#wha t di d i say about brunettes

[the-physicality]

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[hattale-au]

HatTale: Chapter 1

Summary: "The girl wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she opened her eyes, but the bright light of the sun shining off of a bed of golden flowers definitely wasn’t it."  --  (or, an Undertale AU wherein a foolhardy girl falls down a mountain, gains a ghost friend, and sets out for adventure)

[Also on AO3!]

Standard Disclaimer: None of us own Undertale or A Hat In Time, they belong to Toby Fox and Gears For Breakfast respectively.

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    The girl wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she opened her eyes, but the bright light of the sun shining off of a bed of golden flowers definitely wasn’t it.

    She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Where was she? Why was she there? 

    --

    “You see that mountain up there?”

    “Uh huh, why?”

    “That’s Mount Ebott, they say those who climb it never return!”

    “Wha? I don’t believe that.”

    “Why? You scared~?”

    “Eh?! No! Why would I be scared of some dumb mountain?”

    “You sure sound scared~”

    “Well, I’m not!”

    “Then prove it. Go climb to the top and bring back some kind of proof.”

    “Humph! Fine!”

    --

    Oh, right. The dare…

    --

    “Huff, puff… eh? There’s a cave up here?”

    …

    “... what’s that shiny thing over- aAAAAHHHHH!!!”

    --

    And then she wasn’t looking where she was going… and fell…

    Huh, for falling such a long way, she didn’t feel all that injured. She gave herself a once-over just to make sure. Yep, nothing but a few scrapes from climbing through the undergrowth. 

Maybe the fall wasn’t as long as she thought it was? She looked back up towards the sky. Ah, yep, that fall was just as long as it felt. The light from the sky was only a small pinprick that was growing rapidly darker. Dusk was falling, could she get out of this hole before curfew? 

“You won’t make it out of here the same way you got in.”

The girl flinched at the unexpected voice. 

“Yipes!” she whipped around, brandishing the stick she had grabbed on her climb, “who’s there- ?!”

The stick fell to the ground with a small whump as she stared open-mouthed in shock. Right in front of her was a floating child.

“Ah, my apologies, I didn’t mean to scare you,” they said as they waved their hands in a placating gesture, “I just thought I would tell you before you exhausted yourself trying to escape.”

The girl blinked. “what?”

They shrugged, “It’s exactly like I said, you cannot leave through there,” they pointed upwards towards the mouth of the hole- no, more like pit the more she thought about it.

“Okay…” she bent down to pick up her stick, always handy for an impromptu fight, then looked back at the other. “Then how do I get out of here?”

They tilted their head in thought and fidgeted with their hands. They took so long that the girl almost thought they wouldn’t answer and that she was doomed to spend eternity with this ghost child - for what else could they be? - but then they finally did answer:

“Well, I suppose you could try leaving through the Barrier...”

“Okay, where’s it at?”

“It’s at the other end on the Underground… although I’m not sure you even could leave through it…”

She harrumphed and put her hands on her hips, “And why not?”

The ghost sighed, then gestured at themselves, “why do you think I’m still here?”

“...oh.”

The girl glanced down at her boots, then up at the rocks, then over to the path carved through the cave wall. Okay, so, maybe she was stuck down here in this cave for the foreseeable future. If she was… then she might as well find out how big it is, right? Good to know how long it’s gonna take before she dies of boredom and all!

Although… from the sounds of it… this “Underground” seemed pretty big… like, big enough that someone could probably get lost in there. She wasn’t just a random “someone” though, her navigational skills were second to none! However, looking down that dark and damp and creepy tunnel… maybe she could use a guide.

The girl looked back up at the ghost, “Hey, uh, what’s your name again?”

They sighed and shrugged, “Eh, my name isn’t important. I’ve found that names are pretty fickle things.”

“How’s about ‘Floaty Kid’?”

They visibly cringed at that, “Okay, no, don’t call me that.”

“Weeeeell, I have to call you something, don’t I?” She rocked back and forth on her heels, trying to think of something. There weren’t that many defining features of the ghost. They were a brunette, they had a red coat on, (they also had no legs but let’s not linger on  t h a t -). The only thing that didn’t make them like just another kid was…

“your mask… Can I call you ‘Mask’?”

They tilted their head in confusion, then nodded, “Sure? I don’t hate it…”

“But you don’t like it either?”

“Well,” they waved their hand in a dismissive gesture, “I just don’t care either way, and it’s not like you’ll be around to call me it-”

“GREAT! Mask it is,” The girl interrupted, “now will you help me get to that ‘Barrier’ or whatever it’s called?”

They flinched as if struck, “W-what?! why?”

“You know this place better than I do, and I’d really like to get home before dinner. It’s cookie night tonight~!” the girl sing-songed.

“And why should that persuade me to come with you?” the ghost questioned with a small glare.

“I dunno,” she shrugged. “You could get some cookies too when we get back.”

They started fidgeting with their mask, “I’m not really sure… if I came with you I’d have to… leave...” with each word, they curled up into themselves even more.

She stared at them, taking in all of their nervous twitches. It took the girl a bit, but finally, she pieced it together.

“Are you scared of leaving here?”

They froze for a moment, then they looked off to the side. She could see a faint dusting of pink on their cheeks behind the mask, “I-i… yes, I guess I kind of am...”

She lowered herself down into a criss-cross, “Well, there’s only one way to conquer your fears!”

...

She gestured for them to finish the statement.

“...Trust your gut and don’t do the thing?” they suggested with a weak smile.

She facepalmed, “no,” and then wagged a finger in their face, “you confront your fear! And you do that by doing the thing you’re afraid of!”

“How would that even help?” 

“Because, once you try the thing you’re afraid of, you see that it’s not actually that bad and you won’t be scared of it anymore!”

Despite the unchanging smile of the mask, she had the distinct impression that they were giving her a very unimpressed stare, “... that ‘logic’ sure has a lot of holes in it, Shrimpy.” 

The girl gave that nickname only an annoyed lip-smack before continuing on, “Well, could you please just come? Whatever you’re afraid of,” she leapt back to her feet and brandished the stick, “I can whack it until it ain’t scary anymore! How’s about that?”

There was a long moment of silence, then Mask snorted, then giggled, then started laughing so hard they doubled over.

“I-I mean, that’ll take care of a good third of it!” they chuckled as their laughter subsided.

“Only a THIRD?!” the girl exclaimed with a wide smile, “I’m gonna get the whole peckin’ thing, and you can’t do nothin’ to stop me!”

“Ah well, that might be a bit difficult considering the rest isn’t just something you can beat into submission…”

Her grin drooped a bit. Ah, yeah, that would be a bit harder to work with… But, she did still have the Golden Solution~ it seemed that it was the time to use it!

“Well, then, I’ll hug it into submission!”

They stiffened a little, “uhm… maybe don’t? I… don’t like hugs… sorry.”

The girl’s eyes widened in realisation, “ohhhh, alrighty then,” she thought for a moment, then reached out a hand, “hand-hold-of-comfort, maybe?”

They smiled, then shook their head, “how about… mutual respect and the knowledge that we both support each other?”

“Yeah, that works for me.” 

The conversation lapsed into silence. The girl fiddled with her stick, pulling off some of the more bothersome twigs. She didn’t notice Mask’s stare until they spoke up again.

“... well, I suppose I could come with you.”

“YUS!!” The girl did a little fist-pump and then looked back at them, “With the two of us together, nothing can stand in our way!”

“If you say so…” They muttered with an emotion the girl couldn’t place.

She looked back towards the tunnel, suddenly a lot less scary knowing she wouldn’t be alone. 

She strode confidently forward, and her discarnate companion followed closely behind.

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A/N: Hello everyone! here's the big project us three have been working on, a crossover AU! We all enjoy both games and decided to mix 'em up for fun, we hope you enjoy! There will be a lot more coming, and most chapters will even have accompanying artwork! :D - Novi

hey, hope u enjoy this lovely au!! - Lovely (Shakez)

Hope you enjoy our au - Twyst