Archive of Our Own ^beta

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    Falling, falling, falling, She just couldn’t be stopped. After that weird buff guy came, claiming she needed to pay a tax for having her ship parked in space, her time pieces were gone and we’re flying out of the ship with her. She wondered when the falling will stop and she’d finally reach level ground, and then she did. 

    Hat Kid landed on her back, yelping in pain, she wished there would’ve at least been a cushion. She tried standing up, and with little success, it took her a full ten minutes to finally be able to pick herself up and actually be able to walk. Hat kid started to walk as slow as possible, did she break something? Looking around she noticed how sad this place looked, yet sort of spooky at the same time. Everything seemed to be a sickly purple, frozen over with ice. There seemed to be some residents here too, there were these wormlike creatures, their tails looked like they had stars in it and they all had some kind of mask on them. All of them were hiding, like they thought that Hat Kid was going to hurt them or they were just simply afraid of her.

    The cold started to catch up to her. She was knees-deep in snow, and it was biting at her, if she owned proper snow gear, maybe this wouldn’t be happening. Despite this she kept going, now only looking for shelter instead of timepieces or a way out of the frozen forest. After twenty minutes of mindless wandering in snow, Hat kid finally stopped potential shelter. A giant mansion sat way ahead of her, and she bolts for it (or tries too, anyways). 

    Finally reaching the manor, Hat kid takes her first step that isn’t in freezing snow that make her stubby legs ache. The steps are slippery, coated with ice just like the trees and random patches of grass in the forest, and she almost slips before she catches herself with her hands on the door. Hat Kid straightens herself out, swatting the snow off of her pants and straightening her top hat. She reaches her small hand out to the door, hitting it three times. She hears nothing at first, until a loud thud is heard from inside. The doorknob twitches, and then turns completely. 

    The door opens, and Hat Kids eyes lay upon something she’s never seen before. In front of her stood a specter, well not really stood, hovered would be more appropriate. The Ghost’s blue eyes widened, he looked like he was scared now.

   “You need to leave.” The dark blue phantom stated quickly, their voice a tad shaky. This ghost must really be afraid, but why?

   “What— why,” Hat Kid asked, “it’s freezing out there and I need shelter, please I beg you!” She started to yell, she needed to get in before she possibly died. 

    “I can’t let her find you, I’d love to help you but it’s not—!” Their voice increasing in volume, while at the same time becoming more and more shaky. Before they could finish their sentence, they were moved out of the way by a black, dainty hand. 

    “Oh~! A visitor!” Before Hat Kid stood a shadowed woman, presumably royalty because of the shiny gold crown atop her head. Now that Hat Kid noticed the crown, she couldn’t help but only now see the cracked crown and shackles on the blue ghost. Maybe they’re a couple? “We haven’t had visitors is such a long time,” Hat kid’s thoughts were put on pause, “please come in, it’s awfully chilly outside!” The woman said, letting her inside the manor, “we wouldn’t want you to die out there, would we?” She added, using a sadistic intonation that gave Hat Kid a chill up her spine while also giving a mean glare to the ghost next to her. The ghost only flinches. 

    After stepping inside the shadowed woman gives Hat Kid a smile and closes the door, “Now,” she started, looking back to Hat Kid, “my name is Vanessa,” Vanessa turned and pointed to the specter, “and that’s Lukas.” She introduced, using a harsh tone on the ghost’s name. “Might I ask, what’s yours?” Her tone took a turn, going from harsh to soft and delicate.

    “Hat kid.” She responded bluntly, she didn’t really have a real name, only a title. Back on her planet, names were forgotten and only titles remained, changing a bit as they grew up. 

    “Hat Kid?” Vanessa looked at her with a raised brow, Hat kid only nodded in response. “Well, Hat Kid, we can’t have you going back out into the harsh cold of Subcon Forest, so I suppose we’ll let you stay here in the manor, at least until the cold is bearable for beings such as you,” Hat Kid looked to Lukas, they seemed to not like this, they looked back at her with worry, “is that alright?” She looked back to Vanessa and hesitantly nodded. “Good!” Vanessa clasped her hands together in joy, “now follow me..” 

    The walk to a guest bedroom turned into a tour, and it took several minutes to get back to the level where the bedroom even was. “Well here we are!” Vanessa exclaimed in glee, opening the door, “please, settle in.” Hat Kid walked in and placed her hat on a cabinet that sat next to a awfully nice looking bed. “And if you need anything,” Vanessa added, “ask me.” She closed the door and walked away. 

    Hat Kid kicked off her shoes and got comfy under the covers. “Today was strange,” she thought in her head, “but at least I get to sleep in this comfy bed.” Hat Kid closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. She wondered what would be in store for her tomorrow.

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   Hat Kid woke up from a dreamless sleep, sitting up and reaching for her hat on the wooden cabinet, but she could only feel it’s cold surface. Her mind goes into instant panic. Where did it go? Why is it gone? Did someone steal it? She got up on her feet, put on her boots, and ran for the door. She burst through the door, and after taking two steps she immediately bumped into something fluffy. She looked up, and it was Lukas. 

   “Are you okay, kid?” They asked, this was actually the first time she heard their voice. The ghost pushed her off of himself gently.

   “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Hat Kid said awkwardly in a hushed toned, “oh! Do you happen to know where Vanessa is?” She asked the phantom. Their expression immediately changed to some kind of worry. 

   “Yes,” he started, “but why?” 

   “I can’t find my hat,” She replied, “I want to know if she found it.” Hat Kid Lied on the last part, she actually wanted to confront her and ask Vanessa if she stole it in her sleep. Lukas just stares at her with the same worried expression, if they weren’t dead and made of mostly shadows and guilt they’d be sweating. 

   “Follow me.” They responded hesitantly, floating away with Hat Kid follow them through the halls. 

   The entire walk they didn’t say a single word. In fact, they still weren’t since the walk still wasn’t over! Hat Kid was getting annoyed by this awkward silence, and she noticed that Lukas always seemed to be nervous, especially during this walk. It was like he was always afraid of something. Or someone, Hat kid thought in her head. It’s time to ask some questions and become detective, Hat Kid concluded her thoughts.

   “Lukas?” She asked the specter next to her.

   “Yes?” They responded.

   “Why are you so nervous?” She asked them, she wants answers and she will get them.

   “That’s,” they paused, looking at the ground, and then continued, “that’s none of your business.”

silence.

   “Lukas?” If they’re not going to answer that, she thought, then I’ll just get straight to the point. 

   “Yes?” They responded, the same way they did the last. 

   “Do you love Vanessa?” She asked him, and decided then to add, “you seem to be very afraid around her.”

   The blue ghost froze. They looked at her, and then behind her. They opened a door and dragged her in to the room with him roughly. They let go of her, letting her fall to the floor with the sudden action while they closed the door gently and locked it. 

  “Is it really that obvious?” He whispered, still standing at the door. He looked back her with sad eyes, and she nodded. He sighed, turning his body completely and leaning against the door, he looked at her with a pained yet also determined expression. “You got to get out of here, kid.”

Chapter Text

“Why?” Hat kid breathed out, questioning every possibility of ‘why?’. Lukas pauses, thinking of what they could tell her, and settles on one answer. 

    “For your own safety.” They whispered wistfully, hovering towards her he looked her straight in the eyes, gaze unmoving and impossible to break. “Go to the front door at midnight, I’ll try and meet you there.” Hat Kid only nods in response. 

    Lukas turns around, motioning Hat Kid to follow so they can both leave this room behind, though Hat Kid asks another question,

    “Why do you have shackles on your wrists?” 

    The question is only met with silence, then a sigh fills the air.

    “I think you will connect the dots soon enough,” they answer, an expression of melancholy on their face and forcing their tone to waver, “let’s go get your hat.” They float out, whilst Hat Kid finally stands back up on her feet and makes a bee line following them out. 

    The two start to wander for a bit, until finally reaching a room, when Hat Kid walks in its filled with tons of toys and a baby crib sitting against the wall. On the table in the middle of the room, next to a train set, sits Hat Kid’s hat. She plucks it off the table and gingerly sets it back onto her head, right where it belongs. 

    “Where’s Vanessa?” She asks the ghost behind her, who was hovering next to the door. They didn’t hesitate to answer,

    “she’s probably out, won’t be long before she comes back though.” Lukas closes their eyes, keeping their head down, only opening them again when the hatted child asks yet another question,

    “why do you guys have a baby room?” She asks while looking around, she was actually quite captivated by it, all these toys in one room felt like a child’s fantasy land. 

    “You don’t need to know about that, kid.” They say almost as if they were hissing. Their eyes narrow and the fur around their neck bristles to a point. 

    There’s a long silence, and Lukas wonders in their head why they haven’t left yet, then the child once again, her curiosity seemingly unending, asks another question,

    “Is Vanessa a bad person?” She asks them, simple and plain, her last drop of childish innocence present in her voice. 

    “Unfortunately.” 

    The two are met with silence once again. The air is so thick it could be cut with a knife, and then it was with a tug on his arm. He finds the hatted child hugging their arm, looking at them with wide eyes seemingly filled with an unbreakable amount of determination.

    “I wanna help you out of here, I’m going to help you out of here.” She states, her conviction and resolve present in her voice.

    “I’d really appreciate that, kiddo.” They respond with the first smile she’s seen from them since she got here. She swears she could see a tint of yellow in their blue eyes.

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     “Checkmate!” Hat Kid says with a cheer, winning the game of chess. She was sitting on top of the piano, Lukas leaning their tall shadowy body against it, playing with her. Hat Kid is victorious. 

    “Jeez kid, you’re really good at this.” They chuckle, this is the third time they’ve lost against the child and honestly, they’re surprised.

    “Only the best,” She boasts with pure pride, then a frown comes along her features, and she slumps, “Where’s Vanessa? It’s been an hour and you said she wouldn’t be gone for too long.” 

    “Y’know kid, I actually don’t know. She’d usually be here by now.” They answered, a bit troubled with the subject now themself. 

    Speak of the devil, she slammed open the door, walking in with the corpse of a buck. 

    “I’m back with dinner,” she exclaimed, then paused to look at the chessboard and their respective players on the piano, “oh, I see you two are getting along nicely, Lukas do you mind setting up the table with Hattie while I cook?” She glared at them with a creepy smile, it made Hat Kid tense. Lukas’s expression fills with fear and uncertainty, while one of their hands glides up to rest on a shackle bound to their wrist. He closed his eyes to bring themselves out of their fear, then opened them to give a seemingly rehearsed answer, 

    “not at all, love.” Their tone was unreadable, so was the expression on their face. 

    “Thank you my prince,” she nodded with approval of his answer, “meet me after dinner, I have something special for you.” Her eyes narrowed at him before walking into the kitchen. Lukas immediately slumped forward, sheer terror setting in, ghastly eyes widened and both hands holding onto a shackle. 

    Hat Kid jumps off the piano, walking to stand next to them, and places a small hand on his arm, trying to comfort them. It works, if only just a little bit, they lower themselves a bit so they're somewhat on her level. They look her dead in the eye,

    “I don’t think I’ll be able to come with you, kiddo.” They whisper to her.

    “Why not?” She asks frantically, a whisper not too loud but not too quiet either.

    Lukas shakes their shackles so the chains are facing opposite of eachother and raises their hands. Hat Kid looks in fear. They grab her shoulders, a serious expression and intonation now present,

    “look kid, if I don’t get to that door within a minute you run out of here without me, run straight ahead and run across the bridge, wait there and hide . If I don’t make it there within five minutes, leave Subcon without me entirely, you hear?” They command, their voice hushed yet powerful. 

    Hat kid doesn’t want to think about having to leave Lukas behind, but she also has a mission to find the timepieces too, she can’t risk dying or being kept captive by Vanessa. 

    “Okay.” She whispers sadly in confirmation. 

    “Good.” They answer, the yellow tint in their eyes growing while their sad shade of blue starts to fade into a sickly yet empowering shade of purple. 

Little did they know someone was listening...

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A large table was sitting in front of her, while Vanessa was eating the barely cooked venison. Hat Kid had her only plate in front of her, Lukas didn’t have a plate, either for the ‘something special’ or plainly because they were a ghost and probably couldn’t eat. 

    Hat Kid sat stiffly in her chair, poking the red now-cold meat with an even colder fork. She didn’t want to eat it, but she might have no choice. Vanessa noticed her playing with her food,

    “Do you not like deer?” She asks her, a now noticeable fake tone of concern present in her voice. Hat kid shakes her head in response, and almost immediately feels like she’s done something wrong. “Well, if you don’t try it, you won’t know if you don’t like it.” Vanessa continues almost nonchalantly whilst there’s a slightly noticeable hint of anger sprinkled about in her tone. Hat Kid makes a worried expression at the raw meat, then darts it towards Lukas, who, after a short second of pondering, nods quickly with the same worried expression. 

    Hat Kid pokes the food with her fork again, feeling the holes being bore in her from Vanessa’s sharp gaze, then takes a small bite. It’s cold, and raw. She dearly hopes she doesn’t get Chronic Wasting Disease from this. 

    “Is it good?” Vanessa asks her, a hint of satisfaction in her voice. Hat Kid nods, although she actually hates it and desperately wants to spit the food back out onto the plate. “That’s good, just a few more bites and I can send Lukas to put you to bed.” She continues, the use of ‘can’ makes Hat Kid tense up, but she reluctantly keeps eating the venison in desperation to get out of the room. 

    Hat Kid managed to finish the meat, it wasn’t too big a portion, but it was so disgusting that it felt like she ate the entire buck. 

    “Ah, I see you’re finished,” Vanessa looked at Hat Kid’s plate, “you can go now. Lukas, send her to her room then come back here, will you?” The phantom nodded hastily, then beckoned Hat Kid to follow.

    The walk had been quiet, both choosing not to speak until they were well and safe inside the room. Once inside, Hat Kid looked back to them. Lukas hovered in, closing the door behind them. 

    “You remember the plan, correct?” They asked her, Hat Kid nodded, then Lukas gave her a motion to repeat what they had said. Hat Kid shakily breathed in, then said the words, 

    “If you don’t get to the door in a minute, run to the bridge, if you don’t get to the bridge,” she paused, hating the last three words of the plan, in such a short span of time she was already so connected to the ghost, “leave you behind.” She looked up to them with sadness, Lukas nodded then left. 

    Now she waits for her time to strike.

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    They were chained in the cellar again. Vanessa always did this, either because she wanted to or because the ghost might’ve done something ‘wrong’. If anything they thought that She did something wrong, since she thought it’d be such a great idea to kill him from starvation, dehydration, and somehow even frostbite. The only good thing is that he always knew how to get themselves out of the shackles, they’d just been too afraid to. But now with Hat Kid? They had no choice but to slip out of them when the time came.

    A chime of a bell rang out through the manor. It’s time.  

    Lukas slipped their wrists out of the shackles, the last bit of cold that stayed with them since death finally left behind. They hovered quietly out of the cellar, then started to dart from wall to wall, hoping to avoid Vanessa if possible. She always patrolled the halls when she put them down there. 

    They heard a weird sound. Lukas didn’t know where it was coming from, but it sounded like it was twinkling, so they went into a nearby room to investigate. 

    Inside, sitting on a table, was a sparkling hourglass. They vaguely remembered what these were called, Timepieces . Lukas remembered learning about them in law school, said to be able to rewind time, but shouldn’t be used for selfish desires or rifts would appear or even worse, the world would collapse on itself. 

    Lukas gingerly grabbed it in their talons, they thought back to when Hat Kid had appeared on their doorstep, asking for shelter. Looking out the window that day they saw tons of lights falling from the sky. They had assumed the falling lights were apart of a meteor shower or maybe shooting stars, but now the answer was right in front of them. Hat Kid must have fallen down with these, she owned these. The thought of several more timepieces being out there surprised the ghost, but not as much as such a small child being in charge of several ancient artifacts that can control to time itself. 

    Lukas looked around the room, trying to find something they can use to hold the delicate yet sturdy timepiece in. If they made it out of here alive maybe they could give it back to the kid? Their eyes darted towards a satchel in the corner, big enough for the timepiece to be safely concealed in the bag.

    Lukas put the timepiece in the satchel, and made haste. Exiting the room and once again darting through strangely quiet hallways, they had reached the hallway before the door. It had been about three minutes, Hat Kid should be at the bridge, or darting for it now, yet they still heard sounds from where they were hovering. 

    Turning the corner to face the door, Lukas saw a frightening scene play in front of them.

    Vanessa had Hat Kid pinned to the ground, Hat Kid struggling, kicking her legs frantically, Vanessa with her hand on the child’s throat and another claw outstretched ready to strike. 

    It happened so fast. Hat Kid screamed. A bloody gash going down her torso present, and Vanessa was preparing herself to do it again. They won’t let that happen.

    Lukas Snatcher placed their bag on the ground, their talons sharpening themselves further, and that sick purple taking over their body as well as the gold in their eyes, glowing with anger. Blue embers trickled and sparked from the shadows talons, ready to burst into flame any second. 

    Snatcher tackled Vanessa to the ground, off of Hat Kid who was bleeding out fast, the embers now bright blue flames.

    This is what you deserve.

    A quick slash of his fiery talons caused Vanessa’s face to bleed.

    For killing me.

    The fire burned her shadowy skin, she howled in agonizing pain.

    For killing all of Subcon, you’re own people.

    Snatcher held a tight grip on her throat, another talon gripping the Queen’s arm, before ripping it clean off.

    And for everything you’ve done before that.

    The shadow let go of her severed arm, the blood on his talons as hot as the fire that had now dispersed into nothing. They looked at the corpse in front of them, Queen Vanessa is dead. The only red on her body now was her own blood, the red tinted shadows were seeping off her body. Snatcher looked back to Hat Kid, she was still bleeding, but she seemed to know what she was doing. Using the now empty satchel to apply pressure while holding onto a timepiece at the same time. He hovered towards her, and extended a bloody talon forward. 

    “It’s time we get out of here, kiddo.” The ghost said to her, their voice sounding more distorted than it did before, almost as if it were echoing. She grabbed Snatcher’s talon shakily, her legs wobbled from under her, and Snatcher decided that it’d be best to carry her instead. 

    Gliding out the doors with a bloody child in their arms, Hat Kid immediately felt the cold winds outside. Snatcher couldn’t feel the cold anymore, but they could feel how the child shivered in their arms. They held her tighter,

    “Don’t worry kid, from what I’ve seen only this part of the forest should be frozen now. We’ll be out of here in no time, then we can focus on your wound.” They reassured her, in response she just nodded and snuggled herself into the fluff around their chest. 

    Snatcher easily glided over the frozen obstacles, some of the strange creatures, that the ghost decided to call ‘Dwellers’, following them closely. 

    They finally reached the bridge, crossing it with several dwellers in tow. For safety measures, Snatcher decided to blast the bridge into pieces. The magic felt completely foreign to him, yet somehow familiar. But they can worry about that later. 

    Snatcher looked down at the bleeding child in his arms, she was still conscious, her eyes trained on the timepiece. The phantom looked to a random dweller,

    “Do you know of anyone that can help with her injury, or just, somewhere where we can get help?” They asked, the dweller seemed to show expression, straightening then quickly gliding in front of them, almost as if asking for them to follow. 

    Snatcher followed the tiny dweller to a house, or could it be called a house? It was a tree, with two large holes that looked like faces in the sides, and a nice warm inside, red strings were strewn about. There was someone sitting in a chair, reading a book. 

    The dweller hovered inside, alerting the strange person of Snatcher and Hat Kid’s presence. He looked at them, and greeted them warmly,

    “oh, visitors! Welcome, how may I be of service?” He asked, Snatcher was bit wary, but responded anyways, 

    “this kid is injured, she has a large gash running down her torso, I was wondering if you’d be able to help, mister..?” 

    “Moonjumper, just Moonjumper,” he answered, “and of course I’d be able to help, just a quick fix.” He held his arms out, asking for Snatcher to give him Hat Kid, in which he quickly obliged, taking the now bloody satchel and timepiece off her and handing her to Moonjumper. 

    “How are you going to heal her,” Snatcher asked, they put the timepiece on top of a bookcase and started rubbing their talons together, dry blood still staining their fur, “I don’t see any first aid kits in here.” 

    “It’s simple, really,” Moonjumper sat Hat Kid on the table, she was still conscious, able to hold herself up, but she was confused. Moonjumper summoned red strings from his fingertips, “I just have to use magic to patch up the wound, then she can take a quick nap.” 

    Moonjumper started work immediately, using the strings to sew the injury shut. Somehow Hat Kid couldn’t feel it, she wasn’t wincing, or saying anything. She just sat there while Moonjumper healed her wounds. That didn’t stop Moonjumper from starting small talk,

    “so,” he started,” how did she get such an injury? It doesn’t seem like an accident from the bruises on her neck.” 

    “She was attacked,” Snatcher responded simply, his talons going back down to his sides. He saw Moonjumper glance to his bloody talons, and he immediately felt a bit offended, “not by me.” 

    “Then who did?” Moonjumper asked him, curious of the shadow next to him.

    “Queen Vanessa.” Snatcher answered quickly, he wasn’t scared anymore, she’s dead. He saw Moonjumper tense.

    “The Queen?” Moonjumper asked, Snatcher just nodded in response. “We all assumed she was dead,” Moonjumper continued, “it makes sense though, that she’d go crazy and attack someone. Especially after the mysterious disappearance of her prince.” 

    “I didn’t ‘mysteriously’ disappear.” Snatcher scoffed, of course they wouldn’t know he was dead. Let alone murdered. Moonjumper almost jumped,

    “You’re the Prince?” He exclaimed in surprise, Snatcher nodded once again, “what happened to you?” 

    “She killed me,” they responded, “she locked me up in the cellar, then kept me captive in her manor for years.” They felt the sparks in their talons, he hoped the embers falling on the carpet wouldn’t catch fire.

    “I’m sorry that happened to you,” Moonjumper said solemnly, “I assume from the blood on your talons, the Queen has fallen?” 

    “Yes.” They answered. 

    Silence encased the room, both undead persons not wanting to delve further. After a few minutes Hat Kid’s wound was healed, Moonjumper picked her up and sat her on the armchair. She had fallen asleep already during the procedure. 

    “Is she gonna be okay?” Snatcher asked, obviously perturbed.

    “Yes, she’ll be fine when she wakes up in the morning.” Moonjumper responded simply. 

    “Right.” Snatcher replied shakily, he sat on the ottoman next to Hat Kid and heaved a sigh.

    Moonjumper hovered next to him, relaxing against the wall. He had a smile on his face before starting to ramble about plans to help rebuild Subcon now that the prince was here, and Snatcher started to smile too. 

    Everything will be okay now. He’ll make sure of it.