My name is Hailey Lōniris (Low-near-iss) like hiss. You know like vampires... they exist by the way. But most refer to me as Hat Kid. I am writing this in my diary because today I'm going to do what I've avoided for 98 years. I'm going to visit my home... where my mother was murdered by my father. I've always told people that I ran away from home but that was always just a cover up for the appalling truth. I've stopped talking out loud for the voices in my head when I'm alone, so that's good. If you're a psychic then you know of my adventure in a specific forbidden kingdom. It's really changed my well-being for the worse.
I woke Mustache Girl up from her post-ocular surgery.
"Hey, I'll be back in a little bit. Stay on the ship."
"Hmm... yeah, sure," she said all doozy.
Leaving Mu to rest, I stepped onto my main teleporter and booped myself down to the planet below. My home planet to exact. It's where I grew up and ran away from the moment I needed to. Walking through the spread-out trees of the forest, memories of me leaving everything behind flooded in. Memories so horrible they haunt you for as long as time shall keep you alive. Me, running and running till my body broke itself.
I crossed the shallow river in front of my old home and approached, looking at the decayed home I once inhabited with my mother and father.
Life's cruel. I'm sure everyone can agree on that. But some have more misfortune than others. There are those that deserve it and never even feel it when it falls upon them. It's just their mindset, which seems like a blessing I wish I had. To not feel the mental pain from the terrible things that have happened in my life... and those to come I'm sure. I don't express my emotions too much but they're there rest assured.
I put my hand on the doorknob and prepared myself for the worse. Attempting to open the door, it was stuck so I kicked in it. After the dust cleared I saw what lay on the floor. My mother's skeleton. I've seen skeletons plenty of times without a real care... But when it's a loved one it's expected to feel crushed inside. And I definitely felt crushed inside.
Her skeleton still had her black outfit and top hat on. I would have expected my father to have rid of the body but here it lay, in waste. The left side of her coat had a small hole with a blood stain around it. Even more memories of what I saw filled my brain and I began to cry, trying to suppress the tears from both tear ducts as much as I could.
After my crying turned into sobbing, Mu popped in.
"There you are, I was wondering if you came down here... oh... I'm sorry to interrupt."
I quickly wiped away some tears and said, "I-I thought I told you to stay on the ship." Proceeding to wipe all of them away, I stood up.
"Hat Kid, why are we here?"
"I haven't told anyone this but I guess since you're seeing it, I might as well explain. So this skeleton with clothes you're seeing is my mother. Stabbed in the side by my father. That's as much as I know of what happened."
"Damn, Hat Kid. That's fucked."
"I'm guessing that was vulgar language," I sighed. "Nevermind, just go away and loot the place for anything useful, but show it to me first."
She agreed and left while I stared at my mother's corpse. I decided I'd honor my mother and take her clothes. First I picked up her black top hat with a red stripe and put it into my hat. I'll explain how that's possible later... or maybe not. Next I took her coat and pants then finally the boots and put them all into my hat for safekeeping.
"Hat Kid! Come here!" Mu yelled from another room.
Reaching the room she was in, I was met with the discovery of my father's skeleton with his clothes on and a knife left in his gut, stained with dark blood.
"Did your dad... "
"Yeah, I guess he did..."
I also thought my father ran after what he did but it seems guilt got to him. He always had a guilty conscience like that. I pulled his goggles off his hat and after wiping the dust off them, put them over my eye. The right side had a bit of a scope. "Ugh, I can't even use these properly! They're useless to me."
"Do you mind if I have them?" Mu asked, wondering if it was an appropriate question.
"Not. At. All," I said, shoving them into her. She put them over her eyes and looked around then stored them on her hood with a short smile. I searched my dad's workshop room till I found a shovel then headed back to the main room. Picking up my mom's remains and heading outside, I started to dig a hole. Eventually I finished burying her just outside the house and Mu came out. She sat on her knees next to me to look over the fresh grave. "You've been through some shit, huh, Hat Kid?"
"I'm not sure what shit is but yes, I assume I've been through some."
Mustache Girl patted me on the back saying, "The world is truly cruel. This is why it's important to have an optimistic outlook. May I ask what your mum's name was?"
For some reason I didn't hesitate to tell her, "Her name was H."
"Sounds off but who am I to judge?"
Says the alternate fate of judge, jury, and executioner. I chuckled at her knowing that info, then pulled my mom's red lensed goggles out of my hat and put them over my eye sockets. Turning my head to Mu,
Bang!
The right lens cracked from the impact of something from somewhere. Milli-seconds later, another shot from somewhere hit me in my right shoulder and knocked me over.
Mu dodged to cover behind a tree as I held my shoulder in pain.
A voice yelled out from the tree line, "I was hoping to take you in dead as it would be easier but since you're down I might as well bring you in alive!"
I saw 2 figures approaching and then standing over me.
The guy in white with a rifle spoke to the other very colorful and freaky looking one, "Alright, cuff her. I'm going after the one that ran."
"How about I change all our fates!" The freaky one said pulling a colorful wavy knife out its... body? While the other guy kept talking.
"You say the most random things Shap-"
He jabbed it into the guy's side then repeatedly stabbed it into his collarbone area. I obviously watched in horror with confusion as the guy was hissing...? and trying to do something, anything to survive the attacks. But he ultimately fell in mere moments. I did happen to notice that same silhouette I saw back by the Shady Market. It was in the forest looking directly at me with a small flame in its eye. It walked away before I could process any of the chaos that just went down.
The freaky shanker kept his smile at me as I picked myself up. He had many different colored eyes scattered around his void black face. Mu peeked out and saw me in semi-safety proceeding to walk over with caution. I backed up and Mu gave me her lift support as we kept our distance.
"You saved me... Who the peck are you?"
"Call me... SS," the freaky guy said.
"Does that stand for something?" Mu asked him
"It's So Secret," SS said.
"What's so secret about it?" Mu pestered.
"Hmph, idiot."
"Why did you turn on that guy and save me?" I asked him.
"Tim. Our common enemy. He made me look like this and I want him dead. Before you say you don't want me. Look at this dead guy's emblem. It's the symbol of the bounty hunters known as Bloodless Dusk. You're going to need all the help you can get with them after your blood."
I had always been hunted but never attacked until now. I agreed that we could use more help on our quest. "Alright, you can join us but I'm watching you; for the enemy of my enemy is my acquaintance, nothing more," I told him.
"That's not the expression," Mu said.
"I know, but I'm not sure I have any true friends anymore."
I could tell Mu took that with a grain of salt. She told me that expression a little later but I thought to use it here. Clever, right?
We forced SS to stay in front of us as we walked back to the ship's location, Mu supporting me and my wounded arm. One of my mom's red lenses was cracked, good thing it was the one on the right. They kinda fell off in that moment of frightening shock so I put them back inside my hat for safekeeping.
As we continued our walk through the forest, we came across a red string that went off to who knows where. We do. We figured it out pretty quickly.
"Ah, string!" SS said cheerfully. Mu and I watched as he began hopping around it and inspecting it.
"We can agree this guy might be a little insane, right?" Mu asked me.
"I know insane... and this is on the verge of it."
SS picked the string up and it pulled to the direction it led off in. I'm not sure about Mu, but my eyes sure widened in surprise. SS pointed at the string saying, "I like the color red," and the string wrapped around his arm, pulling and dragging him across the dirt. "I think I need help!" he yelped.
"Oh peck!" I yelled as Mu said, "Oh fuck!"
"Um... go after him, Mu, I'll be fine."
"You got it," she said, running after SS.
I took a breath and before I took a step, I heard behind me, "Interesting choice, Hailey." I jumped and fell down screaming, turning around to see the silhouette man looking down on me. He was tall, taller than average and in saying those words, stepped back into a dark black and red portal that dispersed.
I picked myself up and ran in the direction Mu and SS were headed to find them on the edge of a cliff. "This is an intense moment hahaha," SS said. Mustache Girl was gripping one of SS's legs and pulling while the string around his arm was being pulled by a creature floating in the sky just off the edge of the cliff. I grabbed onto SS's other leg and pulled with my good arm. Mu and I's strength was too much for the other creature as they smacked into an invisible wall in the sky and let go of the string. SS flopped onto us and laughed like he does.
The creature in the sky seemed familiar, much like the red strings it donned. "Finally, some social interaction for myself. Hello there, I am The Moonjumper."