"When you left with Tim, I… I tried to do as he asked, but… Bow found me…"
Hat Kid ran into the library and took the stairs up to the observatory. Another quake nearly knocked the girl off her feet. She hung onto the railing and heard something crash. Many books fell from the shelves and even entire cases fell down, too.
Just as the rumbling stopped, Hat Kid stood up as more screaming and car horns were heard. With her entire form shaking, the girl reached a trembling hand towards the door.
"HATTIEEEEE!"
Hat Kid turned around. She saw a small figure enter the library. The lights came on for a moment, but then they went out once more. Hat Kid yelled and ducked down as glass on fixtures shattered. However, her vision adjusted to the dark and she saw the familiar shade of blue on the figure's head and skirt.
"BOW!"
Had Kid wasted no time jumping off the railing and using her umbrella. Once she was on the ground, she ran towards her waiting friend. Suddenly, another quake shook the ground and made Hat Kid fall forward. As she struggled to stand back up a few books fell down around her and when she looked up an entire book shelf was falling towards her.
She was then tackled to the floor, pushed away from the danger as the shelf fell down. Hat Kid grabbed onto her savior and hid her face as books went flying everywhere.
Finally, when the rumbling stopped Hat Kid and Bow Kid emerged from the book ridden rubble.
"What are you doing here?" Hat Kid asked immediately.
"What do you mean?" Bow Kid pouted, throwing some books out of their way. "Looking for you, dummy!"
Hat Kid looked away, trying to hide her face, while she tried not to cry. "You shouldn't be here…"
"Why?! I literally just saved you! Everyone's racing to their ships and I wasn't going to get on one without you."
"But this is my fault…" said Hat Kid. "That man… he got a Time PIece!"
Bow Kid gasped. She was the first to get up from the book-filled mess. "So he did this?"
Hat Kid nodded rapidly. "Tim and Cloak went to go find him and they told me to get the ship ready."
Bow's jaw dropped. "You have your own ship?"
Hat Kid smacked her own forehead. "I shouldn't have told you that, either…"
Bow Kid grabbed her hand. "Hattie we've always told each other everything, so this isn't anything I can't handle."
"B-But… t-they…" Hat Kid stammered. Tears started welling up in her eyes.
"Hattie, I don't care what they said!" Bow Kid snapped. "I told you we'd stick together and that isn't changing now. Let's get out of here!"
Had Kid wiped her eyes. "But I can't just leave Cloak and Tim! They've helped me so much."
Bow Kid nodded. "Well, that's true." She let out a sigh. "Fine. I'm gonna help you do what they want, but after that we're sticking together from here on out."
Hat Kid nodded. Even when she lost her parents, Bow Kid promised not to rat her out to the authorities, as they didn't want to be separated. And, well, they most certainly weren't going to be now.
So, Hat Kid finally returned the grip Bow Kid had on her hand and they went down to the ship's secret bunker beneath Time's End Library.
As dire as the situation was, Hat Kid at least smiled a little when Bow Kid's jaw dropped at the sight of the secret room and the spaceship before them.
Keys in hand, Hat Kid got them both into the ship. They went about getting things ready. Cloak Kid and Tim's stuff were already on the ship. Hat Kid didn't have much, but her things were on it, too. It was in Cloak Kid's room.
The ship ran and finished a systems check. Everything was good to go, all rooms were working with lights, life support, AC and heaters.
Finally, Hat Kid raced back to the deck and sat down in the captain's chair. All they had to do now was wait for the others.
But seconds became minutes.
And then minutes turned to almost an hour.
Outdoor cameras were sending footage back up on the surface. The more they waited, the worse things got. Strange flowers the pair of girls had never seen before appeared, ash and amber were in the air, and parts of the ground had cracked, with lava visible in the fissures.
Hat Kid stood. "Something's wrong! I have to find them!" She picked up her umbrella and rushed to the exit.
"Hattie, wait!" Bow Kid yelled. "I'm coming with you!"
The two raced out of the ship, leaving on standby, but it was locked by Hat Kid in the event of an unlikely intruder.
If Hat Kid remembered correctly, Cloak Kid and Tim were at the town's clock tower. The air was polluted and breathing it burned their lungs, so they had to cover their mouths.
They entered the clock tower. The windows inside were shattered and the ground side had cracked and parted ways.
"Tim?" Hat Kid called.
"Cloak?!" Bow Kid yelled.
And then they heard a voice. It started off low, but then became louder. Then they saw the man with the mask, falling far from above. Before either girl could react, he fell past them to his doom, and as soon as he did, the Time Piece he held shattered on impact against a giant pipe sticking out from the wall.
"Wh-What was…" Bow could only stammer for a moment. A shard landed near her feet.
"CLOAK!" Hat Kid yelled. "She raced towards the stairwell, just as Bow Kid picked up the shard.
And once again, the ground shook. Rubble and other debris fell from above. Bow Kid stumbled to catch with Hat Kid, but then, as the ground cracked behind them, the edge she was on crumbled and her immediate yell made Hat Kid turn back.
Hat Kid practically threw herself, jumping off the stairs as Bow Kid fell into the fissure. The hat-wearing girl landed on the ground, right on the edge and reached out her hand desperate to catch her falling friend.
And she missed by the skin of her fingers.
The shard in Bow Kid's hand, along with the ones falling around them glowed and a bright light enveloped them.
The light faded away eventually, but just as it did, Hat Kid's back hid something solid… and kind of scratchy.
Hat Kid opened her eyes and saw the dark purple sky, specks of poison pollen in the air and the hot wind blow into her skin. She sat up, finding herself outside on the grass. She looked around just in time to see the clock tower fall. Hat Kid could only gasp as it hit the ground. She managed to stand up and run, crawling under the nearest car to hide under. Dirt and other rubble was knocked up and blown past.
Hat Kid closed her eyes tightly, curling up into a ball and holding onto her hat for dear life as everything was covered in a giant wave of rubble, rock and earth.
"After it was over, I ran back to try and find her…" Hat Kid said, still wrapped up in her friend's cloak, "but, all I found was… you…"
Cloak Kid grimaced. "Nearly dead, because I was too stubborn to move…"
Hat Kid just held his hand even tighter. She never blamed him for how he froze up back there. His grandfather was taken away from him right before his eyes! How was he supposed to react?
"I knew if I didn't get you out of there, you'd…"
"Yeah…" This time it was Cloak Kid's turn to tear up. "I was so sad and angry… I never thanked you. I… Thank-you, H-Hattie…"
Hat Kid sniffled, but just nuzzled into his embrace with a smile. It just made Cloak Kid feel worse.
"I… I treated you so badly…" Cloak Kid continued. "I'm… I'm sorry."
"Cloak-"
"Gramps is gone, but…" Cloak Kid gripped the bow in his hand. "The fact that this bow is here… It has to mean something. "Maybe, if we get all of these Time Pieces, we can find out what that something is."
Hat Kid slowly reached for her hat. She sat up sluggishly with the boy's help. Now that she had her hat on, her jaw dropped for a moment.
"There's one more!" she said. And she pointed to the left of the ship. "It's that way…"
Once Hat kid was ready, the two of them left the storage room and made their way to the left side of the ship. However, they didn't find anything.
Finally, back on the top deck, Hat Kid used her hat's power once again, but it was still pointing her to the left.
That's when they realized that the Time Piece wasn't on the ship.
Over the railing was the ocean and all the pieces of ice the ship was chugging through, and over the horizon were plenty of glaciers. And on top of one of the ice bergs, was where Hat Kid was being guided to. Luckily, there was a set of binoculars for tourists to take a closer look at things.
They couldn't see the Time Piece but nothing sparkled as bright as one.
"All the way over there?" said Cloak Kid. "We can't get that. One touch of that water and we'll be a couple of popsicles!"
Hat Kid looked around and nearby, she saw the captain enjoying the view. There was a seal next to him holding an ashtray on their head, like it was a hat. Surely, it wouldn't be too much of a request to ask him if they could sail a bit closer to that iceberg, right?
"Excuse me," Hat Kid called, running up to him. "I was hoping if you-"
The captain huffed. "Do I look busy to you, pup. Go play somewhere else."
Hat Kid doubted it, seeing the ashtray full of cigarette scraps, but whatever. "Well, sure, but… I need you to-"
"Look, kid," the captain interjected again. "Just let an old captain relax for a bit. The crew can handle things for a bit. Hopefully, they've learned not to touch the steering wheel by now.
Cloak Kid huffed. That captain was cutting her off before she could even finish her sentence. He pulled up his cloak while they were talking.
He knew it. He was thinking about his mentor. Was today his birthday? Day he died? Or was he just thinking about him? He didn't know. His gaze fell on the giant iceberg. Now that he knew where the Time Piece was, Cloak Kid could see it shining without the tourist binoculars.
The captain lost someone irreplaceable to him. Still, it wasn't an excuse to give up. Cloak Kid couldn't either, no matter how much it hurt, or how his lungs burned, or how he could barely muster the will to get out of bed, let alone the strength. If they left that Time Piece out there something terrible could happen.
Hat Kid turned back to her shipmate, but when she did, the boy was already gone.
Cloak Kid had left the upper deck and jumped off the railing. Then he used his hookshot to grab onto a light fixture on the lower port side and landed with a roll in front of the door to the control room.
Everything was pretty quiet. Cloak Kid slowly opened and closed the metal door. The systems were on and he could hear the boops and bops of the computers.
Once Cloak Kid was near the helm, he made a note of all the monitors, and on one he saw the shiny iceberg. They were passing it, so Cloak Kid had to act now.
The boy walked up to the steering wheel. It looked like one of a typical sea ship. If the glacier was to the starboard side then he just had to turn it that way, right?
Just as he placed his hands on the steering wheel, he had a thought. He'd broken rules before to get the Time Pieces back, why was this different? He couldn't get his grandfather and the captain couldn't get his mentor back, but if there was a small chance that Bow Kid was still alive, then peck it! He had to at least try and help Hat Kid get Bow back. The only way he can know for sure of this being possible was to get all the Time Piece that she may have somehow left behind.
If not for her sake, then for all that time he was so cruel to her.
Just a small turn was all he needed, right? He and Hattie have piloted a spaceship before. Surely, this wouldn't be as different.
Unfortunately, that turn was a little too much and caused the whole ship to sway. Gritting his teeth, Cloak Kid looked and saw they were too far in the other direction of the iceberg, so he tried turning it starboard, which he did more gently, but he slipped when the ship shook again.
Cloak Kid held back a curse from escaping his mouth and grabbed the steering wheel again. Just a little more to the left.
"Hewwo!" a voice said on the intercom. "The captwain has a messa-"
"Hand me that microphone!" the captain's voice rumbled. "Who's at the wheel?! We're headed straight for an iceberg! All hands on deck!"
Cloak Kid looked around, maybe there was a break or something? The only thing he saw as an answer was a red lever. He pulled it, turned the steering wheel to the left, and then, like he practiced on the spaceship, braced for impact.
Why am I on the wall? Hat Kid thought to herself. A few blinks later, she realized why. She wasn't sideways, the ship was! She sat up slowly and saw the entire and saw the entire pool had been drained and as Hat Kid sat up, she realized the railing saved her from touching the water. Although… that would change. The water was rising.
Hat Kid yelped, she immediately jumped and managed to hookshot onto the doorway to the hotel suites. Like the rest of the ship, it had fallen sideways. He opened the door even though it was sideways and stood on the balcony. There was luggage falling out of carts and rooms. People were screaming and as water began to pour in and fill the ship. They came out of their rooms, the casino and other places, trying to find a way to higher ground.
Seeing all of those people rushing out, made Hat Kid remember what was important right now.
"CLOAK!" Hat Kid yelled, as people managed to wobble out the way she came. The cold air blew in from the roof that had shattered. "CLOAK!" she called again.
She looked around, trying to find a safe place to land, when she saw the room she and Cloak Kid shared.
The Time Pieces!
Hat Kid jumped down and used her umbrella. However, when she landed she slid forward and pressed her hands up against the cabinets that were against the wall. She knelt down and was thankful the Time PIeces were safe, but she had to do something now. So, she grabbed the nearest suitcase, poured out all of its contents, and put the Time PIeces in their place.
Once the suitcase was packed, she picked it up and placed it on the side of her bed, which technically elevated it a little with the ship being slanted at the moment. Then she used her hookshot to get herself and the suitcase out.
With the way she came into the suites too high, she took the other doorway that led into the casino balcony.
Water was slowly rising, pouring in from the other floors, due to the ship's slant. Hat Kid was walking into the casino on the doorway's walls. The scaffolding had been knocked to the side, so Hat Kid used what was left to get over the rising water.
"CLOAK!" Hat Kid called again. She spotted a few Moon Penguins and Express Owls were helping each other climb out and off the floating casino tables.
Hat Kid kept walking, slowly creeping to the otherside. Then, when she made it into the Reception an explosion knocked an entire stack of suitcases over. Shocked, she was caught in the fall and was thrown into the rising water.
Hat Kid hung onto the suitcase as her body hit the ice cold water. It managed to float, but all the cold hit the girl at once. She kicked and fought with all of her might. She climbed onto her suitcase and reached for the railing to the casino, but her slippery wet hand made her lose her grip and she fell back into the water with another yell.
She fought against the waters with everything she had once again. She was kicking and swinging her arms. What was happening? Why was she slowing down? Why were her arms and legs so heavy? She sank below the water. Everything was going numb…
Her eyes got heavy, but she sawthe suitcase at the surface. She reached out a heavy hand, as if somehow she would grab something.
And then she did!
Immediately, Hat Kid was pulled up and out of the water. The next thing she knew a pair of arms were on her, dragging out of the reception and into the large doorway between that and the casino. Hat Kid coughed and shivered, her hands clung to her rescuer's arms, water dripping onto their red sleeves.
Red?
"Hattie!" Cloak Kid's face came into Hat Kid's view. "Stay with me! Hattie!"
"I-I'm… f-fine…" Hat Kid stammered. She gasped when her friend pulled her into his arms. Since he was so warm, she put her arms around him, still shaking.
"I'm so sorry!" he yelled, his voice wobbling on the edge of sobs. "This is my fault. I thought I could steer the ship! I-I.." He trailed off and just tightened his grip even more upon feeling Hat Kid's trembling form. "We have to get you out of here!"
Hat Kid yelped as Cloak Kid hoisted the girl onto his back. Hat Kid reached towards the reception.
"W-Wait! The T-Time Pieces! S-Suitcase!" she managed to say.
Cloak Kid turned back and retrieved the suitcase with his hookshot. THen he turned back to get Hat Kid to safety. She was shivering up a storm, but seemed more relaxed now that her shipmate was with her.
Hat Kid was still coughing and Cloak Kid could see Hat Kid's hands as they hung down over his shoulders and her breathing was heavy. No frostbite, but the tips of her fingers were red.
"Stay awake!" Cloak Kid pleaded. "Whatever you do, just don't fall asleep!"
"T-Trying…" Hat Kid croaked.
Cloak Kid trudged back through the casino and towards the suites. He wondered why she was there and then her heart sank at the realization that she was looking for him.
The sight of Hat Kid's limp hands only reminded him of when he was barely conscious, and Hat Kid being the one who was carrying him.
"It's all going down…" Cloak Kid heard through the walkie talkie he forgot to return. "I never thought I'd see the day. Her maiden voyage, too. Won't take more than a few minutes for all this to hit the seafloor, I think."
Once they were back in the hotel suites, Cloak Kid walked on the now sideways wall towards the shattered roof. It looked like a majority of the people headed that way.
"Well, you might want to get to a lifeboat, everyone. It'd be smart."
Cloak Kid could only grimace. The captain sounded so defeated. He held his teeth tight and crept towards the open ceiling. Over the edge the Shocktopus had left his station and was helping people into the lifeboats.
"I NEED HELP!" Cloak Kid yelled, as they made it to the ledge.
As soon as he heard the child's voice, the cephalopod wasted no time in hurrying to grab Hat Kid and placed her on one of the lifeboats. Cloak Kid joined her soon and enough and immediately took off his cloak, placing it around her shaking form. Then he took off her hat, so he could pull the hood up.
People were gathering around, flabbergasted at the shivering child.
"She fell in the water!" said Cloak Kid. "We gotta warm her up!"
Cloak Kid was almost moved to tears. Several Moon Penguins and even some of those CAW agents took off their coats to give Hat Kid a few extra layers. The Express Owls didn't have coats, but they took a few of their clean shirts from their suitcases. Snatcher didn't wear clothes, but he casted a small spell to warm her up.
"Just don't die on us yet, you stupid kid," he grumbled.
"Th-Thank-you…" Hat Kid said, softly. She was still shivering, but with each passing moment, she was calming down. When Cloak Kid was close, she pointed to the top of a nearby iceberg. Cloak Kid took notice and saw the whole reason he got them into this mess: the Time Piece.
More people were filing out of the ship, while Cloak Kid jumped off the boat for a moment to climb up the icy cliff. They were kind of slippery, but he eventually made it, and ignored his slightly wet clothes and found the Time Piece.
Up top, Cloak Kid winced at the sight of the ship before him. He held the Time Piece close, knowing he did this. With Hat Kid safe, the others were murmuring about the other passengers.
"Where's the Conductor?"
"I think I saw one of those little guys in there."
"Did the seals get everyone?"
"We'we dowing evewything we can!"
Cloak Kid found himself staring. All he could think of as those people scrambled to the lifeboats…
Was that day he didn't move…
Cloak Kid jumped back down and walked back up to Hat Kid. She was looking back at the ship, too.
"Are they right?" Cloak Kid asked.
Hat Kid nodded. Cloak Kid could only sigh. He set the Time Piece down next to her and stood on one of the seats.
"What are you doing?" the girl asked, her head snapping back to look at him.
"I'm not leaving them to die!" Cloak Kid declared.
"Cloak!" Hat Kid tried to protest, but when she tried to stand, she fell back down from her numb legs.
Cloak Kid jumped onto the broken roof frame.
"CLOAK!"
The boy turned back to his friend when she yelled. When he did, Hat Kid saw into his eyes and saw the clock tower falling and how Cloak Kid just stood there in his fresh grief and let the wave of destruction just hit him.
Hat Kid reached up and with her hands gripping the fabric of her shipmate's cloak, she realized what had happened.
She saw the thoughts in his heart.
So, she picked up her top hat and tossed it to him. Cloak Kid caught in his hands and with a nod he was off.
Cloak Kid raced back into the ship, jumping on floating suitcases to find anyone stranded.
A tiny "peck" emerged from a baby owl floating on a suitcase. The boy got to him and picked up the little guy. Then there was a yell up ahead. He held the baby owl close and headed out of the casino and back into the tilted captain's room. There he found a trembling seal.
"I've got you!" he said, picking them up.
"Thank woo, mistwer," they spoke, sweetly. The kind voice made Cloak Kid smile despite the dire situation as he tucked the little guy under his arm.
Cloak Kid rushed back towards the sinking suites and upon getting back to the lifeboats, the Shocktopus was there to help more of the survivors.
He went back into the ship once again, using the top hat to guide him. As he passed the casino and the control room, he noticed the water rising. He had to hurry!
Outside of the control room was the upper area of the restaurant. Most of it was submerged, but the unstrapped tables were floating. One of them had one of the Conductor's grandkids on it.
With a huff, the boy made his way down, using the chandeliers that had tilted over to the side. As his boots met the last one, the chain holding it up snapped. With a yell, Cloak Kid threw himself forward as the rest of that fixture fell into the icy water with a loud splash.
Cloak Kid landed on the table, stumbling before falling onto his knees and elbows. He picked up the little guy, but didn't see a way out with that chandelier gone. He followed the path of more floating tables into the kitchen.
Somehow the broken ovens still had the capacity to shoot flames. Dodging that, Cloak Kid made it to the doors on the other side, but they were jammed shut. Something probably fell in front and blocked it.
Cloak Kid's eyes darted around the tilted kitchen and saw the railing, along with a bunch of fishing hanging from the ceiling. Staff in hand, he used his hookshot and got him and the Owl on the side of it. They could see the laundry room. A vent was on the side, but there was a trickle of cold water coming out from it. Still, it could be their only alternate route. So, he climbed down carefully to the vent, and luckily, the vent was big enough so he could stand and get to the engine room.
When he entered, his feet landed onto a pool floaty. The engine room was flooded and the active engine was electrifying the floor. Cloak Kid jumped from crate to crate and found another seal.
"Ooh! Whewe awe we gowing?"
Cloak Kid just smiled. He found the door on the other side. He used his hookshot and grabbed the red lights in the narrow tunnel to pull them through and back into the reception. With all the suitcases everywhere, the boy wobbled to the railing that would lead them back to the casino.
He threw the little owl and the seal up on the ledge first, before climbing up himself. His damp knee slipped, but luckily, the seal and even that tiny owl stopped him from falling back. Once he was on the slanted walkway, he got back to the casino and made his way back outside. Other than the two of the Conductor's grandkids having to be saved, the other three were safe on the lifeboats already.
Cloak Kid didn't see anyone else, so the seals took them towards the other end of the ship. Somehow that jar of mush that was the Mafia Boss got stuck near the top of the kid's area. The Cloak Kid dove back down, swinging with his grappling hook to get to the bottom and into the kid's area.
The Conductor was near the rim of the dome roof, looking both ways with his back to the roof. Cloak Kid hopped over on some seats and a floating table.
"Conductor!" Cloak Kid called once he landed near him. "Come on!"
"I can't laddie!" he yelled. "The wee ones-"
"They're fine! They're on the boats!"
The Conductor was still shaking, but he wiped his brow… if he had one.
"Alright… Thank-you, laddie…"
Cloak Kid jumped back towards the exit and helped the Conductor along. Once they were back outside.
"Ach! Be careful, lad!" the Conductor pouted when he stumbled a bit. Hat Kid stood up to steady him into the lifeboat. "Mind me feathers!"
Cloak Kid looked around, but didn't see anyone else who needed help. So, he took off the top hat.
"Don't wait up for me," Cloak Kid then heard. He pulled out the walkie talkie. Everyone turned to the sound of that voice. "Get in a boat and scram."
"B-But-"
"This is my dang ship, and I'll go down with it."
Cloak Kid looked towards the others. All of them were silent, unsure of what to do. Cloak Kid looked back at the ship. It was going down slowly. Still, he didn't know why the hat didn't show him the way.
"I-I didn't…"
"You were looking for people who needed help, right?" said Hat Kid.
Cloak Kid nodded.
Hat Kid grimaced. "I… don't think he wants it."
Still Cloak Kid couldn't take his eyes off the ship. He did this. He didn't take anything that man said and became tunnel-visioned for the Time Pieces once again. All he could think about…
"Take action, Colin!"
Was the other man he was forced to leave behind.
"Cloak?" Hat Kid asked. Before she could say anything else, Cloak Kid hugged her tightly and tied Bow's bow he found on her wrist. Then, he took Hat Kid's top hat once again and leapt off the lifeboat, jumping onto floating ice towards the ship once more.
"Cloak, no!" Hat Kid cried. She stood up to go after him, but a few of the other passengers held back her trembling form. "Somebody!" She looked around and her eyes fell on the Snatcher. "Please! You have to help him!"
Snatcher scoffed. "Why should I?"
"Because he'll die!"
"If he's gonna die, it'll be because of me!" the shadowy shape declared. "You're gonna freeze if you set one foot of this boat."
"Well, help him, or I'll die, too!" she cried.
The Snatcher looked away. Then, he heard a sniffle, and heard more and more. He caved and looked back and saw her starting to cry.
Snatcher sighed, irritably. "Ugh…"
Cloak Kid hopped back into the ship from the garden suite's roof. More and more was sinking under the freezing waters. He did what he could and used his hookshot to swing back into the casino. Unfortunately, the scaffolding he used earlier had also sunk into the water, so he used his staff to grip onto the frame of the control room door and kept going.
Another explosion. Cloak Kid merely stumbled and kept going. Another one. Cloak Kid covered himself with his arms from flames that threatened to roast his skin.
He made it to the chandeliers of the restaurant. He skipped the long way down and just jumped to the nearest table to get to the kitchen.
The water was now high enough to submerge the blasting ovens. With his shipmate's hat, Cloak Kid could sense the captain… through the floor. Ah! The laundry room!
Cloak Kid used his hookshot to climb over the railing, and there, he saw the captain just sitting on a chunk of ice, waiting in a flooded laundry room that was already sideways.
"Captain!" Cloak Kid called from the spot above. He stumbled and ended up on his knees, a hand grabbing the nearby railing.
The captain, shocked at the sound of a voice still on the ship, looked towards the source and scowled. "Pup! What are you doing here? I told you all to get out of here!"
Cloak Kid shook his head. "Not without you," he said, removing the top hat for a moment, but keeping it close.
"It'll come down any minute, pup," the captain said, solemnly. "You don't want to be a part of that."
"And you're saying you do?"
"Well, I can't drown, but I could at least pretend for a bit." And then the captain just looked away. Cloak Kid moved his legs carefully, so that they were in front of him, dangling off the edge, but kept on hand firmly gripping the railing behind him.
"Sir, nothing is more important to a captain than the lives of his crew, but a crew is nothing without their captain," said Cloak Kid. He lowered his gaze, slightly, eyes looking away for a moment. "That's… what you felt when you lost yours, right?"
The walrus stared back up. Water began to drip in from the higher floors. "How do you-"
"I… I lost someone who was like that to me, as well," Cloak Kid continued. "It was too late to help him. He had a really nasty injury and all he could do in the end was use to the last of his strength to save me. I had to watch helplessly as the place he was in fell to pieces. I think about it all the time."
The captain saw the boy wipe his eyes. He didn't seem to be lying.
"I wished I was still in that building with him. I told him… that I wasn't afraid as long as I was with him, and when he was gone, I never felt more afraid than ever. I never felt more alone, but I wasn't. No matter how much I yelled, screamed, and flailed like a toddler, Hattie wouldn't leave my side. Is that how you feel? Alone? Like you'd be better off without them and vice versa."
"It was my negligence that crashed this ship, pup," said the captain.
"And you think that means you should die? No matter how much you grumbled and dismissed your crew, you couldn't pull them down into the water with you. They care about you, sir. And I… I misjudged you. You're not a neglectful captain. You're just one that's hurt so deeply, he was too blind to see what's all around him: People who care."
The captain looked up at the boy.
"Your crew needs you. They love you." With that, Cloak Kid stood up with the help of his staff. "I wish I realized that about my own friend before I treated her the way I did. If you have a chance to live then take it, even if your body cries out in pain, or if your lungs burn like the sun. If not for yourself, then for those who aren't here anymore and the ones who are still-"
They were interrupted when another explosion wracked the ship. Several of the hanging fish fell off as well and they were big. One of them hit Cloak Kid from behind and he slipped, falling backwards, top hat slipping from his hand.
And then he was caught by a pair of hands. The captain placed Cloak Kid down next to him and swatted away the falling foot while Cloak Kid fished out his friend's top hat. Once he did he looked up and saw one of the giant cabinets starting to lean.
"WATCH OUT!" Cloak Kid yelled.
And surprisingly, the captain caught it, too. He pushed back with all of his might, but the cabinet was helping. They were sinking!
Cloak Kid yelped as the water touched his boots. It was icy through the fabric and right to the skin of his feet. Clothes and towels were tumbling out.
And then a giant beam of magic knocked it out of the way. A shadow arose from behind the railing back in the kitchen, while the clothing cabinet fell into the water with a splash.
Cloak Kid thought he'd never be so happy to see him. "Snatcher! Whoa!" He yelped as he yanked him off his feet and placed him on his back.
"Kid, that better be the last time you make that girl cry!" he said. With that, he grabbed the captain with both of his noodly but strong arms and blasted a hole through the walls of the sinking ship. He flew outside, Cloak Kid and captain in tow.
The other passengers and the rest of the crew cheered as Cloak Kid and the captain were flown through the air and placed into the lifeboats safely. And just in time, too.
As soon as Cloak Kid was dropped on his rear onto a lifeboat, he was captured in the embrace of his closest friend. Somehow, she changed out of her wet clothes and into her pajamas, since they were dry. She still had his cloak on and the seals were quick to rush over to her when she escaped her blanket and coat pile.
"You idiot!" she cried. "Why did you do that?!"
"Hattie, we've been in worse…" Cloak Kid trailed off and just hugged her trembling form. "I'm sorry…"
"Captwain! Captwain!"
All of the seals gathered around the disheveled walrus, some of them jumping onto his body for hugs. He looked over at the lifeboat nearest to him and then the ship that had now tilted back and everyone watched as it surrendered to the depths of the ice cold waters.
The walrus sighed, placed a reassuring hand on one of the seals, and stood. He really did have people cared. Clumsy, pain in the butt people, but they were his clumsy pain in the butt crew.
Plus, they needed someone to get the lifeboats to shore. So he readjusted his captain's hat.
"Awe yow cwying, captwain?" a seal said. The other crewmates gathered around him looked on, the brows furrowed with worry.
The walrus just wiped his eyes. "Nah, it's… probably just the salty sea air. Alright, crew. Let's go home."
Compass in hand, the captain guided his crew in the right direction. It would probably take a while, but they'd be back at shore in no time with their captain at the helm.
Cloak Kid thought about just beaming everyone onto the ship, but with Hat Kid cuddled up next to him and all his friends around him they both decided to just enjoy the ride… and the view!
And the Time Pieces were all safe and sound.
"Thank woo!" one of the seals said, as they passed around spare blankets for everyone. The passengers had pitched in with whatever luggage they managed to save.
"Ah, thank-you laddie," said the Conductor. "The little ones haven't learned to swim yet." He looked over and saw all the little tykes fast asleep, bundled in other blankets, with poolrings as pillows.
"Guess we'll have to do something else for a vacation," said Hat Kid. She took a blanket and wrapped it around her friend. The girl had enough around her to make her own bedroom fort.
Cloak Kid just leaned back on the boat. "Hattie, if this is to get me to relax, trust me when I say that I don't wanna lift a finger for like a month." With a deep sigh, the boy closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them he was looking up at the stars. It was almost like the roof of his bedroom.
Hat Kid's eyes fell onto the Time Piece sitting before them, along with her hat that would probably need to be dry cleaned again. The bow from her lost friend was still tied around her wrist. She pulled it off.
"Cloak?" said Hat Kid. "Do you think…"
She trailed off and heard her friend's soft snoring. She smiled at him, finally relaxing in a warm blanket. She pulled him over letting him lean his sleeping form on herself. Hat Kid grabbed the Time Piece and wrapped the bow around the top.
"Wait for us, Bow," the girl swore to herself and to wherever her lost friend was. "We will find you." She ran her hand through Cloak Kid's hair and watched the horizon. "I promise."
To be continued…