dream1990 asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)
A Hat In Time belongs to Gears For Breakfast. I own nothing.
A/N: This story is postgame and will have the Snatcher acting a little OOC because let's face it, he's got a soft spot for the kid. :) Also, the names for Hat Kid and her parents, along with her parents' appearances are ones that myself and dream1990 came up with. Also, please be gentle in the reviews. This is my first "A Hat In Time" story.
Now, on with the story!
A Hat's Family
Chapter 1: Unexpected Stowaway
Hat Kid, whose real name was Charlotte, checked on a few more instruments on her ship. "Okay, looks like all is well," she said to herself, checking to make sure she had all the time pieces back. It had been a journey to go down to the planet and battle the many inhabitants to get back her time pieces. She hadn't wanted to fight, but they had insisted upon a battle.
She then remembered Snatcher, the shadow that she had battled and convinced to accept a contract that she had altered so that he could be her best friend. He hadn't wanted to sign it, but her stubborness won out. Not only that, he had at least been somewhat nice to her, not bothering her after she had battled him and she did like him, but she refused to sign another contract from him, though he had tried to get her to before she had begun steering her ship away to go home.
Nodding, she turned to double check the coordinates to her homeworld when all of a sudden, a dark shadow popped up beside her, making her jump with a start and fall down. She looked up to see the all-too-familiar jack o'lantern face looking down at her from a tall shadow. "Well, there you are," came the all-too-familiar voice as he reached for her.
Charlotte screamed at both his unexpected appearance and him reaching for her. Scrambling backwards, she got to her feet and ran, looking for her umbrella, but it was over by the piloting chair, which was a good few rooms away from where she was now.
Running faster now, she dodged a few attempted grabs from the Snatcher, who stuck to her trail like glue before he finally disappeared through the floor, popping up in front of her suddenly. The young girl screamed again and tried to backtrack, but the shadow creature was faster and he caught her, wrapping his arms around her in a secure hug. "Whoa, kiddo," he said, his voice calm, which was unusual. "Calm down."
"Let me go!" She demanded him, squirming to get away, but his tail came up and coiled around her legs from the knees down, effectively trapping her. Despite this, she still squirmed her hardest, but Snatcher didn't let go.
"Kid, stop squirming," he said. "I just want to talk."
She glared at him. "I'm not signing another contract!" She said strongly. "BFFs don't make other BFFs sign contracts!"
Snatcher chuckled, glad to see the kid still had her spunk and attitude. He had to admit, it was somewhat cute and he admired her spunk. No wonder she had defeated all the bosses, including him, to get all her time pieces.
"Kid, you either calm down or I will make you sign another contract," he said, but it was an empty threat. He wouldn't make her sign anything else and he knew his sudden entrance had surprised her, but he also knew that she was all alone on the ship and he wasn't going to let her be alone anymore.
After all, a best friend forever is always there for their best friend forever, right?
Charlotte finally stopped struggling, unable to get free from the shadow creature, who was pleased to see that she had calmed down a little. "Kid, I just want to talk," he said, a note of concern in his voice. "You're alone on this ship, aren't you?"
She looked at him. "Yes," she said. "But I can handle it myself! I know how to drive it!"
He chuckled in amusement. "I didn't say you couldn't or didn't," he told her. "And in case you forgot, I've been watching you since you defeated me. I know you can handle yourself fine, kid, but I'm not about to let you fly this ship alone."
She gave him a glare. "You're not touching anything on my ship!" She said. "Especially not my hourglasses!"
Okay, now he was getting a little fed up with her attitude. He placed a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, though she did squirm and try to shake his hand off, but it didn't work. "Kid, you're going to hear me out even if I have to tie you up," he said, his voice taking on a firm note. "And believe me, that's the last thing I want to do."
She stopped struggling again and looked up at him and he nodded in satisfaction. "Good, now listen to me," he said. "I'm not going to make you sign another contract, but you're going to need help getting home. You're a great pilot, don't get me wrong, but your home's a good week away, right?"
She shook her head and he removed his hand so that she could talk. "Three weeks," she said, pointing to a calendar on the wall. Snatcher took a closer look and his eyes widened.
"Kid, you mean to say it takes three weeks to get from your home to my world?!" He asked incredulously. "Why did it take so long?"
"It just did," she said. "Even at the fastest speed."
The shadow looked curious. "Don't most spaceships have a warp drive?" He asked.
She gave him a curious look and he clarified. "A warp drive allows a ship to travel very fast and teleport to another area of space or time," he said. "It's also called warping."
Charlotte shook her head. "No, it doesn't," she said.
Snatcher looked thoughtful and set her down. "Wait here," he said, diving down and taking a look at the engines. "There must be a warp drive here somewhere. Every book I've read on spaceships mentions one."
After a moment, he found was he was looking for and he was confused. "Okay, why isn't the warp drive connected to the engine? And why is the fuel output set on low? She's got enough fuel in this ship for a while."
Thanks to his having read about engines and warp drives, it was a cinch to plug it all in and adjust the fuel output and even make another few adjustments so that the fuel would be used more effectively. He appeared right behind the kid, who was looking at the coordinates again and he smirked, leaning down. "Boo," he whispered in her ear.
The kid let out a surprised yelp that made him howl with laughter before he felt her poke him with her umbrella, which he gently took from her and chuckled. "You're too easy to scare," he said before looking serious. "But seriously, whoever put this ship together forgot to connect the warp drive to the engine and they also had your fuel output on low, which wouldn't be enough to give you a boost of speed should you need it."
She looked at him. "You know, back where I'm from, an elder sent me off in my ship late one night, saying I had to keep the time pieces safe," she said. "He didn't let the maintenance men look at it and he just told me to fly."
That confused Snatcher. "What person in their right mind sends a five-year-old kid into space by themselves with such a big mission and on a ship that wasn't even looked over before she left?"
She shrugged and he sighed. "Okay, well, I'm going to help you get home, kid," he said. "By the way, I know I keep calling you 'kid', but do you have a name?"
She nodded before looking a bit shy. "Charlotte," she said, playing with her cape.
"Charlotte, eh?" He asked before smiling. "I think that name suits you, kid."
She smiled before looking curious. "Snatcher, why would you help me?" She asked.
Smiling, he picked her up. "Cause you showed me something better than contracts," he said. "Having a friend."
She cocked her head to the side and he chuckled. "It's true," he said. "Plus, I owe you for all the work you bravely did for me. That took a lot of guts and determination."
Charlotte thought for a moment and then looked up at Snatcher, seeing he was being truthful. And he was her BFF. She smiled and nodded. "Okay," she said. "It would be nice not to travel alone."
The shadow smiled. "You got a deal, kid," he said before he playfully snatched her purple hat off her head.
"Hey!" She cried out, chasing after him as he laughed and moved around the room, trying to make it a fair chase. "Snatcher, give me my hat back!"
"Come and get it, Charlotte," he said teasingly.
She ran at him, but missed and began to get huffy, frowning at him and stomping her foot. Snatcher laughed as he found this cute. "Kid, if you want someone to take you seriously, you got to make yourself less cute," he said as he placed her hat gently back on her head. She gave him another glare, along with a pout, which just made him laugh harder before he scooped her up suddenly, making her gasp in surprise before he playfully tossed her up into the air and caught her, repeating the action a few times until he heard her giggle and he chuckled. "Yep. You're just too cute," he said, pinching her left cheek gently in affection.
She sighed, but giggled as she hugged him and he returned the hug, seeing there was no one but the kid to see his soft side. Charlotte then went to the pilot's chair and began steering her ship for home with her best friend floating proudly beside her.
I just love Snatcher because while he tries to be a bad guy, he's just a big marshmallow on the inside. :) Plus he looks cool. :)
Okay, so they've set off for home, but will they make it? Stay tuned to find out! :) Next chapter: Charlotte gains a new family member.
Please leave a review, but no flames! I'll send Snatcher after any flamers! XD
GoldGuardian2418