Chapter 25
The elevator reached its destination. The doors opened, allowing Arthur to step out of the elevator cage. He was now in a room that appeared to be large and the flooring was made of wooden planks with just a metallic circle producing a faint red light at the center of the room. However, the lights were off, so he couldn't really tell what kind of room it was.
The place was quiet. Too quiet... Where is the Conductor? Arthur was starting to have a bad feeling about that... He walked slowly, keeping his guard up and eyes peeled. When he reached the center of the room, a spotlight suddenly shone on him, causing him to jolt in surprise and place his arms in front of his eyes to shield them from the sudden light.
"What the..." Arthur said confused.
Suddenly, another spotlight shone on a stage at the end of the room, revealing the one Arthur was looking for. The Conductor was here... His back was turned and his hands were behind his back. The strange owl let out a dark chuckle, then he slowly turned around to face Arthur, while keeping his hands behind his back.
"Oh ho hoooo, look who we've got here! I guess yer found my lil' basement, eh?" the Conductor said with an evil grin. Peck... Looks like he was expecting him. Well, he was here now so... he might as well try to reason with him first.
"I sure did... I think you know why I'm here, Conductor," Arthur said in a serious tone. The grin on the Conductor's face grew wider.
"Oh I do, lad. I do... You came for this," the strange owl said, pulling out his last Time Piece to show it to him. Arthur narrowed his eyes upon seeing it. So it was true... He really had been keeping a Time Piece to himself all along. Well, time for negotiations...
"Listen, that thing ain't no toy. It's more dangerous than you can imagine. Just give it back, and then we'll go our separate ways," the twelve-years-old boy said, extending his hand forward and hoping that the Conductor would hand him the hourglass over. However, the movie director simply snickered and shook his head.
"I don't think so. This last Time Piece is all mine. If yer want it, yer gonna have to take it from me cold, dead hands!" the Conductor snarled defiantly as he put the Time Piece back in his pocket. Arthur sighed and shook his head in disappointment. He kinda expected this sort of answer. Oh well... at least he gave him a chance.
"I was hoping it'd never come to this, Conductor, but you leave me no choice," the young boy said as he pulled out his crowbar. He glared at the Conductor, then added through gritted teeth, "I'm gonna have to knock some sense into you."
The strange owl grinned wickedly and excitedly, before saying, "Ohhhh, it's on, laddy!". He then snapped his fingers and, suddenly, the lights went on.
Startled by that, Arthur looked around the room and could finally see where he was. He was inside an old theatre with western-related decorations, jukeboxes, cutouts of cactus and the Conductor's face, and a big red sign with the Conductor's name on it was pinned against the wall above the stage. But that wasn't all... On the sides were wooden bleachers filled with Express Owls who all cheered, excited for the fight to come. Arthur couldn't believe it. Was he really going to be put on the spot again like last time?
The Conductor chuckled evilly and said, "Cameras. Lights. ACTION!". And then, the fight begun...
The Conductor leaped up to the roof of the bleachers, grabbing onto the edge, then he lunged at Arthur. The boy quickly rolled out of the way to avoid getting squashed. As the Conductor got up, Arthur quickly ran up to him and whacked him across the face with his crowbar.
The strange owl yelped in pain, but he quickly recovered and jumped back on the stage. He pulled out some sort of remote control from his pocket and pressed a button. The ceiling opened and a golden disco ball suddenly came out of it, hanging in the air. The Conductor jumped on the ball.
"Here we... GO!" he shouted, pressing another button on his remote. As soon as he did, the disco ball detached itself from the ceiling and fell on the ground, shattering on impact.
The strength of the impact triggered a slight earthquake, causing Arthur to stumble back on the ground. As he sat up, he noticed a shockwave created by the disco ball coming right at him. Reacting quickly, he got up and jumped over the wave as it passed under his feet.
Seeing that his attack didn't work, the Conductor jumped back on the stage and whistled loudly. Some Express Owls pulled a few levers, causing spotlights to be dropped on the ground.
"Pecking hell!" Arthur shouted in panic, raising both of his arms above his head instinctively, as he ran around to avoid getting crushed by any of the spotlights. Thankfully, he managed to avoid all of them.
The Conductor growled in annoyance and tried lunging at him again. However, Arthur dodged him and whacked him with his crowbar again. The strange owl then attempted to use his disco ball attack once more.
"Ladies and... gentlemen!" he yelled out as the disco ball fell on the ground again.
This time, Arthur was prepared, and he jumped right before the impact and avoided the incoming shockwave as well. Then he ran up to the Conductor and whacked him across the face once more. Now, the movie director was growing irritated and he jumped back on the stage.
"I can't believe I let yer peck necks on me train, only to have yer be the troublemakers!" the Conductor shouted angrily, stomping his foot on the ground repeatedly. Then, to Arthur's horror, he pulled out a knife. Not a rubber knife like in 'Murder of the Owl Express'. An actual knife made of steel.
The Conductor jumped down, then suddenly the lights went off. Despite that, Arthur was still able to see the blade in the dark.
"This one ain't rubber!" the strange owl shouted as he suddenly charged at Arthur with his knife.
"Holy crap!" the young boy shouted as he quickly dodged to the side to avoid getting stabbed.
The lights went back on, and Arthur was left in shock as he stared at the Conductor. Holy peck! He just tried to stab him! A KID! Who in their right mind would try to stab a kid?! The Conductor had definitely lost it!
The strange owl chuckled darkly, then began swinging his knife at Arthur in all directions. The latter dodged his attacks as best as he could, before performing a homing attack on his head in retaliation. It caused the Conductor to drop his knife and stumble back on the ground in a sitting position.
"How dare yer!" the movie director shouted angrily as he rubbed his head, before picking up his knife and getting up to his feet.
"Come on, Conductor! Stand down! This has gone too far already!" Arthur said, attempting to reason with him once more. However, the Conductor refused to listen.
"NO! This Time Piece is mine and MINE ALONE! And yer won't stop me, laddie!" he spat stubbornly. Arthur sighed and shook his head in disappointment.
"Fine then," the twelve-years-old boy muttered angrily. He attempted to hit the Conductor with his crowbar. However, the strange owl saw it coming and dodged it, before jumping back on stage. He decided to try his disco ball attack again.
"Here we..." the Conductor began to say as he jumped on the disco ball. He pressed the button on his remote. However, there seemed to be a problem with it, since nothing happened. The strange owl punched his remote multiple times in frustration, trying to get it work. Then the disco ball suddenly fell unexpectedly, causing the Conductor to yelp in surprise. "GO!" he finally finished his sentence as the ball hit the ground, creating a shockwave. Arthur was able to avoid it and managed to land another hit on the movie director.
For the next moments, the Conductor continued throwing various attacks at Arthur, which consisted of the disco ball, the spotlight droppings, and the knife attacks. However, the young boy managed to dodge them all – he only got a few close calls, like when the Conductor's knife passed inches away from his face. When he had a chance, Arthur would either whack, do homing attacks, or jump on the Conductor's head.
After some hits, the strange owl began to grow more and more impatient. As he jumped back on the stage after failing his previous attack, the Conductor let out an angry growl as he stared daggers at Arthur.
"How could you do this to me, laddie?!" he asked in a hurt and betrayed tone. Arthur stared at him with a mix of confusion and anger. The Conductor was the one who betrayed him and was trying to kill him at the moment. And he dares asking that?! What an hypocrite!
"That's rich, coming from you," Arthur retorted angrily. The Conductor only growled in response, then he whistled.
Suddenly, four Express Owls driving cars entered the theatre and circled around Arthur. The young boy watched the cars in shock as they kept driving around him. Suddenly, two of them changed direction and attempted to run Arthur over. The latter immediately reacted by jumping out of the way. The cars missed him and crashed into each other, causing them to be sent flying away and out of the room. The two remaining cars tried to do the same, but Arthur dodged them too.
However, the Conductor had more tricks up his sleeve. He tried his disco ball attack again, and this time, a flash occured and two life-sized pictures of the ball appeared on both of his sides. The first picture fell on the ground and to Arthur's surprise it created the same effect as the regular disco ball. Not expecting it, the young boy was bounced up in the air. He didn't have time to react when the second picture dropped on the floor. It caused him to bounce up again, but it did him a favor at the same time since it made him go over the shockwave caused by the first picture. Then the real disco ball finally fell on the ground, bouncing Arthur up over the second shockwave.
Unfortunately, the twelve-years-old boy didn't have enough time to get up and he got hit by the last shockwave as a result. Arthur yelped in pain as an electric shock ran through his body for a short period of time. The Conductor smirked in satisfaction after seeing the boy get hit. However, Arthur was not done yet. He quickly recovered and got up to his feet, grimacing as he did. That shockwave sure hurt like hell.
The Conductor decided to use his knife attack again with the same tactic as before. He pulled out his knife and a flash occured again, creating two life-sized pictures of the strange owl at his sides. The lights went out again, and there was not just one but three knives looming in the dark. The first two knives were thrown at Arthur one at a time, but the latter dodged them.
"Slice of life!" the Conductor shouted as he charged at the boy with his knife. Arthur quickly rolled out of the way.
As the lights went back on, the young boy tried to whack the Conductor with his crowbar. However, the strange owl anticipated that and ducked before he could get hit, then he swung his knife at Arthur. The tip of the blade grazed the boy's face, causing him to yelp in pain and take a few steps back. Arthur touched his left cheek with his fingers and looked down at them. His jaw dropped in horror after seeing blood on his fingers, realizing that the Conductor made a cut on his cheek. While he was distracted, the Conductor suddenly ran at him and tackled him to the ground, causing him to drop his crowbar and lose his hat.
Getting on top of him, the strange owl raised his knife up in the air, then brought it down to stab the boy. However, Arthur reacted quickly and grabbed the Conductor's wrists before the knife could reach his chest. The young boy tried his best to restrain the movie director's knife while the latter tried to force it down on him. Sweat was dripping from Arthur's forehead. The Conductor was physically stronger than him, he won't be able to restrain the knife for too long.
"Yer going to die!" the Conductor said tauntingly with a crazed smile.
"No doubt..." Arthur muttered. Was this really the end?
During his struggle, the twelve-years-old boy then eyed the Conductor's hands and he suddenly got an idea. He brought his head up, avoiding the knife as he did, and bit the strange owl's left hand as hard as he could. The Conductor let out a piercing scream as Arthur continued to bite his hand. The former got up and backed away to get his hand out of the boy's mouth. As it left it, Arthur could taste blood in his mouth.
The Conductor stared at his hand in horror as it trembled. Blood was dripping from the bite mark and onto the floor. Arthur actually managed to make an open wound in the movie director's hand.
"You... you bit me! Y-you pecking animal!" the strange owl shouted with a shocked look.
Arthur spat the small amount of blood he had in his mouth on the floor, then said, "You had it coming," while glaring at the Conductor.
The strange owl then growled angrily and said, "Alright, laddie. I think it's time ye and I have a little chat..."
And suddenly, the lights went off again. Arthur quickly grabbed his hat and placed it back on his head, before picking up his crowbar and getting up to his feet. He looked around cautiously, ready to hit the Conductor if he tried to attack him again.
Suddenly, a spotlight shone on the stage. However, instead of the Conductor, it was an Express Owl sitting behind a piano and playing a relaxing tune. Arthur grew confused. What the hell was that? Where did the Conductor go? Then, another spotlight shone in the middle of the room, revealing a table with two seats. The Conductor was sitting on one, while the other was empty.
"Let's have a little heart-to-heart. Have a seat, laddie," the strange owl said, his elbow resting on the table. Arthur raised an eyebrow at him skeptically. Was this a trick? Why did he suddenly want to talk now after stubbornly trying to kill him? The Conductor could see the boy's suspicion and said, "Now now, lad, don't be shy. Like I said, I just want the two of us to have a chat." He motioned to the empty chair across the table with his injured hand.
Arthur stared at the chair, then at the Conductor. Well, judging by his face, he seemed genuine about that talk. Maybe he could use that moment to learn more about the Conductor's reasons for wanting to use the Time Piece. And well, it would allow him to catch his breathe for a bit. This fight had certainly been more intense and tiring than the Mafia Boss's. Keeping his crowbar in hand just in case it was a trick, Arthur made his way to the chair and sat down on it, waiting for the Conductor to speak.
"Ever since you and the lass arrived on this planet, these Time Pieces have been falling from the sky," the Conductor explained, staring out in the distance. "Now, I can understand if you feel they belong to you. I get it. But did yer know they can rewind time?" he asked, looking back at Arthur.
"As a matter of fact, yeah I do," the young boy answered, confirming his knowledge about the power of the Time Pieces. The Conductor grinned at the response.
"You see, lad. With one Time Piece, I could reclaim the trophy that belongs to me! I think you know which one I'm talking about, right?" the strange owl said, giving Arthur a knowing look. The boy looked at him confused for a few seconds. Suddenly, his eyes widened in realization as he remembered the story that the Conductor told him back in his office after the premiere of 'Murder on the Owl Express'.
"You mean..." Arthur began to say.
"Ding ding ding! That's right, the loss of award 42! I got 2nd place at the 42nd annual bird award! Me! Can you imagine? DJ Grooves managed to get the 1st place trophy!" The Conductor explained bitterly, frowning at the memory. "I just need one Time Piece to fix this mistake. Can't you and the lass spare just one Time Piece?" he then asked in a pleading tone.
So THAT'S what he wanted all along. The Conductor wanted to use the Time Piece to go back in time and reclaim the trophy that he lost to DJ Grooves during the 42nd annual bird movie award. However, Arthur frowned. The strange owl's purpose to use the Time Piece was based on a selfish desire. He already got more trophies than anyone could ever have and he still wants more?
"You already got almost all of 'em. Ain't that enough to you?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Come on, lad! It's me whole career! My passion! Even you can understand that, laddie. We both talked about our shared love for western stories before, yer saw how much it matters to me!" the Conductor insisted. Arthur sighed deeply in exasperation. "One Time Piece is all I ask. Come on, laddie... A little favor for an old passionated owl?"
Arthur stared at the Conductor for a moment, before he shook his head. Sure, maybe the two of them have similar tastes in terms of movies, but this whole thing... it has gone too far. The strange owl tried to kill him just moments ago. He was crazy and dangerous, so leaving a Time Piece in his possession was a bad idea. And besides Arthur knew that time travel is something that should never be toyed with, especially when it involves Time Pieces. The time rifts were a perfect example of that. And finally, the Time Pieces belong to Hat Kid. They were her property, and not anyone else's. So giving that weird-looking owl a Time Piece is a no-no.
"Sorry, Conductor. This Time Piece belongs to Hat Kid, and even if it was mine, I'd never hand it over to you. Time travel is not a toy. It has consequences that you might never be able to undo. And after everything you did, no way in hell I'm letting you keep the Time Piece," Arthur said firmly. After hearing this, the Conductor's smile turned into a scowl. All he asks is a single Time Piece, but this lil' peck neck refuses to share, even though he and the lass have plenty of them? The mustached girl was right; they were both selfish brats!
The strange owl then formed a wicked grin and said, "Heh. You're a greedy young lad, aren't yer? I just need a single one, and yer won't share?"
"It's not a matter of greediness, Conductor. It's a matter of safety," Arthur retorted, glaring at him angrily.
The Conductor only huffed in disbelief and said, "Well, if you want this Time Piece back so bad, come and get it!". He then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the spotlights went off and the relaxing tune stopped playing.
"Dammit!" Arthur swore as he got up from his chair and looked around frantically, readying his crowbar. Suddenly, he felt something getting attached to his back, causing him to jolt in surprise.
"The hell?" he said in confusion as he touched whatever was attached to his back. It felt a bit heavy, some parts were metallic, others were made of plastic, and there were wires, an antenna... Wait, was that a beeping? Arthur's face suddenly grew pale as realization hit him. It was a bomb! The Conductor put a pecking bomb on his back! He tried to remove it, but in vain. Damn, this is bad!
The lights went back on in the room, and the Conductor was back on the stage. He looked at Arthur with a deranged smile.
"Remember this lil' bomb? This time it's attached to you instead of me lovely train... eh he he he!" the strange owl said, laughing maniacally. Arthur couldn't believe it. This guy was a goddamn psychopath!
The young boy sighed in disappointment and angrily said, "I helped you win the annual bird movie award, Conductor, and this is how you thank me?! By putting a bomb on my back?!".
"And you, laddie? Hmm? Not only did yer hide the truth 'bout the power of those props, but you kids also ran out on me to side with DJ Peck Neck! Even after the good moments we had!" the Conductor retorted in an angry and betrayed tone.
"You put us through a hell run on your train, then you sabotaged DJ Grooves' movie set! What did you expect us to do? Clean up your chimney?" Arthur snarked back.
"I did what I had to to WIN! And I certainly won't lose against you, lad!" the strange owl shouted furiously. Arthur gave him a nasty look.
"If I blow into pieces, I'll make sure to take you with me..." the twelve-years-old boy said through gritted teeth.
The Conductor chuckled darkly and said, "We'll see about that, laddie." He then pulled out a remote control and pressed the button, activating the countdown of the bomb.
"1 minutes and 20 seconds until self-destruct. Better hurry."
"Better cover yer ears! This bomb is gonna be loud!" the Conductor shouted tauntingly as he hopped down and began running around, flailing his arms while doing so.
Arthur chased after him to try and land a hit on him. However, the Conductor was faster than him. So instead, the young boy decided to anticipate the way he was going and proceeded to cut him off, whacking him on the face. Upon being hit, the Conductor stumbled back on the ground in a sitting position. Arthur attempted to hit him again, however, the strange owl kicked him away from him.
The Conductor got up and jumped back on the stage, before leaping up to the roof of the bleachers. He then pulled out three sawblades and threw them at Arthur. The latter had to roll out of the way to avoid getting sliced to bits. After that, the Conductor lunged at Arthur and landed on him, pinning him on the ground once more. The strange owl attempted to punch him, but Arthur whacked him across the face and kicked him away from him.
The Conductor backed away and pulled out three other sawblades, before throwing them at Arthur. The boy quickly got up and dodged them, before running at the strange owl and whacking him with his crowbar. The hit caused the Conductor to stumble back against the wall. Arthur grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and tried to hit him again with his crowbar. However, the Conductor headbutted him in retaliation, causing the boy to let go of him and back away.
"40 seconds until self-destruct. We're doomed."
'Well, I guess that's it then... I'm gonna die soon. I'm sorry, Hat Kid. I failed you...' Arthur thought sadly as he began to accept his fate.
"Darling! Darling!"
Surprised by the voice, Arthur turned his head towards the bleachers on the left. A mix of surprise and relief came into him as he spotted DJ Grooves among the crowd of Express Owls, looking at him worriedly. And he was not alone, someone else stood by his side. It was... Hat Kid? What was she doing here?
"Hang in there, we'll find a way to defuse the bomb!" DJ Grooves informed him. He looked at Hat Kid and said, "Quick, darling! I'm gonna need your help with this!". The purple-hatted girl quickly nodded, then she followed the disco penguin out of the room as he ran off to look for something to defuse the bomb. Arthur smiled in relief. Perhaps there still was a chance after all. He just needed to hold out until DJ Grooves and Hat Kid find a way to deactivate the bomb on his back. He just hoped they could make it on time...
For the last remaining seconds, the Conductor continued to throw sawblades at Arthur, while occasionally running around to taunt the boy some more. Arthur did his best at dodging the incoming sawblades, and landed a few hits on the Conductor whenever he could. Although this fight was seriously starting to tire him out. The anxiety of having a bomb on his back wasn't making it any easier.
"10 seconds until self-destruct."
Upon hearing that, Arthur gasped as his anxiety went through the roof. Only 10 seconds left! Have DJ Grooves and Hat Kid found a way to defuse the bomb yet?!
"9."
"Oh hohoho! Yer gonna blow, laddie!" the Conductor said tauntingly with an evil grin.
"8."
No, it's already too late... It's all over...
"7."
DJ Grooves and Hat Kid both came back in the bleachers while carrying a giant pair of scissors.
"6."
"Arthur darling! The defuser is ready, come here!" the disco penguin yelled to Arthur quickly.
"5."
The young boy dodged three incoming saw blades thrown by the Conductor.
"4."
Arthur made a beeline for the giant scissors as quickly as possible.
"3."
"No! NOOOO!" the Conductor yelled in frustration as he saw the boy reach the scissors.
"2."
Arthur ducked and covered his head with his arms as DJ Grooves and Hat Kid opened the scissors as wide as possible right above his head.
"1."
SNIP!
The antenna of the bomb was cut in half after DJ Grooves and Hat Kid clipped the two blades of the scissors together at the same time.
"Bomb defused. Hooray."
Arthur, Hat Kid, and DJ Grooves all let out a deep sigh in relief. That was so. Damn. Close! However, the Conductor was not happy with this. He was more than furious... He was ENRAGED! More than usual. He was so close to ending Arthur's life here and now, but that blasted DJ and the purple hat-wearing peck neck ruined everything!
He sent DJ Grooves the nastiest look he ever gave and said, "You... You no-good, spaced-out, picture-posin' PECK NECK! Not only yer stole award 42 from me, but yer come rollin' in to ruin me plan too?!".
"That's enough, Conductor! I won't let you hurt my little stars!" DJ Grooves retorted, glaring back at the Conductor.
While the two movie directors were busy arguing, Hat Kid jumped down from the bleachers, before running to Arthur's side to check on him.
"Hat Kid? W-what are you doing here? I thought you were sleeping," Arthur asked, surprised to see her here. He then frowned and said, "Lemme guess... the Mafia Boss ratted me out, did he?" Hat Kid nodded. The twelve-years-old boy cursed under his breath. He should have guessed that the Mafia Boss wouldn't hold his tongue. Oh well... Without Hat Kid and DJ Grooves, he would have been dead by now; so it doesn't matter. The purple-hatted girl then noticed the cut on Arthur's cheek and pointed at it, giving the boy a concerned expression.
"Oh this? This is nothing. Just a little scrape," Arthur reassured her. "Anyway, let's finish this and get your Time Piece back." Hat Kid nodded with a smile and pulled out her umbrella. The duo turned their attention back to the Conductor who was staring daggers at them.
"Alright, kids! That's it! Time to bring out... THE BIG GUNS!" the strange owl shouted angrily, before whistling. Suddenly, four Express Owls hopped down from the bleachers with knives in their hands and charged at Arthur at fast speed.
"OH CRAP!" the young boy yelled out in panic, before running away as the four owls chased after him while waving their knives around. Hat Kid was about to go help him, when the Conductor jumped in front of her, holding his knife in his hand.
"Not so fast, lassie!" the strange owl snarled at her. He then swung his knife at her, but Hat Kid quickly blocked his attack with her umbrella.
For a minute, Hat Kid continued fighting the Conductor, while Arthur was running around the room to escape the group of Express Owls chasing him. At some point, Hat Kid swung her umbrella at the Conductor. However, the latter dodged it, then he backhanded the small girl across the face. Hat Kid fell back on the ground, dropping her umbrella and losing her hat in the process. She tried to grab her umbrella, but the Conductor kicked it away, leaving Hat Kid defenceless.
"Now yer done for, lass. Say goodbyyyyye!" the strange owl said with an evil smile. Hat Kid's eyes widened in fear and she crawled backward as the Conductor slowly approached her.
DJ Grooves gasped after seeing his rival gain the upper hand on Hat Kid. The Conductor was about to kill her! The disco penguin narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. No! He won't let Hat Kid die at the hand of this monster. She and Arthur have gotten him out of the sombre routine he was in after being on a losing streak for so many years and they gave him a new purpose in movie making. They were his stars! His little divas. Screw it! He was going to help them!
DJ Grooves jumped down from the bleachers to join the battle. He attempted to charge at the Conductor. Unfortunately, a group of Express Owls jumped on him and pinned him on the ground before he could do anything.
"Ah! Get off me, darlings!" the disco penguin shouted in frustration. He tried to push the owls off of him in vain.
At this point, Hat Kid had reached the wall and had nowhere else to run as the Conductor cornered her. The strange owl laughed evilly, seeing that the young alien was stuck.
"Conductor! Please no! Not my diva!" DJ Grooves begged him with a distressed look, while his captors kept him pinned on the ground. However, his pleadings fell on deaf ears as the Conductor raised his knife up.
"NOOOOOOOO!" the disco penguin screamed in horror as he helplessly watched him get ready to strike Hat Kid down. The small girl let out a scream, throwing her arms up over her head as she braced herself for the incoming pain.
While running away from the group of owls, Arthur saw Hat Kid about to get stabbed by the Conductor and quickly rushed over to their sides. He only had time to scream, "NO!", before-
SQUELCH!
The whole room fell silent as the sound of the knife going through someone's chest echoed across the theatre. Hat Kid's eyes were shut tight and she was trembling, expecting to be already dead. However, she felt... nothing? She slowly opened her eyes and realized she was still alive. No wound, nothing. Then who got stabbed? She looked up and her heart immediately sank, an horror look forming on her face as she gasped. Arthur was there... standing between her and the Conductor, facing the latter. He had just taken the knife for her.
The young boy's eyes were widened and his mouth was open. He let out a weak grunt as he looked down at the knife that was stuck in his chest. First time getting stabbed, and it hurts like hell... More than all of the punches he took from other kids and his father in his home world... More than anything that you could ever imagine. He looked back up at the Conductor who appeared to have a shocked look on his face.
"Nice aim... old weird bird..." Arthur said weakly with a blank expression. And then, he collapsed on the floor with the knife still in his chest. His cowboy hat fell to the side as he hit the ground.
The Conductor stared at the injured boy, horrified by his own actions. Just before, he was ready to kill both of him and Hat Kid without hesitation or remorse, but the moment he plunged that knife into Arthur's chest... it was like a switch went off in his mind and he suddenly came back to his senses. Only too late.
"L-laddie...? I-I..." the strange owl began to say.
"CONDUCTOR!" he suddenly heard DJ Grooves scream angrily.
The Conductor looked to the side and watched in horror as the disco penguin managed to throw the Express Owls off of him in a fit of rage, staring daggers at him. A mix of nervousness and fear overwhelmed the strange owl as he took a few steps back. DJ Grooves suddenly charged at him and punched him hard in the face, sending the Conductor fly against the wall. The strange owl slid down the wall and reached the ground in a sitting position, before he passed out from the hit. The Express Owls inside the bleachers – including the ones who were chasing Arthur around – all gasped upon seeing their boss unconscious and immediately evacuated the theatre out of fear.
The Time Piece fell from the Conductor's pocket, still intact despite the blow. DJ Grooves picked it up and put it in his pocket, glaring at the Conductor one last time before he focused his attention back on Arthur.
"ARTHUR!" Hat Kid screamed in panic as she knelt down to Arthur's side. She was on the verge of tears as she saw her injured friend's pained expression. No, no! This couldn't be happening! Not him! Not her friend! DJ Grooves rushed over and knelt down to Arthur's side.
"Darling! Darling! Stay with us! W-we're gonna get you fixed up!" the disco penguin said, clearly panicking.
"Don't bother... Just... worry about the Time Piece and... and leave me be..." Arthur requested weakly as his vision began to blurry. He didn't want to be saved. He has been wanting his own death for a long time, and finally another opportunity presents itself. Hopefully, this will be the final one. Nobody will ever miss him, so it's no big deal...
"No, darling! We won't leave you like this! W-we'll get you to the hospital right away!" DJ Grooves insisted. Hat Kid nodded quickly, a few tears streaming down her face.
"Why...? I'm not important..." Arthur said more quietly, although both DJ Grooves and Hat Kid heard him and were shocked by that.
"No, no, don't say that, darling! You're more important than all the rest here! More important than my own career!" the disco penguin reassured him, earning a nod from Hat Kid.
Why? What makes him important to their eyes? Arthur didn't understand. That didn't make any sense... That didn't... That... Oh boy, he was starting to feel lightheaded here.
"Darling! Darling! Come on, stay with us!" DJ Grooves said as he grew more panicked.
Although, his voice became fainter to Arthur's ears and it almost... resonated. The boy's vision grew darker and more blurry every seconds.
"Darling? DARLING!"
"ARTHUR!"
Hat Kid's faint voice calling his name was the last thing Arthur heard before he lost consciousness and everything went black for him.
A/N: Hey everyone! The chapter about the Conductor's Boss Fight is finally wrapped in! Boy, this was intense and... emotional to say the least... but nonetheless, I had a lot of fun writing it. I have one chapter left to write before we move on to Subcon Forest. Now I know the ending looks similar to the ending of Chapter 2's Boss Fight from other stories I got inspired from, but it was how I planned to end the fight and I couldn't see what other ending could fit in this chapter. Sorry if it bothers you, but I'm keeping it that way.
Anyway, I also changed the font I'm using when writing my story. Even though you guys can't see it, I'm now using Calibri instead of Arial. It's in my opinion much easier, neater, and feels less 'packed' to read. Therefore it makes me less tired to write and reread my chapter before posting it. Which is good for my motivation!
Anyway, time to answer some reviews!
To Katoptris12: Sums up the fight pretty much. XD
To pokemonsora01: Heh, sorry for the cliffhanger. But hey, I was pretty quick on writing this new chapter, so yay! XD Anyway, thank you! I did have a Merry Christmas with my family and it was fun! I hope yours was great too! Also, congrats on 100 your A Hat in Time game on Switch! And don't worry, although I 100 the main story and both DLCs on my PC game, I still haven't completed Death Wish either. Though I'm fine with that. ^^; Now to answer your question, I'm not sure yet if I'll add that. Maybe a little idea will come through my mind and I'll write it down later in my story, but for now, that's not planned. Also, Arthur's dad live in the other world which is not the dimension Hat Kid and the rest of the cast live in. So 'butt-whooping' him might be a bit complicated... ^^; But hey, I think Arthur's father ending up alone with only his drinks to keep him company is enough punishment for him.
To thechickensawesome: All of these questions will be answered in the future as you read the rest of the story. ;)
Anyway, that's all for today, folks! See you all in the next chapter!