Hat Kid, Quirrel, and Snappy stare at Hat Kid's hat on the floor. "It's turning black... why!?" Hat Kid saying panicking.
Quirrel picks it up and inspects it. "Doesn't seem to be harmful, It's still just your regular old hat from the looks of it. Put it back on." He hands it back to Hat Kid who places it back on her head. "See, no issue." Quirrel says as Hat Kid smiles.
"I promised Monomon that I'd take the knowledge of her archives... I can take it to the TTA archives when I get there... at some point." She goes over to a terminal-like device and scans the languages as they scroll by. After about a minute of sonic speed scrolling, she stops scanning. "Decrypting this is not a job for me. KcUf!" Hat Kid tweaks her head back and forth as if something popped out of thin air.
"Woah! You okay, kid?"
"I think the voices in my head are finally speaking up." Hat Kid starts hearing ghostly voices around her.
"̴̻͑V̵͚͛͝ö̴̲̝́̾i̶̯͠d̴̞̉͜ ̶͈̗́g̸̰͉̍͛i̴̠̹̔̕v̴̬̈ẻ̶͕̯n̸͍̘͆ ̴̱̱̓̆v̷̦̝̇e̶͎̍͠s̵͓̱̈́͑s̸̡͈͝e̴̜l̴͚͝.̸̞̽̕.̸̭͈̈́.̶̰͋ ̵̞͝f̸̞̹̉r̵͉̼̍e̷̫͕̍̄e̶͚̍̌ḍ̴̓̓ ̶̬͉́f̸̨̥̂r̶͇͊͝o̶̝̾͆m̴̲͋ ̷̖͑t̴͎͂̍h̸̲̳́e̶̺͠ ̴̖̍͘s̷̟͊̓ę̶̦͝a̵̟͂.̸̞̙͋.̵͕̦͊̃.̷̬́̚"̴̩̈́
"What are you talking about?!" Hat Kid says to the air as Quirrel and Snappy stand back with utmost concern. Quirrel gently approaches Hat Kid with caution as she twitches. She shoves him aside and runs off.
"Scyaaaa."
"That's not good, let's go after her... what do I call you?" Quirrel asks.
"Scyaaaa."
"I'll just call you companion for now."
Hat Kid leaves the archives and runs towards Greenpath. "Get out of my head!"
"̴̖̊͋Ḿ̸̹͔͝ï̶͚͍n̴̠̮͊ď̵̯̜̚.̵̨̩̂.̸̗̥͌͐.̸̼͓ ̶̮͂͝p̴͕̗͊r̶̙͝o̵̞͕͑̕ṯ̵͎̀͝ë̸̻́͒c̷̲̙͐t̵̙̐ę̵͐ḏ̵̈́.̸̄̈͜ͅ.̴̢̓̔.̸̬͎́ ̸̞͒̐f̷͙̄r̵̛͇̼̕o̶̯̍̓m̶͈͝ ̸͎̉͜l̶̗̃́i̶̳̒͌g̴͉̈́̐ḧ̴͈͈́͘t̶̢͔͆̋.̴̡̛̹̏"̵̳̀
"What are you even saying?!" Hat Kid says holding her head in pain.
"Hat Kid, stop!" Quirrel calls from a distance.
Hat Kid keeps running till she reaches Greenpath.
As more messages are growled in her head, she lies on the grassy floor, cowering and twitching until all Hat Kid can see is black and white blobs. A familiar figure hovers over her and helps her up. She pushes it away and runs away again. She gets tripped and begins rolling in place. She tries to squirm but is restrained and hears a voice, "I don't think you're infected but you sure aren't the Hat Kid I know, what has become of you?"
Hat Kid awakens with her vision coming back to normal and see's Hornet and a snail looking at her hat on the floor. She notices that she's wrapped in web and squirms.
"Hey, give me my hat!" She says more tired than angry.
"huhuho I think I've figured it out." The snail says.
Hat Kid examines the snail with a staff. "Wait a minute."
The snail looks over to her.
"You were the one who took my soul!" Hat Kid snarls at the snail.
"No no no, I merely gave you a soul that wasn't your own, and by the looks of it, you've acquired a few others far more powerful."
"Someone just let me out of these webs, please."
Hornet cuts Hat Kid loose from her restraints.
"What even happened to me?"
"I can explain, my dear ladies." The snail shaman speaks. "In a way your hat is a part of you, and the void is now a part of your hat, I'd say you're the dominant vessel though Hohohu."
"I've heard the word vessel too much, what kind of vessel are you referring to?" Hat Kid says.
"I'm referring to a host as if a parasite took it over. Thus something wicked, the void, has taken your hat as a host... there must be something special about it if it decided to stay."
"You really think my hat is something special?" Hat Kid says with a smile.
"That or it had no other options hohohu. Can you think of a time you may have come into contact with void?"
Hat Kid takes a moment to think. "I may have dropped it in some sort of black liquid when I went into a timerift earlier."
"Best thing to do would be to just get rid of the hat."
"Noo! Without my hat... I'm just kid."
The snail sighs, "Then just get a new one."
"I've been through too much with this one to just get rid of it."
"Well if you continue to wear it; then you cannot persist to resist the void, all you can do is accept it and it may stop trying to take you over, show it you are the dominant host."
Hat Kid puts the now fully black hat on her head and does her best to cope with the voices that surround her.
The snail shaman takes a seat on the floor. "Well, come visit me anytime since I can't leave this place hohohu."
Hat Kid and Hornet exit the mound and sit on a bench with Quirrel and Snappy. "You ok now, Hat Kid? Good thing Hornet was able to restrain you." Quirrel says.
"Yeah I'm good." Hat Kid takes Snappy in her arms. "I missed you... a lot." She says with bittersweet happiness.
Hornet brings her attention to Quirrel. "So, Quirrel, what are you going to do now?"
"I think I'm just going to settle down in Dirtmouth, fighting isn't exactly my favorite thing." He says.
"A wise decision." Hornet says.
"I'd like to think so myself."
Quirrel says his goodbyes and leaves for Dirtmouth.
"So..." Hat Kid says to Hornet.
"So what?" She responds.
"You find any living vessels?"
"No, I told you they're hard enough to find, and then we still have to deem them worthy of fighting the infection... a pure vessel couldn't even do it, this seems so impossible but if you have faith then I suppose I can have some."
"I have one seal left to break in the city of tears, you want to come with me?"
Hornet decides that's the best idea for now.
The 3 survivalists make their way to the forgotten crossroads stag station and head to kings station in the city of tears. They start passing through the rich area of the city of tears.
Hat Kid stops for a moment. "Do you hear someone laughing?"
Hornet looks around. "I don't think so."
"Hm, alright then."
After their little walk through the high regal sector, they find the watchers' spire standing tall above all the other buildings.
"This city has such nice architecture when I really look at it." Hat Kid tells Hornet.
"It just makes it seem so somber now." Hornet says.
They ascend the watchers' spire; cutting down husks and other such enemy like guards.
"Hey, Hat Kid!" Hornet calls out.
"Uh, one moment!" She says as she uses a cyclone slash on two incoming husk guards. "Alright, what's up?"
"How are you and your hat doing?"
"Uhhh... I think we're doing good... yeah."
"Well, ok, just make sure to tell me if you feel like you're going to spazz out again, that was not a pretty sight to watch."
"It didn't feel too pretty I'll tell you that, being taken over felt so horrid."
"You uh... want to race to the top?" Hornet asks eagerly.
"Do you know who you're talking to?"
"A... time traveler?"
"Well, yes, but I'm an agility queen, can't touch me I'm so nimble."
Hornet pokes Hat Kid's lifeseed eye. "Your dried blood on your face says otherwise. By the way; what happened to your eye?"
Hat Kid slaps Hornet's hand away. "I was naive and too eager to see the good in someone when it had already left them, that's what happened!"
"Sorry I asked... still want to race?"
Hat Kid puts her nail on her back and dash cloaks past Hornet.
"Hey! Cheater." Hornet throws her needle and web, taking off after her to catch up. As Hat Kid is almost about to make it to the end of a room; Hornet jets past her with her needle and web. As Hornets now about to make it to the end, spikes fall from the exit of the room and Hornet hits her head before she makes it.
"Glad someone else hit their head for once." Hat Kid says letting out a small laugh.
"So glad my misery brings you amusement... was that the first time I've heard you actually laugh!?"
As Hat Kid is about to say something, she's cut off by a high pitch roar. A round beetle knight rises from the dead. Hat Kid looks at it suspiciously. "I feel like I've heard that roar somewhere before, but where?"
The void hat speaks in a more sinister voice to Hat Kid. "̷̢̯̒͊͠Å̶̼͠n̷͖̭̮̄̾̄c̸͖͌͑ī̵̲̹̚e̵̻̫̐̚ņ̵͙̞̍̍ṯ̶̨̊ͅ.̷̜̯̇̕.̸̻̓.̸̙̇̑ ̴̩̚͝e̶̝͇̐̋n̷̢̦̚͠e̴̙̥͕͆͑͊m̵̦͚̠̉̿y̶̞͖̍͜.̶͚̣́͊̔"̴̗̇̑͝
"Ah, don't do that!" Hat Kid cries out.
"Do what?" Hornet asks.
"Ah nothing, just... fight the knight." The watcher knight comes rolling in at the distracted, mentally freaked out Hat Kid.
Hornet jumps in and tackles Hat Kid out of the way. "Aw, kid; now's not the time to spazz out."
"I know I know, just g-give me a minute."
Hornet jumps back into battle against the hollow shell of a knight while Hat Kid gains her footing. As Hornet battles the watcher knight, Hat Kid jumps in and they bash its shell in.
"Simple." Hat Kid says.
Five other watcher knight corpse's rise from the dead roaring. "Oh I got it, that's the roar from some of my dreams." Hat Kid informs Hornet.
"Hey, Snappy, help us out now please."
"Scyaaaa." Snappy jumps in with distracting fire.
They manage to take down 2 other watcher knights before Hat Kid is rolled into and knocked over. The watcher knight is stopped as it tries to crush her but she keeps pushing as her arms get weaker. "Hornet!" She calls out. But Hornet and Snappy are too busy with their own watcher knights to come to her rescue. The watcher knight starts to overpower her and its shell begins to crush her leg. "AHHH!" She feels and hears her bone begin to crack. Her scream of pain turns to a yell of rage as her eye turns from cyan to bright crimson once again. She pushes the watcher knight back and manages to stand up, even with her cracked leg bone. She continues to push the watcher knight away from her and starts to beat its shell in with her nail and cracks its back open, killing it. Hornet finishes off her watcher knight and turns to see Hat Kid lunge at the last watcher knight and crack its head shell open.
"Scyaaaa."
Hat Kid turns around to stare at Hornet with blind rage.
"Don't look at me like that, kid..." Hornet ready's her needle to defend herself.
As Hat Kid is ready to pounce at Hornet, her eye turns back to cyan and her injured leg gives out. She falls over exhausted and drops her weapon. Hornet rushes over to her. "You... alright, kid?"
"Why?" Hat kid says tired and in pain.
"Why what?"
"Why does everything want to possess me, it's madness!"
Hat Kid tries to get up but falls back down. "I can't move my leg!" She takes her last lifeseed out her hat while whimpering from the pain and crushes the lifeseed so its liquids go into her open wound. She manages to get up and walk with Hornet's help as she limps. The spiked gates lift and they continue to the final elevator.
Hornet gets a look at Hat Kid's cyan eye. "What exactly happened back there? You looked like you were ready to kill me!"
"I don't really remember what happened after my leg started to break. Same thing happened when I lost my eye."
They make it to the elevator and begin ascending to the top of the watchers spire.
"A lot of things have happened to me since I got here so it could be anything that causes me to lose control."
"Do you perhaps have any charms on you?" Hornet asks.
"Yeah, but the nail masters said they're just for looks... actually." She takes off a red charm she found and pinned to her hat a while back. "This red charm is something that I wasn't sure I understood when I put it on my hat, you think this is what's responsible?"
"Definitely, it's quite eerie." Hornet claims.
Hat Kid lifts her hand to throw the charm away but Hornet grabs her arm. "You shouldn't throw it away!" Hornet proclaims.
"This charm makes me lose my mind more than I already have! Why would I keep it?!"
"That charm has saved your life twice now, I think that's why you should keep it."
"You might be right but I still don't like it." She re-pins the charm to her hat.
They reach the very top of the watchers tower. A lonely husk cowers away from the three of them. Hornet prepares to throw her needle at the husk.
"Wait a sec, Hornet, there's no need to kill them, they're not a threat, and if when the infection is defeated, perhaps they will return to normal. So what reason is there to take away their life permanently?"
"Hm, never thought you were all that compassionate, Hat Kid."
"It's this kingdom that's changed me; I tell you."
They hover over Lurien the watcher as he lies on his resting place, living only in dream.
"Alright, I'm going in." Hat Kid says putting her mask over her face making her vision go white. She wakes up with Lurien watching her. Ironic.
"Hey, kid. Time already?"
"Yeah, so you got any last requests?"
"Hm... my butler watches my body and I fear he has been infected. Just leave him be so that if when the infection is dead, he might be ok."
"I am glad to inform he is... well he's infected but alive, in a way."
Hat Kid wakes up on the floor with the final seal broken. "Alright Hornet, it's time to deepen your search for a living vessel. I have contractual obligations to attend to."
The group heads back to the king's station. They come across another red floating blob with a torch. "Out in the rain, how is it burning?" Hat Kid questions before she charges it and stabs it to a poof.
"̷F̸i̴r̷e̶ ̵a̴n̶d̸ ̴s̸h̵a̵d̴o̸w̸ ̶a̴s̷ ̵o̵n̸e̴.̵"̷ Hat Kid's mind tells her.
"Stop!... please stop." Hat Kid calmly tells herself.
Snappy intakes the torch's fire and his eyes start to faintly glow a brighter red than usual but no one notices. They make it to the kings station and take it to the queens station, proceeding to the Mantis Village. They descend into the mantis lair to find the Mantis Lords on their thrones.
"What a surprise to see you return, kid, so I take it the Traitor Lord is dead?" The middle mantis lord asks.
"Uh... no, you never specified which I had to do first so I'm here to leave Snappy."
"Now hold on, what if you die? Then we don't really get anything out of the contract."
"You never specified what had to be done first so I chose the nightmares heart. Do I need to get my lawyer!?"
"You have a lawyer?" The mantis asks.
"Yeah, he's a ghost, and I'll bring him here sometime just to show you that I can do what I want first."
"No that's not necessary, kid, just leave the demon child with us and once the nightmare's heart is dead, he's all yours."
Hat Kid takes Snappy out of her hat and holds him in front of her. Hat Kid clears her throat and talks in a sweeter voice than usual. "Alright, kid, you have brought peace to my soul in this crazy place, so I ask you to make this sacrifice for me; so that I can make mine for you, stay with the mantis and listen to them until... I... let's hope I come back, because there's never a guarantee... especially with my job." Snappy snuggles her sad face for a possible final time.
Hat Kid heads back to her ship and says hi to Quirrel on the way while Hornet follows behind. "I'm not a vessel hunter right now, Hornet, so look elsewhere."
"I want to help you free Snappy since you've already done so much to help me and this kingdom."
"It is kinda my job." Hat Kid says, and with a boop, they teleport onto the ship.
Hat Kid goes to her basement laboratory and puts on safety glasses.
"Kid, you've been through fire and void and you're worried about some simple liquids?"
"Rather not lose my last good eye, yeah?"
She begins setting up her chem-station. "Could you please get a grain of that white powder for me and toss it into the test tube, Hornet?"
Hornet pinches some of the powder and tosses it in. "Ok... what is it?"
"It's carfentanil."
"Carfa what!?"
"Tranquilizer substance."
"I don't follow."
Hat Kid smacks her forehead in annoyance. "Such primitive people." She whispers. "It makes living beings with blood go to sleep in a matter of seconds... although I may be going overkill with the dosage... it should be fine."
She mixes the carfentanil powder with some other bright green liquid she just created.
"What's that liquid do?" Hornet asks.
"What is with all the questions? If you must know, it keeps the victim in a coma and sustains their nutrition needs indefinitely. They cannot wake up without THIS antidote." She holds up a sealed bright pink liquid. "I have a limited amount of this stuff so we only get one shot alright. I suppose you can help me execute this plan."
"Exciting, what do you need me to do? Rip someone's eye out?"
Hat Kid looks over at her with resentment.
"Yeah sorry... that was a terrible thing to say now that I think about it."
"I need you to be in the audience of the performance."
"So you want me to watch you die?"
"Have some pecking faith in my abilities, Hornet."
Hat Kid pours the new liquid substance into a dart and loads it into a blow dart gun. She hands it to Hornet. "I'll explain what to do on the way. Let's go kill a higherbeing." Hat Kid say's inhaling with turmoil.