Hehe, I enjoy writing this story a LOT.

In fact, I plan to give Hat Kid an in-depth backstory, from how she ended up in the situation of the main game, to how she became the protector of Time Pieces.

Of course, they're indeed used as her fuel, but if abused, they could cause a lot of harm.

That's why Time Piece Keepers like Hattie exists, as they're the only ones who can use it without causing such harm.

The backstory will also explain most of her actions from the main game, such as why she doesn't like to speak too much, why she seems to not have any relatives or friends, and of course, the reason why she keeps the hat on almost all the time.

Also, have you ever wondered why she could come back after dying?

That'll be explained as well.

I'm excited to write and think about it more.

And this story is long from being completed, and as I get more acquainted with the world and characters of RWBY, it should get more exciting and fun to read.

I hope you guys can enjoy this, as it's going to be a long journey.

Maaaybe I'm going to write a spin-off of this story, if you guys like it enough.

Anyway, I wonder what Hattie is doing right now...

She isn't feeling too great.

We should go check, yeah?

Hat Kid stepped out of the elevator, her steps lighter due to the metaphorical weight she managed to shed off her back, even for just a little bit.

Though it still burdened her nevertheless.

She sighed, all those people she could've saved, if she was just a little more careful...

She'd make their sacrifice worth it.

And she'd do it alone, as she always have before. She was always alone as an outcast.

...

She shook her head, she almost let the negative thoughts take her over again.

What did she need to do again..?

Oh, right. Ozpin said she needed to take classes now.

Though she was sure she had some time to figure out how this 'Scroll' worked.

She fidgeted around with the device for a bit, but she didn't take long to figure out that it was indeed a holographic device that folded like a paper scroll.

Cool! She loved when people used old school technology like that.

...Don't question her why or how she thought this was old school, it was normal back home.

Or was it? She didn't remember, and she didn't want to, either.

The scroll buzzed, showing her a message that Ozpin left her.

The next class starts at 11:15, try to not arrive late.

And what time was it...? Peck! It was 11:10! She was going to be late!

She remembered getting yelled and hit whenever she was late.

...She didn't want to be late.

She immediately swapped her hat to the Sprint Hat and ran down the corridor, she hoped that she wasn't late to the class!

In the deep corners of her mind, though? She was terrified.

She was reminded of her past at her school, learning how to keep Time Pieces and others safe from harm.

All the while she was trying to ignore them.

She remembered her parents back then, how happy they had been.

They were gone now, just like her friends.

Act 1-3: Rekindling Hope

She had somehow managed to run inside the lecture room just in time and explain her situation, and she was seated next to Ruby.

She had rubbed her eyes clean of tears, so nobody really noticed her miserable state.

Good.

Of course, she wasn't paying much attention to the professor's lecture. She wasn't the type to sit down on a classroom silently studying.

It was indeed the same person that let Weiss fight the boar-like Grimm which was exciting, but his lectures...

Well, to put it bluntly, they were boring. Very, oh so very, boring, and boring wasn't good enough.

It was not good enough at keeping her distracted from her past.

She tried to keep herself occupied on something else, but she just couldn't.

She buried her face within her arms, trying to think of something, anything to keep the memories away.

...And of course, Weiss was angry at her for not paying attention to Class.

"Pay attention to the class, you dolt!"

Although she was technically not her teammate, it looked like Weiss wanted her to perform the very best she could.

She ignored it.

Weiss smacked her lightly on the back. "Are you ignoring me?!"

Well, she had to thank Weiss for keeping her awake, she really didn't want to have nightmares.

"...And that's all the time we have for today, make sure to stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Oh, thank god. She let out a sigh of relief as the class ended, she needed to get some fresh air.

"How can you not pay attention for more than just a minute?! A true student should be respectful and wise!" Weiss immediately went to lecturing her about how she should pay attention to class and all the stuff.

Her body stiffened up, she didn't want to do this right now.

"Weiss! It's her first day! Let her relax a bit, she's just not used to it!" Ruby went over to cover for her, how kind.

"Seems like she wasn't paying attention at all to me." Blake commented on the situation.

"Sorry sis, gotta agree with the Ice Queen on this one. Ponytail does not like studyin' for sure!" Even Yang commented on the situation.

...Maybe she'll pay attention next time. Maybe when she wasn't so... sad.

She didn't want to do this right now.

"Come on, guys! It's just her first day.. wait, Hat Kid?"

Sighing, Hat Kid walked away, not bothering to answer her with anything.

She couldn't hold the tears in anymore, so she ran.

She ran, and ran, and ran, until she couldn't hear the footsteps and worried shouts of Ruby and her friends.

Hat Kid sighed as she walked on the grassy field, looking up at the dark, cloudy sky.

She had eaten lunch and ran off by herself, having told Weiss that she needed to do something alone.

If she was to be honest, she was worried; Worried that there may be more Time Pieces out there, that there might be innocent people that were getting harmed because of her mistakes.

But on top of that, she just had to remember the bad memories from her miserable past.

Ozpin told her to relax and have fun, but how could she?

She was isolated in an unknown planet without a way to return to her spaceship, face to face with her worst nightmare.

Truth to be told, she was terrified.

There was no one she was familiar with here in Remnant, either.

They were all just strangers to her.

It was just like the situation at her home.

Once she started thinking about home, she began to feel nauseous.

The fear, the memories that was branded to her very soul.

It was a wound that she would never, ever recover from.

"Shh, shh... We're going to be alright, we promise."

"Mom, Dad... I'm so scared... w-what's going to happen?"

"It's alright, we're here... don't be scared."

"We have to go and fix the fuel tank, if that thing goes out, even she won't make it out."

"I'm coming, just... please, give me one more moment."

"Hurry!"

"Mom... Mom, no! Don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry honey, you'll be okay, just hold onto your hat, okay? we'll be right back."

"We'll come back for you, kid. I promise.

"Mom, Dad! Don't go! No, NOOOO!"

Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she wiped them away as much as she could. There was no use crying about it now... or so she told herself.

She was tired of everything, even herself.

The rain pelted her small body, leaving her soaked and cold.

She wished she could just sit down and fall asleep forever.

How could she help Ozpin defend the people of this world if she was so weak?

She sobbed, nothing made her feel better.

Ozpin's comforting smiles and words, Ruby's positive attitude...

Even after all that, she didn't feel any better.

She didn't want to be alone.

She just wanted her family back.

A wail rang throughout the noisy rain, muffled by the rain but still, clear.

Why her? All she wanted to have was a happy life with her parents, and the world just had to take it from her.

She cried, and cried, and cried until her throat was hurting so much that she couldn't cry anymore.

Her hair and clothes were all soaked up, but she didn't care.

Even when she started shaking, she didn't notice how cold she was.

All she could remember was the deafening explosion, and a cry of pain from her parents.

She blocked her ears, shook her head, anything to keep them out of her head.

But she couldn't.

"Sheesh, what's wrong with her?" Yang said as she and the rest of the team RWBY followed Hat Kid through the halls.

Ruby felt like it was her fault, but she was going to try and correct it the best she could.

After all, that's what her mom always taught her to, right?

"Ruby, give it up! Following that dunce is going to be a waste of time anyways, we're going to be late for the next class!" Weiss called out to her, that wasn't okay! She was feeling bad and needed help, and she was supposed to ignore her?

"No! You guys can go to class if you want, but I'm not going back until I know what's causing her so much trouble!" Ruby shouted to Weiss who flinched from the sheer volume of her voice.

And she ran off using her Semblance.

"Ruby, wait!"

"Ruby!"

She just wanted someone she could talk to.

It's all she wanted for her entire life.

"Get off, I don't want to be friends with a failure like you!" Why wouldn't they just listen to her?

All she wanted was just to be treated like a person.

It's all she ever wanted after that accident.

"Your parents never deserved a burden like you, they deserve far better than a failure."

...Please, stop...

"Hah! You wish to be a hero like your parents? Forget it, you'll never be like them."

...She just wanted to be like them... she could do it.

"Hey! ..., catch this with your face!"

Stop it.

"Hahaha! Look at this idiot, she thinks she's some sort of a hero!"

Please, just stop... PLEASE STOP!

"If you don't do it, then I will!"

...No, not you too...

"Failure."

"Burden."

"Scum."

"Failure."

"Failure."

"Hattie!"

...Huh..? That voice...

"Hat Kid? Are you there?"

"Hattie, hey! Snap out of it!"

"Hattie!"

"WAKE UP!"

"Hat Kid! You're shaking, are you okay?"

She blinked and looked around her, She couldn't see correctly because of the tears in her eyes.

Once she rubbed them, her vision because a little bit more clear, and she could finally see.

Oh, it was Ruby, she was looking at her worriedly.

"Are you okay? You're shaking, and your hands are really cold." Ruby was worriedly looking at her, and Hat Kid just smiled innocently at her, or tried to.

"I-I was just excited?" She said, trying to make a fake smile on her face and of course, horribly failing. She could tell that Ruby was not buying her lie.

Her mouth was twitching a lot, and her eyes were darting around everywhere.

The nightmare she woke up from was not pleasant at all.

"If you don't wanna talk about it, it's okay. But you should come inside, I don't wanna stand in the rain for any longer!" Ruby pulled her by the arms, guiding her inside again.

"O-Okay." She responded with a shaky voice, trying desperately and horribly failing to hide the fear in her voice.

Heck, even her body was twitching violently.

Ruby dragged her inside the building, patting Hat Kid's clothing and cloak down in an attempt to dry it.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? You don't look really good." Ruby told her, having seen her pale face and painful expression.

She nodded her head, then opened her mouth to speak out loud. "I'll be okay." She wasn't going to be okay.

Ruby frowned, still worried for her.

"Are you totally sure? We can talk things out..." Ruby mumbled as Hat Kid shook her head once again.

"I'll... I'll be okay, I promise." She won't be, but if lying made Ruby feel better, she would.

"Okay, then let's go get you something to warm you up before you catch a cold!" Ruby dragged her through the building, droplets of water dripping from her wet cloak and clothes, which left a few dark spots behind her.

"There you are! Why did you run off like that, you dunce?!" Weiss' voice was heard as Ruby suddenly stopped, making Hat Kid stumble for a moment.

Oh well, Weiss was probably angry at her for running off for seemingly no reason.

"Well, I was worried for her!" Hat Kid tried to open her mouth to interrupt Ruby, but Weiss furiously glared at her.

It was like she was saying You're the one who caused all this trouble.

And she shook from the memories she was reminded of.

Looks like it wasn't a good time to speak up.

"Come on, she's freezing and she needs somewhere to warm up." Ruby explained to Weiss who gave her a surprised look.

"You stood out in the open in this weather?! Oh, you dolt!" Weiss shouted as she pulled Hat Kid by the hand, snatching her from Ruby's grip.

She agrily marched through the corridor with a surprised Ruby behind her.

Her grip on her hand was firm, so firm that it almost hurt.

But it didn't feel bad, she was like a big sister she always wished she could have.

...She never had anyone else to believe in, not after a certain incident.

Weiss lead her to team RWBY's dorms.

Pushing her inside, Weiss ordered Ruby. "Get some towels, she won't get better if she's soaked."

"Got it!" Ruby quickly did what she was told to do, wrapping the surprisingly warm and toasty towels around her small body and making her sit down on the ground.

"Do you have anything to change to?" Hat Kid shook her head, she didn't bother to bring any spare clothing.

"Ugh, just... try to dry yourself, you'll get better." Hat Kid nodded appreciatively, pulling the towels closer.

Though one question still remained in her head.

Why were they so kind to her? It was nothing like... nothing like the people at her home.

It was too... warm, kind.

She felt comforted.

Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned on the wall.

She fell asleep, feeling warm and somewhat better.

"O-Oh, she fell asleep." Ruby mumbled as she watched Hat Kid slide her eyes close and exhale a soft breath.

She carefully removed her hat and placed it beside her, trying her best to be as silent as possible.

"I didn't know you were so kind, Weiss. I'm surprised!" Weiss growled and turned her head away.

Oops, looks like she didn't like that.

She was about to leave, noticing how late she was to the class... but she saw Hat Kid stiffen in her sleep.

She started shaking again, tears flowing out of her eyes, and a whimper coming out of her mouth.

"W-Weiss, is she... okay?" Ruby worriedly reached over to Hat Kid who had a painful and terrified expression on her face.

"I think she's having a nightmare." Weiss nodded her head to agree.

She was sorry to see Hat Kid being in such pain... She needed to wake her up.

Ruby reached over and lightly shook Hat Kid by the shoulder, and she bolted upright with a terrified scream, gasping for air.

Weiss brought over a blanket to wrap up Hat Kid as Ruby tried to calm her down. "It's okay! It's okay, you're safe."

Weiss was probably letting her deal with it since she was a familiar face to Hat Kid.

Hat Kid cleared her eyes, trying to blink them out of her eyes as she calmed herself down.

"I'm sorry..." Hat Kid mumbled, confusing her with what she said.

"What are you sorry for? You have nothing to be sorry about!" She told her as she gave Hat Kid an assuring smile.

But, her tone changed immediately as she changed the subject. "You said... you didn't want to talk about it, right?"

Hat Kid looked like she unsure to say the least, maybe she was scared to talk about it.

"...I..."

"Shh, if you don't wanna talk about it, it's okay." Ruby assured her, but she shook her head.

"I'll... I'll tell you." Her and Weiss was worried that she was willing to talk in such a state, but it was her choice.

"S-so, it all started when..."

Sorry for cutting off the chapter early, but the second part got too long to write it right here.

Anyway, Hat Kid is... well, she's not very happy right now.

Due to the pressure of the previous deaths her Time Pieces caused, and an unfamiliar enviornment, she was reminded of something bad from her past.

And next chapter will show what really happened before the events of the main game.

Let's hope she gets better once she spills the beans.

Anyway, see you guys in the next chapter!