(Annoying Alliance)

Hat kid is teleported to the dirt grounds below her ship and takes a look around at the quiet scenery. She spots her hat moving wildly on the floor. She proceeds with caution and picks it up quickly. A medium sized pretty harmless fly pops out and moves on with its life. Hat Kid dusts off and puts on her signature purple top hat with a yellow stripe above the brim. "That wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be."

She continues her long walk to find some time pieces. "The wind here is really picking up." She begins to walk through the cliffs as the wind howls and Hat Kid holds tightly onto her hat while her bright yellow cape blows all over the place. She reaches a high cliff top and looks toward the distance. She is able to make out the glowing red shape of a tent. "Yeah that looks really evil, I'm just going to go around." She jumps down the high cliff and opens her parasol, floating down gently. As she falls she hums a tune of her planet, "Hummm; hummm; humm humm, da da dum dummm." She lands and starts walking around the red tents. As she passes, she hears a eerie circus theme coming from the red tents. "Maybe not so quiet after all."

She makes her way to the blue part of town. "Well, it appears there's a citizen who might hopefully not be as hostile as the one that SLASHED MY FACE!"

Hat Kid continues walking warily towards the creature. "Um... hi there." She says.

The creature seems docile and looks as if it's inspecting Hat Kid. The creature makes some sounds but they make no sense to Hat Kid. "I'm just going to keep walking... thanks for not trying to kill me I guess."

She sees what looks like a sign on a building and gets up close to read it. "Ok, this must be written in an insect language, which means it can be translated, yay." "Timewatch; scan and translate written text."

"Scanning... text reads... "For all your mapping supplies, we will be opening soon. - Iselda and Cornifer." "Acquire enough syllables for real time voice translation."

"well, okay, it's nice to know there's a bit of a society here... or what's left of one. Doesn't seem there's much here for me right now, the only thing that seems promising is this deep looking well... or it could lead to death. Gotta stay optimistic I suppose, let's go."

Hat Kid jumps into the well and opens her parasol to start floating down through the dark hole. She lands in the crossroads of Hallownest, which have been all but forgotten. She begins walking down the forgotten crossroads to pass up more of those flies she saw earlier which appear to be brain dead, along with small grey bugs like the one she took blood from. "I wish I knew what these creatures names were, if they have names that is. I just had to encounter something ferociously hostile the moment I got here. These little bugs are kinda cute, but are they infected is the question. Maybe so but how can I tell?"

A bug on two legs starts running at Hat Kid. "I command you to halt! That was probably a dumb idea, ah peck!" She hits the bug across the face with her parasol but the bug pays no acknowledgement to the blunt damage and turns back to Hat Kid, tackling her to the ground. "Ow; I'm gonna regret this but HELPPPP!"

It's orange eyes drip goo as it mindlessly flails its claws at Hat Kid. Hat Kid struggles to keep the bug from clawing her face and is losing the strength to keep it at bay.

A creature coming in yells, "Bera! Bera! Aklaba!"

"What in the-" The new creature appears and charges at the bug Hat Kid is holding back. The bug hits the infected bug and gets its attention. It flails it's... blade; at the infected bug. The mindless husk now being slapped around but uninjured keeps trying to attack the new bug. Hat kid looks around for a clue as to what to do and sees something that looks sharp near a corpse that looks similar to the husk. She picks it up and sprints at the husk proceeding to stab it in the back repeatedly till it falls to the ground lifeless; while the new bug smacks the husk in the head with it's weapon... not that it's doing anything to the husk. The husk's orange eyes disperse as it dies.

Hat Kid sits down for a moment; with orange blood splattered on her purple outfit; relieved that something came to her aid. Hat Kid looks up to see the bug speaking more gibberish while holding its hand out to Hat Kid. She takes it's hand to get up but is met with a quick swipe and falls back to the ground. "Hey, what gives?!" The bug now bored of trying whatever it was doing, swings at Hat Kid and hits her in the shoulder. "Ouch." Hat kid uppercuts the bug with her parasol and sends it flying backwards. It lands on what seems like it's horns and is now stuck squirming. "Monta monta monta monta chakta ba nazure."

"I can't understand a word you're saying but what I can tell is that you're complaining."

Hat Kid gets up and searches the freshly killed husk for something useful. She finds some gleaming circular metal objects.

"Geo!" The creature's squirming intensifies.

"Hm? Oh, do you know what this is?" Hat Kid continues her looting. She comes across a book of some sorts with the same language writings as the sign in the town above. "Yes! This is a good sign. Breath, calm down, exhale, ok, I'm good. Time watch, scan words to update language database."

"Scanning... analysis shows that this is a wanderer's journal and that there are enough syllables to piece together real time speaking translations for this language. Some words are still untranslatable, would you like to enable it?"

"Yes." Her earpiece lights up and she hears to her side; "I am Zote the Mighty, a knight of great renown and when I'm free you will fall victim to my blade, "Life Ender."

"Maybe I should have said no." She says with a look and sound of regret."

"What? The cur can speak properly?"

"Yes... cur." she said with a sound of confusion. "Zote, right?"

"That's Zote the Mighty to you cur."

"Oh shut it peck neck! Get up." She picks him up by a horn and tosses him on his feet.

"I will request what I had earlier." He holds out his hand. "I would like some geo for my bold rescue of you."

"This shiny stuff; um... sure." She throws Zote some geo with the flick of her wrist.

"I can see you were ill equipped when that husk stuck to you with all it's might. I heard your pitiful distress sound nearby and came in hopes of a reward."

"How noble." Hat kid says sarcastically rolling her eyes.

"Yes, no need to thank me. That nail you picked up is very dull, unlike mine "Life Ender," which I made myself."

It's made of wood which is why it didn't kill me or the husk. Hat Kid thinks to herself.

"You can get a much better nail than the one you have with the geo you acquired at Sly's shop *sniker* in Dirtmouth which is above us; so farewell since I travel alone and you would only slow me down. Hopefully our paths do not cross again... for your sake of course." Zote takes off toward the way he came, leaving Hat Kid alone in the Forgotten Crossroads.

"Rude... as... peck!"

Hat Kid reaches the well she came in from cutting down any minimal threat to her on the way with her rusty nail she found. She climbs the long chain that is hanging from above the well. She sighs in tiredness as she reaches the top and walks over to the bug she could not understand before. She waves at the bug. "Oh hi there again, it's me." "Oh... I can understand you now and you can understand me, yes?"

"Yup."

"Wonderful child, I am Elder Bug, and who might you be?"

"I'm Hat Kid, although I'm not really a kid to most; actually I'm 17 years old in human years if that helps."

"Uh... sure kid, you came back from entering that well so I trust you know how to take care of yourself."

She drones, "Well I was almost killed by a husk but Zote the Mighty showed up to save the day."

"I can hear the tension in your voice, young one, you should rest on the metal bench beside you."

Hat Kid sits down and closes her eyes to think. "Zote said something about Sly's shop, where I can buy something better to defend myself with, where is it at?"

"Oh, Sly's shop is just over there." Elder Bug points to a nearby home.

"Thanks Elder Bug, I owe ya. Maybe I can find and talk to that freak who slashed my face because this time I can understand it... if it is intelligent enough that is. I have more than a few words for him and they ain't pretty!" Hat Kid sits a while longer on the bench till she dozes off to a dream.