Chapter 14
Mustard POV:
It was kind of awkward having the rest of the party go on without Paprika getting to enjoy any of it, but I decided that I would help Hat Kid put the Time Pieces back in the vault when it was time for cleaning up. And after a good three or so hours of partying, we had our fill of food and party games and Hat Kid then warped Grooves and the Conductor back to their studio. It was then that Hat Kid used her powers to warp all the Time Pieces back into her vault and she then put in the secret code and locked it up tight after making sure every Time Piece was in there, including the ones that Paprika had on her.
"I still have to wonder where Paprika got those Time Pieces from... she had a total of 3 on her, but I don't know where she got them from. Not helping is the fact that she's conked out for a bit," Hat Kid sighed.
"I don't know either... but you said she's back to normal, right?" I asked her with seriousness.
"I know she was relieved of her powers, but she still might be hostile when she wakes up. So for now, just tie her up with some of this," Hat Kid said as she gave me a bit of some strange cording that I was confused about... and even touching it made me feel drained, same with Hat Kid.
"What's this?" I asked.
"Rgh... It's the only weakness to a Hattian... taffy," she groaned, me being absolutely confused at that, since taffy was considered a delicacy on my planet... but considering the fact that I was feeling quite drained just by holding onto it, I'd assumed she was being truthful. I simply gave it to my mom and dad knowing they wouldn't be affected.
"Ugh... can you do it, guys?... She's not kidding... touching this taffy stuff made my body feel funny..." I frowned as I then fell down and started to have a snooze of my own, which I didn't expect I'd get from a substance like taffy.
And when I fell asleep, I saw a sight that I would never forget. I was in some strange area of darkness, my body floating in the air and me seeing a ton of stars in the area but none close enough to burn my eyes. "Mustard..." I heard a voice say. And it creeped me out with how deep it sounded.
"W-Who's there?! Show yerself!" I said, trying to be intimidating, but my body was shaking all over. And lo and behold, something appeared before me that made me gobsmacked. It was just as Hat Kid described it to look like from what Paprika said. It was a large being made up entirely of star-like lights and it was unlike anything I'd ever seen... almost like a large teddy bear wearing a top hat, but with the tail of a dragon and the head of an tonooki. "W-Who are you?" I asked in shock.
"I am the guardian of time... I am the one who defines the boundaries of time and space and decides on the creatures that live therein," the apparition said, me gawking at that.
"A-Are you my... father?" I asked.
"One could say I am the father of all living creatures in the universe... but if you are referring to your mother's conceiving of you and your sister... the answer is yes," the... thing said, me gawking at that.
"W-Why are you only talkin' to me now, then? Why wait until all this chaos started to happen to tell me the truth?!" I asked him with a frown.
"It is because of the recent course of events with Paprika... how she was corrupted by the Nameless Hattian's Time Pieces... and how she was unable to quell her anger without outside assistance," the guardian said, me wondering what his deal was. "I decided to make you and your sister to be the very first Hattian half-breeds with other creatures, and it seems that some things haven't gone as well as I'd hoped... so, I have decided that, to prevent you from being corrupted by the Time Pieces on the ship... I want to know if you'd be willing to become fully Hattian," the deity said.
And when he said that, I gasped audibly and internally at that... the ability to become fully Hattian? To be able to live the same timeline as Hat Kid?... But then again, I'd probably never see my family again, I'd outlive them by hundreds of years, and I'd be leaving my home to go to Hattania... I really didn't want to give an answer, so I simply said what I thought in my head. "I... don't know..." I said with a sigh.
"I understand... it is a very important decision to make, after all... I shall allow you some time to think about the choice, same with Paprika... shall we say, when you finally recollect every one of Hat Kid's time Pieces?" the guardian asked, me smiling at that. It would be enough time to think and to consult with my family.
"That sounds fine. We'l decide when the Time Pieces are all collected," I said with a small smile and a tear in my eye.
"Very well... it's nearing the time to wake up soon... be careful on your adventures, young Mustard," the guardian said, me feeling myself leave my dream and my eyes opening wide as I saw that Hat Kid was trying to pinch my cheek to wake me up.
Hat Kid POV:
"Hey! Wake up!" I said to Mustard, her finally opening her eyes and grabbing my hand and removing it from her cheek.
"You couldn't have thought of a better way to wake me up, huh?" Mustard groaned as she sniffed in a booger.
"Sorry, I couldn't think of a better way," Hat Kid smiled at me. I then looked over at Paprika and saw she was up too and that she looked to be barely able to move from the taffy around her wrists.
"What... the hell... taffy?... Why does it... make me feel... all numb?" Paprika groaned as she tried to move, but failed miserably from the weakness working its magic.
"Sorry, Paprika, it was just a precaution just in case you still had any leftover animosity," I smiled as I came up and took off the taffy by cutting it with a pair of scissors, the mustached half-Hattian falling forward in a slump after that.
"Ugh... no need to be worried... I'm calm now..." Paprika sighed with a groan.
"Paprika..." Bryce smiled as he went to his sister and hugged her, Paprika smiling as Mustard and the other family members went and hugged her as well.
"I'm sorry everyone... I... I don't know what came over me..." Paprika groaned as she tried to move her arm and found it moved like a wet noodle.
"It's because you were trying to use my Time Pieces, but because you were part Hattian, they must have responded to your brain and tried to become part of you as well. But Time Pieces only have a single master, so it did nothing but corrupt your mind," I explained to her, Paprika then gasping at something.
"I-I remember something now!... I... I had a dream..." Paprika said.
"Really? So did I!" Mustard said with a smile.
"Yeah, it was this large guy made of stars..." Paprika started.
"...That said he was the guardian of time..." Mustard continued, me gawking at that as they then finished their sentences together.
"And... he said... we would have to choose... whether or not... to be... Hattians..." Paprika and Mustard gulped while looking at each other.
"You mean that same thing that spoke to me in those two dreams?... That was the guardian of time?" Rosemary asked in confusion.
"Yeah... now it all makes sense..." I frowned, remembering what my mother said to me in my dream. "See, the Guardian of Time is the father of every Hattian in existence while also being the creator of everything in the universe that ever was. He refuses to change the timelines at all as he gave that duty to the Hattians... but it seems that, this time, he decided to do something different... and tried making you two girls into the first Hattian half-breeds," I frowned.
"But, if we're half Hattian, does that mean we actually have some of your powers?" Mustard asked in confusion.
"Well, obviously you've had them long before I met you two. Paprika with her superhuman strength and speed, which is natural for Hattians like myself. And as for you, Mustard, you've got endurance, cunning, and mischief. All five of those traits combined makes up a Hattian's greatest powers," I smiled.
"Um... how is mischief a good power?" Sterling asked.
"Come on, haven't you always wanted to have a bit of fun in your downtime? Maybe at younger ages? Because Hattians always love having fun, even at others' expense. Case in point, Mustard going after the Mafia. She was dead-set on doing so, but she still had the time to make fun of you guys numerous times," I smiled.
"Yeah... I guess you've got a point there, Hat Kid," Mustard smiled at me.
"So what do we do now?..." Saul asked.
"Well, the Guardian of Time said that, since I wasn't ready to decide if I wanted to be a Hattian or not, he'd hold off the decision until we'd recovered all of Hat Kid's Time Pieces. But now comes the question for Paprika. Where did you happen to find those three Time Pieces you had on ya?" Mustard asked.
"I found them on that mountainous planet. I think they called it Peakoni. And I found them in an area called Alpine Skyline, which are the highest mountains on the planet. I found all three of them inside of Time Rifts," Paprika explained.
"Peakoni, eh? That used to be a popular tourist spot for a good few years, but that all changed after they passed a law there saying that, if a party was coming to climb their mountains, they could only bring a party of 3. Mostly because the mountains were getting littered and that happened to leave a spread of infectious flowers," Rosemary smiled.
"Well, looks like we know where to go next... Paprika, would you like to come with us?" I smiled at the girl, her gulping at me.
"Y-You sure you want me to?... What if I lose control again?" she asked in worry.
"So long as you do not use the power of the Time Pieces, you'll be fine. Touching a Time Piece is no detriment to anyone. It's when they try to use their powers when they get hurt. If you happen to find a Time Piece, simply hold onto it and I will warp you back to a safe spot," I explained.
"Okay, I think I can handle that... okay, let's go," Paprika said as she, Mustard, and I first stopped to meet with the Badge Seller for one reason only.
"You may need some hookshot upgrades in those mountains. I can see that Mustard has one as do you, Hat Kid, but Paprika does not. You can have this one I have for free. You'll need it," the Badge Seller said as he handed the badge to Paprika and she smiled.
"Thanks... mister," she said, obviously a bit concerned at how he looked. She then put it on her shirt and I then got an item from nearby she could use for the hook extension. It was a wooden cane that was inside of my basement, right against the elevator leading to the laundry room.
"Here, this should be a good grappling item. Just focus the power if you see something you can grapple onto and hold on tight. Should be simple, right?" I smiled at her.
"Yeah, but kinda scary, considering how high we're going to be in those mountains," Mustard gulped.
"You're going to be okay. Now time for us to get to the area of interest," I smiled as I had all three of us grapple across a hook above us and into the area ahead, me looking through my telescope out the window to see the area I wanted to. It was a planet filled with giant mountains and the biggest was luckily in the target zone of the escape hatch. And where was it? I had it hidden underneath the generator, me pushing the 'emergency' button to reveal it, which the duo didn't expect.
"Well, that's one way of making an escape hatch hidden," Paprika smiled.
"You girls better get ready, because this ride might get a bit bumpy," I smiled at them as the duo went down first and then I went in after, all of us hurdling through the atmosphere of the planet and me smiling as I held onto both of them and then me and Mustard let down our umbrellas. And where did we end up falling to? A bit short of the mark, just to the south, on what looked to be the starting point of a mountain path.
