Hat Kid journey's a very short distance to the edge of the forgotten crossroads. One part has a wood shaft that helps support the entrance to another area. She takes a breath and enters the crystal mines. The mine walls are littered with pink glowing crystals. "They're very wedged in the rock it seems." She grabs a crystal with both her hands and pulls on it, grunting. She slowly stops pulling; realizing that's not going to work. "Now how to extract them is the real challenge." Hat Kid hears some lovely humming from a little farther ahead and decides to investigate. Hat Kid sees a bug mining some crystals with a pickaxe.
She listens quietly to the singing bug. "Oh, bury my mother, pale and slight, bury my father with his eyes shut tight!"
Hat Kid gets close from behind. "That's a little morbid for such a sweet voice."
"Hm? Oh! Hello there, where did you come from?" The bug questions happily.
I'm kinda tired of introducing myself to everyone but that's the cost of learning to speak in full sentences; Hat kid thinks to herself. "I am Hat Kid and I'm looking to try and collect some of these crystals, can you help me?"
"S-Sure, Hat Kid, follow me up the peak real fast and I'll show you some that are loose for the taking." She stutters. The 2 of them step onto an elevator that starts pulling them up the peaks, technically 3 if you count Snappy; do you count Snappy? I'm more than sure you do.
"My name's Myla by the way, not sure if you really wanted to know."
"Oh, of course I'd like to know, I've just had a rough last couple of hours and am not feeling myself, but when I get these crystals I'll be able to truly relax myself since I got to Hallownest."
"Sounds like you have a b-busy life."
"Yeah, I really do, don't I?"
They reach the top level at which the elevator can take them and walk over to some crystals in the floor.
The floor rumbles a little as they walk on it. "Hey, Myla!"
"Yeah, Hat Kid?"
"Are you sure this area is safe to walk on?"
"Yeah, it would take a lot of pressure to make this area collapse, and it being wobbly is what makes these c-crystals loose."
Myla begins digging at the edges of some crystals to get them out.
"So you like to sing, Myla?"
"Yes, I very much love to sing. I'm sure you have a beautiful singing voice, do you like to sing, Hat Kid?"
Hat Kid gets a little flustered. "N-no, I don't sing, like at all; so don't ask!"
Myla pauses her picking for a sec. "Oh, very well then, Hat Kid" Myla says with a smile.
Myla continues hitting the rock while humming. She notices Hat Kid looking at the ground with her arms crossed; lost in thought. More concerned with Hat Kid, she accidentally hits a crystal directly and it starts to glow, drawing Hat Kid's immediate attention.
"Is it supposed to do that, Myla?"
"No, Hat Kid, I've never seen it glow orange, only pink." The crystal, with a bright flash; explodes without warning; giving way to the crumbling ground.
Hat Kid and Myla start dropping down through the peak, Myla, flailing and screaming; losing hope for her survival as she plummets to the bottom of the mines. Hat Kid stabilizes her body as she's falling and sighs, "not to worry; not to worry." She reaches a hand out to Myla, trying to grab her as she's flailing. Hat Kid manages to grab her arm and pull her toward her body. Myla latches hold of Hat Kid, keeping her eyes closed and still screaming. Hat Kid sticks her parasol in the air and unlocks it so it pops open. The 2 are now floating down calmly... Hat Kid and Snappy, not Myla, she's still screaming. "Myla!"
"H-huh, oh, we're not falling to our death anymore!"
"Yeah, but I don't think we're in the clear yet." Loud machinery draws closer and they fall out of the darker peaks and into the inner bright pink mines.
Flying bugs holding crystals start to gather around them as they land on a moving conveyor belt. Hat Kid retracts her parasol and prepares to fight on the conveyor belt. Some bugs start buzzing toward her and she swats at them with the edge of her nail, slicing the tiny things open. Myla stands behind Hat Kid who keeps slicing bugs that come at them. One bug shoots a single sharp crystal from the pile it's holding. Hat Kid swats it as she does with more incoming crystals. The conveyor belt doesn't seem to end anytime soon and below them are large jagged crystals.
Hat Kid's focus and reactive time is diminishing as more crystals are being fired at her and Myla. She's fighting many bugs off at her front and doesn't have time to turn around fast enough as one comes at her back. Snappy pokes his head out of her hat and looks back; opening his mouth and spitting a small ball of fire at the incoming crystal, shattering it.
"W-woah! Since when could you fight back?" Hat Kid says with relief.
"Scyaaaa."
Hat Kid, and only with Snappy's help, are able to strike down all the crystal bugs with fire and steel. Hat Kid being exhausted, sits down on the conveyor belt next to a traumatized Myla.
"Hat K-kid, that was amazing, you saved me."
"Technically I saved us, I was in as much trouble as you were from the beginning."
"Well I w-would have fallen to my death if you weren't here." Hat Kid hugs Myla without a word.
"O-oh, alright." Myla hugs her back as nothing but the sound of the conveyor belt rumbles.
"Thank you for being so sweet, Myla... and not trying to kill me."
"Your w-welcome." The 3 sit in silence for a moment, waiting for the conveyor belt to have an end.
Myla breaks the silence with some of her singing. "Bury my sisters two by two, and then when you're done, let's bury me toooo!"
"Myla... do you have any... happier songs?" Hat Kid asks with tired eyes.
"I was working on creating some of my own; they are not finished yet though." Myla picks up some crushed crystals from the conveyor belt and offers them to Hat Kid. "Will these work, Hat Kid?"
Hat Kid looks at Myla and takes them. "Yeah, they'll work, thanks." She opens a slot on her time watch and puts a small chunk of crystal into it. The time watch slowly lights up and new areas of the watch are recharged by the light crystals. Hat Kid navigates her time watch and discovers that she can now teleport back to her ship right this second. Myla watches her navigate in mystery as to what any of the symbols on her watch screen meant. "You clearly can't understand my language, Myla, so don't go crazy trying to understand it." So I can teleport out of here now and back to my ship... but I'd be abandoning Myla here to die so that guilt would follow me around, Hat kid says to the voices in her head. "Alright, Myla, I'm getting us out of here and back to the town above where it's safe for you."
"You mean Dirtmouth?"
"That's what it's called? I didn't even think of asking Elderbug."
"Hey, Hat Kid, we seem to be coming to the end of the conveyor belt."
"Myla, stand up because we're going to have to jump a little unless you want to be grinded into pieces." They stand up and prepare to jump to safe ground. "We need the running start so... RUN!" They start dashing forward and jump across the grinder.
"Well that was simple enough, right, Myla...? Myla?" She looks behind her to see Myla hanging on the edge of the Grinder.
"H-help." Myla whimpers as she struggles to hang on.
"Oh peck; hold on!" Hat Kid rushes over to grab Myla's arms and pulls her up with ease. "Please don't die on me, Myla, ok?"
"Um, ok, Hat Kid." They start walking though the dirty mines, looking for a way out. Hat Kid spots an infected husk miner; still hacking away at the crystals in the walls. Hat Kid gestures Myla to stay where she is and begins approaching the husk. She stands ready and the husk notices her then charges at Hat Kid with it's pickaxe. As soon as the husk is close enough; Hat Kid releases an upward great slash, splitting the husk in two. "HOLY PECK!" Hat Kid says horrified at her strength.
Hat Kid stares at the split husk on the ground as Myla rejoins her. Hat Kid picks up the husk's pickaxe and gives it to Myla. "Now you can defend yourself if I'm not too close by to help, alright?"
"O-ok."
Through their journey they discover a creature inside a crystal. "The person inside seems like they could still be alive, give me your pickaxe and stand back, Myla." Hat Kid takes large swings at the crystalized snail and eventually it shatters, leaving the snail to disperse into a black subsistence. The substance floats for a moment then darts towards Hat Kid. She falls to the floor holding herself in anguish.
"Are you ok, Hat Kid?" Myla asks.
"Y-yep, I've experienced this before and what it is; I have no idea what it is though." She gets up with heavy breaths, her whole body shaking.
They continue walking slowly due to Hat Kid's failing strength. They come over to another husk. "Myla, you and I will take this one together, I need your support right now."
"B-but I-I."
"You've never fought anything before have you?"
"No."
"Well you're starting now alright, this kingdom isn't kind to your kind." Hat Kid shows Myla how to improvise in battle with her pickaxe. "So I'll be on the defensive and you attack it by surprise, worst case scenario, I kill it myself." Hat Kid starts to parry and block the husks' attacks. Myla hesitates but soon sees Hat Kid waiting for her assistance. She runs up and jabs the husk in the back; making it turn on her. She locks pickaxes with the husk and is now in a tug-a-war. Hat Kid almost blurts out a laugh but stops herself. She shakes the thought and helps Myla by slashing up the husk in the back till it dies.
"Nice job, Myla."
"T-thanks, that wasn't easy but w-we have to survive right?"
"Right, and as long as you do that you'll be fine."
Myla thinks about that bland answer she just got. "Easier said than done I'm sure."
"Well, that's the answer the voices in my head have right now so that's what you get, Myla." Hat Kid says shrugging at Myla.
"Let's keep moving." Myla suggests as she walks past Hat Kid who's eye is twitching. "That girl needs some rest." Myla mutters to herself.
Hat Kid and Myla reach a long dark descending pit with a husk on the other side whose head and arms have been encased in crystal. Hat Kid starts a staring contest with the crystalized guardian of the mines. Myla stands in awe as the 2 keep staring at each other.
"Uh, Hat Kid."
"Not now, Myla, I think I'm winning." Her eyes start to water.
"I think it's asleep."
Hat Kid blinks with disappointment. "Oh... hey, Snappy, wake 'em up would ya."
"Scyaaaa." Snappy shoots some fire over at the guardian and its eyes light up orange as the fire did nothing but wake it up. It screams and blasts a beam of light from it's arm over at Hat Kid and Myla.
Hat Kid moves to the side while quickly pulling her nail in front of her to deflect the beam towards the ground; causing it to crumble and make a slope toward the dark pit. Myla starts to slip and grabs Hat Kid's leg. Hat Kid starts slipping too and grabs the slope with one hand. She deflects another beam but this time it hits the guardian and breaks it's crystal helmet, causing it to leap into the ceiling and take off. "Well that could have gone smoother but we're ok, right, Myla?"
The ground Hat Kid is holding onto snaps. "Hold onto my leeeeeeegg!" They begin falling but in a steady position. "Ah peck, not again." Hat Kid keeps looking below while holding onto her hat as Myla screams and hangs on to her leg.
Eventually Hat Kid opens her parasol, allowing them to float down. Myla stops screaming. "H-hey, Hat Kid, do you mind if I sing?"
"Sure, why not." Hat Kid says a little annoyed at herself mostly.
Myla begins singing once more. "Ohh, bury the knight with her broken nail, bury the lady, lovely and pale!"
Why is there so much death in this girl's songs, Hat Kid thinks to herself. They reach the bottom of the dark pit with only Myla's firefly in her helmet to provide light, other than the lingering souls that surround them. They continue their walk till they come to a fancy memorial, Hat Kid examines the statues themselves .
Myla speaks, "These statues are memorials to the dreamers whose sacrifice helped preserve Hallownest. At least that's the main message here."
Three ghostly figures appear one after another in front of them. "We have waited long enough, this one may prove capable to help break the seals." The green one says.
Hat Kid's vision goes bright white until she appears in the dream world. She looks around for Myla. "Myla, where are you? And where am I? Oh, you're gone too, huh; Snappy." Floating stones appear in front of her and she begins hopping across until she finds a gleaming nail on the floor and picks it up. Her vision goes blinding again.
She awakens on her back, to see a creature close up to her face. "Ahhhhh!" Hat Kid slaps the creature in the face and springs to her feet.
Myla grabs Hat Kid with haste. "Woah woah woah; slow down there Hat Kid, the Seer is here to help you."
Hat Kid gasping with small fear tries to speak. "What-what happened to me?!"
"You were looking at those sculptures and then you just... fell to the floor. I tried to wake you but that didn't work soooo I dragged you around till the Seer here found us and decided to help."
Seer adjusts her face from being slapped and looks over to Hat Kid who is calming down. "My-my child, you are something aren't you. You seem to have a sense of magic about you, perhaps you could be a substitute or even a catalyst for one who I've been waiting for, who has yet to appear for so long. Come back when you have the time... or any questions about what you have just acquired... I'm putting my faith that you'll come back, otherwise we're all eventually doomed."
"Whatever you say, old lady." Hat Kid picks up her hat with Snappy inside; off the floor and walks out with Myla following close behind. She sees a stag station sign and follows it to another tunnel with a bell and rings it.
The last Stag comes running within a minute. "Ah, hello again, Kid, need a ride?" The stag questions.
"Yes sir." Hat Kid and Myla board the stags seats it has attached to it's back.
"Where to Kid?"
"Do you know where Dirtmouth is?"
"I believe so, sit back and relax." The stag begins jolting though the firefly lit tunnels.
Myla hands Hat Kid a glowing nail. "What's this... oh wait! I picked this up when I was in that weird dimension."
"Seer wanted you to have it." Myla says; insisting Hat Kid takes it. Hat Kid equips it to her side and dozes off as they ride towards Dirtmouth.