Chapter Text
Hat Guy is still. So still that if it weren't for his meditative state, one could easily mistake him for a corpse.
Durin watches him anxiously, heart beating fast as he waits besides his best friend. He wants so badly to believe that he’ll be fine, but he can’t help but think of the worst. What if he never wakes up? Or loses his memories entirely? What would they do then? Would they be able to fix it? Give him back what he lost? How would they tell Lord Kusanali? What if-
“Durin.” Albedo’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts. He puts a hand on his shoulder, grounding him. “Breathe with me.”
Durin hadn’t even realized he was hyperventilating.
He takes a deep breath, mimicking Albedo’s demonstration, it helps him calm down enough to steady his breathing, but his mind still reels.
It’ll be fine.
It will be fine.
All he has to do is wait, and protect his friend until he wakes. Trust in him that he will be fine, that he’ll come back to them safe and sound. He just has to wait until the core of his very being is put back into place.
What feels like hours pass.
Sandrone had said something to him, her own way of comforting the poor boy – sharp words with an underlying meaning of care. She had reassured him that he only needed to be patient, and told him to stop moping. He tries to do as she says.
Albedo is outside watching the perimeter, Durin thinks it’s to keep his mind occupied from worrying too much. Sandrone has run off in a hurry to deliver the world formula to the traveler. Durin and Hat Guy are alone now.
His friend remains deathly still.
It’s over.
The battle is finally over.
Nod-Krai is safe, everyone is safe.
But not all of them came out unscathed.
Sandrone is dead. Columbina is devastated. The first time she sees her best friend after hundreds if not thousands of years, and she’s already dead. Her lifeless body lay on the side of the battlefield. The Traveler feels terrible for Sandrone, for Columbina, for everyone The Doctor hurt. When he told Arlecchino the news, there was the slightest change in her expression, a subtle sadness in her eyes that only those close to her could have seen. The Traveler wants to blame himself for her death, but he knows it won’t bring her back, so he stifles that feeling.
They decided to recuperate at the Curatorium.
Now he has another thing to worry about, he has to know if Aoi is alright, too. He doesn’t want to lose another friend.
Arlecchino has elected to bring Sandrone back to the Experimental Design Bureau, Columbina choosing to come with her.
Nasha town is empty as they return. The travel back is somber and silent, what should’ve been a joyous occasion became akin to a funeral march.
They deliver the news to Albedo and Durin, shock coloring their faces, Durin more so. Lauma and Varka choose to go their respective ways and inform the evacuees that it’s safe to return. Nefer chose to go with Lauma.
Albedo takes the core and gets to work.
The Traveler waits anxiously.
The Traveler and the others have returned. The battle is won – but at a great cost. Despite not knowing Sandrone for long, Durin’s heart aches at the loss. Her death adds to his anxiety for Hat Guy. If something goes wrong when they put back the core, who’s going to fix it? He has no doubt that Albedo can find a way, but Sandrone is the expert in things like this. Durin thinks and thinks, trying to keep the worst case scenarios out of his head. He feels terrible, for Sandrone, for Hat Guy. He feels terrible for only thinking of his friend when someone has been lost. But who can blame him? Hat Guy is his first friend. It’s impossible for him not to worry.
“I’ll be putting his core back, then.” Albedo says with a solemn look on his face.
Albedo is careful as he holds the core, holding the precious object with something like reverence. His eyes soften as he looks at it, scrutinizing the core for any blemishes. When he finds none, he gets to work, determined to put this ordeal behind them once and for all.
The task itself isn’t too complicated. Sandrone had told him what to do and showed him her notes in case she was unable to do the procedure herself. He’s thankful for her foresight. As he closes the puppet’s chest and puts his clothes back on. He looks at his face, expecting his eyes to flutter open, but there’s no movement. Perhaps his system is still rebooting. His friend’s expression is peaceful, as if nothing’s wrong with the world.
The core has been put back in place, but Hat Guy remains asleep. Albedo reassured him, saying that his system likely needed some time to reboot. Durin believes him, but it doesn’t dissuade his worries. The Traveler is sleeping on one of the couches. Durin stayed to watch his friend.
The boy holds his hand and brings it close, unable to part with his friend for long. He doesn’t have a pulse – never has – which doesn’t help reassure him at all. He can’t be certain that his friend is even there anymore until he gives a sign.
“Hat Guy… you have to wake up, okay? There’s so many people worried about you, waiting for you. I’m waiting for you, too. I…I don’t know what I’ll do without you. So please , come back to us...”
As if responding to his words, Hat Guy’s fingers twitch in his hold. He slowly lowers his feet to the ground and stands up, albeit groggily. Durin helps steady him, the puppet looks as though he just woke up from a long slumber.
Durin’s anxiety turns to joy. “H-hat Guy! Are you-“
Hat Guy blinks at him. “...Who are you?” He asks with a tilt of his head.
Durin’s heart drops to his stomach.
The puppet looks at him in bewilderment. His eyes are wide, lacking its usual sharpness. His expression is innocent and seemingly confused, something that Durin has never seen on him before.
“It’s me, Durin! I’m your best friend, I…” Durin feels the sting of tears in his eyes. Surely…surely not… his friend must be messing with him, he thinks. Though deep down he knows Hat Guy wouldn’t do that to him.
His voice trembles as he continues. “Come on, this isn’t funny. I-I know I can be gullible sometimes but you don’t have to test me like this…”
“I’m sorry, but… I’m not this Hat Guy you speak of. The blue haired boy looks around, eyes widening minutely as he takes in his surroundings. “Where am I, mister? This doesn’t seem like Inazuma.”
No…This can’t be happening. It can’t. This has to be a bad dream, he must have fallen asleep while watching over him. Yes, that must be it. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if this was real. If his best friend was gone just like that.
“Mister? I’m sorry…did I upset you?” A timid voice snaps him out of his thoughts.
“N-no! No- I… it’s just- it’s… You really don’t… remember me? Anything at all? Wh-what about Simulanka, or Sumeru! Don’t you remember? You even took me to the Akademiya after we left the storybook!” Durin holds the other boy’s hand tighter. His hands are trembling now, but he doesn’t want to let go.
The puppet looks even more confused now. “I…I do not know what it is you’re speaking of, but I apologize, I didn’t mean to cause you distress.” The boy says as he bows his head.
Durin’s expression crumbles, and he breaks.
The dragon boy suddenly breaks down crying, pulling the puppet into his arms and hugging him like a lifeline, pulling them both down to the floor. The puppet holds him but he doesn’t know what else to do, his creator has never given him instructions for situations like this. He has never been in a situation like this. The last thing he remembers is his beloved creator putting him to sleep, leaving him alone for who knows how long.
He doesn’t know what’s going on, but this boy is clearly distraught, he feels a pang in his nonexistent heart.
He tries to reassure the boy. “It’s alright, I’m sure this ‘Hat Guy’ will come back for you.” He says, thinking that this “Hat Guy” must be someone dear to him. Someone like the Electro Archon is to himself.
“Durin? What’s wrong?” The door opens and someone comes rushing in, two young men with blonde hair and one with a peculiar mark on his neck. His eyes widening at the sight before him.
“Hat Guy, you’re awake!” The Traveler says in relief, but his smile fades when the puppet looks at him.
Hat Guy would never look at them like that – eyes wide, looking like an innocent child unsure of what to do. Durin clings to him as he sobs, mumbling into his shoulder incoherently. Albedo goes toward them and gently pries Durin away, but the boy clings stubbornly.
“Durin, please calm down. Let’s talk, okay? Could you tell me what’s wrong?”
The boy hiccups as he tries to speak, barely able to get his words out. “H-hat Guy l-lost his memories! He doesn’t- he- he doesn’t even remember me!” As Durin explains the situation, he starts to cling to Albedo instead, seeking comfort from his older brother.
The puppet looks at them, confused.
Albedo composes himself, he’s worried and there’s a number of hypotheses running in his head about what could have possibly gone wrong, but he recognizes that someone has to take control of the situation – and they’re not going to progress if they panic.
“Excuse us for a moment.” He tells the puppet. He coaxes Durin to the Curatorium’s lobby, sitting the poor boy down on the couch.
“Durin, I know this is a terrible situation, but we have to calm down and assess the situation. Hat Guy is clearly confused. To him, he’s in a completely unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people. We have to talk to him to understand exactly what he remembers. Do you think you can handle it?”
Durin sniffs, trying desperately to calm himself down. “I know I- I’m sorry…It’s just, I didn’t know what to do! Sandrone said she’ll be careful- and- I know she’s smart, and she’s good! But what if she made a mistake and that’s why he’s like this now? M-maybe she even did this on purpose-”
Albedo’s heart aches for his brother. “Durin, please listen to me. I do not mean to sound cruel, but you have to get it together. I understand that you’re scared. To be honest… I am too. But we have to be strong. For him.”
“I…” Durin sniffs. “O-Okay, I’ll try. For Hat Guy.” Durin wipes his tears, taking a deep breath like Albedo taught him.
“I’m ready.” He’s really not, but he tries to be strong for his best friend.
Albedo gives him a small smile. “Good.”
As they return to the office, they find the puppet standing right where they left him.
“Hello there, apologies for leaving so abruptly. My name is Albedo, this is Durin, and that’s The Traveler. May I know your name?”
The puppet turns to look at them. “I don't have a name. My creator never gave me one.”
Albedo’s eyes widened for a moment, immediately schooling his expression into a neutral one. Durin however, looks devastated. The Traveler looks sad, but doesn’t act surprised at all.
The puppet looks at Durin. “Please don’t be upset, my creator merely deemed me unfit for the task she created me for. She has elected to keep me asleep and left me in a safe location. Though this doesn’t seem to be the place where I was put to sleep, and I do not know why or how I am awake either…”
There’s…quite a lot of things to unpack in that statement, Albedo thinks. He doesn’t even know who created Hat Guy in the first place, or what he was created for. All he knows is what Hat Guy told them. That his “creator abandoned him after deeming him a failure.” He wants to know more, but it feels wrong to get more information from his unaware self. He looks at Durin, the boy is quiet, seemingly holding back his emotions once again. He puts a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.
“Do you at least have a preference for what we should call you?” Asks Albedo.
“You may call me whatever you wish.” replies the puppet.
Ah, it seems he’s always let people call him whatever they want. It makes sense now, considering his lack of name upon creation. Albedo thinks of what to call him. “Hat Guy” has been his moniker for the entire time he’s known him, though he knows that’s not his true name. He’s asked the traveler what his name is before, though he hesitated to tell him – stating that “Wanderer” might not like revealing it to others just yet.
“...Is it alright if we call you Aoi instead?” The Traveler says, finally speaking up. He seems overwhelmed too, sadness filling his expression.
“It is, I will now respond to this name you’ve given me.” The puppet responds almost robotically and bows, thanking him for the new name.
Durin stares quietly at them, unsure of what to say. He feels so useless, so drained. He said he’ll be strong for Hat Guy but he can’t even bring himself to talk. Everything he’s feared about this situation has come true. His friend doesn’t remember anything. Only his creator that so cruelly abandoned him. The one that deemed him a failure.
No. He mustn't get angry, Hat Guy needs him right now, and he’ll be there for him.
Durin steeled himself, preparing to say something to his friend without breaking down. He wanted to talk to him, get to know this version of him. Durin wanted to do everything in his power to get him back, but first he had to actually interact with him – preferably without tears this time, lest he confuses him even more. They brought Hat Guy Aoi to the couch, sitting him down as Albedo asked the Traveler to go with him and prepare tea and snacks, and probably to also talk, but Durin is only focused on keeping his friend company.
The dragon and the puppet sat there alone, the puppet looking at his horns curiously.
Durin was about to speak, but Aoi beat him to it first.
“I’ve never seen a human with horns like yours before…are you a youkai, perhaps?”
Durin blinked. He’s read about yokai before, but he doesn’t think he’s seen any description of one that could look like him. “Um…no, I’m a dragon, actually!” He tries to sound enthusiastic, talking like he would to Klee, but his heart breaks a little more, seeing his friend devoid of any recognition of him at all. He unfurls his wings to make a point.
Aoi looks at him with childlike wonder, and Durin feels his heart ache a little more. Just what has his friend gone through to lose this side of him?
“So dragons can look like humans too?”
Durin smiled despite his conflicting emotions. “Well, maybe some dragons can, but I didn’t always look this way, y’know? Albedo made me this way, so I guess you could say that he’s my creator too, for this version of me at least.”
“So you were created, like me?” The puppet asks, smiling and tilting his head.
“The way we were made is very different, but yes, I’m a creation, like you!” Durin responds. He smiles at his friend, hoping that the other boy wouldn’t be able to see through him. Given how innocent he is right now, he probably can’t. Not like the Hat Guy he knows, who knows Durin so well that he could read him like an open book. A man with a sharp gaze and even sharper words. His words may be cutting but he always has this gentler tone when it comes to Durin, sharp words underlined with care. To the dragon, he’s one of the kindest people he knows. He guides him, listens to him, and he’s always there for him.
Now it’s Durin’s turn to be here for him, and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t at least try. So he keeps on smiling at him as they talk, trying to be a steady presence, trying to be someone Hat Guy can lean on. Until this is all over and his best friend is back to his usual snarky self.
He doesn’t know how, but one thing’s for certain. They’ll do whatever it takes to get him back.