AN: The plot bunnies have attacked and I have written an alternate ending to the Act 2 boss fight (Hat Kid vs. Conductor) that contains far more drama and just a lovely hint of fluff at the ending.
I might create an alternate ending for all of the boss fights (I already have one planned out with Snatcher) but I'm not completely sure.
ALSO I now have a Twitter and Tumblr account you guys can follow me at for alerts to when I update my fics or post new ones! They're both under the same name I have links you can copy/paste in my profile.
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Hat Kid could easily draw several comparisons between all of the people she had previously fought in her quest to reclaim the Time Pieces. She could also remember what made each fight unique.
When fighting Snatcher and the Mafia Boss they had both used projectiles and their minions in order to try and hurt her more. So far the Conductor had thrown himself at her, tried to squash her with both stage lights and a disco ball she was pretty sure he had stolen from DJ Grooves, and insulted her the entire time they fought.
And then there were the knives.
Similar to the ones that had been used during the murder train mystery film she had recorded several days ago except there was one major difference. The knife that had been used on set was fake, she would know since she was the one who got the owl to wear it!
The ones the Conductor was throwing at her...
These were made out of steel.
Hat Kid knew for certain they were real knives, she had felt the bladed edges graze her body and rip her clothes when the Conductor's attacks had landed just a bit too close.
This was another major difference from her previous battles. With both Snatcher and the Mafia Boss she had more room to move around and dodge, but the Conductor constantly followed her with his knife attacks, making it difficult to dodge.
Never mind when he would randomly lunge out of the shadows at her. She had some small cuts from those attacks.
Hat Kid jumped over yet another lunging attack and smacked the Conductor with her umbrella for what felt like the millionth time. Another difference from Snatcher and the Mafia Boss.
Her previous opponents were actually rather weak once she managed to get in a few good hits with her umbrella, so the battles had gone by pretty quickly. This fight seemed to be dragging on forever!
She tried putting more power into her attacks and do more damage, but all that did was make her tired quicker.
The child could feel her dodges getting slower with each passing moment. At some point she was going to get hit badly. The Conductor, either sensing her weakness or getting a second wind, began to attack far more ferociously.
And then came the knives.
Left. Right. Right. Left. Hat Kid ducked and dodged, too tired to jump up and completely avoid the blows. This deadly dance continued on for some time and would have kept going for longer, but one of the dancers suffered a misstep.
A deadly mistake.
Squelch.
Both Hat Kid and the Conductor looked down at the knife now protruding from the child's side.
The owl immediately let go and backed up, staring at the wound in horror. The child continued to stare at the knife plunged into her side and the blood that was starting to leak out. Interestingly enough she had not felt any pain yet. She placed a hand on the handle of the knife, moving it just the tiniest amount.
And then the pain kicked in.
With a wail the child crumped to her knees, pain streaking through her nerves and setting her side on fire. Agony consumed her and all she could do was cry and not jostle the knife any more than she already had.
The Conductor moved forward as if he were about to help the sobbing child, but a shout stopped him in his tracks.
"CONDUCTOR!" DJ Grooves boomed, lunging over the railing towards the shocked owl. Hat Kid blinked at the loud shout and wondered to herself when the energetic penguin had arrived.
The Conductor did not get a chance to reply as the infuriated penguin promptly kicked him into the wooden stand, cracking the structure with the force behind the kick. The owls that were around the crash site quickly scattered, not wishing to suffer the same fate.
DJ Grooves stalked towards the prone form, anger radiating off of his body. He opened his beak and spoke in a calm, deadly tone. "Conductor, darling, if I ever see you around my star again I will make you regret it."
The threat was clear and with that the Conductor fled the arena, or tried to.
"By the way I'd like that Time Piece you have." The demand echoed through the now silent room.
The owl was about to protest but one look at the furious expression on his rival's face had him rethinking his decision. Eventually he nodded and tossed the hourglass over to the penguin who easily caught it.
"Scram." The infuriated DJ hissed, and with that all owls fled the scene, cramming themselves into the elevator.
While the panicked chaos continued at the elevator DJ Grooves spun around and rushed over to the still sobbing child, gently looking her over. To his horror the child seemed to have grown significantly paler in the last few minutes, a dangerous sign.
"Oh darling, I'm so sorry," He muttered, tears forming in his eyes as he looked at the growing bloodstain on her shirt. "If I had been faster this wouldn't have happened!"
Hat Kid mumbled something, but her voice was too weak for the penguin to hear it. The distraught DJ took a deep breath and let it out, now came the hard part. The child had to go to a hospital to get the wound looked at, but there was not enough time for help to go down and up the elevators. He had to get her to help, now.
Which meant he had to move her.
Luckily enough one of his Moon Penguins had joined him on his mission to confront the Conductor and help the child during her fight.
He quickly instructed his follower to call for an ambulance while he figured out what to do next. No matter what the child would end up hurting, he just hoped he did not hurt her too much as he rushed to the surface.
"Darling I have to pick you up now." He said to the semi-conscious Hat Kid. "You can scream if you need to, but I need you to stay awake for me."
And with that he put one arm under the girl's knees and the other on her back, and lifted her up.
Right away she began screaming as the movement aggravated the knife that was still stuck in her side. Tears poured from both her and the DJ's eyes, but he did not stop. The penguin rushed to the elevator as quickly as he could without hurting the girl further, Moon Penguin following along.
The ascent up the elevator was most likely the worst part of the trip. The metal box constantly moved around, jostling the riders. Hat Kid would let out yelps every so often as the movement made her wound worse.
DJ Grooves had removed his coat and asked the Moon Penguin to cover the knife and bloodstain with it, hoping the extra cloth would help to keep the cut clean. The Moon Penguin had hesitated at first but then gently placed the fabric over the injury, determination present in his eyes.
They, of course, then had to move from one elevator to the other as quickly as possible.
The DJ had to bite back the curses that bubbled up in his throat. He was, understandably, extremely frustrated with the entire situation. Who in their right mind would fight a child?! Never mind try to stab said child with a real knife!
He was going to have words with the Conductor, but right now he had to focus on the bleeding child in his arms.
After what seemed like an eternity the trio finally reached the ground level of the studio and rushed forward, the Moon Penguin helping the move people out of the way so DJ Grooves did not have to worry about slowing down during his flight to the lobby.
He sprinted past the confused Receptionist and down the hallway that led to the parking lot, relieved to hear the sirens outside the building. He burst out of the building, glasses askew, afro a mess, but hope higher than it had been for the entire day.
Everything was going to be okay.
The DJ passed the gasping child over, once again taking notice of how pale she was. He heard one of the medics, a dove, mumbled something about extreme blood loss and transfusions. Worry roared through him once again.
Please darling, be alright!
Hat Kid blinked, vision beginning to fade once her exhausted body was loaded into the white vehicle. She could faintly hear DJ Grooves talking in the background, telling her to stay awake, but she was so tired.
Everything was getting so fuzzy...
Maybe it would be best to sleep...
Her eyes closed and the child passed from the conscious world, treading on the dangerous line of no return.
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
What is that...
Beep...
It's so annoying! Make it stop!
Beep...
With a groan Hat Kid opened her eyes and was greeted by the colour white. She blinked and it took her a moment to realize where she was.
She was in a hospital. The clinical smell, annoying beeping, and gross sheets only helped to confirm her theory.
She tried to sit up but stopped once pain slammed into her side, making her hiss and wake up the other person who was in the room with her that she had not noticed. DJ Grooves, wearing a clean coat, jolted up from his chair on the other side of the bed, nearly falling out of it.
"Darling!" The penguin cried out, happy tears trailing down his face. "You're alright!"
Hat Kid smiled and waved at the happy DJ. "Yeah, just a bit sore."
"Darling you had to go into surgery, I'd expect you to be a bit more than sore." The penguin sighed out, stress completely draining from him in a matter of seconds.
The child blinked. "Surgery?"
"Yes, you were badly injured so the doctors needed to operate." He had begun messing with his afro as he recalled those terrifying moments. He had been stuck outside the ER rooms for what felt like hours, waiting to see if she would survive.
The blood loss had nearly killed her, but luckily the doctors managed to figure out her blood type and had some extra human blood bags on hand.
"Wow." Hat Kid mumbled, one hand gently touching the bandages that were on her side. "It was that bad..."
"I will have words with that Conductor!" DJ Grooves scowled darkly behind his sunglasses, making the child laugh. She had never expected the DJ to be the violent type when he got angry.
Watching him kick the Conductor through a wall had proved her wrong. That was probably the best thing that happened during that fight.
Wait... the fight...
"My Time Piece!" Hat Kid cried out, suddenly remembering the reason behind the battle. "The Conductor still-"
"It's right here darling." DJ Grooves smoothly interrupted, passing the worried child the hourglass that had been sitting beside the hospital bed.
The child sighed and relaxed back into the bed, both hands holding onto the hourglass. Now all she needed to do was go back to her space ship and take a day off before continuing her search. "So when can I go home?"
"Not for a week, unless you have someone taking care of you." Hat Kid looked up, dismay covering her face.
"Sorry darling, doctor's orders." DJ Grooves did not look sorry in the least. Between what the child did at the studio and the other places she visited, the penguin had a feeling she was long overdue for a good break.
"But what if I want to go back to my space ship?" She asked, hoping she would find some way out of this mess. She had to find the rest of the Time Pieces!
"Then I'll help take care of you." What?
The child's jaw was on the floor as she looked at the DJ. He... he was willing to stay with her on her space ship and help her heal? But why? No one else on the planet ever seemed worried about her health, even after she had helped them. Why now?
"But why?" She asked, eyes wide in surprise.
"You need to heal, darling, and not get hurt looking for more of these Time Pieces." DJ Grooves said, scooting closer to the bed so he could look her in the face.
"I don't want you getting worse, so I'll help you recover." Hat Kid blinked and found her vision getting blurry. Why...
"Oh darling." The DJ cooed as he gently hugged the crying child.
She sniffed and sobbed, reaching up with her arms to hug him back. The situation she had just been in, the life threatening danger, and the penguin's compassion had finally sank in, ripping apart the emotional numbness that had covered her since she woke up.
The duo stayed like this for several more minutes, Hat Kid basking in the comfort of the hug, and DJ Grooves continuing to softly speak to her about what they would do next.
It was decided that the penguin would stay on the child's space ship for the next week to make sure she healed properly from the stab wound. He would take care of all of the chores, such as cooking and cleaning, while she rested.
She did feel a bit bad since her room was a complete mess and her kitchen was a bit dirty, but to be fair she was not expecting any company!
Finally the doctor, a robin, entered the room and checked the girl's injury. He confirmed that it would be alright for her to leave, but she had to come back to the hospital every two days so they could check the wound and make sure it was healing properly.
Apparently this hospital rarely worked with human patients so they were being extra cautious with her.
Hat Kid had then been carefully placed in a wheelchair and rolled down to the front lobby. At first she had tried to protest, not liking the idea of being pushed around, but she reluctantly agreed after DJ Grooves promised to cook for her once they got back to the ship.
Cook what, she did not know, but she had a feeling he was a much better cook than she was.
"DJ Grooves," Hat Kid said after they left the building, now free of the wheelchair. "Can I watch you kick the peck out of the Conductor once I'm better?"
Rather than become annoyed at her cursing the penguin looked thoughtful, as if she had given him an idea. He started mumbling and she could faintly make out the words "would that actually work" and "might as well try".
"Maybe, darling." The DJ finally said, answering her original question.
Meanwhile back on his train, the Conductor felt a shudder run down his spine, as if someone had just walked over his grave.
Hat Kid giggled, amused by the thought of the penguin kicking the owl through a wall once again. The violence was so oddly out of character, it was hilarious!
"Now, how do we get up to that space ship of yours?"
Hat Kid grinned. "I'll take care of it, let's just get away from the building."
With that the now silent duo, consisting of one laughing child and one confused penguin, walked away from the tall building and into a more deserted area of the parking lot.
Or it had been silent until DJ Grooves began screaming as he and Hat Kid rocketed up into the sky.
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AN: Tada! So I hope you all enjoyed this fic (that will most likely stay a oneshot)! Please leave a review telling me if you enjoyed it~
-ImmortalCoelacanth