Chapter 26: Bitter to Swallow

"Hmmm...what do you think we should have, Tie?"

"No clue. I'm surprised we even managed to get a table."

Me, Hat and Bow were seated at one of the bolted down tables on the Arctic Cruise. We had managed to get a seat and were ordering lunch, and since the seals thought that we had gotten on legally, we were booked in for lunch services. The meals listed on the menu's were very fancy, but mostly fish-related. Surprisingly, there was no calamari, though I think that was to respect the one powering the ship. Is it bad that I wanted to go for some takoyaki?

"I have no idea what any of this means!" Bow admitted. "What's 'escargots'? What's 'caviar'?"

"I don't think you want to know." I told her. "How about you just order something simple like the Sea Salt Salmon?"

"Why can't they just have fish and chips?" She pouted.

"Since we're eating fancy, we should splurge!" Hat declared. "Let's order starters too!"

"Perhaps just some Butterfly King Prawns to share?" I suggested. "I bought an expensive badge from Seller this morning."

"Oh, okay. Then...I'm gonna have the Fisherman's Pie." Hat decided. "Looks like the only thing warm on this menu."

"I'll go with the Squid Ink Spaghetti." I always wanted to try this.

"Ummm...Crustacean Combo." Bow decided, I'm assuming randomly.

A seal came over. "Awe you weady to owdew?" We gave the seal our orders and it shuffled away, albeit slowly.

"Well, look who it is!" I groaned in my head as Snatcher stretched his way over to our table. "Here for some food, are we? As for myself I could've just ordered room service, but the doll insisted we come here to eat. Good call it turns out!"

"Hey everybody!" Knit greeted us cheerfully.

"Hi, Snatcher! Hi, Knit!" Hat waved. "How's the cruise going so far?"

"Oh, it's going GREAT kiddo." Snatcher cackled. "I crushed the casino, had a dip in the pool, lovely temperature, scared the seals for kicks and giggles, and now I'm here for some good old cruise cuisine! Glad to see the appeal."

"And what have you been up to, Knit?" I asked her.

"Making more costumes!" Knit declared as she procured three. "Hurry! Hurry! Try them on!"

"Okay!" Hat and Bow threw theirs over their regular clothes. They appeared to be dresses, the same style, only one was green and one was red. "Wow, a dress! I've never wore one before!...It's a bit weird."

'Those dresses...' I thought as I stared at them. 'Aren't they Vanessa's-'

"Here, Tie!" Knit snapped me out of my thoughts as she handed me a costume.

"Oh, thank you Knit." I took it and held it out.

It was a princes outfit. Puffy shoulders, fancy boots, cape on the back, the works. It was the same outfit the prince wore in Vanessa's storybook. The same outfit...who wore?

"Aren't you gonna try it on?" Knit asked me hopefully. She looked at me expectantly. EXTREMELY expectantly.

"Yeah..." I nodded, as I slipped it on over my regular clothes.

It was comfortable, yes...but a discomfort built up within me. This was the same outfit Vanessa's prince wore, or well, a recreation of it. Why did Knit make THIS of all things? Why was she staring at me so happily wearing it? Wasn't this what Snatcher wore a long time ago?

My mind seemed to skip for a moment. No. Somebody else wore this. He did. Moonjumper. Knit's father. She looked so happy staring at me wearing this...was it his? But then the storybook...that was definitely Snatcher! So why did these clothes make me think of that name? Who was the true owner of these clothes? Snatcher? Moonjumper? SnatcherMoonjumperSnatcherMoonjumperSnatcherMoonjumperSnatcherMoonjumperSnatcherMoonjumperSnatcherMoonjumperSnatcherMoonjumperSnatcher-!?

"Tie!" Hat's yell snapped me out of it. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" I blinked at their concerned faces. Then at Snatcher who gave me a sleazy grin. Then at Knit who was still happily looking me over.

"I'm...fine." I said. "Thank you, Knit."

"Wonderful! In that case, you should keep them on! Gotta look formal if you eat formally, right?" Snatcher snickered. "We'll be going to our own table now. Toodle-oo!" He ushered Knit away.

"You were staring off into space for a bit." Bow informed me. "What's up?"

"...Why did Knit make THESE clothes?" I questioned. "We all saw the storybooks. These are the clothes Vanessa and...Snatcher wore. Isn't she supposed to hate both of them?"

"I can't answer that." Hat admitted. "We'll take them off as soon as we leave, if it's making you uncomfortable."

"I just...want to know what she's thinking." I stared at her sitting at their table. She was still looking at me happily. Snatcher turned over his shoulder and gave me a sly smile.

"No clue there." Bow shrugged.

"You can't control her, though." Hat told me. "Just believe that she'll find her way."

"I hope so, Hat." I said.

We waited until our meals had arrived, thankfully my appetite was not dampened. We ate heartily (though Bow felt a bit guilty since she wsaid the crab and lobster were 'watching' her) and finished it quick.

"That was good." I nodded.

"Nothing like a great meal to lift your spirits, right? Right?" She was directing that at me.

"I'm alright, Hat." I told her.

"Guess we'll skip dessert." She said as she hopped off the chair. "Let's go Time Piece hunting."

"With you all the way." I agreed as we all got down. I took the prince costume off the moment we stepped in the elevator.

Using my tie and Hat's hat we found a Time Piece in the Lost and Found, ironically. Since we TECHNICALLY couldn't prove it was ours, we had no choice but to head towards the Walrus Captain. Apparently doing good work gets you a gift from the box.

"Maybe I should've written our names on them." Hat thought aloud.

"That would have taken forever, and wouldn't have been necessary in any other situation." I told her.

We got to the main deck and told the Walrus about our situation.

"You want to help out, pups?" He coughed.

"Basically." Hat shrugged.

'Not really, but we kinda need to.' I thought.

"I suppose you could. Maybe something will actually get done around here for once." He grumbled. "Alright. You do some jobs around the ship, that's all, got it?"

"Roger!" Hat and Bow saluted.

'Why are we always working for these guys?' I thought. 'Oh well, maybe this will be easier.'


'This is not easy!'

How did I end up balancing a food, some drinks, and some washing up liquid in one hand!? How did it get so out of hand!?

"That goes in there!" I threw the washing up liquid into a washing machine. "This goes out there!" I sprinted out into the restaurant and dropped off a dish in front of a Mafia member. "Then these drinks...the main deck!? Come on!"

I had no idea where Hat and Bow were, we had split up to do as many jobs as possible. Right now, I just had to focus on my own tasks, which were a lot! These seals were seriously incapable!

"Drinks, drinks, drinks..." I sprinted down the halls whilst keeping the tray from falling over, meaning I couldn't use the Bat Bow or they would fly off! I had to platform over the pool using the inflatables until I ended up at the table my Tie was pointing to. "Here are your drin-HUH!?"

"Well isn't this a surprise!" Moustache gave me a smug grin. She and Voice were casually sitting at a table! "You're bringing us our drinks?"

"What are you two doing here!?" I gasped, just as Voice swiped the juices off of me.

"We're on vacation." Moustache said.

"I...procured us some tickets." Voice told me. I'm pretty sure that meant they stole them.

"So you just happen to have a holiday on this ship, where Time Pieces are?" I accused.

"Yeeeeeeah we were gonna try and grab those, but this place is really great, isn't it?" She stretched lazily. "I decided we should just take some time off."

"And you're fine with this, Voice?" I gasped.

"If Moustache says so, I'm on vacation." They responded as they stuck the straw into the abyss that was the inside of their hood, and the juice began disappearing from the glass. "It's been quite nice."

I just stared at Voice in disbelief. Why were they so lax? They were letting us get Time Pieces when they had so few!

"It's funny..." Voice spoke again. "This ship...it's so small, but so many dimensions are converging here." They twirled their straw in their glass, creating a mini whirlpool as the ice cubes clattered against one another. "We're here now, the woman with the fedora just left, the older gentleman is now boarding, and the boy with the crowbar has yet to arrive...when at one point, this ship never existed."

"What are you talking about?" I questioned. "This ship didn't exist at one point? And the people you mentioned...!"

"Shouldn't you be doing something else right now?" Moustache prompted.

"Crud! The laundry!" I remembered. "You two! Don't go anywhere! I'll be right back!" I sprinted away back to the laundry room as fast as I could. The pair waving at me as I left.


"The pains seem to be keeping themselves busy." Snatcher whispered to himself as he watched Hat, Bow and Tie weave in and out of hallways doing menial tasks out of the window of his room. He found it quite amusing.

He then glanced over his shoulder at the doll. It was beginning to knit again. That's all it was doing. It would never get anywhere like this. So it seemed it was time for a little...prompting.

"Still hard at work, are we?" Snatcher said as he stretched over to Knit.

"Mm-hm." Knit responded simply. Seems it still didn't trust him fully.

"You're really coming along nicely." He nodded. "Of course though, there's still something you're lacking." He waited for her to ask him, but she didn't. "...It's your strength."

"I'm plenty strong." Knit denied. "I can transform, and my needles are good weapons. I just wanna focus on getting this down perfect."

Snatcher grumbled. How dare it have such an attitude towards him!? He assumed that was Moonjumper's work. Of course, he needed to flash that name a little more to get the plaything to bend over backwards for him.

"It's just SUCH a shame." He fake sighed. "Such a waste of Moonjumper's power."

Knit flinched at that. "A waste?"

"I can see it in you, the power Moonjumper gave you, and you're ignoring it!" Snatcher swooned overdramatically. "What would he say if he saw you like this?"

"I'm not ignoring it!" Knit immediately took offense and abandoned her knitting to turn on him. "I can use magic fine!"

"Maybe. But not the way HE wanted you to." Snatcher hissed. "He gave you POWER, and you don't want to use it! Or, is it that you can't? Moonjumper would be rolling in his non-existent grave!"

"What do you know about what dad wants!?" Knit yelled.

"More then you do." Snatcher cackled. "Remember, your existence makes those memories come flooding back. Me and him were rivals, and he used his power to fight and control. Not make dresses and silly little outfits."

"They're not...silly..." Knit whispered.

"It's a waste of talent!" Snatcher gasped. "Talent Moonjumper gave to you! Wanted you to use! Which you deny!"

He placed a claw on her shoulder. "My dear little Knit...you do not inherit the sins of your father. Think of how much good you can use his power buried inside of you for. Think of how PROUD you would make him! How much you could help your friends!"

Yes, that was the first time he actually used her name. A perfect linchpin in emotional manipulation; acknowledgement. Building up a sense of hope. It would be more then enough to get her to dance in the palm of his hand.

"...How do I unlock dad's power?" She questioned.

"I'm glad you asked!" Snatcher grinned gleefully. "You've just got to awaken that fighting spirit inside of you, and that will break the floodgates on your capabilities! And who better a mentor then me?"

"...Alright." She nodded.

"Excellent!" He cackled. "Unfortunately, we're stuck on a cruise ship right now, and I don't wan to abandon my vacation. But I still have a way to get you fighting hard!"

He produced a contract. "My Death Wishes! Special little contracts I cooked up to push people to their limits! It's perfect for pulling that magic out of you! All you need to do is sign..."

Knit was hesitant. She knew if she signed this contract, Snatcher had power over her.

"Remember, this is for Moonjumper's sake as well as yours." Snatcher prompted.

Knit flinched again, before taking the quill and scribbling her signature on it.

"Then we're in business!" Snatcher laughed as he held his claws over her, causing her soul to vibrate violently. "Sleep tight." Knit passed out as her soul seemingly vanished.

"I'll put your soul into a scenario determined by the contract." Snatcher said. "An identical body in a created world, but you'll still feel, including pain! It will make you draw out that power!"

His eyes gleamed. "And when that power does come out...it will be mine!"


I can't believe we were still doing this! How many times did I need to serve somebody their meal or drinks!? And now my tie was telling me to climb up to this random ledge!? Why!?

"Let's see what's up here that's so impor...tant." I stared at a little yellow baby giggling and clapping its hands together. "You're one of the Conductor's grandkids...how did you get here?" The baby just laughed and tried to pull at my hair. "Ugh, fine, where do you go?"

My tie led me to a little aquatic play area for the babies, and I put the baby back in with its siblings, who were all laughing and playing with toys and falling over.

"Y'know, your grandfather is a real jerk." I told them, as they all drooled and chewed on things. "Blowing up the train, not giving back the Time Piece, throwing knives at us..." I noticed one of them was playing with the same rubber knife from the murder shoot. "Guess it runs in the family, huh?"

A couple of them were now staring at me. "But Hat just forgave him soooo easily! And Snatcher too! Those two seriously hurt her! What would've happened if I wasn't there? Well, for the latter she saved me, but, you get what I mean! What could she see in those guys that makes them worthy of forgiveness!?"

All of them were staring at me with their hidden eyes now, causing me to sigh. "I guess the Conductor's gotta have SOMETHING to him if he has grandkids like you. But what could anybody see in a guy that screams, swears, and throws knives around!? And don't think that storybook about him as a kid with a dream justifies anything!" They didn't respond. Because they were babies.

"But y'know, if Hat wasn't like that, maybe we never would have met." I admitted. "She saw something in me nobody else did. Do you guys see something in your granddad I don't? Something Hat sees?" One of them just randomly fell on her back.

"...I'm talking to toddlers." Told Tie. "Ah, peck, I'm feeling guilty." The babies began to laugh and clap their hands. "Oh, you know your grandads swear, huh? That's cute, in a really messed up way."

"Attention, this is your Captain speaking." Walrus' voice wnet out over the intercom. "That's enough, pups. Come on back to control."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaand I forgot about that." I groaned loudly.

I glanced outside, and I could see him, the Conductor, sitting at the bar. I looked at the babies all staring at me.

"Fine! I'll go talk to him! Happy?" I then marched off, leaving them to chew on their own feet.

As soon as I got out of the playpen and close to him my rage began to boil. I took a deep breath to calm myself, before I sat next to him.

"Hewwo siw!" The seal behind the counter cooed. "What would wou wike to dwink?"

"Apple juice. On the rocks, please." I ordered.

"Bit wee for scotch, are we laddie?" Conductor spoke up.

"Yeah." I admitted as the seal put the drink in front of me.

We sat in silence for a moment, drinking our respective drinks.

"Still stings, you know." Conductor muttered. "Where ya hit me with that lighting toy."

I resisted the urge to say 'good'. "I hit hard like that."

"That you do, laddie. That you do." Conductor downed his drink. "I assume you're not sitting here for pleasantries."

"Maybe?" I sighed. "It's just...Hat forgave you so easily. I can't. I'm like that."

"Ya care about the lass, lad. Nothin' wrong with that. Ya got the right to be mad." He responded. "Award 42...that one pecking loss...my old stubborn self just cannae let it go."

"Because of your rivalry with Grooves?" I mumbled.

"Grooves...cannae stand him, even after all this time. It felt like he just...tried to muscle in on me dream. I had to beat him after that. Again and again and again...but he just didnae stay down! Kept makin' movies even after all those losses." He groaned. "And then he won Award 42...that one win was the confidence boost he needed to never back down again. It was like some kinda curse."

"Not gonna lie, Conductor...I really don't care about Award 42." I said.

"I was gettin' ta that." He grumbled. "Point is; I cannae let things go. So that begs the question; what are you doing here, laddie? Thought ya hated my guts."

"Well..." I tried to think of a reason. "I'm...sorry I hit you so hard. That's all. And...your grandkids are pretty cute."

"Adorable wee little things aren't they?" He chuckled. "But that's not the reason, is it? Ya don't want to apologise for what ya did, do ya? I saw that anger in yer eyes when you attacked me, that passion! A hatred! That reminded me of how Grooves looked at me behind those dang sunglasses of his. Of meself." He shook his glass, asking for a refill. "That looks softened behind those glasses after all these years, but mine sure hasn't."

"The rivaly between you two must be healthy for you both." I commented.

"Healthy!? Pah! The only reason I'm still slavin' away over a reel is to make that flightless peck-neck drop out of film-making!"

"My point exactly."

"Don't ya get smart now, laddie...but..." He looked away for a moment. "I admire that passion ya showed. Was some real emotion ya can't see on the silver screen."

He took the new glass. "I don't hate ya, lad. Or the lass. Like what I see in ya both too much fer that. But you're fine to keep on hatin' me." He took a drink.

"The thing is...I don't think I hate you. I think I hate what you did." I pondered aloud. "You've got passion too. And you care about people, at least to some extent if you've got grandkids and the owls and crows are still following you. Power over time can make a good person go bad, I reckon. And I...did enjoy starring in that movie, even if I was the murderer."

I sipped the rest of my drink. "Guess we could be friends, I guess."

"Heheheheh." He chuckled. "Then yer already better then me, lad." He put his glass down. "I'm gonna go check on me grandkids. Take care of yerself." He then went off.

"Hello!" I saw suddenly aware of Hat and Bow beside me, the former holding a Time Piece. "Glad you two sorted things out."

"Huh?" I hopped off the chair. "Did you know-?"

"It was pretty obvious, how you were acting around him this morning." My captain shrugged. "I'm happy you made up though! Since we had a big lunch, let's settle in for the night and eat junk food."

I took a quick glance around me. Seemed Moustache and Voice were long gone.

"Fair enough. It's been a long day." I agreed, before we teleported back to the ship.


The rest of the evening we spent eating snacks in front of anime episodes. The Leviathan came up to visit us, I guess it could tell we were a bit lonely without everybody else. We soon began getting tired, Bow had already gone off to bed.

"It sure is quiet without everybody else." Hat stated as she stroked Roombi, who beeped appreciatively in response.

"If you think about it, it was just the two of us before all of this." I said as I put three Rift Tokens in the machine. "You've just gotten used to it."

"Heehee...in all honesty, I don't think I could stand being on my own." Hat smiled.

I picked up the capsule that popped out. "Is that why you picked me up that day?"

"Where'd that come from?" She questioned.

"Just thought about it when I was talking to the Conductor earlier." I mentioned.

"Wow, what a while ago." She said as she laid down on her back, staring at the ceiling. "That wasn't the reason though. I was actually fully prepared to set out on my own." Roombi beeped in annoyance. "Hey, I was gonna build you anyway! After all, I reckon I would've gotten lonely preeeeetty quickly."

I popped open the capsule and checked my Necro Necklace. It had become a black chain necklace made out of interlocking diamond shapes, and in the middle of each diamond was a ghostly blue pearl with smoke billowing around inside of it. Pretty cool. "Y'know, I'm still surprised you managed to build Roombi by yourself."

"But you helped with the parts." Hat nodded, before pausing. "Are you doubting what I told you when we first met?"

"Not for one moment." I assured her as I laid down and stared up at the ceiling too. "Hey, out of curiosity, how many balls of yarn did it take to make the Time Stop Hat?"

"A lot. 32 I reckon." She said.

"Really? I've got loads of yarn balls, but they're still not coming together for me." I said.

"That just means your fifth one's gonna be special." Hat reassured me.

"Hopefully." I said. If Hat's fifth hat could slow down time, wonder what my fifth Neckwear could do?

"Hey, Tie? I'm really glad you've been with me all this time." She said.

"Same." I agreed, with Roombi whirring in agreement.

She yawned. "I'm getting tired. I'll head off to bed. G'night, Tie."

"Good night, Hat." I told her as she went into her own room. "Good night, Roombi." The Roomba booped an acknowledgement.

I went up to my room and got into bed, where I stared at Knit's makeshift mattress.

"Knit..." I sighed. "I hope you're okay..."


Alpine Skylines...

"Wonder why I'm here this time." I wondered aloud. I was standing on top of Goat Village. This was definitely a different dimension.

"Let's see..." I leaned over the edge. "Wonder what we've got this time." Yeah, I was getting used to this, don't judge.

I watched as this dimensions Hat came into view. She seemed to be helping a boy in a green shirt, carrying a crowbar.

"Oh. That must be the one Voice mentioned." I nodded as I kicked my legs in the air lazily. "Seems he's having a bit of trouble. Not a fan of heights? Can't be part of our species then."

That then made me ponder a bit. "Hold on...how did Voice know about this guy? I hadn't been here yet. Does that mean Voice can also travel dimensions? And if they can, why would they visit random dimensions?" I tried to come up with a reason, but couldn't. "Voice...what are you trying to accomplish?"

Just then, a dark pink portal opened up beneath me. "That looks like my ride. Okay, good luck with your problems, Crowbar. I'm out." I jumped off and fell into the portal, causing it to close behind me as I tumbled out onto...

"The ship?" I stood up and looked around. "This seems to be our ship from another dimension. Nothing looks too different at least." I was thankful I hadn't tripped the alarm.

"Who are you?" A voice demanded, and I spun on my heel.

The person floating before me had light grey skin, with a crescent moon shaped head and weird black eyes with red markings. He wore a red coat with golden buttons, and yellow trousers that dangled in the air.

"How did you get on this ship?" He demanded. "Are you here to hurt the people on this ship?"

"What? No! That's the last thing I'd want to do!" I gasped, staring at him. This guy was making my mind work overtime.

"Then why are you here?" He questioned sternly, then it hit me.

"You're Moonjumper!" I gasped as I pointed at him.

He raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Yes, that's my name. How do you know that?"

"This is great! It's the perfect time to meet you! At least, one of you." I said.

"One of me?" He echoed sceptically.

"Listen, this is important." I told him. "I need to talk to you about your daughter-"

"Julia!?" He gasped.

"...What?"

"What?"

"Huh!?"

"What is it?"

'Julia's your daughter!?' I thought in a panic. 'How does that make sense!? It doesn't! At all! What circumstances led to this outcome!? What kind of dimension is this!?'

He glared at me. "Do you know Julia?"

"Uh...kind of." I responded. "The thought that she existed saved me from committing suicide years ago."

He gave me a look I couldn't quite discern.

"A-Anyway, that's not it." I stopped. "I need to talk to you about your other daughter, from my dimension."

"So you ARE from another dimension." Moonjumper confirmed.

"Listen, the you from my dimension had a daughter, before he...died." I explained quickly, best not to tell him he was erased from time itself. "And she is completely attached to just the memory of you. And right now, I-I think she's in trouble, but I don't know how to help her! I was hoping that you could help."

"...I see..." He seemed to be taking that information in for a moment, before shaking his head. "Sorry, but I cannot help you."

"What?" He began drifting away. "Hey! Hold on! What do you mean you can't help?"

"The Moonjumper from your dimension and myself are different people." He stated with his back turned to me. "I have nothing to offer."

"Of course you do!" I argued. "Even if you're from different dimensions, you're still the same person! So you have to know how you think! I want to know about what you know, so that I can save her!"

"I have my own family." He shot me down instantly. "I don't need to concern myself with another dimension, nor do I want to."

"Don't want to!?" I snapped. "You listen here! I don't care what you think! She is 'Moonjumper's daughter', end of! She thinks the UNIVERSE of you! She sends letters to you, ANY version of you, without expecting a reply! She loves you! And now I think she's in trouble, and you don't want to help her!? Not even tell me who you are!? Who cares if it doesn't concern you!?"

"Be quiet!" He hushed me angrily. "You want to know what I think? What the me from your dimension thought of her? Then let me tell you." He floated dangerously close to me. "That me...the me from my past...the only reason he would create a daughter is for his own selfish reasons! If he died, it was purely so that she would continue on his name, and kill all of his enemies! A pawn! Nothing more! Is that what you wanted to hear? Because THAT'S the kind of person I was!"

We glared at each other.

"A pawn?" I spoke softly, not letting go of my glare. "You mean to tell me, she was made as a pawn, with no love at all? That all of that admiration she has for her father...was planted in her, by some uncaring monster!?

"...That's right." Moonjumper said. "That's the truth of it. That's my past self."

"That's not fair." I clenched my fists. "Knit is kind, and tries her best, and wants to learn so much, but she also gets scared and is easily led, which just makes her feel more alive, doesn't it? But that name...YOUR name, is a scar, that she cherishes, that people use to take advantage of her! Even if you say that was your 'past self', what kind of monster are you!?"

He said nothing for a moment.

"...Knit is her name?" Moonjumper spoke. "The me from your universe...he made someone like that?"

"Yes." I responded, slightly confused where he was going with this.

"...Heh." He chuckled. "To think that version of me could create something good. In fact...no. That me and this me are the same."

He floated down to my eye level. "Listen to me, boy. It was too late for that me. But Knit, she has the power to be better, like I did. In fact, even more so. She is not weighed down by my sins. But you have to be there for her to help with that. Like Julia was for me."

"How do I help her?" I asked.

"Be kind. That's all." He smiled. "Lonely people treasure kindness."

"Alright." I nodded. "Y'know...you're not so bad."

He outright laughed at that. "You could have worse."

I felt myself beginning to get pulled back.

"Oh, that's my cue." I gasped as I was beginning to slide back. "I'll definitely help her!"

"One more thing!" He said. "Who are you?"

"My name's Tie!" I called. "Hey! If you get the chance, can you tell your daughter something?"

"What?"

I waved with both arms. "'Thank you for the letter'!"

I then fell.


Happy April Fools, everybody! Bet you're glad this isn't an April fools chapter, huh?

So yes! I got a lot out of one little time trial act, huh? Mental breakdowns, Voice's cryptic musings, Knit's development, making up with the Conductor, and meeting Moonjumper!

This chapter's name comes from the phrase 'A Bitter Pill to Swallow' seeing as Tie had to both swallow his pride and accept some bitter truths this chapter. In case anyone was wondering...well, I thought it was clever.

Thank you very much to Konan720 and Fluffy Raikou-Sinful Snackbag for reviewing! And to HunterHQ...no, I gave up on those. And if you want to ask me about things like that, do so in a PM, not a 'review'.

Thank you all for reading, happy Bunny Day buy to those of you playing New Horizons (Feel free to come visit if you want) and next time, Titianic reference. See you then!