Chapter 17: Strings of Fate

A/N: Well, here we go, enough waiting around. I said it once and I'll say it again, be ready. It ain't gonna be nice.

"Before I start, out of curiosity... what do you think my backstory is?" She asked, "I know you've thought about it."

"I've assumed for a while now that you're an orphan," I answered, "... Was I right to think so?"

She tilted her head, a contemplating look on her face.

"Well... you're not wrong, or at least I think so," She said... oddly casually.

"You sound so casual about the idea of not having parents," I thought aloud.

She responded only by laughing sadly, then sighing.

"Well, I guess I'll start off by explaining my homeworld, so it makes a bit more sense," She said, "I come from a planet called Aeon. My people are, as you might guess, are called Aeonians. We've had Time Pieces for as long as we know, and we've used them to become a very powerful civilization."

I nodded. It made sense.

"Life on Aeon wasn't actually too different from life here," She said, "People go to school, graduate, get jobs, contribute to society, all of that boring stuff, y'know?"

"What was the leadership like?" I asked.

"We were led by a large group of about a hundred people. I think they were called the Table of Elders? I know they were called Elders, at least. They voted on stuff like laws and actions and just general boring stuff like that."

"Okay, I think I have a pretty good idea what it was like," I responded, "...Hold on, random question, how old are you?"

"I'm 11 years old," She answered.

I nodded. That was about what I thought.

"I was born to a weird couple, my father worked in a factory, my mother worked for the Table, but I don't remember the details other than that," She said, "They weren't married, either, at least not until I was born."

"Oh?" I said, "Well, that's not too rare, at least back at my old home."

"It kinda is on Aeon, though," She said, "I don't remember much about my early life, but I knew that they loved each other very much."

"Were they loving parents?" I asked.

She nodded slowly.

"My mother was. She taught me to sew, and my top hat was a gift from her," She said somberly, "It was one of the last times I got to see her."

"What happened to her?" I asked.

She then cringed and shook her head.

"Something changed. I don't know why, but one day my father started acting... weird," She explained, "I think he lost his job or something... and it started happening after that. He'd get mad really easily, and other things. I remember hearing him arguing with Mom... he would even attack her sometimes."

I prayed this wasn't going where I thought it was going.

"One day... she just left. I never saw her again," She said quietly, "And after that..."

She bit onto her shirt in clear emotional pain, and my heart sank.

"He... with my mother gone, he had nothing else to take his anger out on," She said hauntingly, "He... he blamed it on me for her leaving... and he... he..."

"He hurt you... didn't he?"

All she could do was nod, tears flowing down her eyes and a traumatized look on her face.

"I would have to go to school injured and lie about it," She whispered, "Because he said he'd kill me if I told anyone."

I had never been more disgusted in my life.

"Oh my God..."

"And it wasn't just that... even if I told anyone, I don't think anyone would've cared," She lamented, "Everyone disliked me... going to school was almost as dangerous as staying home."

"Didn't you tell your teachers about being bullied?" I asked.

"They didn't do anything," She replied hopelessly, "They didn't care what the students did to each other, and they definitely didn't care about me."

"Did you have anyone to help you? Anyone at all?" I asked.

She shook her head gravely.

"I spent more time walking by myself through the city, because it was safer to be out in public by myself than to be at home or school," She said.

She then began to cry.

I was unable to speak.

This was far worse than I ever could've dreaded.

I wouldn't have been able to handle that... I probably would've attempted suicide if I was in her place.

She looked so... broken...

I... I wanted to hug her so badly, rub her back and tell her that it would be okay...

But with that damn I.V... I just couldn't. All I could do was rub her shoulder.

Time passed. It felt like a billion years before she next spoke.

"A while ago... you were tucking me in," She said through sniffles, "You noticed I had some scar on my ear, right?"

I nodded. I think I knew now.

"I decided one day that I'd had enough of living like that, just being tossed around by everyone. I decided I'd try to stand up for myself," She said, "So I trained myself, and began to fight off bullies at school. It... actually worked. So, one day, my father got angry at me about something... I don't remember what... and I tried fighting back."

She lowered her head, taking a deep, shaky breath.

"I barely made it out with my life. I still remember him screaming that he would find me... and that he'd make me wish I was never born. From there, I just ran."

"How old were you when this happened?" I asked.

"8... my 9th birthday was less than a week away... not that it mattered," She said sadly, "I was alone for a while after, no food or anything... one night I almost starved... but... then someone finally showed me mercy."

"Oh? What happened?"

"I was found by a man, he was an Elder's servant. He took me in and gave me an actual home," She said, "I mean, he hardly interacted with me, and he didn't like being around me, but he still gave me shelter, food, and he didn't treat me like a burden to the universe. It was the closest thing to a home I'd had in years..."

She then looked down and shook her head.

"But it just didn't last," She said, "One day, Aeon was attacked. I don't know who, what, or why, but it was an all-out attack on the planet. I remember it like the back of my hand... there so much destruction... so much death... It was... it was... I can't even describe how awful it was. And to make it even worse... my father somehow found me in the chaos."

A lump formed in my throat.

The strings of fate really have been cruel to her, haven't they?

"How'd you escape?" I asked.

She closed her eyes, holding back tears.

"The man who took me in... he gave me his own spaceship, setting course for very far away, and fought my father. He... he decided that my life... that it was more worth preserving than his own."

I took off my hood and bowed my head to honour this hero. That... he had such a high position, and yet he sacrificed his own life to save a child he basically didn't even know. Godspeed to him.

"I don't know how many others were able to flee, who stayed and fought, or even if we managed to survive. I've been roaming through space, alone, ever since," She said, "And that's why I wanted to go back so much, I needed to know if my people survived, and help them if they did. But now..."

"'But now'?" I asked.

"I... I still want to go back some day, but... I worry that my father is still out there, hunting me down... that he'll show up any second to take me away..." She said, trembling.

I knelt down and put my hand on her shoulder.

"Kid," I said.

She looked at me.

"He can't hurt you anymore."

"B-but..."

"No 'but's. The universe is MASSIVE. If he's somehow even alive, he couldn't ever possibly find you," I assured her, "And if we did go to your old planet one day, and he managed to find us... even then..."

She looked at me, and I could feel my hatred for this person I'd never even met growing. For her mother, too, for just abandoning her child.

"I wouldn't EVER let him hurt you."

I then took a deep breath.

"You got that, kid?" I asked.

She nodded, then took a deep breath.

"I'd never told anyone my story before... I feel so much better now," She said.

"Like a weight you didn't even know was there was lifted off your shoulders, yeah?"

She nodded.

A thought then came to my head. Why would she randomly tell me her story now? It seemed... random.

"If I may ask... why did you tell me all of this just now?" I asked.

She opened her mouth to speak, then just proceeded to smile warmly, yet bashfully.

"I... well..." She said with a twinge of... anxiety in her voice(?), "Well... I... you see..."

She then sighed.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to laugh or anything?" She asked.

"Huh?" I said, "Kid, you know I'd never do anything like that. You can tell me anything."

"... Are you really sure about that?" She asked uncertainly.

"Absolutely positive," I replied firmly.

She said nothing for a few seconds... then sighed.

"Well... I... I've started to..." She muttered, "I've started to... um..."

She then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, said something too quietly for me to hear, then opened her eyes again and nodded.

"I... never saw my father as my dad... he never showed me any love, even before he changed," She said.

... What did that have to do with this?

"So... after all we've been through together, and how you've treated me... I... I want you to be my dad, and I figured that my dad should know more about me."

My heart leaped into my throat, and I fell backwards from shock.

No... no way...

She did not just say that...

I tried to say something, but I was at a pure loss for words.

After a few seconds of pure shock, I managed to slightly compose myself.

"You... I... what?" I managed to babble.

She lowered her head.

"I know you probably don't want me as a daughter... but I figured I should tell you either way," She muttered, "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

She wanted me to be her father... she actually did... I...

I took multiple deep breaths and composed myself further, getting up off the floor and kneeling down beside her.

"Kid..." I said, "You want to know something?"

She looked over at me with confusion.

"Huh?" She muttered.

A smile came to my face, and I ran my fingers through her hair.

"I would love to be your father."

She gasped.

"R-really?" She shouted.

"It took me a while to realize it, I'm not sure if I even wanted to realize it, but yes. I want you to be my daughter," I said, "And I promise you, I will do everything in my power to show you how a real father figure should act."

Her eyes began to tear up, and she began to cry again. But this time... it was tears of joy.

I continued to run my fingers through her hair as she began to say 'thank you' over and over.

I wanted to hug her... hug my daughter more than anything else, but alas, fate would not have it.

I sighed.

"No, kid, thank you. I would be nothing without you," I said.

Slowly, her crying dissipated, from sobbing to just crying, to sniffles, until finally, nothing.

She sighed and closed her eyes.

"You know... I used to think this is all a dream, just something created by my mind in a desperate attempt to feel happiness and hope again, and worried that if I closed my eyes I'd wake up and be back in that nightmare," She said calmly, "I mean, why would I deserve to have nice things? Ha ha... but... I don't have that worry anymore. You promised me you'd never leave... and I truly believe that now."

I nodded, understanding her completely.

I then had a random thought... if I was gonna be her dad, calling her 'kid' wouldn't work, now would it?

"You know..." I said, "You still never told me your name."

"Oh..." She responded, clearly bummed out by the topic, "We... um... back on Aeon... we don't get names until we finish all our schooling."

"So you don't have a name?" I questioned.

"No... I just have an ID number," She muttered, "I don't bother remembering it anymore, I just go by Hat Kid."

"Well, we can't have that... everyone deserves a name," I grumbled, "What to do..."

I had an idea that made me grin.

"I know... I'll give you a name!" I exclaimed.

"Huh?" She said, "Really?"

"Of course! Kids get their names from their parents!" I laughed.

Her resulting smile lit up the room.

"Please tell me!" She begged.

I shook my head.

"What I choose now is going to be a part of your person for the rest of your life. I need time to pick the one that suits you best," I explained.

"But I wanna know it now..." She pouted.

I smirked.

"Tell you what, kid. Get better first, then I'll give you your name, alright?" I stated, "That way it gives you more incentive to get better quicker, right?"

She smiled.

"Okay, dad," She said.

My grin widened even further.

I rubbed the top of her head, then got up and walked over to the door. It'd probably be a good time to go.

"I'll be back tomorrow," I promised her.

"Okay," She said, "See you tomorrow, dad."

I smiled.

"See you tomorrow, daughter."

A/N: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, is it a good thing if I'm internally gushing over something in my own story? I dunno, but I am!

Anyway... yeah. Hat Kid has seen a lot. It explains why she's so resilient in game, because even with all the awfulness she's forced to go through on the planet, it's not the worst she's seen.

But, to make up for that darkness... hey, it's official, Markus is now Hat Kid's dad. And she's gonna get a name! I already have a few ideas for what it'll be, but if y'all wanna suggest any I'm all ears.

... If you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed writing that part. I hope y'all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.

Now, review time:

Phantaum: Well, there you go. Hope it wasn't a disappointment, haha! And you really are resilient about that topic, aren't you? Hm. Well, you do you, and I'll do me.

Well, that wraps up this chapter. Hope you all enjoyed, see ya!