Chapter 6 :

Hat Kid yawned and stretched out of her bed. How did she get in her room? She blinked as she realized Ruby or Jaune must've brought her here.

She got up and went to the TV, using the finder to check in on Blake. It looked as though she and Yang were together, beating up black monsters with masks on.

Hat Kid decided she would take a small break from Remnant today, as she needed to get some Time Pieces from Alpine Skyline.

2 hours later…

A green flash of light appeared in the Emerald Forest in front of Yang and Blake. Blake stopped. She knew exactly who it was.

"Hat Kid!" She exclaimed.

The child in question was covered from head-to-toe in soot. The tip of her hat was burning. Her clothes were burned and she wore a look of pure irritation.

Blake's eyes widened. She rushed over with Yang. "Are you alright? What happened?" She said worriedly.

"You know the kid too?" Yang asked.

Blake nodded. "She gave me a place to stay for a while." She then bent down over the child. She then noticed a small, gray bird with orange eyes sneaking up behind her.

"Uh, Hat Kid, there's a-" Blake said, before she was cut off by Hat Kid whipping out her umbrella. Without looking away, she pointed it right at the bird and used her Projectile Blast to send a yellow beam of energy at it. Blake and Yang's eyes went wide as plates in surprise. The blast finished, and where the bird stood was a pile of ash.

"Hmm, had a bad day?" Yang said, sitting down on the grass and looking at her. She put her hands on Hat Kid's shoulders. Hat Kid looked up to her.

"Ruby told me you helped her out when she had a bad day yesterday." Yang remarked. "Why don't we return the favor?"

Hat Kid's frown turned back into her usual cheery smile. She grabbed the keychain and held it out.

Yang patted her head and shook hers. "Oh, maybe some other time, Kiddo. We're sort of in the middle of Initiation. Tell you what, why not help us kick monster butt? It reduces stress big time!"

Hat Kid nodded. Anything to take a break.

"What did you do to make yourself look like that?" Blake asked.

Hat Kid pulled out her camera and showed her a picture of three layers of molten magma, the top layer had large stone candles protruding on all sides.

"Huh. Lava cake." Blake commented. "Quite literally."

They continued onwards into the forest. Walking into a clearing, they came across some stone ruins. Inside the ruins stood a circle of pedestals.

"Think this is it?" Yang asked Blake. Blake shrugged, before walking over. Yang and Hat Kid followed.

"Chess pieces?" Blake said looking at the items on the pedestal. Hat Kid eyed the pieces with curiosity.

"Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren't the first ones here." Yang observed.

"Well, I guess we should pick one."

Yang looked up at a pedestal in the middle. Her eyes widened. "Hat Kid! Look!" She said pointing to it.

On top of the pedestal stood a Time Piece. A note on it read: "To be only acquired by the following person:" The note then had a picture of Hat Kid drawn on it. "By request of Headmaster Ozpin." The note finished.

"Well, there you go." Blake said. "All yours."

Hat Kid jumped up on the pedestal and grabbed it, putting in her hat. As she lifted her hat, a familiar mustached purple jar fell out. It took the hourglass right out of the hat and landed on it.

Hat Kid seemed surprised at first, but then visibly annoyed.

"What is that?" Blake asked, arching an eyebrow.

"HAHAHAHAA! It is I, the MAFIA BOSS! And I am going to finally have my revenge, using the power of my newly acquired Time Piece!" The jar said.

"Uhhh...What?" Yang asked, clearly unsure how to react.

Hat Kid rolled her eyes. "Peck neck…" She muttered within earshot of both Yang and Blake. She then rolled up her sleeves, pulled out her umbrella, and marched over to the jar.

"Ahh, what're you going to do, rude little girl, stop me? It's essentially hopeless! I have all the power in the world with this Time Piece!" The jar taunted.

Hat Kid simply picked up the jar.

"Hey, wait! That's cheating! You can't do that! Let go! I'll bite! I have teeth in this jar...somewhere…"

"Hat Kid, you have some of the wierdest rivals." Blake remarked.

Yang chuckled. "They're like siblings, it's so adorable."

"Yeah, it is. Back to the task at hand." Blake replied.

"Rrright, how 'bout a cute little pony?" Yang asked as she selected a white knight piece.

"Sure." Blake said.

At this point, Hat Kid was stringing together a little sack with a string attached. Due to her ability to stitch and sew at lightning speed, it was done within seconds. She then plopped the jar inside the sack, putting the string around her like a bandeloir so that the sack was slung tightly behind her.

"What is this?!" The jar demanded. "Are you attempting to imprison me?! I will NOT-Oh, wait, it actually feels quite nice in here. Very roomy, and lets air through too. I think. I'll just...give revenge...a couple...mmmore…mmmmmmhh."

Blake couldn't help but smile at how innocent the scene was. Hat Kid was something special for sure.

"Well, looks like we pass Initiation." Yang said. "That wasn't too hard."

"Well, it's not like this place is very difficult to find." Blake replied.

"Ready to go, Hat Kid?" Yang asked the child.

A distant scream rang out from the forest.

"Some girl's in trouble!" Yang exclaimed. "Blake, did you hear that?"

Blake's eyes focused upwards, on a familiar girl in red falling out of the sky.

"Heads uuuuuup!" She shouted, before a familiar blonde boy slammed right into her, sending them into a tree.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked.

"I…" Yang began, but was cut off by a huge bear coming out of the trees. It snarled and waved its paws, before a pink flash of light struck it from behind.

"Yeeehaww!" A girl's voice shouted.

The bear collapsed in a heap. A girl with ginger hair and a hammer slid off the back of the bear.

"Aww, it's broken." She whined.

A boy in green slumped over the back.

"Nora, please. Don't ever do that again." The boy said.

The girl, Nora, walked over to a pedestal and picked up a white rook piece. She then belted out a musical number.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

"Nora!" The boy shouted.

"Coming, Ren." She said, bolting over.

Hat Kid was quite confused as to what was happening, which was normal. She was surprised the Mafia Boss was able to sleep with all this racket.

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Blake asked.

"I…"

A roar echoed through the forest, as they turned to see a girl in spartan armor being chased by a giant scorpion.

"Jaune!" The girl shouted.

"Pyrrha?" Jaune said.

"Woah!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping off the tree.

"Ruby!"

"Ruby?" Yang asked.

"Yang!" Ruby said, about to double high-five her.

"Nora!" Nora shouted, getting in between Ruby and Yang.

Pyrrha and the scorpion were getting closer.

"Did she just run all the way here with a Deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asked.

Yang's hair started to catch fire and her eyes turned red.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" She shouted. "Can everyone just chill out for 2 seconds before something crazy happens?"

"AHH! I'm awake! What's happening!?"

Everyone turned to the little girl.

"A child?" The boy known as Ren asked.

"Hat Kid!" Ruby said, scooping up the child and embracing her as she did before.

"Woah! Hey! Easy there, there's two of us!"

Hat Kid pulled the jar out of her sack.

"Oh, hey Mafia jar guy. Sup?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, are you friends with a talking jar?" Yang said.

"WEEEE, are not 'friends'!" The jar said angrily. "The ONLY reason I have not killed every single one of you and had your heads mounted on my wall, is that I have no body."

"Aw, cheer up. You've got a nice comfy sack there Hat Kid made for you. You should be grateful." Ruby chastised.

"And you ruined it, you loud annoying noisy little…" The jar continued to rant and rave.

Ruby rolled her eyes, then focused on the sky. Her eyes widened.

"Um...guys?" She said, pointing upwards.

Hat Kid looked up to see Weiss holding onto a huge bird.

"How could you leave me?!" She shouted.

"I said jump." Ruby said.

"She's gonna fall." Blake remarked.

"She'll be fine." Ruby assured her.

"She's falling." Ren said.

Jaune leapt out of the tree to catch her.

"Just dropping in?" He quipped.

Unfortunately, they were both in mid-fall when he caught her, and they both plummeted to the ground.

Jaune planked it on the ground, and Weiss landed on top of him.

"My hero." She said unenthusiastically.

The girl in spartan armor, Pyrrha, rolled over to the group to avoid the Deathstalker.

"Great, the gang's all here." Yang said. "Now we can all die together."

"Child…" The jar whispered into Hat Kid's ears. "Take us back. Now."

Hat Kid shrugged the jar off. She wasn't about to abandon her friends. Unless...She could get a little bit of outside help.

She pulled out her keychain. Ruby looked at her.

"Hat Kid, you're leaving?" She asked sadly.

"She probably should. It's not safe here." Blake remarked.

Ruby sighed and put her on the ground. "Well, hope to see you again. Bye Hat Kid."

Hat Kid pressed the spaceship button and flashed away.

"Who was that child?" Pyrrha asked. "And what just happened?"

"It's a long story…" Ruby said.

"We'll tell you after we die." Jaune said.

"Not if I can help it." Ruby assured, before charging in at the Deathstalker.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang shouted. But it was too late. The Deathstalker launched Ruby back. She shot a round before running back over.

Yang ran in. Up above, the Nevermore shot a flurry of razor sharp feathers, one catching Ruby by her cape.

"Ruby, get out of there!" Yang shouted.

"I'm trying!" Ruby said, attempting to free herself. She then looked up at the Deathstalker. It's tail poised to strike.

"Ruby!" Yang yelled.

Then, in a flash of white, the Deathstalker was frozen.

"You are so childish."

"Weiss?" Ruby said, looking at her partner.

"And dimwitted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style." She continued. "And I suppose...I can be a bit difficult, but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be...nicer."

"I'm not trying to show off." Ruby said. "I want you to know I can do this."

"You're fine." Weiss replied, before walking off.

A crash rang out. Ruby and Weiss turned around. The Deathstalker had broken out of the ice.

Weiss attempted to create another glyph, but the Deathstalker was quicker. It grabbed both her and Ruby in its pincers.

"Nevermind!" Weiss shouted. "We're not fine!"

"Ruby!" Yang cried.

All of a sudden, a green flash of light, much larger than before, appeared right in front of the Deathstalker. When it dissipated Ruby's eyes were wide as plates, as was Yang's and Weiss's.

A huge, hulking goat-like bipedal creature stood towering over the scorpion, its eyes were glowing white as snow. It heaved a heavy sigh, before grabbing the tail of the Deathstalker. The Deathstalker screeched in panic, dropping the two girls. The creature then whirled the scorpion around with the tail as someone were to wind up a sling to fire, before throwing it over the mountains.

The Nevermore swooped in to attack the new arrival. But the goat creature was fast. It grabbed onto both its wings with its massive hands and ripped them off. The Nevermore screamed in pain, before succumbing to its wounds.

"Woohoo!" A cheer rang out. The goat knelt down, and a small creature in robes and a hood slid off of it, along with…

"Hat Kid!" Ruby exclaimed, running over. "I knew you wouldn't leave us that easily!" She gave her a huge hug.

Everyone else ran over as well.

"What is that monster?!" Weiss asked, pointing to the beast.

"Hokay, first, HE has a name." The creature with robes replied, voice thick with an accent. "Second, he's not a monster."

"Incredible. He just took out a Nevermore and a Deathstalker and didn't even sweat." Ren remarked.

"Ruby, Jaune, who is this child?" Pyhrra asked.

"This is Hat Kid." Ruby said.

"Oh, yes. The kid from the concert." Weiss remembered. "I hope you've saved up enough to pay off that 10,000 Lien."

Everyone gave her a blank look.

"You fined a space alien?" Ruby deadpanned.

"Don't be so silly. She interrupted my concert." Weiss huffed.

"She's a kid, Weiss. She probably can't even count to 10,000!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I hate to interrupt…" The cloaked creature said. "But those creatures don't look to be friendly."

The group turned to where the creature pointed. A Grimm horde of Ursa, Beowolves and two Nevermore came into the clearing.

"I don't think we'll be able to deal with that many." Ren said.

"You won't need to, friend. Hop on!" The creature replied, getting back on the behemoth.

"Are you sure about this?" Blake asked, climbing onboard.

"Don't worry, I got you covered. This is completely safe, provided you hang on tight." The creature reassured.

Everyone climbed on the giant goat.

"Alright, where are we headed?" The creature asked.

"We need to grab those chess pieces and then head to the cliffs." Ruby replied.

"That's a tall order there, Kiddo. But eh, who wants it easy?" The creature said. She then pulled out a wooden horn and blew it. "Let's ride, boy!"

The goat-creature ran to the ruins, its booming footsteps chucking dirt and grass everywhere.

"Better move fast, those things look angry." The creature advised.

Each pair grabbed a chess piece and then got back on the goat.

"Let's go, then!" The creature once again blew its horn, and the goat took off towards the cliffs.

Weiss looked behind and saw that the Grimm were keeping up.

"Can't this thing go any faster?!" She shouted.

"Only if you say please!" The creature quipped. It then pulled out its horn and blew a different tune. The goat started turning blue. The area around them filled with a green light.

"WHAT...IS...GOING...ON?!" Yang said.

"You wanted to get out of here fast, my friend!" The creature replied.

The green light dissipated, and in an instant, they were not standing in the Emerald Forest. Rather, a set of cliffs, situated high in the sky.

"Oh wow!" Ruby said, taking in the view. All around them were lines with banners on them, strung from trees, connecting to the sky islands. One sky island had a huge blue bell, the other a giant birdcage, another was a large windmill. And the last one…

"...Lava cake." Blake repeated. "Quite literally."

"What is this place?" Yang asked.

"Welcome, to Alpine Skyline!" The creature said. "It's my home!"

"It looks peaceful here." Ren observed, taking in the crisp air.

"Quiet too." Pyhrra added.

"Yeah, we're not very noisy up here." The creature said. "Here, we and the goats live together."

"There are more of you?" Jaune asked.

"Well, hyeah! I certainly didn't pop out of nowhere!" The creature joked. "Now then, I think I'm all set for the day. I've got to go home and give this guy a bath." The creature leaned into the group.

"He gets pretty anxious around lots of people." It whispered. "Feel free to take a look around. The goats here are pretty friendly, provided you don't make 'em angry. Oh, and take this horn! It'll take you back to your place. Just blow on it."

"Bye." Ruby said, waving to the creature as it walked over to a small group of houses.

"Well, we should get back to the Initiation. You coming, Hat Kid?" Jaune asked.

Hat Kid nodded.

"Alright. I'll blow the horn then." Yang said, taking the horn in her hands. She observed the green cloth tied around the mouthpiece, before taking a deep breath, and then blowing into it.

"Hey everyone whats going on?" Nora said suddenly. "OMIGOD WE'RE IN THE SKY! HOLY CRA-"

The same green light appeared, and before they knew it, they were back in Remnant, standing right in front of Headmaster Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch.

"O-Oh, Professor, Headmaster!" Weiss stammered. "We have the relics!"

"I see." Ozpin said. "Please, do go ahead and make your way to the Bullhead. We'll be departing shortly."

Everyone moved towards the Bullhead. Blake stopped.

"Hat Kid, wait."

Hat Kid looked at her.

"Where's the Time Piece?"

Hat Kid's eyes widened. She left it back at the ruins!

"I have it, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin said, taking out a shiny hourglass. "The one at the ruins was a fake. Hat Kid, if you could stay behind, I'd like to speak to you for a moment."

Hat Kid seemed confused, but nodded.

"Bye, Hat Kid." Blake said, kneeling down to her and patting her head. She then rose and walked to the Bullhead, leaving the three behind.

"...That, was not just a test for them, I think you realise by now." Ozpin started. "It was a test for you too. I wanted to be sure that you would understand priorities, and not abuse the agreement we had by simply taking the Time Pieces and leaving."

Hat Kid nodded in understanding.

"And I have to say, I was impressed. At first, I thought you had abandoned them. But instead, you came back. And that takes more selflessness than most people on Remnant." He complimented. "On behalf of Beacon, thank you for helping my students. And as promised, here is the first of many Time Pieces."

He then tossed over the hourglass. Hat Kid tipped her hat to the Headmaster, before flashing away.