Chapter 21
The next day in the morning, the two children were getting themselves ready for the next recording session with the Conductor. They currently had no idea what the strange owl had in store for his next movie, but they will soon find out. Hopefully, not something too intense.
While Arthur was getting himself ready, Hat Kid had decided to go in her bedroom. She had something she wanted to do quickly before leaving. She walked up the ramp, going just above her pillow fortress. She then put her Ice Hat on, and jumped above a specific area in her pillow fortress, before turning herself into an ice statue.
The small girl's weight as a statue made her go right through the huge pile of pillows, and she landed into a secret area that only she knew about. It was a small room that contained a desk with a book, a candle providing light, a pen and ink resting on it. There was also a bookshelf on the left and a big stuffed panda on the right.
Switching back to her regular hat, Hat Kid sat on the chair in front of the desk. She then opened the book, smiling as she did. It wasn't just any book, it was her diary. Whenever she had some free time, she would always write about the moments she had during her adventures and her missions. It allowed her to keep them as memories and express her thoughts on them.
Right now, the purple-hatted girl had an entry she wanted to write. She picked up the pen and began to write on the empty page following the last entry, in an unknown language that came from her home planet.
Dear diary,
I did it! Yesterday, Arthur finally accepted to be my friend! I admit it took longer than I expected, but I did it. I'm glad to have a friend to help me on my journey now. It felt so lonely on my ship before he came around.
Arthur is decent company and he's so funny! Even if he tends to be a big jerk sometimes, but I guess that's just how he is. Although, I admit... I'm worried about him. Most of the time, I see him look so sad and tired. He doesn't even want to talk about his home or his family. And sometimes when he's scared, he starts breathing fast and heavily... like he had just run a marathon.
I feel like something bad happened to him before. He seems to have something that people call... what is it again? 'Depression'? From what they say, it's like when you feel sad, but wayyyy worse. Apparently, you can't feel joy or happiness at all, no matter how hard you try. It doesn't sound fun... I don't know how someone can live without ever feeling happy.
I really want to help him feel better. It makes me sad to see him look so depressed... but he doesn't want to talk about it and he just keeps saying he's 'fine'. He's NOT fine! I can just see it! I'm not dumb! But maybe it's not so easy for him to tell what happened in his past. Maybe he never had someone to talk to about his problems before... or maybe nobody cared, which is mean!
But I won't give up! I'll try to be patient with him. Maybe someday he'll open up to me, and I'll be able to help him the right way. For now, I gotta focus on finding my Time Pieces so I can go home. That reminds me, I haven't seen Mustache Girl since Mafia Town. I wonder where she could be... Well, it's not important, as long as she stays away from my spaceship and my Time Pieces.
Speaking of which, I've gotten 14 of them back so far. There's still a lot more to go, but it's still progress! With them, I was able to unlock the access to the basement, and now I can use the washing machines again! No more washing clothes in the sink, thank goodness! I still can't use the dryer though. That's a bummer, but eh, it's good enough... I guess.
Also, there's this... weird... purple... wall thingy blocking the access to my lab. It wasn't there before. And I can't even break it, it's annoying! Maybe I need a different kind of hat for it? I'll have to look into it later.
Anyway, Arthur and I will be going on the Conductor's train to record another movie today. I wonder what it will be... I hope there'll be more action in this one! 'Murder on the Owl Express' was fun, but eh... I'm sure that weird owl could do better-
"Hat Kid? Where are you? We need to go now!" Arthur's faint voice could be heard from above.
Uh oh! Arthur is calling me, I gotta go now! See you next time, future me!
- Hat Kid
The purple-hatted girl quickly closed her diary and put her pen back in the ink. She then jumped up and swam through the pillows back to the surface. Her head poked out of the pile of pillows and she spotted Arthur looking around the room for her. The twelve-year-old boy eventually noticed her.
"What are you doing in there, kid?" Arthur asked with a puzzled expression.
"Playing!" Hat Kid lied with a cheerful giggle, not wanting him to know about her secret room. Arthur shook his head.
"Well, you really haven't really chosen the right time for it. Let me remind you that we have to be on the Owl Express in a five minutes, so come on, let's go," the young boy said seriously. Hat Kid nodded and swam her way out of the pillows.
The duo walked out of the bedroom and made their way to the hatch. They opened it, then jumped off. As they neared the desert area on the planet, they saw that the Conductor's train was already moving. They aimed for it, landing just outside on the caboose. The Conductor was here, leaning against the barrier with his walkie-talkie in hand. Judging by his expression, he seemed to be really excited about the next recording.
"Ah, there you are... and right on time! Great! Go on in. We're getting ready to shoot the BIGGEST action movie in bird history!" the Conductor said in an excited tone. "The movie is gonna be THE BOMB! GWAHAHAHAHA!" he added as he laughed manically.
Arthur and Hat Kid formed confused and worried looks on their faces. Something in his tone and what he said gave them a bad feeling. What did he mean by 'the bomb'? The Conductor noticed the children's expressions, so he cleared his throat and fixed the collar of his train conductor's coat.
"... And I mean bomb in a good way, peck necks!" the strange owl corrected himself, not wanting to scare the duo. However, the two children continued to stare at him in wonder. Soon, the Conductor found himself losing patience. "Well, what are yer waitin' for?! Go in there already!" he shouted angrily as he pointed at the door.
Arthur and Hat Kid both took a step back, taken aback by his tone. Great... Looks like the Conductor was back to his usual, angry self. Oh well, it was probably just the excitement of the movie getting to his head. Hopefully, he will cool off once they do as they're told.
The duo entered the caboose, and they could see a few Express Owls talking to each others inside. As they walked by them, they could hear some conversations that caught their attention.
"What are we filming today? There's no stops on the schedule..."
"Did we load more explosives than usual yesterday?"
Arthur and Hat Kid grew concerned upon hearing these questions. No stops on the schedule and explosives on the train? That didn't sound good...
"Are there really explosives on this train? I saw them crates yesterday while looking for the time rift, but I thought they were just for looks. I don't like this..." Arthur stated with an anxious frown. Hat Kid also began to feel the same. The Conductor wouldn't try to blow his own train with all the passengers on it, would he...? Hopefully not. That would just be plain irresponsible for a movie director.
As they arrived at the end of the wagon, they noticed that the door was blocked off by an iron gate. They looked up, and spotted some sort of hook flying in the air with a rotor and a red cross on a LED screen.
"I'm guessing this is the switch to open the gate," Arthur said, putting his hand on his chin. He then tried to reach it with a jump, but he couldn't since it was too high up. "I can't reach it from here, and I don't see anything we can stand on either..." he said as he looked around the room for anything to stand on, without success.
"Greetings, young ones."
The two children jolted a little, but they quickly calmed down when they recognized the voice. The Badge Seller... Arthur chuckled, unsurprised, and turned around to look at the glitchy vendor.
"I was starting to wonder when you'd show up. Maybe you should sell us a badge with a speaker that says 'Hey, I'm the Badge Seller! I will appear behind you in a few seconds to show you more badges I have,'" the young boy said jokingly. The Badge Seller chuckled in response.
"Perhaps I should take this item into consideration then," they answered jokingly, earning a chuckle from the two children.
"So what brings you on this train, Badge Seller?" Arthur asked curiously.
"As a traveler who sells their merchandise around the world, I need to use a public transport to move around. The Owl Express allows me to get to different places in the desert," the Badge Seller answered.
"And, uh, don't people mind the fact that your body is... you know?" Arthur asked a bit uncomfortably, motioning to the vendor's body that was constantly twitching. As they were on the subject, a nearby Express Owl was nervously staring at the Badge Seller. The latter turned their head to look at him, and the owl immediately looked away to avoid eye contact.
"People are a bit wary because of it. Unfortunately, my body has been to places that have left a... permanent mark; thus explaining my twitchy behavior," the Badge Seller said in a sad tone. Arthur and Hat Kid gave each other a sad look, feeling bad for the glitchy vendor. "But enough about me. I may have something in sale that you will need for this movie," they said as they pulled out two light-blue-colored badges with a grapple drawn on it.
"It is called the Hookshot Badge. This badge will equip your weapons with a grapple feature. With it, you will be able to swing on any hooks you come across and get to places that would be unreachable with even a double jump. I sell it for 150 pons," the Badge Seller explained.
"300 pons for two badges then... Okay. Hopefully, we still have enough," Arthur said as he and Hat Kid both checked their pockets for pons. Thankfully, they had enough and they each pulled out a bag of 100 pons and another one of 50 pons. They gave the bags to the Badge Seller, and the latter gave them the badges.
Hat Kid switched her Item Magnet Badge with the new Hookshot Badge on her top hat, while Arthur placed his own on his cowboy hat by using a pin that the Badge Seller gave him free of charge. As they pulled out their respective weapons, they noticed a particular change. The hook of Arthur's crowbar now looked detachable, and Hat Kid's umbrella had a golden-colored grapple at the top of it. A button had also appeared on both weapons.
"Just aim your weapons at an hook or any surfaces it can grab onto, and you'll be able to swing on them," The Badge Seller explained with a smile.
Out of curiosity, Hat Kid pressed the button on her umbrella. The grapple suddenly shot out from the weapon with a chain strapped to it. It flew just above an Express Owl's head and right through his hat, pinning it against the wall. The owl formed a confused expression and comically put his hand on the top of his head to notice that his hat was missing.
"Oops!" Hat Kid said with a sheepish smile. She then pressed the button again to call her grapple back. With the speed, the hat fell off the grapple and landed back on the Express Owl's head, making the latter even more confused.
"Let's... try to avoid skewering someone with it," Arthur said nervously, making Hat Kid rub the back of her head sheepishly. "Anyway, thanks Badge Se-" The boy interrupted his sentence when he saw that the Badge Seller was no longer here.
"Annnd there he goes again..." he said with a sigh. He looked back up at the hook switch floating above them and said, "Let's try to activate the switch with the grapple." Hat Kid nodded in agreement.
The small girl aimed her umbrella at the flying hook and pressed the button. The grapple shot out from the umbrella and latched on the hook, lifting Hat Kid up in the air as she held onto the handle. Her weight brought the hook down, activating the switch and forming a green checkmark on the LED screen. After that, the gate blocking off the door lowered. Now they could go into the next wagon.
"That did the trick," Arthur said with a smile. However, it dropped when the Conductor's face suddenly appeared on the TV screen next to the door, which catched the attention of all Express Owls inside the train car. The Conductor seemed troubled, which worried the two children.
"Alright kids, listen up. I have some bad news!" the strange owl said in a serious tone, his voice being heard through the speaker above the screen. "That lever you just pulled... it starts the train's self-destruct sequence, and that ain't no joke. It'll blow up!" Arthur and Hat Kid's eyes widened in horror.
"IT'LL WHAT?!" Arthur shouted in shock, hoping it was just a bad joke despite what the movie director just said.
"It'll blow up and for REAL!" the Conductor repeated firmly. The serious and panicked tone in his voice clearly showed that he wasn't kidding. The Express Owls in the wagon began to panic after hearing this. None of them signed up for that!
The two children couldn't believe what they were hearing. The Conductor literally placed a bomb on his own train and was putting the life of every single person on it in danger for the sake of his movie?!
Arthur placed both hands on his head in horror and angrily said, "You fool! You GODDAMN FOOL! Why would you do something like that?!"
"Because I need a movie with some REAL intense action, so that's what we're gonna do! The train's gonna blow in a few minutes!" the strange owl explained.
"I can't believe this..." Arthur muttered angrily as he put his hands on his face. Seriously, who in their right mind would put a real bomb on their own public transport just to record a stupid action movie?
"But you and the lass can save us all! Get to the switch at the front of the train to turn it off!" the Conductor said. He then angrily shouted, "AND YER BETTER MAKE IT IN TIME, ALRIGHT? I don't care about the owls or yerselves, but you don't DARE blow up me train for real! It's my baby!"
Upon hearing the last statement, the two children gasped in shock. The Conductor didn't care about them at all? Out of the two, Arthur was the one who was mostly hurt by the strange owl's words. He felt... betrayed... once more. His eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth in pure anger. Who was he kidding? Of course the Conductor didn't care about them. He only cared about himself and his damn success! All these smooth talks they had before was only to gain the boy's trust and use him for his movies... and to think he started to believe that the Conductor was not so bad. Turns out he was wrong all along...
"The cameras are gonna be rollin' kids, you hurry now! Go! Over and out!" the Conductor ordered. After he was done talking, the TV screen went off, ending the conversation.
Arthur let out a depressed sigh and muttered, "How much of a fool can I be?". Hat Kid gave him a sympathetic look. She knew that he felt betrayed after this, especially since he and the Conductor bonded after the premiere of the first movie. Suddenly, a feminine and robotic voice was heard throughout the whole train.
"2 minutes and 0 seconds until self-destruct. Oh no."
Everyone in the train started panicking after hearing the announcement. The Express Owls began cowering, screaming, and running in circles. Some even comically bumped into each others by accident, and others sat down on the floor and rocked back and forth in fear.
"Holy crap! He's really serious about it! We need to stop that bomb at once!" Arthur said with a panicked look. Hat Kid quickly nodded in agreement.
Without wasting any more time, the two children ran towards the door and went through it. Their jaws dropped when they entered the next train car. Unlike last time, there was no library or cafeteria here. Instead, there were gaps filled with acid and cannons shooting egg-shaped explosives right above them. Did the Conductor change the train cars before the recording?
"Is this some kind of sick joke?!" Arthur shouted in frustration. His anxiety was not going to like this once again, but he had no time to dwell on that. He and Hat Kid had to stop this bomb before the train blows up.
Hat Kid switched her top hat with her Sprint Hat to run faster, while Arthur did his best to run as fast as her. Adjusting their timing, the two children jumped across the acid-filled gaps, avoiding the cannon balls as they did. They ran to the end of the room – encountering a few panicked Express Owls who told them to run – and stepped on a pressure panel to unlock the door to the next wagon.
This train car was worse. The duo had to jump on top of crates and unstable platforms above a very large acid pool – all of that while avoiding cannon balls as well. Thankfully, they managed to do so unscathed and activated three pressure pannels to open the door to the next train car.
When they entered this wagon, they saw a group of owl musicians who were playing intense music to fit the situation. Arthur and Hat Kid were unamused but they had no time to dwell on this. Suddenly, as they were running, some saw blades appeared and cut the car in half, creating gaps to jump across. The two children had to jump on floating balloons and stand on handcars to avoid falling off the train.
"What the hell was the Conductor thinking by doing all of this?!" Arthur shouted, trying to keep his balance on one of the moving handcars. It was a miracle he hadn't started hyperventilating yet.
The duo jumped on the last handcar and spotted a springboard on the other side of the gap. However, it was too far away to reach with a jump. They looked up and saw multiple flying hooks above the large gap. Remembering their newfound ability, they both pulled out their weapons.
"This better work!" Arthur said as he aimed his crowbar at the hook.
He pressed the button and the hook of the crowbar detached itself and was shot towards the flying hook, latching onto it. The young boy then swung forward, screaming as he did. Pressing the button to call his hook back, he quickly aimed his crowbar at the next flying hook while he was mid-air and pressed the button again to grapple onto it. He repeated the same process until he reached the other side. Hat Kid did the same thing and managed to land on the surface too. The duo jumped on the springboard, and they were shot up through the chimney and onto the roof of the train.
"1 minute and 30 seconds until self-destruct. Better hurry."
Arthur was the first one to land on the roof, then followed by Hat Kid who accidentally landed on him, much to the boy's annoyance. The small girl quickly got off of him and helped him up. Then they watched in horror as the two next cars detached from the train itself and flew off the tracks, leaving a huge gap between the wagon they were on and the rest of the train.
"Peck! Well, I guess the Conductor got all the action he wanted!" Arthur remarked with a shocked expression. Hat Kid nodded with a horrified look. The duo hoped that nobody was inside these wagons when they derailed.
Shaking their heads, they continued running. They spotted two hot-air ballons with hooks strapped under them and used their hookshot ability to get across. Jumping on some platforms and swinging through a giant flamed hoop, they were able to land on the next train car.
"1 minute and 0 seconds until self-destruct. We're doomed."
"You don't say!" Arthur hissed sarcastically after hearing the last statement of the announcer.
The duo then had to step on a large set of pressure panels floating in the air to proceed. It caused the next car to detach itself from the train and slow down, allowing the duo to stand on it.
As he continued running, Arthur was wondering how he still hadn't started hyperventilating yet. But most of all... how was he still alive right now?! He was either extremely lucky or he was starting to get used to these intense situations. Then again, maybe adrenaline was playing a role in all of this. But now wasn't the time to jinx himself, he had to reach the locomotive and diffuse this bomb!
After reaching the end of the car, the two children used three flying hooks to swing forward and right into the window of the next train car, causing shards of glass to fly everywhere. Thankfully, neither Arthur or Hat Kid were injured in the process. Inside the train car, more hazards awated the children. A large gap filled with lava was covering the whole ground, only some platforms provided access across it. However, some cannons were shooting exploding cakes on them, which made the task even more difficult.
When they were halfway through, they had to use their Hookshot Badge to swing above a fire wall. Arthur decided to go first. However, his lucky streak ended at this very moment. In his haste, he forgot to lift his legs up, and as a result one of them went right through the fire. The young boy screamed in pain and he fell on the next platform. Although he was safe on the surface, his leg was now in extreme pain because of the burn.
Hat Kid gasped in horror after seeing Arthur get injured. She swung above the fire wall, making sure to lift her legs up to avoid getting burned as well, and she landed on the platform safely. She quickly ran up to her injured friend and crouched at his side to check on him.
"Aahhh! My leg! God DAMMIT!" Arthur yelled as he clutched his injured leg, tears falling from his eyes. Hat Kid was in a panicked state right now. She tried to help him up, but the young boy shook his head.
"No, Hat Kid! You gotta stop that bomb before it's too late!" Arthur said as he gave her a panicked look.
"NO!" Hat Kid said firmly. She refused to leave him like this.
"I can't run like this, kid. You have to go on without me! I-I'll be fine! You just go!" Arthur insisted. Hat Kid shook her head. She can't just leave him here! She can carry him! She can- "Hat Kid. If the bomb explodes, everyone on this train will peckin' die! You HAVE to stop that from happening!" the twelve-year-old boy said desperately.
Hat Kid sighed sadly. Although she didn't want to just leave him, she knew he was right. The life of every passenger on the Owl Express was at stake. She couldn't fail them now.
"30 seconds until self-destruct."
"Go! NOW!" Arthur ordered firmly. With a determined nod, Hat Kid quickly got up and started running again to get through the last obstacles and stop the bomb.
Meanwhile, inside the locomotive, the Conductor was anxiously waiting next to a few cameras, with a timer in his hand. A button to turn off the bomb was in the middle of the room. The strange owl was starting to panic. His timer showed that 20 seconds remained before the explosion.
"Hurry up, kids..." he whispered in panic. He couldn't lose his train, it meant everything to him. Without it, he was not the Conductor anymore... he would just be nothing. A poor, pathetic excuse of a bird without a train. He really hoped that the children would make it in time.
Time was ticking... and soon, there was only ten seconds left.
"10 seconds until self-destruct."
''What the peck are they doing?!' the Conductor thought in frustration as sweat began to drip from his forehead.
"9."
'Come on, come on!' he thought as panic gained him even more.
"8."
'No... no... NO!' he thought as he put both of his hands on his head, feeling like ripping off his own feathers in panic and frustration.
"7."
The door of the locomotive suddenly opened.
"6."
Hat Kid was standing at the door as she frantically looked around the room for the switch.
"5."
She spotted the button on the floor.
"4."
She quickly ran forward.
"3."
She lunged at the button.
"2."
Hat Kid's scream was heard throughout the whole room while she was mid-air.
"1."
She landed right on the button and a click was heard. A long silence occured, before the announcer's voice was heard again.
"Self-destruct sequence interrupted. Hooray."
The Conductor let out a huge sigh of relief, happy that the young alien was able to stop the bomb just in time. He then grinned widely.
"You made it! And in time!" he said happily, completely ignoring the breathing mess that Hat Kid was at the moment. He checked the footage on the cameras and his grin grew wider. "Oh ho ho hooo... look at all this raw footage we got! Look at how ye and the lad are runnin' for dear life! EH HE HE!" he added as he laughed manically.
Hat Kid slowly got up to her feet. Every part of her body was trembling like crazy from all the stress of the intense situation she just went through. She gave the Conductor a scared look as she continued to breathe heavily.
"What? We did it in the name of cinematography! ... and to beat that no-good DJ Grooves! I bet he won't be able to make HALF the movie we just made!" the strange owl said smugly, like it was no big deal. He pulled out a Time Piece and said, "Alright here, take one of those thingamajigs you like. You deserve it!"
He tossed the hourglass at Hat Kid and she quickly caught it. Normally, she would have been happy to receive a Time Piece back, but after what she just went through... she was frightened. Agitated. Her whole life had played in her vision when she threw herself on the button before. It was scary and unnerving.
The door of the locomotive opened again and someone else walked, or rather... limped inside the room. It was Arthur, he had a hole in his jeans where he had been burned. Looking around the room, he spotted the Conductor. He could feel his anger boil in his blood and he gritted his teeth. He was more than angry... he was ENRAGED!
"Ah, there you are, laddy! I was just sayin' to yer friend-" the Conductor's sentence was cut off when Arthur angrily limped his way towards him and stopped right in front of him.
"What the hell were you THINKING?!" Arthur shouted angrily, startling the Conductor.
"W-wha...?" the strange owl stuttered, taken aback by the boy's tone.
"Do you have any idea what you just did?! You nearly killed off EVERYONE on this train, you goddamn numbskull!" the young boy continued, his anger incessant. While he was ranting, numerous Express Owls entered the locomotive and watched the scene unfold before them.
"B-b-but laddie, w-we did it fer the movie! I... I knew you and the lass could do it, or else I wouldn't have done all of this!" the Conductor said to justify his actions. This argument only made Arthur even more furious.
"And what if we didn't, Conductor? What if we didn't make it in time?!" the twelve-year-old boy yelled in anger. He then started counting with his fingers as he said, "Me. Hat Kid. The Express Owls. You. DEAD! ALL DEAD!"
The Conductor flinched at the boy's tone. He never saw him look so mad before. Taking a look behind Arthur for any kind of support, he found none. Hat Kid was giving him a death stare and the Express Owls were either glaring at him or had terrified looks.
"Have you ever considered that case of scenario, Conductor? Have you?" Arthur asked, looking at him dead serious.
The strange owl opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped himself. Arthur was right: he never considered the alternative outcome. He had just... set everything up and hoped they would make it. He looked down in shame and that's where he saw Arthur's injury on his leg. His eyes widened in shock. However, before he could bring that up, Arthur shook his head in disappointment and spoke again.
"In the end, it's like you said... you don't care about the others. Winning that stupid award at all costs, that's all that matters to you," the young boy said bitterly.
"B-but..." the Conductor stammered, unable to find the words to speak. He had never been so speechless in his entire life. Somehow, Arthur's anger managed to have that effect on him.
"To hell with it... We're done with you," Arthur said firmly, before looking at Hat Kid. "Come on, Hat Kid. Let's get out of here," he said before he started limping away.
"W-wait, lad! Wha... what about our talk about western movies?" the Conductor asked in a pleading tone, hoping to convince the boy to stay. Arthur turned his head around to glare at him.
"How about you go talk about that with your owl actors instead. You've got plenty of them after all," he said coldly.
After that, Arthur limped towards the door and Hat Kid rushed to his side to support him. The two children exited the locomotive, followed by the Express Owls. Soon, the Conductor was left all alone in the room.
The Conductor was sitting behind his desk, his head propped in his hands and his elbows resting on the desk.
It was currently the middle of the afternoon, and he just got back to his office after watching the premiere of his new movie that he decided to call 'Train Rush'. It actually went very well. The audience loved the action in his movie, even if they were unaware that the bomb in the Conductor's train was real and almost killed the entire cast. The reviews were very good. 960 points! It was even a better success than 'Murder on the Owl Express' and 'Picture Perfect'.
Despite the movie's success, the Conductor didn't feel happy in the slightest. He felt lost, confused, and sad... Arthur and Hat Kid didn't show up at the movie premiere, the Express Owls were mad at him for putting their lives in danger, and on top of all that, his train had suffered heavy damages during the recording and was in need of repairs.
Staring at two Time Pieces that were resting on his desk, he thought back on everything that happened during the recording. He didn't understand where he went wrong. All he wanted was more action in his movie to give himself better chances at beating DJ Grooves and winning the award, and he did. So why wasn't he feeling happy right now?
... Perhaps it was because of what Arthur said to him back in the train. He believed that he and the lass would be thrilled at the idea of being in a movie with intense action, but it didn't turn out to be the case. Well, maybe he should have told them what was exactly happening before the recording, but then again they would have never agreed to be part of it if he did and it would have ruined the movie experience.
Then he remembered the scared look on Hat Kid's face, the multiple glares from his fellow Express Owls... but most of all, the angry and betrayed expression on Arthur's face and the injury on his leg. Did he... cause all that? Has he gone too far beyond the point that the children would never forgive him for this? ... Oh peck, what has he done?
"They really are selfish kids, aren't they?" an unknown voice suddenly said. The Conductor jolted and frantically looked around the room.
"W-what? Who's there?!" he asked in a panicked tone.
"Now now... no need to panic, Conductor," the voice answered with a chuckle.
The strange owl then spotted a figure standing in the dark corner of the office, their face hidden by the shadow. Judging by their height, it appeared to be a child. Although something in the Conductor's mind told him that it wasn't Arthur or Hat Kid.
"Who are you?! Show yerself!" the movie director ordered warily.
The figure stepped out of the shadow and revealed themselves. The red hood and the blond mustache were recognizable. It was Mustache Girl. The Conductor didn't know her yet, but he was just about to...
"I'm just... a friend," the red-hooded girl simply answered with a smirk.
"How did yer get in?" the Conductor asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
Mustache Girl shrugged and said, "Through the door. The security here isn't really the 'sharpest' I saw." The Conductor growled in annoyance. Why are the security owls so pecking useless? He will have a serious talk with them later...
"But whatever. I came here to talk to you about the two kids you let star in your movies... and know that you shouldn't feel bad for what happened in your train. After all, you did what you had to do to get a perfect score. Even the birds in the theatre seemed to love it," Mustache Girl said with an evil grin. The Conductor gave her a puzzled look. How did she know all of this? As if reading the strange owl's mind, she answered, "Yup, I was on the train when that happened. Trust me, nothing to be sorry about."
"But... the lad got hurt and the lass..." the Conductor said with a sad sigh. Mustache Girl only huffed in response, not caring in the slightest.
"Oh please! They knew what they were getting into, and they dare to complain? That's just plain rude don't you think?" she said, twirling her mustache a little. "Also... there's something they didn't tell you about these 'movie props'."
"What about them? These thingamajigs are just props!" the strange owl said confused. Mustache Girl shook her head.
"Oh so wrong... they're not just some ordinary hourglasses. They're Time Pieces!" the red-hooded girl explained.
"Time Pieces?" the Conductor asked confused.
"Yup! They can rewind time when you break them. You could use that power to your advantage," Mustache Girl explained with a smirk. The Conductor snorted in disbelief.
"Pffft, 'rewind time'? Heh, ye've seen too many sci-fi movies, lass. Now shoo, get outta here!" the strange owl ordered, pointing his finger at the exit. Mustache Girl gave him an annoyed look, but then she smiled evilly.
"Fine. Let me show you then," she said, taking one of the Time Pieces on the desk. She then held it in the air, ready to throw it on the floor. The Conductor's invisible eyes widened, realizing what she was about to do.
"Lass, NO!" he shouted in panic, getting up to stop her.
Too late. Mustache Girl threw the Time Piece on the floor, causing it to shatter on impact. Time froze for a few seconds and then...
"Pffft, 'rewind time'? Heh, ye've- Eh?"
A long silence occured as the Conductor processed what just happened. Wasn't he just saying that before? Suddenly, realization hit him.
"WHADDA WHAT?!" the Conductor shouted in total shock. Mustache Girl picked up the Time Piece on the floor and showed it to the movie director. The strange owl's jaw dropped after seeing that the Time Piece was intact. It was like it was never broken in the first place.
"Now you understand, right? And you know the worst part? The two hatted brats know about the power they contain," Mustache Girl said bitterly.
"But... But why? Why didn't they tell me anything about it?" the Conductor asked, completely lost.
"Simple! They only want to keep the Time Pieces for their selfish needs. That's the only reason they agreed to be a part of your movies in the first place. They don't care about you, your movies, or even this planet. That's why!" Mustache Girl explained with a serious expression.
"No! T-that ain't true!" the Conductor argued in disbelief as he slammed his fist on the desk. The two kids would never do that to him! Especially not the little lad! ... would they? He wasn't sure what to think anymore.
"If that's the case, then why didn't they return the ones you gave them before?" Mustache Girl asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
The Conductor fell silent. That's true... He remembered asking Arthur and Hat Kid to return the first Time Piece he gave them when they first met, and yet they didn't. The strange owl stared at the second Time Piece on his desk, and the longer he stared at it the angrier he got. Those no-good, hat-wearing peck necks! They knew all along about the power of the Time Pieces, and they didn't say anything! They kept secrets. They lied to him. They used him. They betrayed him. And to think he shared stories with the greedy lad...
Mustache Girl grinned evilly, seeing from the movie director's expression that she finally managed to get through to him.
"Now that you know the truth, I'll leave you to your future actions," the red-hooded girl said, before looking at the Time Piece in her hand. "I'll keep this Time Piece as an exchange for revealing its purpose to you, and you can keep the other one. I trust that you'll put it to good use, right?"
"Ohhh, believe me lass, I will. I will..." the Conductor said through gritted teeth.
"Good! Enjoy that new power!" Mustache Girl said cheerfully before walking away. As she exited the office, a feeling of satisfaction made her grin. The conversation went better than she expected. Not only did she get a Time Piece, but she also managed to turn the Conductor against her two enemies. With a little luck, he will get rid of Arthur and Hat Kid for her.
Back in the office, the Conductor was left with his anger boiling in him and the feeling of betrayal still haunting him. He never would have thought that his two little actors would hide such an important secret from him, even after he allowed them to be the stars of his movies. With this power, he could go back in time and... yes, that's it! He could reclaim the trophy he lost to DJ Grooves. Award 42. He was still bitter from that day, but now he had a chance to make it right.
He opened the drawer of his desk, revealing another Time Piece he had been keeping. He took it and examined it, before looking at the other one on his desk. He then smirked as he had an idea. He could probably give one of them to Arthur and Hat Kid after the award ceremony to get them off his back for good, and then... he would use the last one to change history and reclaim award 42 to keep his endless winning streak and be able to laugh at DJ Grooves' face once more.
But first, he had to win the next bird movie award. He then remembered that his rival, DJ Grooves, still had to record his next movie on the moon tonight and there was no doubt that Arthur and Hat Kid will be there too. A dark thought came through the strange owl's mind. Maybe he could go there himself and add his little personal touch.
"Well, lassie, laddie... Since you two like to backstab me so much, then I'm sure yer wouldn't mind if I did the same to yer. Eh hehehehe..." he said with an evil grin.
A/N: Hey, everyone! Phew! This chapter was really long... but I really wanted to fit everything I wanted in it. Well, it's actually a good thing! It means you guys have more to read in one chapter! It kinda breaks what I said in the beginning about writing short chapters to release them faster. But in the end, I'm having a lot of fun writing this story and quality over quantity!
So yeah, as you've figured, the Conductor will be the antagonist of the Battle of the Birds chapter in this story. It was a bit heartbreaking to break the friendship that Arthur and the Conductor had, but I had to pick someone to be the villain and I chose the Conductor over DJ Grooves.
Anyway, time to answer the reviews!
To Katoptris12: Indeed, and I chose the Conductor and you can already see that the events of Train Rush has broken the small bits of trust that Arthur had for him.
To thechickenisawesome: Haha! I can totally imagine this! XD
To Mad King C: Thanks! And you're welcome. For now, I haven't planned to add your idea, but who knows, maybe I'll change my mind if it fits in my story.
To PatoMayo: Thank you! :D
Alright, that's all for today, folks! See you in the next chapter!