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Published:
2022-05-21
Updated:
2022-09-04
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16,634
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9/?
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Dream On

Summary:

After what happened on Earth two years ago, all Hattie wants is to have fun and not have the stress of Time itself weighted on her back. She doesn't get that.

Three years ago, Timmy was captured by his planets government who's... not very nice to magic-born, to put it lightly.

(Warning: this fic may contain descriptions of physical abuse and violence later on)

Notes:

hello hello! this is an au concept ive had for awhile, so now im acting on it! idk how long itll take, but im excited! i probably wont update it as fast as i want to, + the first chapter is a little short bc prologue, so sorry about that

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: Oh, I Hate Hoping

Chapter Text

Hattie spun herself around in her chair. Today had been very, very boring.. 

Bow said that she found more Time Piece readings on a planet about half a light-year away, which would’ve been exciting, except it was on an extinct planet… So, it was nothing more than a deserted wasteland.

How dull.

She hauled herself up from her chair and walked to a nearby telescope, then sent herself to the new planet, keeping her expectations reaaal low.

Even with these low expectations, Hattie was still disappointed. .

A huge blizzard obscured her vision, but it was stone ruins and the occasional vegetation as far as the eye could see. It was eerily quiet, aside from the howling wind. Hattie lowered the goggles from her hat down over her eyes to protect from the violent, wild snow. Most extinct planets had extreme weather, but this was a little…

She adjusted her hat and let it sense the nearest Time Piece. Through the top hat's activation, the corners of Hattie’s sight went blurry as her mind tunnel visioned, and she was pulled in the direction of broken-down stone ruins.

Bingo.

After some easy climbing, she found her way to the top, about ten feet off the ground. (She wouldn’t be nervous normally, but those rocks were old. They crumbled and shook with each step she took).

Hattie felt a presence looming behind her, and disregarded it in favor of getting out of the desolate planet as quickly as possible. She got the Time Piece, so she could go back home for the day, right? Relieved for the short visit, she reached out to the Time Piece (it was like her Soul was calling to it…), and rested her hand on the smooth wood on top…

Pink swirls began to form around the hourglass. They zapped her hand, and she stumbled backwards, shocked. She watched the Time Piece whizz over to whoever (or whatever) had been standing behind her (of course it couldn’t be that easy. It was never that easy). Hattie turned around, umbrella at the ready. 

But she hadn’t expected to see a kid—  slightly older than her— to be the cause.  They wore a grey hat, and an oversized blue coat with a symbol stitched into it.

They seemed tired. They were slouching a little, and their movements were static. Their face was obscured by a gas mask; the pink-ish glass covering one eye-hole was just clear enough that it allowed Hattie to see one of their eyes (assuming they had two, like her. There was a chance she was seeing all of their eyes, singular). They looked almost… angry?

“Thanks for finding this thing for me–” they sarcastically said. Their voice was raspy, like they hadn’t used it in a verrry long time “—the snowstorm is messing with my tech.” 

Hattie saw them give her a once-over. She scrunched her nose. “You know how it is.”

They both stared at each other, on guard. She was so tired of people trying to get their hands on Time Magic— it never worked. Hattie gripped her umbrella, considering charging a laser-beam and firing it right at their face. 

Mu was a bad influence on her.

The person cleared their throat awkwardly. It was only then that Hattie realized that she had stared at them for a solid few seconds without saying anything, and they were probably expecting more resistance. “...see ya,” they muttered. They teleported away in a flash of green, only leaving footprints on top of the cliff they were standing on.

“H– hey!” Hattie fruitlessly yelled at where they were, a little late to the fight. “That’s– that was mine…”

She stared at the spot for a moment. 

Hattie grumbled as she smacked a hand against her forehead. She would need an extra hand or three to count the amount of times a should-be smooth mission turned out to be waaay too convoluted. She forcefully  clicked her own teleporter on her wrist and traveled back to her ship.

When her boots landed on the carpet (and the ice caked onto them came off in chunks), she sighed a very heavy sigh. 

Two years ago, people were constantly after her Time Pieces. It was so annoying. 

And now, it seemed like history was about to repeat itself.

She resisted the urge to hit her head against the nearest wall. Nothing could ever be simple with Time Pieces.

She stomped into her bedroom and threw off her damp snow gear (and changed into a comfy sweater), too angry to even pick it up the now-laundry off the ground (she did glare at the heap of gear on the floor though, hoping that maybe it would get the message and clean itself up . She’d check back later).

Hattie went back to the control room, still upset she came back empty-handed, and plugged in her clunky controller to her Game Dodecahedron. She booted up her favorite game (Corgi Quest Adventures II, the best game in the Corgi Quest series, obviously), and began angrily tapping away at buttons, watching as the little puppy on screen slashed its sword at enemies until Bow came in from the engine room. 

“Is… everything okay?” she asked, probably upon hearing how aggressively Hattie was mashing her controller.

“Peachy.”

Bow glanced at the screen, where Alan the corgi was starting a battle with yet another monster. She then looked at the large monitor displaying that their Time Piece count had not gone up.

“You sure?”

Hattie grumbled, pausing the game to look up at Bow. “Someone stole the Time Piece! Was a realll jerk about it, too.”

“Ah… did you catch their name?” Bow sat down next to her.

“No… they left before I could even say anything.” Hattie looked down at her hands and wrung them. She wanted to break something. Everytime she just wanted a bit of a break, someone had to come and ruin it for her. When would this bad luck end?

Bow gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay, Hat! We’ve come over people like this before! I’m sure we’ll get those Time Pieces back before you know it.”

“Yeah… yeah! We’ll beat that stupid push-over!”

Chapter 2: Bared Fangs

Summary:

They both underestimate each other.

Notes:

warning for injury!

omg Twip updated so soon yada yada. yeah i kinda got obsessed with an up-coming chapter so i sped through this chapter and honestly i kinda really like it ??? so yeah. its still a little on the shorter side but whatever lol

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

This time, when Hattie landed on the extinct planet (“Dynaquit” is what Bow found out it was named through extensive research), there was no blizzard. It was dark, and Hattie could see the edge of the Milky Way on the horizon. The stars blinked at her like eyes.

She stepped, careful of any ice that may have formed under the snow. Hattie searched for the next Time Piece she had located.

This time, when Hattie felt someone looming around her, she whipped around, umbrella pointed at the perpetrator—

No one.

(Man, she would have looked so cool…)

The person she was looking for was definitely hiding somewhere in the rocky cliffs.

“Hello?” she called.

Nothing.

“Where are you?” she asked, turning around.

An echo of her own voice.

Hattie took a very deep breath…

Come out here and fight me, you coward!

Her voice repeated through the cliffs until it tapered out into silence.

Welp, must’ve been her imagination.

So, she continued walking through the snow, feeling her feet slowly freeze through her thick socks—

A third footstep. It crunched on the rocks.

Gotcha.

Hattie spun around once more, umbrella pointed directly at the person standing in front of her (and this time it was so cool).

The person in the gas mask had a sword at the ready, holding a stance that looked like they were so annoyed that they may just lunge and kill her right then and there. Up this close, she could see the symbols on their coat better. “T.S.F,” along with an upside-down triangle with a circle and an “x” in it were factory-embroidered 

A sword and an umbrella… Hattie had the upper-hand in this.

“Why are you stealing my Time Pieces?” Hattie asked, taking a step forward.

They stepped back, and let out an annoyed little huff. “Your’s? As if. I’m recovering these and returning them to their proper owner.”

Proper owner?! I’m the one that was using them in the first place! Hattie wanted to shoot back. She took a swing at him just for that. They dodged out of the way and slashed at Hattie, grazing the side of her face. They got into a rhythm of them swinging and her blocking as she was walking backwards, fearful of any cliff edges that could have been waiting for her. The masked person managed to slide past her, using the back of their sword to knock her over. When Hattie looked up, she realized they had slashed off part of a cliff’s edge and it was about to fall right on top of her. She quickly scuttled to the side. The impact would have been potentially deadly if she didn’t, but she was still pelted with rocks and snow. She got up despite this.

Hattie shook herself off and sprinted at the perpetrator, readying her umbrella’s laser-beam and shooting it directly at them. The look of shock in their eye was consumed by burning orange.  But they didn’t go down— she could feel them blocking it with their sword, barelyyy hanging on.

This guy was strong .

She dismissed her laser and lunged towards the masked person, blocking their vertical swing just a little too late. She stumbled backwards, but pushed back and forced the upper-hand—

The masked person’s boots scraped across the rocky cliff, and they plummeted down into the trees below.

Or, that's what Hattie would’ve thought if she hadn’t peered over the cliff to see that they had teleported away in a panic.

She sat down to catch her breath.

So they were definitely not a pushover.

She looked over the cliff again, noticing a shimmering light from below the snow. A Time Piece!

She carefully steadied herself on the cliff’s edge and slid down. She planted her boots firmly in the snow as she crouched down and uncovered the buried Time Piece.

After securing it in her bag, Hattie teleported back up to her ship.

Her landing wasn’t smooth by any means (she almost tripped on the carpet), but she was very cold. And tired.

“I… I got one!” Hattie yelled out to Bow, carelessly tossing it into the vault and stomping the snow out of her boots.

Bow poked her head out of the bedroom hallway, looking up at the Time Piece counter, now displaying a “57”. “That’s great!” she said, jumping up to the second level of the main room.

“I got in a fight with the person that stole the last one, though. Still didn’t even catch a name…” Hattie thought back to the masked person’s jacket. She didn’t think about it at the time, but T.S.F… it sounded familiar. And the symbol was odd, too. She could have sworn that she had seen the two before. “Have you ever seen a symbol like… like an upside-down triangle?” Hattie asked, making a triangle with her hands. “With a circle and an ‘x’ inside?”

“Why?”

“It was on the guy’s jacket! It also had letters that said ‘T.S.F’.”

Bow tapped her fingers together, then jumped down and started walking to the bedroom with Hattie in tow. “I think I do, but I’m really hoping I’m wrong…”

“Huh? Why?”

She pulled a book from the shelf (Hattie didn’t catch the title) and flipped through the pages until she landed on one near the middle. Bow winced. “That’s… what I thought.”

Hattie looked over Bow’s shoulder. “What is?”
“It um… it stands for “Tempus Space Force…”

Oh.

…Oh, shit.

Hattie’s hands started to shake. She thought she had left Tempus behind after she escaped from that explosion. She didn’t even want to think about what happened on Tempus anymore! That’s why she ran away! Why the hell would they send someone after Time Pieces here of all places? It was dangerously close to Earth.

Hattie remembered what happened to planets like Earth that were found by Tempus, bursting with different societies and magic.

Hattie remembered what happened to Bow, all those nights where she couldn’t sleep because she thought every one of her moves was being monitored and recorded.

And she shuddered.

If push came to shove, Hattie was willing to do whatever it took to protect her home—

Bow put her hands on Hat’s. “Hey, hey, hey!” she whispered. “It’s all gonna be alright, Hat! Dynaquit is a solid light-year away from us, I don’t think they’ll be finding Earth anytime soon.”

“You’re right, it’s just… I don’t know. I worry.”

“What else is new?” Bow chuckled. “Space Cadets usually have number-names that they go by, they’re on the sleeve of their jackets— did you see one on theirs?”

She thought for a moment.

“I… think so? It was a… three? Or an eight. I think it was an eight,” she settled on.

Hattie opened a desk drawer and pulled out the bandages she had stored, carefully patching up her face while Bow spoke.

“It’s… this is gonna be scary,” she said. “I just hope that they’re not also after us …”

Hattie shook her head. “If they so much as come near you, I’ll punch them in the throat!” She would go to the end of the galaxy to protect Bow! But… she still hoped it wouldn’t have to come to that.

“So what did this ‘Eight’ look like, anyway?”

“Well… I’m not sure. They have this gas mask over their face and they haven’t taken it off… oh— they have a sword, though!” Hattie pointed to the fresh bandages on her face.

“...maybe you should pack some first-aid supplies next time you go out on an expedition.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine! I kicked their ass back there, they have no idea how to use a sword.”

Which was a complete lie. Hattie knew that she had only seen the start of what the masked person could do, and she feared for when they used their magic. It seemed… unstable. But she didn’t want Bow to worry. She already did loads of research about everywhere they went, both out of curiosity and paranoia— Hattie didn’t want her to have to worry any more about her than she already did. 

“And of course,” she added, “If I’m ever in any actual danger, I’ll either call you or ditch. I’m impulsive, not stupid.”

“I know, I know…” Bow closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. Thinking about her time back on Tempus must have been… really scary, to say the least. Bow had talked about it before, how she was never told about what they were really doing. Hattie almost didn’t want to tell her how awful it all really was…

She shook off her coat, trying to shake off the memories of the past, as well. Hattie really didn't want to go anywhere else today. “I'm beat, wanna play some video games?”

Bow swiveled in her chair. “Are you asking if I want to watch you play Corgi Quest Adventure II again?”

“No! …yes.”

“I still don't get what you see in that game…”

“It's a glitchless masterpiece!” Hattie joked.

“Well, I don't have anything else I'm doing, so why not! …As long as I don't have to play co-op.”

“Of course not, I would never put you through that.” A pause. “Again.”

Hattie then sighed, relieved to have a moment of calm. Though, she felt it wouldn't last as long as she hoped…

 

Eight stared at the ceiling, heart still racing and breath heavy. His brain was still caught up in being lured off a cliff and starting to plummet through the cold air.

He put a hand to his heart, trying to steady his own breathing.

“Havin’ fun, kid?” a snarky voice from across the control room.

“Sh— shut up.” Eight breathed. The voice belonged to a small necklace tied to the top of the control panel. Though it was only a skull with eyes, it looked smug. “I didn't expect her to know how to fight. She was using fucking thread magic.”

“How resourceful! Didjya get a name?”

“Her umbrella had a sticker on it that just said ‘Hat Kid’” How creative. “Can't believe I almost died to thread magic.”

“Well, I'm not surprised—”

Eight sat up and looked at the necklace. “Skull, I will throw you into the cold, empty vacuum of space!”

“Calm down kid, I'm just messin’ with you.”

He grumbled and crossed his arms. “I'm not a kid.”

“Sure bud.”

Eight got up and walked over to his control panel, fiddling with the coordinate inputs. 

“What’re you gonna tell your boss?” the skull asked, watching him type meaningless numbers.

“Nothing, hopefully. I’ll get those Time Pieces back, hand them over, and I won’t have to say anything to them. No harm, no foul.”

(Eight hoped with everything he had that he wouldn’t have to even mention anything that was happening.)

“Ohhh, I see. The plan is to lie ,” the skull necklace said sarcastically.

“No! No. The plan is to not tell the truth.” Eight flicked off the coordinate inputs and leaned back in his chair. “Totally different”

Notes:

heehhesfhskdfh yeah. Eight pov #win for neurodivergents all around the globe
btw yeah the skull necklace is the necklace that Timmy has in "canon", i just kinda gave it a little lore so yeah :v: not sure if itll come up later lolz
side note, if this chapter seemed a little different in style, thats because the last one was edited by
my sibling Mooshroombo! go check him out, their writing is very poggers ^^

Chapter 3: Talon-prints

Summary:

Hattie has a dream (though, it's more of a memory). Eight answers questions.

Notes:

cw for mentions of scars at the end

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

A giant laboratory containing ethereal Beings was interesting for some people. Not to Haze. She had already explored every hallway, every closet, every vent there was. So, in the dead of night, she carefully snuck out of her house and ran until she was lost. She pretended she was a space pirate, flying through the stars at light speeds. Though the wind in her hair shouldn't have been possible in space, it felt fitting with her arms spread out to her sides, spinning in the snow.

When she stopped, she was outside the city. She already lived on the outskirts, but she still was a little nervous about leaving the city. Haze heard about violent mages that kidnapped children during a full moon to kill them. Yikes!

Death had never stopped her parents, though. She continued forward.

The calls of crows overhead caught her attention. She decided to follow them, even though she didn't know where they were going. They all crowded around a greenhouse a little ways away. It looked like there was a… person sitting on the glass roof. Upon further inspection, the greenhouse was broken down. The crows crowded around the person, but they didn't mean to be frightened or anything. Haze ran up to him with the crows. “Hello?” she called up to him, craning her neck.

He looked startled, he pulled his scarf over his mouth. “Hello!” he smiled back, looking panicked.

“What are you doing out in the snow?” Haze started to climb the broken windows to get to where he was. When she got closer, she realized he was a kid, maybe a little older than her.

“I'm just watching the crows.”

“Why? Where are your parents?” Haze sat next to him. He looked at her.

“Where are yours?”

“Touché.” She got comfy, watching the crows fly around him. “My name's Haze! What's yours?”

“Ah, um… people just call me ‘T.’ Or ‘Timmy.’”

“That’s a nice name! So why are you watching the crows in the cold, Timmy?”

Timmy shifted uncomfortably, still holding his scarf over his mouth. “At least I’m wearing warm clothes. Are you in pajamas?”

“Um,” Haze shifted. “Don't tell anyone, but I snuck out of my home…”

Timmy giggled a little bit. “It's okay, I snuck out of mine, too.” He looked behind him and pointed at what looked to be a camp, or a refuge of some sort. It was a small bit of shapes illuminated by orange in the distance. “It’s riiight over there.”

Haze looked at the full moon. “You better be careful out there. My mom told me that mages kill people over here.”

“Oh, uh…” Timmy laughed again, but it was a little more strained.

“What?”

He lowered his scarf and pointed to his face. It was laced with faded-blue markings, strung under his eyes. He sheepishly grinned. “I think I might be one of the scary mages your mom warned out about…”

“Eek!” Haze jolted back. A few crows flew away in fear. “Did you lure me here to kill me?!”

“No, no, no! Of course not!” Timmy hid his face with his scarf again, as if it would undo the damage. “Mages don't kill people!”

She squinted at him. “Are you sure …”

“Yes! Um… I– I mean technically at least one mage has probably killed someone… but it's not because they were a mage! That would just be silly.”

Haze smiled again, reassured by how timid the boy was. If he was really evil, then he would be all sinister and… evil. “That's good, I think my parents would get upset if I got killed.” She looked down back at the ground. “You really do attract the crows…”

“I heard that they’re bad omens.”

Haze suddenly felt a lot more scared. “Does that mean something bad?”

“Well, not right now.” Timmy held up his hand, which held a small fabric bag. “I found some bird seed when I came home from school yesterday! That’s why they’re all here. Nothing bad is gonna happen I don’t think.”

Haze looked down at the crows happily pecking up the birdseed thrown at their talons “What grade are you in?” she asked.

“Mmm… third?”

“Hey, I’m in third grade, too!” A crow bounced closer to the two of them. “School is soooo boring. I wanna quit and fly to space instead!”

Timmy looked at her slightly confused. “Don’t you have to go to uh…” he snapped a few times as if trying to remember the word. “Sssspace school to go to space?”

Haze thought for a moment. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” she decided. “What do you want to be?”

“Uh… I wanna be a really powerful mage so I can help people! My dad teaches me magic every day after school.”

“Magic sounds really cool—” the crow had sat next to Haze, as if it were in the conversation, too— “I asked my mom about learning it but she said no… I heard about Time magic once from my brother but…” Haze wrung her hands, “he’s not around anymore.”

“I wish I had siblings, I’ve always been on my own in school and stuff.”

“I think you’re lucky.”

Timmy put down the bag he was holding, which now seemed to be empty. He looked up at the sky and pointed to the horizon. “The sun’s rising, you might wanna hurry back home,” he said with a smile.

“Ah, you’re right! I almost forgot I even snuck out.” Haze slid down until her slippers hit the snow. She shivered thinking of the walk back home. “It was fun talking to you, Timmy!” she called.

“You as well, Haze!” he chuckled.

Haze carefully tip-toed around the crows. “Bye!”

She broke out into a run, dashing towards the lab’s high roofs over the horizon.

 

Hattie!

“Wha–?!”

Bow giggled at her disoriented friend. “You’re a deep sleeper, you know that?”
“Uh…” Hattie looked around, seeing that she passed out in front of her Game Dodecahedron. She recalled the day before. Fighting, winning, and remembering… Tempus.

Right, the person that was stealing her Time Pieces, he was working for the Tempus Space Force.

“Helloooo, Earth to Hattie.” Bow snapped her fingers in front of her face.

“Sorry! Sorry, I’m here just— just tired.”

Bow stood up and offered a hand to Hattie, who was still a bit dazed. “I made us breakfast! It’s nine-thirty right now, so you should probably wait if you wanna—”

Hattie stood up, gratefully taking the hand. “I think I’m gonna go back to find that masked person.”

“Hat, you just woke up—”

“Don’t worry about it! It’ll be a there-and-back trip!” Hattie grinned an insincere smile as she made her way to the nearest telescope. “I just have some questions.”

“Don’t die…” Bow called to her.

Of course, she had no intentions to.

Hattie felt… desperate, to say the least, when she landed safely in the snow. 

The masked person was working for Tempus. 

It made sense, but Hattie needed to hear it from the horse's mouth.

But she couldn’t just pick a fight again. That would probably end in either her death. Or no answers.

So, she instead decided to play the long game.

She trekked through the snow, using her hat’s ability to guide her to a Time Piece. She tried not to think about Tempus but… it was just in the back of her mind.

She didn’t get it. She didn’t get why they were here now of all times. Were they still having troubles with Time Pieces, even after what happened three years ago?

Hattie looked down at the Time Piece at their feet.

It’s not like they were trying to be better or anything.

Though she knew her feet would be freezing later, Hattie walked to some nearby ruins and crouched behind them. 

The masked person couldn’t be Tempean, that much she was sure of. Tempeans didn’t have that strong of natural magic. Or, at least, it was less common for them to wield magic as a main weapon. It just didn’t make sense why the T.S.F would hire someone who wasn’t Tempean—

Footsteps.

Well, speak of Time.

Hattie peaked out from behind the stone ruins, watching as Eight picked up the Time Piece and drew their sword. She quickly hid back behind the stone, but she was positive that they saw her.

“I know you’re there,” Eight apathetically said. “If you come out now, I won’t hurt you.” 

Hattie hesitated, but tried to look as confident as she could, standing up with her hand readied on her umbrella. “I’m not here to start a fight!” Hattie quickly sputtered out. “I— I need to ask you a few things.”

“And what makes you think I would answer you?”

“Um…” Hattie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Becauseee…?”

Eight looked at her for a moment, then sighed. Apparently deciding that she wasn’t a threat, they put away their sword. They started to walk away, then stopped, signaling for her to follow.

Hattie scurried over to their side. “Soooo… your name is Eight, right?”

“Not my name. It’s what my crewmates called me.”

“Why?”

“I was the eighth individual to join our mission. Not much more to it.”

“Well, where’s the rest of your crewmates, then?”

“Has anyone told you that you ask too many questions?”
“No.”

Eight sighed. “Higher-ups wanted me to do some solo-missions for the time being.”

“Why?” Hattie did realize that she sounded like a broken record, she just didn’t care much.

“No idea, I just do what I’m told. Where are your crewmates? I would think you wouldn’t go to an extinct planet alone.”

“Oh, I don’t work for anyone— I don’t have crewmates. I mean, I have a friend that lives on my ship!” Hattie pointed up in the sky at the biggest star, at her ship. “She keeps all of the tech junk in check.”

“Don’t work for anyone…? Then why are you here ?”

“I’m the one asking you questions, remember? Now, you work for Tempus, right?”

Eight seemed caught off-guard from the sudden shift. “Uh, yeah.”

“But you’re not a Tempean.”

“You don’t know that.”

“But I do ,” Hattie said firmly. “The way you talk. You learned how to speak Tempean.”

Eight stopped in the snow, turning to look Hattie in the eye. “Don’t speak about things you don’t understand.”

They continued walking.

“You know, you’re living the dream I wanted when I was little!” Hattie mentioned, choosing to ignore whatever just happened.

“Being in the Space Force?”
“Yeah! But that was before I started studying engineering. And I’m glad I did, because—”

Hattie had forgotten who she was speaking to. An enemy. Someone who worked for the people she was running from for the last three years. Eight wanted her dead, they just didn’t know it was her yet.

“Because…?” Eight asked.

“Nothing. I just liked it more.”

Eight looked like they were about to question her, but they stopped short. They looked down at the Time Piece that lay at their boots. They reached down and carefully picked it up, shifting its weight from one hand to another. They then held it out to Hattie. “Here,” they said, shortly.

“Huh?”
“You gave me one earlier and didn’t pick a fight. Now we’re even.”

Hattie took the Time Piece, looking at Eight wearily. She fumbled with it before securing it in her bag.

“If anyone asks,” through one of the eye-holes, Hattie could see that Eight was avoiding eye contact, “we fought, and you won.”

 Hattie hummed a hesitant agreement.

“See ya.” Eight abruptly flicked their teleporter, leaving Hattie behind.

 

Eight fell on his carpet, mistiming his landing. He hated teleporters.

He rolled up his sleeves, feeling the rippling patterns that scared his forearms. Strange, he didn’t remember having those…

“Got one?” the skull asked.

Eight rummaged through his bag and let the Time Piece fall onto the floor. “Yep,” he replied shortly. “I think I’m forgetting something, though.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. I forgot where these came from.” Eight held up his arms, showing the scars that covered them.

The skull stared for a minute, before saying, “Those are from a long time ago, kid.”

A long time, huh?

Eight couldn’t remember anything before he lived in space. He was vaguely aware of the concept of a “before,” but any memory of it was short-lived. But what he did know is that he had scars— a lot of them. He must have gotten in a lot of trouble before—

Before…

Before whatever happened to get him here.

Eight couldn’t be bothered to try to recall it.

Notes:

yaya this one was really hard to write !!! and then i figured it out so it's ok :)
next chapter will be maybe on the shorter side?? but then the next next chapter will make up for it cuz im pretty sure itll be a longer one !

Chapter 4: Star-Crossed

Summary:

Eight seems a little more... aggressive than normal.
Hattie decides to ask for help.

Notes:

warning for some blood mentions and just general violence. the kids are fightinggg
(btw, an oc of mine is in this chapter! if youre interested in them, i suggest checking out one of my other fics, FMQ!)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Dear Diary,

That Eight guy really is something else. One moment they try to pelt me with rocks, the next they’re making a truce with me?!

Well, I guess they never really said it was a “truce,” just that we were even now. As if I needed them to give me a free Time Piece! I could have fought them again.

 

Hattie hastily emerged from the sea of pillows piled in her room. “Snatcherrrrr…” she groaned, face planting into the fluffy cushions. “I don’t wanna walk through the snow again…”

Snatcher, not looking up from his book, laughed his slightly-too-boisterous laugh. “Kid, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you chose to go site-seeing on that planet.”

She just grumbled, knowing that he was right. She did choose to try and recover those Time Pieces… she might have been just a touch paranoid that someone would try to use them for evil again.

Gee, I wonder why.

“I just…” Hattie groaned again. “I’m so tired of Time Piece troubles!”

“...I get that,” Snatcher said, almost… gentle with his tone.

She sighed. She wasn’t actually angry, just a little frustrated. She got up, swimming to the carpet where she used her teleporter. She mumbled a small “bye” to Snatcher before she felt her body get tethered to the void, soul traveling through Space— but not Time— until she landed in the howling blizzards of Dynaquit.

Not wanting another encounter with someone she wasn’t sure was friend or foe, Hattie made sure to step carefully, using the wind as a cover for the crunch of the snow.

The snowstorm was almost enough to clog up her hat’s sensitivity to any nearby Time Pieces. Fortunately, she managed to find the smallest thread of an hourglass, hastily grabbing it to not lose the signal.

The ruins were tall and towered over the small trees and cliffs where she landed, creating a forest of ancient stone. Hattie weaved through the pillars, looking for her Time Piece.

Something interrupted her search. It was some kind of magic that felt… different. It was faint and passive, but still very much there . It was like the cloud of a protostar, merely the idea of a spell swirling around itself protectively. The fear and love of creation.

She peaked around the corner.

Well, it had to be somewhere around there…

The wind seemed to grow tired; the snow started to let up and the gusts of winds settled. With the wind gone, Hattie could hear humming. It was coming from the same direction of the magic.

As she got closer, she realized who it was filling the air with humming.

Surrounded by stone pillars, Eight stood in the snow, pink puffs of magic orbiting his hands, sparkling against the white blanket of ice. They looked peaceful.

Hattie stepped forward, realizing just a bit too late that her boots crunched in the snow.

Eight almost immediately became alert, springing to their feet and drawing their sword at Hat Kid. Even though their stance was aggressive, they looked horrified. As if they had a rock, they chucked a luminescent ball of magic at her. Hattie quickly lunged to the side, hearing the BANG of the magic behind her. She drew her umbrella, swiftly slashing it at Eight’s side. They stumbled back. Hattie went for another swing above their head and was met with a sword blocking her attack. They pushed her away with their sword, steadying themself and thrashed their sword too close to Hattie’s stomach.

She quickly dodged and switched to her brewing hat. She threw a potion that exploded right on Eight, who dove out of the way a little too late. They wiped the grit from their face with their sleeve. They sent a flurry of light at Hattie’s eyes, giving them time to space themself from her. They picked up a cluster of rocks off the ground with their magic, sending them flying at her while she was distracted. She lunged towards them, ignoring the taste of iron. She shot a white-hot beam directly at Eight. The tip of her umbrella smoked.

After the smell of burning settled, Hattie watched as Eight’s magic fizzled out around them. They faltered, breathing heavily, until they fell down from exhaustion.

She stood and stared for a moment, on guard.

Finally, Hattie looked past them, and saw the Time Piece she had sensed partially buried in the snow. She scurried over to it and scooped it up, admiring the shine it gave off. She let out a heavy, tired sigh.

Until her arm was tugged back.

As her body twitched, trying to free itself from the force it was being crushed between, her umbrella slipped from her grasp and flew over into Eight’s hand.

She looked up at where they stood. Eight looked like they were about to die, but, somehow, they were still able to get up.

They wound their arm back, and threw the umbrella directly at Hattie’s chest.

She went flying backward, crashing into a stone pillar. She could hear it crack behind her from the impact.

Eight simply stood, waiting for Hattie’s next move.

She grabbed her umbrella and charged at him, taking a swing at their face. They launched her away and picked up their sword. They blocked the swing she took from the momentum. She pushed them back, but they took the opportunity to slash at her chest. Hattie threw another potion. They were quick, and slid out of the way of the explosion. Eight swung their sword at her face, slashing her cheek and sending her stumbling back.

She tripped.

The snow, fortunately, cushioned her fall.

Eight stabbed their sword in the ground right next to her face.

One of the eye-holes on their mask had shattered. What she saw wasn’t anger or satisfaction, but desperation in their eye.

Hattie didn’t know what to do. Panicked, she jabbed a finger on her teleporter, fleeing before she got killed.

She was still shaking when the snow beneath her turned into soft carpet, but calmed slightly when she could smell the familiar, home-y scent of her own spaceship. She was in her bedroom.

Hattie turned over to see Bow and Snatcher looking at her like a corpse had just apparated into the room. “G… Good eveninggg,” she managed to breathe out jokingly.

Bow immediately rushed to her side, stumbling over the pillows and comic books scattered on the floor. “Hat, oh my Time, are you alright?!” 

Hattie gave a strained nod and a shaky thumbs-up. “Some bandages would be nice, though.”

Bow glanced over to Snatcher, who was already getting the first-aid kit from under the desk on the other side of the room. “What happened?”

She sat up, wiping the blood from her cheek with the back of her sleeve. “That Eight guy kinda kicked my ass…”

“Didn’t you say that— that they didn’t know how to fight?!”

“I did say that, but it was this thing called, uh… lying.”

Bow unscrewed a disinfectant bottle and used a cloth to clean Hattie’s wounds. She sighed. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“What the hell did you even do ?” Snatcher asked, resting himself opposite to Bow.

Hattie recounted what happened with Eight, and how she almost got the hourglass before they got up. “It’s like… last time they were trying to get the Time Piece, but this time they were trying to actually kill me…” she said, mostly to herself.

Bow carefully sanitized Hattie’s skinned knees, wrapping them in bandages and using large bandaids wherever she could. “Wait… why would Tempus allow a magic-user on their crew? Do they… do they know?”

“Maybe it’s artificial magic?”

“Couldn’t be,” Snatcher said. “From how you described it, it’s way too free-flow to be artificial.”

“Hm… well, what kind do you think it is?” Hattie asked, shifting her knees to her chest.

Snatcher thought for a moment. She knew that he didn’t have the largest knowledge on types of magic, despite Subcon being mostly reliant on it before the ice storm. “Not sure about that one, kiddo. Doesn’t sound like it’s external, though.”

“Mmmaybe I could ask someone else? If I know what magic they use, then I could probably find a way to counter it…” She thought for a moment until a certain twitchy friend came to mind. “Oh, oooh ! I could ask Badger!” she exclaimed. She hopped to her feet and bolted out the room.

“Good luck, Hat!” Bow called from the now closed door.

 

Hattie felt the cool, thin breeze of Alpine brush through her hair as she landed in Goat Village. She scanned the peaks around her, spotting a far-off, purple dot near the Twilight Bell. She skipped over to the zipline, and zipped over to the Twilight Path. It was a quiet, peaceful place. The glowing flowers almost made her forget about all of her troubles, but she had to remember that she was on a very important mission. She mounted another zipline, and glided up to the enormous bell that was hung in the sky.

“Badger! Heyyy, Badger!” she called to her friend as she got closer, landing under the skirt of the bell.

Badger noticed Hattie coming over to them and crouched down. “Well, hello there, young one. What brings you to me, today?”

She giggled at the very proper way they spoke. “So… so I met this person who’s after my Time Pieces, and their magic is reeeeally strong. They could levitate things and stuff? It was bright pink, and their eyes glowed when they used it… do you have any idea what type of magic it could be?”

Badger thought for a moment, mask twitching and spinning. “How did the magic appear?”

“Well it was like… it kinda looked like a liquid kinda? But smoke, too. I don’t really know how to describe it.”

“It seems that your rival uses Spirit Magic,” Badger concluded. “Though, it’s unusual that an individual outside of Earth would wield it. Zebu may be more knowledgeable about this than me, however.”

“Who’s that?”

“A friend of mine, they’re in the observatory right now,” Badger pointed a glitching finger over to a large building on a peak that diverged from the Twilight Path. “They may be studying, but I’m sure they’d be glad to help.”

Hattie hooked her umbrella on the zipline back to the path. “Thanks for your help, Badger!” They gave a pleasant wave as she started rocketing down the line. “See ya!” she called.

 

Hattie had only visited the observatory during her time on Earth once, surprisingly. It reminded her of a big library that was near the lab back on Tempus. The towering dome on the top of the building resembled the moon, in a way.

The inside was buzzing with young Alpinics reading the books from the shelves that coated the walls. Hattie looked to the goat that seemed to run the place for guidance— they were sitting at a wooden desk helping a little kid check out a book. After they were done, Hattie stepped over to them. “Ah, hello,” she timidly said. New places were a little scary…

“Hello there, little one! Who might you be?” They extended a gloved hand to shake.

“My name’s Hattie.” She accepted the handshake. “And you?”

“I’m Soleil. How can I help you, dear?”

“Well, uh… I’m looking for someone named Zebu, and I was told they would be here.”

Soleil scanned the building. “Last time I saw them was on the top floor with the telescope,” he said. “We’re very busy today, but they stand out because of that blue raincoat they always wear.”

“Thank you!”

Hattie took off to climb the winding staircase, careful not to bump into anyone. When they got to the very top, they very quickly spotted Zebu. They were a young goat, about her age, that wore classic Alpinic robes with that blue raincoat as a substitute for a hood. Hattie tapped them on the shoulder. “Um. Hello, I—” Why did it have to be someone I don’t know… “I’m having some magic troubles, and Badge Seller pointed me towards you for help!” she said cheerfully (yet somehow still a little awkwardly).

Zebu looked her up and down. “Oh, you must be Hat Kid! Badger told me about you.” Their voice was deeper than most nomads, but still friendly. “Here, we can talk outside.” Zebu led her to the gardens that surrounded the building. “So, magic troubles?”

“Yeah, um. So there's this person that I need to know the magic of to counter— don't ask, long story— and Badger said it might be Spirit Magic. They said you might know more about it than them…?”

“Ah, of course!” Zebu fished out a book from the bag slung around their shoulder. Hattie caught a glimpse of the title; something about magic types, but it was quickly covered by Zebu flipping through the book and sitting down. Hattie followed. “Though, I think I might already know the answer to your question… doesn’t hurt to check, I guess.”

Zebu scanned the book for a second. “Badger said that Spirit Magic is uncommon outside of Earth. Is that true?” Hattie asked.

“Mm… mostly, yeah. It’s not like it doesn’t exist on other planets, but—” they pointed over to the Twilight Bell— “that’s the most concentrated place of Spirit Magic in the known universe. At least, that’s what I’ve read.”

Huh. No wonder Hattie felt irradiated after delving in there for her hourglass.

Zebu closed the book. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” they mumbled.

“What is?”

They sighed. “Well, Spirit Magic is… fickle. I don’t even know how to describe it. So, technically, anyone and anything can beat it. It’s not like Elemental Magic. But if I were to suggest any one type of magic, it would either be Spirit or Soul.”

“Great,” Hattie grumbled.

Zebu looked down at the book cover, tracing over the patterns with their thumb. “Maybe I could meet this person? I’m still in training, but, uh, I’ve done way more dangerous things before.”

Hattie thought for a moment. She definitely wasn’t gonna win any more encounters with her own, short-ranged attacks. And Eight seemed like they were hell-bent on killing her earlier…

She hated asking for extra help, especially if it was dirty work.

But…

But Zebu was offering, and she didn’t really have any other options, so…

“I would love your help, but this person is a little out of the way.”

“How out of the way?”

“Um… a light year?” Hattie said with a sheepish grin.

Notes:

yeah i really had trouble making this chapter flow
SMASH that kudos if YOU think i did a good job and COMMENT down below how YOURE gonna meet your brother's sibling without knowing--

Chapter 5: Hibiscus

Summary:

Some pieces start to fall in place, and neither of them can sleep.

Notes:

sorry for disappearing for a. month.
this ones way shorter than some of the others, but i hope now that the story is becoming clearer ;)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Zebu kicked the snow at their feet, tugging on the ends of their sleeves, wishing they took up Hattie’s offer of snow gear. They were able to withstand cold, but not this cold.

Hattie was scanning the horizon, looking for something. “I don’t… really know how this works… like, do I need to get them to use their magic for you to like… assess them, orrrr…?”

Zebu was thankful that they weren’t the only one that felt a bit awkward. “That would be ideal, yes. But, if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to sense their magic just by being near them.” Hattie started confidently walking in an arbitrary direction with Zebu in toe. “You said this planet is— uh, is extinct?”

“Yeahhh…” She took out her umbrella, checking all around the two of them. “It’s basically unlivable. There’s a lot of factors that go into extinct planets, but, most of the time, no one wants to colonize them. This one probably had all its resources extracted until it was uninhabitable, and then was abandoned. But, that’s just a guess.”

“Wow, you really know a lot about this stuff!”

She chuckled, and Zebu caught up to be walking next to her. “ Bow knows things, I just listen. But I did study some of this stuff back at home— there was a library close to where I lived.”

Zebu started to feel an overwhelming aura. If the aura was this “Eight” Hattie was talking about, their suspicion from earlier was right— it was, without a doubt, Spirit Magic. They stopped and examined the surrounding cliffs. “I think we may have some company,” they said in a low voice, just loud enough to be heard over the wind.

“Shit— uh,” Hattie fumbled while getting her umbrella out from its scabbard. “You— you don't need to fight, the cliffs here are tall, so you could probably hide and watch if you need.”

Zebu wished they brought something to read. “Right,” they confirmed, and slipped away behind the tall rocks.

They sat there in the wet snow for some time. Now they really wished they had taken that snow gear offer.

After what felt like hours that was probably a minute, Zebu felt the aura become stronger. They peeked out to get a better look.

“The hell are you still doing here?” the person in the mask, Eight, asked. They were crouched on a broken stone structure with a glowing hourglass at their feet, looking down at Hattie. 

“Same reason as you,” she replied, taking a step forward, though it only made her crane her neck more.

“It's rude to bring guests without asking, you know,” Eight teased.

Ah, so they knew that Zebu was here.

They weren’t worried. If Eight’s nonchalant attitude was something to go by, they didn’t care about them.

Zebu watched the light teasing escalate into a fight. It almost looked like they were dancing.

When Hattie got a good wack in their side with her umbrella, Eight used his magic for the first time in the fight to shove her back. It was… strangely familiar. The pink light they used sparkled against the show.

They stared, realizing that the way they used their magic showed they were magic-born. Of course, that wouldn't be obvious to Hattie, but Zebu could tell at a glance.

But there was something else, something that they couldn’t put their finger on. It lingered in the air like the snowflakes that drifted from the sky.

Suddenly, Hattie thrashed her umbrella at Eight’s face, knocking off their mask.

Bright blue markings laced their face, stripes and swirls plastered like flames on their skin.

They stood there, stunned, as Hattie caught her breath. They then turned away in a panic, snatching the gas mask back up and disappeared in a mess of green glitches.

Zebu’s hands started to shake. They did their best to steady them by clenching and unclenching them, but it didn’t work. They stood up, feeling sick to their stomach. 

Hattie let her umbrella fall into the snow, and picked up the glowing hourglass that had fallen into the snow. She turned to face Zebu. “Uh… you okay? You look like you saw Death…” she half-heartedly laughed.

“I—” They couldn’t know for sure but it was… it was strange. “You mentioned something about… uh… Eight being from— from another planet, no?”

“Yeeeaaah?” she dragged out, “Why?”

“Sorry, it’s just… they remind me of someone I knew… he— he disappeared about three years ago, so it’s— it’s probably nothing.”

“Three years ago…” Hattie fidgeted with the hourglass. “Here, we can talk about this back on my ship.

She took Zebu’s hand, and teleported them both back up to space.

 

Hattie leaned against the window that overlooked her room, happy to have shed her heavy boots. Zebu sat next to her, dangling her legs into the pillow pile. She crossed her legs, listening to Zebu intently.

“He, um, he didn’t live on Earth, but he had managed to find a gateway into the Twilight Bell. He would visit every day after school, until one day he just kinda… disappeared. Without warning.”

“Three years ago, right?”

Zebu toyed with the sleeves of their jacket. “Right.”

Hattie looked up at the ceiling, rummaging in her brain, trying to make the timelines line up. “Three years ago, something big happened, actually.” Zebu looked at her curiously. “Uh, to make a very long story short, my home planet kinda… exploded. A lot of people survived, despite what the government would tell you,” she chuckled.

Zebu was quiet for a moment, looking down at their hooves. “They’re also both magic-born…” they mumbled.

“What?!”

“Right! Right, I forgot to tell you!” They turned to Hattie, still avoiding eye contact. “Um… it would be hard for most people to tell, but the way Eight used their magic is very similar to how most magic-born wield theirs. It’s, um… not something a lot of people notice…”

Hattie had a hard time wrapping her head around all of this. She knew how Tempus treated magic-born. Hell, anyone who even practiced magic could be arrested.

She was… familiar with those laws.

She watched Zebu stifle a yawn, and checked the clock that hung above her desk that was synced with Earth’s solar cycle. It was almost one in the morning. “I really appreciate your help,” Hattie said, smiling. “But you seem tired. We could talk about this tomorrow, right?”

“Mhm,” Zebu replied, rubbing one of their eyes. “Here, I’ll give you my number!” They fished a scrap of paper and a pen out from one of their pockets and scribbled a string of digits. “Call me if you need anything, ‘kay?”

Hattie took the paper and pocketed it “Of course!”

She led her new friend back to the telescope in the engine room and waved them goodbye.

Once she was sure that Zebu was home safely, she fell on her bed and let out a huge groan.

Why does this have to be so complicated .

 

An hour later, Hattie still knew nothing.

She sat hunched in the dark over various books, with four tabs open on her laptop. She didn’t know what time it was, but Snatcher had told her to go to sleep a while ago, and she saw Bow crash on the bed after what Hattie assumed was a long day at the metro.

She felt… bad for being dependent on Bow lately. Bow put so much time and work into everything that they did, making sure she understood it from every angle. Meanwhile, Hattie jumped into everything head first, and usually ended up hurt.

She didn’t want Bow to have to think about this now.

So, she stayed at the desk.

The small lamp that was on felt blinding to her.

And she still knew nothing.

It turned out that researching a rebellion that was silenced by their government is not… easy.

The farthest she had gotten was finding the laws about magic usage. They all basically said ‘only the people Tempus likes can use magic,’ which wasn’t helpful in the slightest.

“Kiddo,” she heard Snatcher say in a low voice from somewhere in the shadows. “You don’t need to kill yourself over this. You can rest.”
With a sigh, Hattie stood from her desk. Staying up would only make it harder to research. And more frustrating. “Yeah, I know…” She flopped down face first into the pillow pile, allowing herself to drift off to sleep.

 

Eight pulled his pillow over his ears, pressing it hard against his head. Despite this, he could still hear the faint buzz of the metal piece attached to his ear.

He asked many people about the helix piercing, but no one would give him a solid answer. It was a thick loop of metal, about half an inch in diameter, with letters and numbers engraved on it. The engraved text read “TS - 138 - HST.” It was nonsense— a string of meaningless characters. He remembered having it as far back as he could remember, back in…

…the lab…

Eight found that, sometimes, it would start to buzz, not unlike a hummingbird, when his ship’s solar cycle reached sundown. It would make an awful beeping noise when certain people, usually higher-ups, were near him. He would panic when he couldn’t focus on the instructions he was being given.

So, he couldn’t sleep. A lot.

He was given medication for it way back when he worked with a crew, but he ran out a long time ago and was too nervous to ask for more. Not that they helped a lot, but they were better than nothing.

Eight sat up, looking around at his messy, silhouetted room. The fuzz of the darkness settled as his eyes adjusted to the shadows. He shifted out of his small bed and took a few steps to the door, checking to see if it was locked. After unlocking it and relocking it, just to be sure, he sat back down on his bed and crossed his legs.

There was no reason for him to be awake— his thermostat wasn’t broken, his mattress didn’t have any springs loose, nothing.

It was just the earring.

He looped his thumb into it, scrunching his eyes shut, preparing for—

(“ It’s very important,” the chief, a very tall man in a smooth white mask, once told him. “It can’t be removed without tools, because you need it.”

“To survive?” Eight asked.

The chief seemed hesitant. “...Precisely.” )

Eight lowered his hand.

What was he thinking?!
There was no reason he should— he should—

So what if he was having sleep problems? He never felt tired in the morning, even when he couldn’t sleep. He was fine.

 

(Hattie dreamed about metal instruments, test tubes and chemicals through a window. The smell of sterilized counters and feet aching from walking home. People from behind a glass wall, backs turned to her. )

(Eight dreamed about restraints around his wrists and ankles, about white walls and the taste of iron. Fluorescent lights that buzzed. People from behind a glass wall, facing him.)

Notes:

everyone say thank you to Grace aka @askamnesiamoonjumper, and also Dan aka @mushroombo on tumblr for giving me the motivation to fix this chapter yippee! ok the next ones a doozy see ya then :v:

Chapter 6: Alone Together

Summary:

Eight and Hattie get stranded.

Notes:

HERES THE CHAPTER THAT MADE ME ACTUALLY WRITE DOAU IN THE FIRST PLACE enjoy or else ^^

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Hattie couldn’t see three feet in front of her. The fog was so thick it may as well have been solid. The howling wind blizzard didn't help, either, only making it harder to pick up on anything that signaled a Time Piece.

She saw a figure with a drawn weapon step towards her. 

“Eight?!” she called out to them, trying to listen for a voice.

They took a step forward, lowering their sword. “Oh, it’s just you.”

Just me? What’s that supposed to mean?!” They turned around and started to walk away, but Hattie followed.

“I thought you were someone else,” they replied simply.

“Who else would be on an extinct planet?” Hattie snarkily said.

Eight grumbled a small, “I don’t have time for this,” and clicked the teleporter that was around their wrist.

And they clicked it again.

And again.

Nothing.

Hattie stared, wondering if they had broken their teleporter. Without warning, they grabbed her left wrist and scrunched up her sleeve. “Wh- hey!”

They pressed the button in the middle, and she was surprised to see that still, nothing happened.

That was… concerning.

Eight let out a drawn-out groan. Not letting go of her wrist, they started dragging her in a random direction. “Are you gonna tell me what’s happening?!” Hattie protested.
“Uh…” Eight scrunched up their eyes and snapped a few times. “The fog and wind is making it so our teleporters can’t send signals to our ship’s beacons.”
“So we’re fucked?”
“Pretty much.” They took out a small device, not any bigger than a phone, and started tapping the screen quickly. “I have a cave marked somewhere here, so we can get away from the snow, at least.” They stopped, stared at the screen, and then did a 180, walking in the opposite direction.

“‘We’?”

Eight let go of Hattie’s wrist. Even though they were wearing their gas mask, she could tell they were giving her a funny look. “Would you rather die alone?”

“N- no—”

“Sweet. Let's get out of the snow, then.” Eight started walking off.

Was Hattie really about to trust them…?

She started following Eight, rubbing where they had grabbed her wrist. She stared at the green coordinate plane on their tablet— it looked fairly similar to the blue one she had on her ship’s control panel. “You sure have a lot of tech on you…”

“And you don’t?”
“Well, um… I usually only bring my hat and my teleporter with me…”

Eight did a double take. “Do you know how extremely dangerous that is?!”

“It’s not like I regularly travel to planets I’ve never been to! It was only one time, and it was an accident…”

“How do you accidentally travel to a planet?”

“Long story.”

“...I actually crash landed once.”

Hattie silenced her giggles with one of her hands. “Really?”

“First time I was on a solo mission, I panicked while trying to steer and fucked up my landing. I’m lucky the people there were nice and helped me patch up my ship, otherwise I would’ve had to report it to Tech.”

“Tech?”

“Oh, it’s um… it’s what we call the people who build our ships.” Eight ducked into a mouth that opened on the side of a cliff. It was cold, but dry in the cave. The faint sound of dripping from somewhere deeper in the cave could be heard if Hattie really strained her ears. She sat down against a stalagmite that jutted out from the cave’s floor. “They’re nice, but I would rather die than have anyone know I crashed a government-assigned ship.”

“I built my own ship,” Hattie said, watching Eight gather an armful of dead plants and sticks. Before Hattie knew it, they had started a small fire.

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah! I was… very young, I had to upgrade it recently so that it wouldn’t fall apart,” she chuckled.

Eight sat down next to her as the two fell into a slightly uncomfortable silence. Hattie shifted, balling up her hands in her lap. After about a minute, she felt something tap her shoulder.

She looked over and saw Eight was holding out… her umbrella? Eight was looking away, avoiding eye contact. Hattie slowly took it. “Where did you…?”

“You left it last time.”

Hattie blinked. “Why would you give me my weapon back?”

Eight was quiet for a moment. They brought their knees to their chest. “...Because it’s fair.”

She gave a small hum in thought. “I stole this, you know,” she said, breaking the tension with a grin.

“H- Huh?”

“Yeah, some mafia guy stole one of my Time Pieces, so I stole his umbrella and whacked him with it!”

Eight let out a sort of wheeze-y laugh. That got them smiling. “That sounds very much like you.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Hattie teased.

They laughed again, and turned away slightly. “Time, I shouldn’t be talking to you like this,” they said without any indication they would stop.
“Why not?”

“Well, you’ve broken at least two laws, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but…” They tapped the triangle stitching on their coat.

“But you haven’t told anyone about me,” Hattie less asked, more stated.

“I haven’t.”

“Why?”

“You ask a lot of questions.”

“You’ve told me that before.”

She could see Eight blink slowly. “You— you didn’t tell anyone about my magic.” They started fiddling with their earring… wait, did they always have an earring? 

“No, I didn’t. Why… why would I?”

Eight stayed silent this time. The fire crackled and popped sparks to the ceiling of the cave.

“Wait, is it cuz…?”

They slowly nodded.

“...Oh.”

After a moment of quiet, Hattie scootched a bit closer to Eight. She gave them a small bop on the head with the end of her umbrella. “I never told you my name,” she said softly. “I’m Hat Kid, but everyone calls me Hattie!”

They stared. “Is it because of…” They pointed to their head.

“Yeah, it’s because of my hat,” she giggled. “No one knew my name when I found my new home, and I think that it fits me more than my old name.”

“Fits you?”

“Mmmhm!”

Eight looked into the fire, its flames dancing in the pink glass eyes of the mask. “Nice to meet you, Hattie.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Eight!”

As the fire flickered, Hattie could see engraved text on their piercing. “TS - 138 - HST”.

Oh.

Oh, Time.

“How old are you, by the way?” Hattie asked, knowing that any answer wouldn't make it better.

“Mmm…” Eight started counting on their fingers for just a bit too long. “Fifteen?”

They were a year older than her. 

The piercing wasn't just a piercing, Hattie could recognize that formatting anywhere. It was the same kind of tag that the laboratory where she lived used.

She tried her best to look like she didn't want to scream. “I'm fourteen, I turn fifteen in a few months!” she smiled. “You're a little… young to be working for the government, aren't you?”

“I get that a lot. There was a reason, but I don’t remember,” they answered honestly.

“I started solo-piloting when I was eleven, some of my friends were… concerned when I told them.”

“Damn, eleven? I only got my own ship last year!”

“Well, I didn’t want to be piloting…” Hattie said with a grimace.

Eight was quiet for a moment, then seemed to realize what she was talking about. “Oh, right…”

Hattie decided it was a good time to change the subject. “What was it like rooming with a crew?” she asked.

“Huh? Ah, it was, um… it was fun, actually. But, I usually like to be alone, so it got really exhausting after a while… sometimes I would sneak away during expeditions to get some quiet time,” they laughed.

“And you didn’t get in trouble?”
“I don’t even think they knew I was gone.”

“Did they— did they know about your magic…?”

“Uh… no, only our Chief knows about my…” they grimaced, “magic. I don’t risk it with anyone.”

Hattie took off her hat, holding it like it was a pillow. “Then why do you use it in front of me?” 

“You already knew, no point in hiding it.”

She stared at the yellow fire. It had gotten smaller as the time dragged on, but she could still feel the warmth blanketing her. If she looked at its core, her eyes started to water. “Then why didn’t you use your magic for the fire?”

Eight made eye contact with her for a moment, before breaking it again, deliberately looking away from her. “I’m not— I’m not fuel .”

The sticks popped and crumbled as the flames ate at them, burning brighter. “Oh.”

Silence fell once again, but it wasn’t… uncomfortable. Eight closed their eyes and let their head rest on their knees. “This never happened, by the way,” they suddenly said in a low voice.

“Hm?”
“If anyone you don’t trust asks, you waited alone. I did, as well.”

“Riiiight,” she said, sarcastically, putting her pointer finger and thumb up to her chin. “We’re like undercover agents!”

Eight stretched their legs back out in front of them. “The Chief said he wanted to meet with me tomorrow.” Their voice dripped with annoyance. “So you’ll get a free Time Piece!”

Hattie tilted her head slightly, eyes drawn to the mouth of the cave. “Hey, do you think the fog is gone?” It had been at least a few hours. 

Eight craned their neck to peak outside. “I think it might’ve…” They stood up, looking outside before doubling back and stomping out the fire. “C’mon,” they simply said.

Hat Kid stood up and followed them out, breathing in the cold, dry air that she was used to. The fog had cleared, and the snow had stopped falling. If she squinted, she could see a hint of sun rays poking out from the clouds. “Soooo… I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, uh… I guess.” Eight cleared his throat awkwardly. “I have to dock my ship on this stupid planet…” he added, mumbling under his breath.

Hattie giggled and held out a hand to shake. “Truce?”

Eight stared for a moment, seemingly caught off guard. He reached out, hesitated, but ultimately accepted the handshake. “T– Truce.”

She grinned and waved, clicking her teleporter and praying to Time it worked this time.

She knew it did when the carpet hit her feet.

 

Bow looked at Hattie like she was crazy. “Explain that again, but slower,” she asked.

“So the… the tag,” Hattie started, out of breath. She was pacing across the room, while Bow was watching from the end of their bed. “It’s the same kind of one from the lab. Eight was tagged. By the lab.”

“The one you lived in?”

Hattie stopped and looked down for a moment. She then kept pacing. “I don’t think so. They didn’t have any organic test subjects there, and it was also probably destroyed after Tempus went boom .”

Bow laughed, repeating “went boom ” under her breath. Hattie didn’t seem to notice.

Hattie fell backwards onto the pillow pile. “I just feel really bad for them. I know what happens in there…”

Bow shifted, folding her hands together. It made her nervous just how trusting her sister could be. Eight almost killed her! …Well, kill might be a bit of an over statement, but she wished Hattie would be just a bit more weary over someone who worked for Tempus.

Even if they were their age… which was confusing in itself.

 

After Eight successfully docked his ship on Dynaquit, he stared up at the skylights. He missed the stars he could see when he was above the clouds, they reminded him of a home that he… he couldn’t quite remember.

“Hattie” was… definitely interesting. She was obviously Tempean but she was a… rebel as well?

He guessed that made sense, but he just never considered it.

Eight made his way to his small, messy room, and fell backwards onto his bed. She was so odd. He had just tried to kill her, yet she trusted him to not even try anything in a closed space while they were stranded?

To be fair, he trusted her to not do the same, for some reason.

He reached out his arm and looked at his out-stretched hand. Hattie left a funny feeling in his stomach, one that he knew he felt before. It was the same kind of feeling when his old crewmates would let him hang out with them.

It was like he wasn’t… alone.

What a weird feeling.

Notes:

i think this was the fastest ive ever written a chapter. i can write these two bantering all day yippee :)
also sorry but no romo in that last bit. Eight has literally not had a friend for three years lol

Chapter 7: Alien Blues

Summary:

Something has gone terribly wrong.

Notes:

warning for hospitals, violence, and near-death experiences
this is the oldest chapter i had planned
enjoy
:)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Hattie felt her signature top hat pull her towards a Time Piece. From how the surroundings felt, it was the last one on the planet. It… made her sad in a way she couldn’t explain.

But, she continued on, determined to finally not have to trek through the snow anymore.

Over the rocky cliffs and pillars that judded out of the ground, she could see the top of a wood and metal structure, along with two voices— one quiet, and one frantic.

Right! Eight had talked about a meeting with his chief!

She… wanted to stay away from there.

But her curiosity got the better of her.

She quietly stepped into a snug spot just in view of the two, hiding behind tall, ruined pillars.

The wind made it hard to discern exactly what they were saying. Eight was anxiously talking with his hands, while a very tall man in a smooth, white mask watched. He had no emotion in his stance, standing up straight with his hands behind his back. Through the wind, she heard the words “Time Pieces,” but not much else. Eight looked more and more anxious, taking a step back. The wind calmed down slightly, and Hattie strained herself to hear them.

“...not achieving your goal, then it is my job to see that you are… exterminated.”

Eight completely stopped, hands dropping to their sides. “Wh– what?”

The wind picked back up.

He pulled a gun out from his coat. Eight raised their arms in defense. Hattie closed her eyes as she heard a single shot fire.

When she opened her eyes again, the man was gone, and Eight had fallen to the ground, the white snow beneath them smeared in their own blood.

Hattie rushed to their side and grabbed their wrist, frantically checking for a pulse. She couldn’t see their eyes— his mask was fogged up.

The pulse was there, but weak.

Shifting so she was holding their hand, she teleported them back up to her ship. She suppressed the urge to cry.

When she felt the warm carpet under her knees, she looked up to see Bow looking at the two of them in horror. “H… Hospital,” Hattie managed to breathe out, holding Eight closer to her.

 

The next few hours were a blur. The closest hospital to one of their telescopes was in the city above the metro. One minute she was skidding to a stop at the front desk, the next, she was waiting on an uncomfortable bench, bobbing her leg up and down with Bow’s arm around her shoulders. She started to explain everything to her. She talked about how thinking over Eight being a lab rat made her want to rip her hair out. She talked about their conversations in the cave, where neither of them knew how long they would be stuck there together. She talked about how much she hated the fact that they reminded her of herself. 

It hurt.

It hurt to know how much damage she used to be ignorant of.

Finally, after the longest hours of Hattie’s life, a nurse started talking to them. They hesitantly asked if the two were Eight’s siblings— Bow quickly replied “Yes” before Hattie could say anything— and started to explain what had been happening. They said something about CT scans, exit wounds, and other medical words that Hattie was too tired to process. One word stuck out to her, though; surgery . That meant they were alive.

Oh, thank Time, Hattie remembered thinking, before her head leaned against Bow’s arm, eyes heavy from the commotion. 

She let herself drift from her thoughts, and she slowly fell asleep.

 

Before the room went white, he remembered feeling as if his whole body was ablaze. He felt so, so tired, but all he could do was stare. He could recall being taken by someone he didn’t know, someone that wasn’t Hattie. It scared him.

But all Eight could focus on, then, was the smell .

It was a sanitary chemical smell, one he only remembered from places with medical equipment. He wished he would have been distracted by it for longer— before he knew it, there were cords sticking out of every vein in his body.

He started to feel sick.

He was scared and confused. Everything before Eight was being rushed around was blurry at best, and hurt his head to try and remember.

How did I wind up here?

He didn’t have time to think about it. In the blink of an eye, he was laying down, staring at the ceiling. He heard the beeping of a heart monitor, and voices from the other side of the room. He felt himself being sat up, gently guided by someone he knew was there, but couldn’t see. His body felt numb.

Eight looked over to the doorway. Hattie and… someone else, were frantically talking to a taller person. Hattie’s movements looked tired.

After a few seconds, the taller person stepped out of the way and left the room. Hattie and her friend ran over to the side of his bed. She was talking faster than his brain could process her words, and the longer she spoke, the more his head spun. Her friend seemed to notice this, and put a hand on her shoulder. Hattie took a deep breath, and finally said something that Eight could hear. “Are you okay?”

But he couldn’t respond. The room was bright, and the steady beeping from his left drowned out all of his thoughts. The bed felt like it was made of needles. Everything smelled sickeningly sterile.

He just blinked.

The person with the bow looked through her pockets and pulled out a notepad and pencil. She gently handed them to him silently. 

He looked at the empty page and wrote the only thing he could think of— “What happened?”  

He handed it back to Hattie.

She looked down at the question wide-eyed. “You— you don’t…?”

He shook his head.

“Okayyyy…” She looked at her friend, then back at Eight. “I… Eight, you— you were shot.”

…What?

His memories came rushing back, hitting him on the back of his skull.

No.

No, no, no—

“But—!” Hattie continued, “You’re getting better! You’re gonna be alright!”

He motioned for the notepad again.

“I—”

He scribbled his words out.

“Who are you?” he asked, handing the other person the notepad.

“Oh, apologies! You can call me Bow, I’m Hattie’s sister,” she, Bow, said, handing the notepad back to him.

He thought about his next question. He had about a million, but the sisters could probably only answer about ten of them.

There was just so much to say, but he didn’t even have the words to say anything. Eight felt trapped in his mind.

“What planet am I on?”

Hattie took the notepad, and softly smiled at the question. “Earth,” she said. “You’re on Earth.”

 

The next few days were a blur. In between the vague lines of eating, sleeping, and getting various scans and x-rays. In between nights, Hattie came in and spoke about ‘Earth.’ She talked about monsters and magic, a place that she changed her ship’s course just to return to. 

He looked out the window sometimes, when his eyes didn’t hurt and made him want to fall back to sleep. The sky was a soft blue, nothing like the dark purple atmosphere on tempus, or the deep void of space.

Eight felt a feeling sort of… bubble from his stomach to his chest whenever he saw the clouds peacefully drift across the horizon. Was he nervous?

Maybe… excited?

One day, when the sun was barely visible, Eight was told he had a visitor. Someone named “Zebu.” Somehow, the name was familiar. It was odd, because he didn’t remember a single time he thought of something as familiar.

When they entered the room, they looked awkward and anxious, like they didn’t know how to fit in the room correctly. Upon seeing him, their hooded eyes widened and filled with tears that they wiped away. “Um… hello,” they whispered. “It’s— It’s nice to see you again.”

Eight tilted his head, confused.

“Oh, right, Hattie said… Uh, what I mean is, it’s nice to meet you, Eight.”

It made his heart feel like it was being torn to shreds to hear them sound so upset. “Did I know you?”

Zebu sat on the end of the bed. “Yeah, but you don’t anymore. My name is Zebu, I’m a mage-in-training, studying Twilight magic. You?”

It was strange to hear someone openly say they were a mage like it was just… a normal, everyday thing. Like they weren’t being hunted. “My name is Eight, I’m…” He tried to search his head for some semblance of an identity, of just a string of self.

But there was nothing.

“...not sure who I am.”

They chuckled. “That’s okay. Sometimes I don’t, either.”

One question burned in his mind, a question that he had since… since forever. “So you… knew me?”

“Yes. Quite well, actually.”

“...What was my name?”

Zebu stared for a moment, then sighed. Everything about their demeanor looked like they were about to burst into tears at any moment. “Your name was ‘Timmy,’” they simply said. “But, if you want to change your name, I think it would be understandable.”

‘Timmy’...?

It was nice, sure, but it wasn’t…

It wasn’t him anymore.

The name was like a burnt scrap of paper, scorched from a blazing fire. It was only ash, now— it wasn’t him .

He wondered if he was even Eight anymore.

“Change my name?”

“Mhm. It’s quite common where I’m from, some of my closest friends have changed their names, have multiple names, or are still trying to figure themselves out.”

What’s my name?

“Oh…”

A silence stretched out as Eight contemplated it. Was he really allowed to do something like that…?

“I should— I should go, you need to rest,” Zebu started, standing up and walking towards the door.

“W— Wait!” Eight grabbed their hand before they could leave, wincing at the pain he felt as he twisted his body to do so. It felt like history, like a line that folded on itself into infinity. A situation that had happened before. 

An unwinding spiral.

Eight looked at Zebu.

“I’m going to try to remember, okay?”

They nodded. “Alright. Don’t push yourself, though,” they said with a smile.

Their hand slipped from his, and they were gone.

But it was good. It was progress.

It was some semblance of anything from ‘before,’ the ‘before’ that he knew existed, but never had the luxury of knowing. Knowing he had a home before he was taken somehow made it better. That he wasn’t too far gone yet.

The sun started to rise over the horizon line, creating patches of light on his face. Like warm pockets of life.

It was nice to think about a home that wasn’t only in a vacuum, that can only exist away from anyone else. But, his ship was still home, whether or not it was lonely—

Oh, Eight realized, curling his legs to his chest. His breathing felt heavy in his chest, weighing down his heart.

I can’t go back.

There was no one waiting for him. He was shot with the intention of execution. When they sent him down to that snowy planet, they didn’t want him coming back.

I can’t go back…

He felt tears well up in his eyes and his throat started to close up. He tried his best to stay quiet.

Eight wept for people who didn’t even care about him.

 

Hattie practically bounced her way out of the doors. “ I’m so exciteeed! ” she exclaimed, flapping her hands up and down. “It’ll be like a sleepover!”

“What’s a sleepover…?” Eight asked, walking carefully to not stretch the bandages around his ribs.

“Oh, it’s like… it’s like when you sleep at someone else’s house, but in a special way! You’re supposed to stay up late, tell secrets, watch movies, and— well, basically anything that’s fun!”

Eight stopped short of the threshold between the hospital and the sidewalk. Hesitantly, he forced himself to take a step into the blinding sun. “That sounds cool.”

Speaking of staying up late…

His earring had been… more than annoying, to put it lightly. At least he had been so exhausted that he was able to ignore it. “Hey, Hattie…?”

“Mm?”

“This is kinda a weird question, but uh… do you have, like, bolt cutters or something…?” He could not believe he was actually doing this, actively going against something he was directly told by his superiors. He tapped his earring.

Somehow, after a few seconds, Hattie knew what he was talking about. She just smiled. “Let’s get you home first, okay?”

She took his hand, and clicked the small button on her wristband.

Her ship was colorful and bright, with fluffy carpets and various trinkets strewn about. It wasn’t a spaceship, it was her home.

“Wait here.” Hattie hurried through a door that was lit up with blue, while Eight stood awkwardly near the middle of the room. Though it was very bright, he didn’t feel any need to turn out the lights. It was welcoming.

After about a minute, Hattie returned with a pair of thick bolt cutters. She stood on her tip-toes, holding his shoulder for support. It made him anxious to be forcibly held in place, but he tried to appear as not-tense as possible. After a second, he heard a snap , followed by a soft thump of metal falling to the carpet. He watched Hattie crush it under the heel of her boot. “No need to think about that anymore! Right?”

Eight looked down at the crushed piece of metal. The text on it was illegible. It sparked and buzzed until it was finally quiet.

“Right.”

Notes:

so, Eight's arc is coming to a close... or is it?
see you in chapter 8 :)

Chapter 8: Blanket Over a Cage

Summary:

Well... what did she expect? No one gets better immediately.

Notes:

HIIII LOL short chapter ik, i took a bit of a break from writing bc i wanted to make sure i wasnt burning myself out. hopefully!!! the next few chaptersll be a bit longer. we're on the road to recovery now :)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Hattie sighed, tilting her head over the back of her chair. The now-upside-down room was the same— bed, pillow sea, Snatcher reading, animal-themed wallpaper, the usual. However, there was a new addition to her bedroom. A clumped up pile of blankets and pillows, shielding a shadowy figure from anything around it, complete with a pair of pink eyes glowing from somewhere inside the blankets. It sat opposite of Snatcher, glaring at him.

So, Eight wasn’t… great at adapting to new situations. That was fine.

Hattie was amazing at adapting to new situations. It was basically how she even survived Earth! She decided she would make that his problem.

She climbed up the side of the pillow pile’s ledge, seating herself next to Eight. It took a second for him to realize that she was there, and he frantically scootched away when he did. “Heya, Eight!”

Of course, she was only met with a glare. In his rush, the blanket had fallen off his head, and he quickly pulled it back up.

“I was gonna boot up Corgi Quest… wanna play with me?” She smiled hopefully. If she could just get him to move , it would be a miracle on its own.

Eight turned away from her. “Go away, Hattie,” she heard him mumble.

She sighed.

Of course she couldn’t just make it better by talking, as much as she wanted to. Scrubbing at a stain would only make it worse.

Hattie got up, giving a little wave to Eight, even though he didn’t see it.

Snatcher caught her eye. He gestured his head over to Eight, giving her a questioning glance. “ Do you want me to do something about him, or…? ” he seemed to ask.

She nodded, which Snatcher let a little grumble out at. You asked! she wanted to say.

Hattie left her bedroom. At least she knew Snatcher would try to do something about it.

 

Eight was just… really tired.

He was extremely grateful for everything Hattie had done for him, but he couldn’t bear to look  at anything that reminded him of the last few days.

At least he wasn’t on the empty shell of his own ship anymore.

Hattie had… interesting friends, to say the least. He was introduced properly to Bow, who she referred to as her sister, when he got out of the hospital. She was really nice, but she also seemed a bit hesitant to talk to him. He figured that was fair. He did try to kill her sister, and she no doubt knew that from the way she kept her distance from him.

“Cookie” was someone who was mentioned off-handedly as Hattie’s mom-friend, but they seemed to be off doing… something. A show? Eight had started spacing out half way through Hattie’s explanation.

The… thing… sitting across from him was “Snatcher.” Hattie said they were a ghost, and left it at that.

They were weird, to say the least. They seemed to blend in with the shadows in the corner, like webs of mycelium growing across a wall, clinging on. Their body was like an empty void, but it still emanated a deep blue light.

Despite their aura being mega-powerful and, most concerningly, dangerous , they seemed to be content to just read for hours on end.

Were they a monster? A shapeshifter? There had to be something more specific than just a ‘ghost—’

“You got a staring problem, kid?” Snatcher said.

Eight flinched back and looked away. “What? No. I wasn’t staring— uh— I was just— um—” he stammered, trying to find a reason for looking at them for so long. You idiot, what if they’re hostile—?!

Snatcher laughed at their frantic stuttering. “Man, and Hat Kid said you were able to almost kill her. I’m surprised you were even able to taunt her!”

“I— well—” Eight hid his face with the blankets. They were terrifying and they were an asshole?!

“Pfft— alright, alright, I’m done.”

“What— what even are you?” Eight asked, peeking out from his shield of fluff.

They scoffed, as if the answer was obvious. “What are you ?”

Of course, it was a rhetorical question. Eight had forgotten how rude it was to ask someone their species unprompted, but the question still bugged him.

He didn’t know what he was. He knew he was magic-born, but beyond that was a mystery to him. There was probably a time that he did know, but that was ages ago.

Of course, he wasn’t Tempean, otherwise he wouldn’t have been taken as a test subject. But that barely narrowed it down.

“Okay, point taken.”

Before either of them could say anything else, the sliding doors opened once more. “I’m baaack!” Hattie sang into the room, holding two mugs. She plopped herself a measurable distance away from Eight and handed him one of her mugs. “And I made us hot cocoa!”

He and Snatcher kept staring at each other, until Snatcher rolled their eyes and looked back at their book. He didn’t seem to want to continue the conversation anymore. Guess it would have to wait till later.

Eight moved a few more inches away from her. “What’s that?” The liquid in the mug was a warm brown and smelled sweet, like cinnamon and chocolate. It made him feel warm in his chest.

Wait, you’ve never had—?! ” She cleared her throat. “You’ve never had hot cocoa before?”

He shook his head.

Eight could practically see Hattie’s eyes morph into stars. “It’s kinda like… if chocolate was a drink. It’s an honor to get to see you try it for the first time!” she only half-jokingly said.

With Hattie’s eyes on him, Eight carefully took a sip of the drink.

He wouldn’t have been surprised if his eyes were stars now, too.

His chest felt even warmer, but that was probably because the hot cocoa was… well, hot .

“Sooo…?”

Eight looked up, deadpan. “My tongue is burnt.”

“Oh, sorry!” She took a sip of her own, and her face scrunched up. “Yeah, it’s really hot… probably should have warned you about that, huh?” she giggled.

“I kinda figured it out from the name.”

Hattie sheepishly grinned. “Ah, right…”

Eight silently laughed with her, just enough that she noticed, but didn’t say anything. “What was that… uh, ‘Corgi Quest’ you mentioned?” He asked, taking another sip. It felt like the least he could do was to show interest in what she was talking about, especially since she had given him food, given him a place to live, tolerated him…

“Ohh! It’s this really cool game where you play as a dog named Alan! I have the text-based one on my computer, but they released a remake on the Game Dodecahedron in the form of an action and adventure based RPG— I can show it to you, if you want!”

He couldn’t recall the last time he actually sat down and watched someone play a game, let alone played one himself. “Uh, yeah, sure…”

Hattie got up and signaled for him to follow. When he stood up, all the blankets he had wrapped himself in slipped onto the floor, except for the one that he deliberately draped over his shoulders. He winced as he felt his stitched up wound ripple against his ribs, and he clutched it with his free hand, careful to not spill any of the hot cocoa.

He took it one step at a time, walking down from the pillow pile’s ledge and slowly following Hattie into the other room. It took longer than it should have, but they did eventually get there. 

Eight couldn’t help but notice how Hattie slowed her pace for him, making sure he could keep up.

Notes:

hot cocoa as a metaphor for love. augh

Chapter 9: These Scars, Indefinite

Summary:

Sitting in your own filth isn't good for anyone. Especially when you're in borrowed clothes.

Notes:

content warning for depictions of drowning

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

As much as Eight hated it, a couple of Hattie’s attempts to get him out of his little corner had worked. Most of them were just moving to sit in another room, but it was obvious she was proud of them. It almost made him want to put a little more effort into existing.

Almost.

Eight’s thoughts were interrupted by a heavy towel being lodged at his face, making a soft thwap as it fell to the floor.

Nevermind. He may as well start destroying her ship now.

“Eight, when was the last time you showered?” Hattie asked with her hands on her hips.

“That’s a stupid question.”

It had been about a week and a half since he was…

But— but he hadn’t been showering long before that. Once he stopped feeling gross, he just used the extra free time he had laying on the floor of his room and staring at the ceiling.

So, it had probably been a month. Maybe two.

Eight really didn’t care, couldn’t bring himself to.

“If you don’t answer me I’m hosing you down.”

He looked up at Hattie. “You have a hose on your ship?”
“Wanna see it?” she smirked.

“Uhh… like a month, I think.”

Hattie took a dramatic step back and grimaced. “Dude— ew ! Alright, you need to shower now .”

The thought of moving and seeing all the scars on his body made him want to blow up and die. “You’re not my dad.”

“If you don’t shower yourself, then I'm gonna shove you in the tub fully clothed.”

Eight tried to laugh, but it came out more like a wheeze. “I’d like to see you try to pick me up.”

 

HATTIE, LET GO OF ME!

Hattie ignored Eight’s fruitless struggle against her iron grip as she dragged him across her carpet. She was getting this trash kid clean if it was the last thing she did.

She didn’t want him making her pillows and blankets all gross! Plus, it could not be healthy for him to be sitting in his own filth all day.

She chose to dismiss Eight’s threats of harming her with his magic. She hauled him into her tub and dismounted the shower head from its holder. After she climbed into the tub behind Eight and felt his hair, she immediately blasted the back of his head with water, much to his dismay. “Do you really have to do it like this?” he asked, ducking his head away from the freezing water.

“I’m not gonna let you walk around my ship all nasty .” Hattie felt the water until it was luke-warm, then started actually rinsing his hair. “Why the hell did you not shower for a month ? Did you not feel, like, gross…?”

“Mm… didn’t feel like it… I did feel gross, but I got used to it, I guess. Had work to do.” Eight was always so dismissive about personal topics.

“Welp!” Hattie said, pulling her shampoo down from the shelf, “You’re gonna feel very clean after this! All of my hair stuff is strawberry scented.”

Eight scooped up some of the water that had collected at the bottom of the tub and splashed her with it.

“Hey!”

“You suck.”

You suck!” Hattie scooped up water and splashed it on him. “I’m just— I’m trying to help, alright! I know you don’t wanna be helped, but I—” she bit her tongue on what she was about to say. ‘ I’ve been you before, and no one helped. ’ “I’d rather do this than throw you onto Earth and let you figure it out.”

Eight stared at her with expressionless eyes. He was scarily good at it.

He rolled his eyes and turned back around, letting out a little hum. She poured the shampoo into his hair— a little more than she would normally use— and started scrubbing it in. As she rinsed it out, she tried to make light conversation. “On Earth, there’s really big cities with bright lights! They’re not grey and boring like the ones on Tempus, that’s for sure.”
“Big, like, tall?” Eight asked quietly. So quietly, Hattie wasn’t sure he even said it out loud through the rushing water.

“Yeah, tall! There’s also a city underground, and that one's really big in terms of area. Maybe I could take you there one day… they have really good food over there, y’know.”

The mention of going somewhere made Eight tense. “Yeah. That sounds nice.”

Hattie's eyes lingered at Eight’s hair in her hands. She sighed, swapping the shampoo for the conditioner. “...Sorry. I know this is probably a lot for you.”

“‘S alright. I… I’ve been kinda a jerk about this whole thing. But you keep trying.”

Hattie combed the conditioner through his hair with her fingers. It started to finally feel softer, and not greasy to the touch.

“...So, um,” he continued, “Thanks. For that. I mean, I would have bled out after— after that without you.”

“I wasn’t about to let you die —”

“—Which I still don’t get.”

“Even if you were being the worst at the time, you didn’t deserve to die.”

Hattie held the shower head up to his hair, and let the conditioner drain out.

Eight fiddled with the now-soaked hem of his shirt. “We have very different definitions of ‘deserve.’”

“Well, you’re just gonna have to deal with that, I guess.” Hattie pulled down face wash from the shelf above her and handed it to him. “Here, use this.” He seemed to understand, as he started lathering it on his face.

“You’re annoyingly nice.”

“Someone’s gotta be.”

Eight hummed an acknowledgement, and she handed him the shower head to rinse off the face wash.

“Okay, let's get some new clothes,” she said, standing up.

Eight followed her, then immediately grimaced as his shirt clung to his body. “Yeah. Let’s.”

 

TS-138-HST looked down into the bottomless pool. It made his palms sweat.

He wished he had just a minute more to himself. In his room that smelled antiseptic. Too clean. Too bright.

But it was better than this.

Giant, horizontal doors had opened the surface of the pool. It took at least five seconds to open— the doors looked heavy. On one side of the pool, there was a long, glass window. People with computers and long coats stood behind it, looking up at him.

138 laughed nervously. There was someone standing behind him. “Uh, this is a little awkward, but I never really learned how to swim! So, uh, maybe we can skip this one?”

He felt something jab in between his shoulder blades, and he fell forward.

It felt like hitting concrete, and once he was submerged, he heard the doors start to close.

His breath slipped for a second.

He struggled and kicked his way up. The fluorescent lights above him started to darken.

And the doors were clamped shut.

138 wasn’t sure if it was possible to cry underwater, but his eyes did feel like they were burning.

So did his lungs.

He clasped his hands over his mouth, keeping the air little he had air safe in his throat.

The water around him bubbled and cracked, sparking with bright pinks and purples. If he could just focus the energy, he could break the glass window. He just needed another breath.

Just a little bit of time.

His ears started ringing, and a little more air squeezed itself out of his fingers.

Where was the window again? It was hard to focus.

Then ‘hard to focus’ became ‘hard to see.’ It was like looking through static. Pressure pounded on his head.

He felt something tight in his chest burst, and, through the ringing in his ears, he heard crackling.

Lights dimmed.

Noises.

Faces.

People.

Thrashing.

Restraints.

Then he was back in his room.

138 was gasping for air and coughing up water. He shivered against the clothes that were clinging to his body. Clunky, metal restraints were latched onto his wrists and ankles. His throat was burnt and raw from hacking up water, and he wouldn’t be surprised if he was coughing blood, too.

Once his breathing leveled out and the room was quiet, he curled in on himself. He chuckled breathlessly.

“At least I’m not dead,” he mumbled.

 

After changing into warm clothes and towel drying his hair, Eight actually felt… well, not better , but… he felt a sense of wanting to do something. Hattie said she was going to go do… something. Eight wasn’t listening, he just asked if he could join. She blinked and stared, but she let him.

She led him through a few doors into what looked like an engine room. “I think I already told you, but I built this thing when I was way younger. So it used to be a big hunk of junk.” She demonstrated by kicking the giant metal machine’s side, and something inside of it made a terrible rattling noise. Eight winced. “I mean, I’ve upgraded it a bit since then, but it takes a while to keep everything in place.” She grabbed a few rolled up blueprints and sprawled them out, grimacing at, what looked like, child's handwriting. “What the hell was I on when I did this…” she mumbled.

Eight was never one for repairing and building— that was Tech’s job— but he could tell from the blueprints that something was fucked up in Hattie’s ship’s engine. She unscrewed a panel from the machine’s side, and he could feel immense heat coming from inside. She looked inside and grabbed another tool out of her toolbox, fiddling with something inside.

She didn’t mention how he didn’t respond to any of her ramblings. He was too tired to speak, anyways, and the warm engine made him feel sleepy. But he still listened to her, and would hum in acknowledgement when Hattie finished her sentences. It seemed to help her to talk through her thought process.

He might not have really… understood everything she was saying, but it didn’t matter to him.

For the first time in a while, Eight was calm.

Notes:

eheheh sorry this took so long to get out, splatoon + sonic has kinda taken over my brain so i havent been working on this as much as i was before,,,
but!!!! only a few more chapters until we're done!!!! three max, if i had to guess :) stay tuned !

Notes:

questions, comments? id love to hear them!
you can also find me on tumblr, @twipsai! ill probably post a lot about this au over there, along with some art!

cya <3