Mu felt a small chill in her spine. As if the world just froze and she was barely staying alive. T-This girl... s-she was dangerous. She quickly pushed back her hand and stepped backward. Mu had to get out of here and find some help. Fast!
"M-Mou? C-Come on, I'm your friend right? You can trust me. I just... need you to calm down for a bit." Puella stepped forward. Making Mu step back, even more, her back almost touching the wall.
After living as a stray orphan for years along with that past with Hattie, Mu could sense danger before it occurred. And this, was incredibly dangerous.
S-She had to warn Hattie and Bow. She had to get out of here! SHE HAD TO RUN-
*SMASH*
Mu side-kicked Puella, the girl before her flying across and hitting the side wall as she started running. Peck, Peck, PECK! Mu ran past the entrance and into the street. This was bad!
However, before she could even locate her house-
*BOOM*
The entire area shook with great force. Making Mu trip and fall to the ground. And before Mu could even stand up, the bright blue sunny sky quickly darkened to relight with a shallow red tone. As soon as the red light shone upon the entire dome, Mu could sense everyone around her looking toward the sky along with a loud siren that seemed to block any other sound.
"*WARNING! STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY DAMAGE DETECTED IN SECTOR 3B. ALL PERSONNEL, PLEASE EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY*"
Mu turned her head to look back. Only to immediately regret that decision. Behind her was Hattie, or no, not Hat- Puella... With purplish-black wings coming out of her back and floating above the ground. N-No! S-She had to r-run!
Suddenly, tens of red laser pointers appeared on the floating girl as Mu stepped back. Tens of kids and teens wearing full-on colored metal mech-like armor were pointing what appeared to be futuristic guns toward the girl when one of the older teens stepped forward.
"IDENTIFY YOURSELF AT ONCE! YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF THE 'TIMELESS LAW' AND WILL BE HELD A FAIR TRIAL IF YOU SURRENDER PEACEFULLY!" the tall boy shouted as he directly talked to the floating girl.
"*PFFFFFF* Oh please. As if you would just shoot m- *GHA*" the girl, Puella gasped for air as she was shot in the throat by the previous shouting teen, falling to the ground. Mu's eyes widened in shock. W-What the PECK!? T-They would just s-shoot a child j-just because she d-didn't surrender!?
One of the younger kids wearing mech armor walked toward Mu. He glanced at the ID card and murmured something to himself as he spoke.
"Alien Mu. Please come with me, we will be needing your word in co-"
*BOOM*
With a sonic explosion, the body of the fallen girl rose back up unnaturally as her throat slowly healed back. White goo dripping to the floor from the open wound.
"*BLAH* Peck that hurt! What the hell is wrong with you guys!? Shooting an innocent child!?"
Mu took a step back. How was she standing!? Scratch that- How was she even alive!? The commander(?) also seemed a bit shocked.
"Oh? Did you think that would be enough? Really? I'm disappointed, really." The girl shook her head slowly and in the next moment, a bright orange-yellow light appeared next to the floating girl.
Sensing the now inescapable danger, Mu took out her Time Piece but- huh? The artifact glowed dimly only to do basically do nothing? Mu looked back at the floating girl, who locked eyes with her.
"Oh, come on Mou. *giggle* As if I would let you go that easily."
The orange-yellow light shone even brighter. Now that she could see it, Mu's eyes widened in shock. It was a Time Piece? Or was it? Instead of the clear glass and wooden frame, the artifact had a golden frame and orangish glow instead of a white one.
Before Mu could blink, the artifact cracked, shattering into a million shards only to reform again. In the next instance, Mu's vision started bending? What the!? The ground shook with force as Mu looked at the kids and teens besides her. W-Why weren't any of them doing anything!?
However, as soon as she turned, she could see all of their eyes. Pure white with no pupil in sight. Mu backed away and turned back as fast as possible, dashing toward the cafeteria, where she could possibly find more help. Or escape... whichever came first.
Though that was the plan, as soon as she passed through the door of the cafeteria, Mu crashed on to a chair(?) and fell to the floor. She grumpily rose back up to find herself back in the orientation room... A chill went down Mu's spine as she turned back and, of course, right behind her was Puella.
"Hello Mou!" Puella smiled brightly as she waved at the girl.
Mu quickly ran past the black-clothed girl as she dashed toward the exit of the simulation chamber. She quickly passed through the door of the chamber to find herself in... the cafeteria? Huh!? She glanced around to see a bunch of kids and teens enjoying their food.
Did time revert? But, shouldn't they somewhat remember what happened and run away? Mu quickly looked around, but she didn't know any of the kids or teens here... They probably wouldn't believe her if she just screamed danger right now...
"Yeah they wouldn't... Though, a little demonstration would get them going."
"Exactly." Mu nodded as she turned to the side to see Puella who replied to her thoughts!? Or did she mumble that out loud? Wait. That wasn't important now!
While Mu's thoughts were racing, Puella casually grabbed a cupcake from one of the passing boy's tray. Smiling to Mu as she took a bite.
"Hey! I was gonna eat that! Go get your o-" the boy shouted, but his scream was cut short as-
*SLASH*
"*-Geh!?*" Blood came from the boy's mouth as his two friends beside him gasped in shock.
Mu, hearing the ordeal slowly turned her head to see- N-No! Mu backed away as she witnessed the scene. Puella's umbrella was stabbed through the boy's chest, going fully across as blood and gore dripped from both sides. Puella herself was seemingly enjoying a muffin with her other hand.
Mu's breathing started speeding up as her legs were shaking. She wanted to run away, b-but to where!? Suddenly-
"BY THE 'TIMELESS LAW', FREEZE! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR ASSAULT AGAINST A TIME LO-*BLOSH*!" One of the teens was shouting at Puella with a badge and laser rifle in his hand when his head exploded with intense force. Blood and gore splashed to the wall behind as Puella snapped back. Mu grasped her chest, s-she wanted to run away! W-Why was this girl doing this!?
Immediately following were tens of other law enforces having to open fire at the girl. Mu quickly shut her eyes, not wanting to see more blood as all sound ceased. Huh? Mu slowly opened her eyes. Before her was... nothing? It was pitch black. She tried to get up, but was pulled back down by a heavy rope(?) around her neck and arms. Mu suddenly paused as she fell back down.
N-No...no... NO! NO NO NO! W-Why?! How!? Why was she back here!? Hadn't she erased this t-timeline!? Wasn't it fixed!? Tears started rounding around Mu's eyes when the lights turned on to reveal Hattie's spaceship.
The door of the bedroom opened and after a second, what walked forward was a darker-toned girl with curly hair, wearing green and rocking a blue bow...
"B-Bow!?" Mu shouted in shock. How was she here!? This wasn't how it happened...
As she spoke her name, Bow turned toward Mu with a concerned look. She quickly approached Mu who was tied up and put down the small cup of water she had in hand in front of her. H-Huh?
Bow came closer until their faces were millimeters away from touching each other. Speaking with a soft voice. She looked Mu in the eye.
"I-I will get us out of h-here. D-Don't worry, a-alright? I-I swear, Mou, I-I will save you."
As soon as the words left Bow's mouth, Mu pushed back the girl at full force. Making the poor curly-haired girl stumble backward and trip on the glass of water. The girl fell backward as she hit her head on the solid floor, cracking her neck.
*CRACK*
A few moments of silence engulfed the room as the lying girl spoke.
"I am saddened by your actions Mou..."
Only after a moment, Bow slowly rose back up as her head unnaturally snapped back in place, she walked a few steps toward Mu. After a singular pause and with steaming white liquid dripping to the floor, she started melting before her.
Mu shut her eyes, not wanting to experience that sight. After a few seconds, Mu slowly opened her eyes back and found herself back in the orientation room!? She quickly looked around and saw- no one? Did Puella leave? Or escape? Mu had to warn the others before-
"Mu! *hah*" Around a hundred meters away from Mu at the entrance of the simulation chamber was a curly-haired blue bow-wearing girl. Bow.
W-Wait. Was it really her? It wasn't l-like last time, right?
"MU! WE HAVE TO FIND HAT! *hah* NOW!"
Bow managed to run to the door where Mu was standing as she collapsed on her knees. Panting heavily as she tried to speak. Alright yeah, this was the real Bow, probably. The tone and 0 athleticism really proved it for her.
"Y-Yeah! Wait- how are we going to find her, isn't she on a mission?"
"I-*hah*- I don't-*hah* know." Bow managed to say as she attempted to get up, only to fall back down. Mu looked at the tired girl and recovered some of her resolve as she put Bow's arms around her shoulder.
"*hop* Come on. J-Just point to where we have to go!" Mu lifted Bow on her back as she started running toward the exit of the chamber. If Hat was anywhere on this structure, they would surely find her.
As soon as they got out of the orientation, it was total chaos. Several buildings all over the area were damaged or downright destroyed. The sky was bright red with a massive black crack in the middle of the dome. There were several holes in the ground. Tens of kids, teens, and even a few adults were running around, some screaming, some calmer than others but still confused.
**BOOM**
And with another ear-bleeding explosion, the entire HourGlass shook. Another massive crack had appeared on the dome with now pieces of metal and glass shards falling from the far-away ceiling.
<"WARNING. STRUCTURE INTEGRITY DAMAGED AT SECTOR 4A. EVACUATE THE AREA IMMEDIATELY.">
The loud warning call echoes through the structure as panic resumed. This was surely Puella's doing. Where was she now!? What was she doing!? How was she doing this!? Why doesn't the Time Pieces work!?
So many questions, not many answers. Mu felt a slight nudge from behind as she saw Bow point toward a certain building.
"A-Alright. Hang on tight!" Mu grabbed the girl behind her firmly as she started dashing at full speed. Air rushed around both of them as they arrived in front of the building.
The front door was futuristic like the other buildings but instead of being made out of glass like the cafeteria, it was a solid metal door. Mu was slightly confused as the door didn't automatically open and there were no handles when Bow spoke.
"Get me- near that- panel-" Mu nodded and got closer.
Now standing next to something akin to a small screen, Bow pressed her hand on it as a red glowing light went across her hand.
"[Scan Succesful. Welcome, Officer Q̶̫̦̒̍́m̸̬͕̬̈́̀9̴̝͖͚̆3̵̲̉͐I̷̱͔̽E̷̦̖̔̔t̶͔̣̯̉̉p̵̫̗̏̃͌Ż̶̺A̸̦͐͌=̶̭̦̺̎͆=̶̧̲̰̽̃.]"
A robotic voice talked as the door opened to both sides. Ignoring the act, Mu ran inside. The ground shook yet gain with a deafening explosion sound coming from behind. Mu gulped, h-how far could they even run? Where was Hattie? Why were they going in here, was Hattie here?
Mu dashed across the corridor, running past the maze-like interior toward where Bow was pointing. Mu was starting to get tired at this point, carrying Bow along with running for this long.
"H-How much l-longer *hah* are we running- B-Bow?" Mu asked desperately.
"Only- a little bit more." Mu nodded as she continued running until they came across a large hanger door. Just past the window, Mu could see a massive ship being docked. It was enormous compared to Hattie's flying house(?). Easily larger than her entire island. With a gleaming dark metalic exterior along with bright red lights.
They passed the hangar door and entered a large docking hall, this was a different one than the one Mu had arrived before. Next to several other ships, Mu could now see Hattie's spacecraft. It was modified to be larger, around double its original size with a few more features added on its exterior.
Surely Hattie was in her ship, right? Mu didn't want to be so pessimistic but with all the chaos inside, it didn't seem very likely. Also, where was everyone? This hanger was entirely empty. Not a single kid or teen in sight. Mu ran to Hattie's spaceship and Bow used her keycard to unlock the door.
Mu dropped Bow from her back and they started exploring the ship. The lights were on but there wasn't anyone... Mu looked at Hattie's bedroom and the engine room while she left Bow to check the back of the ship and the new rooms.
"Hattie!" Mu ran from room to room as she shouted to no avail. If she wasn't here, where was she!? Mu returned to the central room as she shouted.
"Bow! I don't think Hattie is here, we should look elsewhere." Mu waited for a response. But, nothing.
"Bow?" Mu called again. Now looking through the rooms, Mu started checking each room. No, no, nope. Where was Bow!? Mu looked everywhere, but Bow wasn't the-
"HAT!"
That was when Mu heard Bow scream. Her voice was coming from Hattie's bedroom. But, didn't they just check there!?
Mu rushed to the bedroom to see the entire pillow pool scattered across the area. Bow was standing next to the bed with a Time Piece in her hand. The artifact was glowing brightly.
Right before her was Hattie, frozen in place by the artifact, Mu presumed. However, something was off... Hattie's eyes were red, frozen tears dripped in blood were covering her cheeks and her sharp teeth were visible. Her body was shaking, Mu couldn't tell if she was in pain or just trying to get out of the freezing effect.
"B-B-B *gha* Bow..."
Hattie very slowly started to overpower the beam from Bow's Time Piece as she slowly walked toward her. Gritting her teeth.
Mu glanced at Hattie and then at Bow. What was going on!? Why was Bow trying to freeze Hattie!? And why was Hattie trying to walk toward her!?
"R-Run a- *gha*-away... p-please..."
Hattie continued forcing her way toward Bow as she stepped back.
"N-NO! WE AREN'T L-LEAVING YOU LIKE THIS!" Bow screamed.
Mu's mind spun a million miles a minute as she dashed toward Bow to quickly pick her up and run toward the central room. Bow was a bit surprised but with the door to the bedroom quickly shut behind them, they turned to look at, now free, Hat Kid.
*Bush Bash Bush*
Hattie, or who they assumed was her hit the thick metallic door from behind. From what little they could see through the small glass window, they look at her. Her eyes were still dripping blood and her hair feral as she half-mumbled and half-screamed some inaudible words. W-What had happened to her!?
Mu glanced at Bow who seemed just as shocked. Still holding the glowing artefact as Mu's eyes widened in realisation. Hattie wasn't trying to attack 'them'... she was trying to get to the Time Piece!
*CRASH*
The hinges on the metal door slightly cracked as Bow and Mu took a step backward.
"B-Bow! The Time Piece! She wants the Time Piece! J-Just place it in the c-center of the room and run!"
Bow nodded as she placed the Time Piece down and quickly hid behind one of the control panels, next to Mu. The metal door couldn't handle much of Hattie's smashing as the hinges finally broke loose.
With a thundering sound, the metal door opened as a feral Hat Kid escaped. She seemed to have given up on any resistance as she dashed toward the central room. Her eyes fixated on the Time Piece.
She rushed toward it, grabbing the artifact as she started... gnawing at it. Biting the wooden and glass parts as the hourglass started cracking.
*CRASH*
With a shattering sound, the hourglass broke into hundreds of shards as the golden glow inside collapsed into a tar-black fluid. Blood mixed with the black tar as Hattie licked from her palms.
Both Mu and Bow cautiously watched from afar. Hattie licked every last drop of the tarred liquid as her arms slowly dropped to the side. Appearing to have calmed down, somewhat at least.
Bow slowly walked towards the hatted girl as Mu continued watching from her hiding place. She was scared, her traumatic past coming back to haunt her as she crouched down. Why? Why was this happening? She looked at her palms, was she cursed to never have a moment of peace in her entire life? She glanced back at Bow who had almost reached Hattie about now.
"H-Hat?" Bow slightly nudged the hatted girl's arm as she was suddenly jumped on. Both of their bodies rolled on the floor as they stopped after a few rolls.
"H-HEY-" Bow tried to speak but was silenced as she was suddenly caught in a tight hug. She glanced at Hat, her bloodied fists squeezing Bow's clothes for dear life as she gave back the hug.
"Shhhh."
Bow could feel her partner shaking intensely. Wasn't she supposed to be the delicate damsel... heh. How ironic. She could feel Hat's panicked breathing slowly return back to normal as they continued their hug.
"It's alright. I'm here, kay? No one's going to hurt you."
Bow felt Hat's fists slowly let go of her clothing as she departed. Her eyes filled with bloodied tears. Bow smiled softly, her hand reaching out to brush off the tears.
"S̸S̴B̵o̷d̴X̶J̶0̷c̸w̷=̵=̷"
"I know. I know..."
Mu slowly came out from her hiding spot as she approached the scene. The 'now seemed to have calmed down' Hattie had finished her sobbing as she abruptly stood up upon seeing Mu.
"M-Mu, I-I am so sorry. I-I tried to s-stop, but the voices, Mu, t-they-*hgh*"
Hattie was suddenly taken back as she was given a tight hug by Mu, her arms automatically hugging the girl back as she looked past the glass window.
"It's alright Hattie. I know you didn't mean to. Not like... It wasn't..." Mu tried to find any words of comfort, anything too positive, just anything that didn't connect to her trauma, or this awful situation, or the erased timeline. But the more she fumbled, the more she realized there was nothing positive about any of this... Heh, guess she got her answer. She really was cur-
"*Ahem*" Both Mu and Hattie turned to face Bow who was now caught standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.
The two stopped their hug. Returning to a more natural position now that all three of them had a calm mind.
"Alright. First of all, What the Peck just happened!?"
...