrily to almost everyone he meets. "Hey! Who said yer could stop working! Get these boxes loaded up, ye buncha peck necks!" the Conductor ordered angrily as he stomped his foot on the ground. The Express Owls immediately got back to work after hearing the movie director's angry tone.
As he watched the owls working, the Conductor smiled a little and thought, 'Can't wait for tomorrow, laddy.'
After entering the building, Hat Kid walked up to the receptionist. The tall owl was surprised to see the young girl here since there was no recording session today. Hat Kid told him that she forgot something inside the studio and asked to go in to get it back. The receptionist agreed to let her in, but he specifically asked her to not touch or break anything inside.
Hat Kid headed through the double doors leading inside the Conductor's side of the studio. Then she made her way to the saloon-type building, passing by a few Express Owls who seemed to be cautiously carrying some heavy crates out of the studio. Hat Kid was curious about their content, but she knew she didn't have time for it. She climbed up the building and spotted the purple time rift at the same place where she found one of the yarns before. She touched it and entered the rift.
She landed on a towering pile of supply crates, floating in the mildly dark gray abyss. She found a picture hidden behind a small cutout of the planet itself, and put it in her pocket. After that she jumped in the hatch to proceed to the next level.
Throughout the rest of the levels, she collected all the rift pons and the pictures she found on her way, before proceeding through the hatches. There were a few differences in each levels, such as the obstacles and the environment – which were mostly piles of supply crates and floating parts of the studio she didn't recognize.
The main difference was in the fourth level where she had to sneak past patrolling Express Owls in the area. Indeed, she chose not to fight them out of respect for the Conductor and the rest of the Express Owls. She also spotted a strange green translucent platform giving access to one of the rift pons. However, when she tried to stand on it, she fazed right through. Thankfully, her Hover Badge allowed her to automatically open her umbrella before impact. Since she couldn't set foot on the platform, she decided to leave the rift pon be and proceed to the last level.
She was now in a replica of the movie theatre from Dead Bird Studio, except a little darker. She climbed up between two walls to reach the last picture that was on a platform above. She then climbed down, and spotted the heart of the Time Rift in the next room accessible through a gap in the glass wall. After a few whacks of the girl's umbrella, the heart was destroyed and a Time Piece appeared in its place. The purple-hatted girl grabbed it, before being sent back to the real world.
When her vision cleared, the time rift was closed and she had the Time Piece in her possession, as well as a book like the one she obtained in Mafia Town. This one, however, was different. The title for the book was 'Conductor (and) Grooves' Big Dreams'. Sweet! Maybe she will be able to learn more about the two movie directors and possibly the reason behind their rivalry. But first, she had to get back to Arthur to show him the book as well.
Hat Kid walked out of the studio, making sure to say goodbye to the receptionist on her way. She joined Arthur who was waiting in the parking lot.
"Hey, I reckon you were able to seal the rift?" Arthur asked. Hat Kid nodded with a smile. "Good, I was able to fix mine too," he said, showing her the Time Piece he found.
Noticing the book in the girl's hands, he said, "I see you've got a book as well. Let me guess, it's about the Conductor and DJ Grooves?" Hat Kid nodded. "Alright. Let's see about it then," Arthur said, walking closer to the small girl to read the book with her.
Hat Kid opened the book. The first page showed two separate houses in separate places. The one on the left was a wooden house in the middle of the desert, and the one on the right was a modern, space-like house on the moon.
The next page showed two bird children, and not just any children. It was the Conductor and DJ Grooves as kids on their split sides of the page, watching TV.
The third page revealed that the both of them, despite being at different places, were watching the same thing on TV at the exact same time: the Annual Bird Movie Awards. On the screen, a puffin movie director was holding a trophy in his hand with a proud smile.
The fourth page showed the two bird kids having the exact same dream: winning a movie award of their own.
The fifth page had the words 'Years later...' on it. It showed Dead Bird Studio with a sign saying 'For Rent.' The Conductor and DJ Grooves, now grown up, were both approaching the rented building from their respective sides and each of them had a key of the studio.
The sixth page showed the moment where the Conductor and DJ Grooves finally meet. The two of them were in front of the doors, and they both had shocked looks upon realizing that the other had a key of the studio as well.
The seventh page showed the two movie directors arguing, probably on who should properly own the studio, what they should film, etc. This seemed to mark the beginning of the rivalry between the Conductor and DJ Grooves.
Finally, the last page showed the studio split into two worlds. The left side as the Conductor's set for his western-themed movies and the right side being DJ Grooves' set for sci-fi themed movies; their rivalry living on to this day.
"Seems like these two hated each other the moment they met," Arthur remarked, as Hat Kid closed the book. He then crossed his arms in thought and sighed. "You know... It kinda reminds me of you and I when we first met. We didn't really have the best of introductions either..." he said. Hat Kid nodded, recalling the time when she and Arthur were enemies before becoming friends.
"But there's a difference between us and them: we were able to solve our conflict and move on. The Conductor and DJ Grooves on the other hand... they're still at it after all them years. I feel like they're taking their rivalry too seriously... I'm worried that at some point one of them is gonna take things too far, and someone will get hurt in the process," Arthur explained in a sad tone.
Hat Kid nodded sadly in agreement. She wished she could do something to solve the conflict between the Conductor and DJ Grooves, but she knew there wasn't much she could do about it. Indeed, the situation between the two movie directors was very complicated and it wasn't something that could be solved in a single day. Besides, her priority was to get her Time Pieces back, so she had to stay focused on that. Hopefully, they will be able to find a common ground someday.
Arthur noticed that the sun was setting and said, "Let's get back to the spaceship and try to get some shut-eye. I get the feeling tomorrow is gonna be a long day. Also, the Mafia Boss better not try to annoy me tonight or else I swear I'll throw him out of the darn spaceship myself." Hat Kid giggled at the last statement.
With that said, the two children flied up to the spaceship to get some rest. Unknown to them, a certain red-hooded figure was watching them leave from a distance.
"So they're movie stars now? Pffft, what a joke! In that case, I guess I could have a chat with one of the directors tomorrow to spice things up a little," the figure said to themselves with an evil smirk.
A/N: Hey everyone! New chapter, and oh boy! A lot of things has happened in this one. Arthur finally accepted Hat Kid as a friend, and soon he will be able to open up to her about some of the things that happened in his past. But for now, he's not ready to tell his story yet. It will happen in future chapters.
I've also set a little transition to 'Train Rush' in this chapter, and I think you can already tell what is in those boxes that the Express Owls are loading up on the Conductor's train. I hope you guys are ready for the next chapter! ;)
Anyway, time to answer some reviews.
To Katoptris12: I agree. The story is making some good progress so far. ^^;
To Rub37: Thanks! And no, I'm not planning to add the 'bad ending' in my story, since it's not part of the plot I imagined.
To Mad King C: Indeed, that's the effect I wanted to create regarding both movie directors' interactions with Arthur. And yeah, Subcon Forest will really be something. ;) And yeah, I remember that song. I don't know if I'll add it in my story though. We'll see.
To Mr. Mega1423: Thank you! I hope you're ready for the next two sets of movies that will come up. A lot of action will happen. ;)
To Korrenthereaper: Well, I haven't revealed which director will be the antagonist yet. It could be the Conductor or it could be DJ Grooves. The answer will be in one of the upcoming chapters. But if you want to see some stories where the Conductor is the good guy, there's Megacharge by Mr. Mega1423 on Fanfiction, and there's Picture (Im)Perfect by Krekka01 on Archive Of Our Own.
Alright, that's all for today, folks! See you all in the next chapter!