Stupid 'A hat in time' fanfics...Yay

Just some random fanfics ideas that wouldn't leave my mind, so I wrote them down. Profile Picture made by the talented @nasubeenwithcat

[crescentblossom66]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

All of my works can also be found on AO3. Might be easier to navigate through than to search for posts, especially for multi-chaptered fics.

Oh, if you have an idea for a short fic and want me to write one, please feel free to send a request. I also always enjoy receiving questions to my already existing storys, so if you have a question about them ask away!

[crescentblossom66]

The file best left forgotten Chapter 3

TW: Description of injuries!

The air was finally getting cooler again, even a few clouds could be seen in the sky. It was blessing after the hot and humid the past few weeks had been. A great day to put the laundry outside to dry.

After hanging up the old and tattered clothes that she herself had mended more than once - she’d really have to save up some money to buy some new ones soon – she headed back inside. Compared to the air outside, the stagnant and musky air almost made her reel. Heat and humidity had forced them to keep all windows shut, but now they could finally be opened again. She smiled at the sight of the kids playing outside on the small playground, it had rained for nearly two weeks straight. A real downpour, poor Aline had struggled a lot, her frail body had a difficult time handling such rough climates. Speaking of that girl, she was probably still somewhere inside.

Aline was drawing in the dining room, a very common occurrence. The girl always had a vivid imagination, surely, a nice couple could fall in love with her artistic ability and adopt her. The 8-year-old deserved caring and loving parents, the same, of course, went for all the children. It was a shame that a lot of people only saw their rugged clothes and poor heritage and immediately wrote them off as chaotic and hard to handle. It was truly heart-wrenching.

As she walked by the child to head toward the kitchen, she snuck a quick glance at the picture that was currently being colored with crayons. It was a cute, albeit crudely drawn unicorn. Its fur was a deep shade of purple and the horn sported a whole rainbow of colors. The mane and tail of the smiling fantasy horse were drawn in soft circles of blue and gray,something about that drawing made a cold shiver run down her spine. She brushed it off and instead asked the girl a question. “Por que você não está lá fora?“ (Why aren't you outside?)

With a small gasp and a flinch, Aline's gaze swiftly turned from her art to her caretaker, not quite meeting her eyes, however. “Ainda está muito quente lá fora.“ (It's still too hot outside)

Well, it was still quite humid and the air hadn't cooled down significantly, maybe it was indeed still too warm for her. She left the girl after affectionately ruffling her hair. As she headed over to the kitchen, Aline muttered something quietly and innocently, just loud enough to be at the threshold of her hearing. “Estou queimando por dentro e por fora.” (I'm burning inside and outside)

Her breath hitched in her throat and she stopped abruptly, her normal grace lost as she stumbled and thankfully caught herself on the edge of the long table. Aline was smiling and humming a pleasant tune while doodling, making her question if it was just an auditory hallucination.

The haunting line repeated over and over while she prepared some spaghetti for the kids. Her hands shaking as she cut up tomatoes and grated Parmesan cheese. She was so on edge that a shriek escaped her when the water boiled over. Upon returning back to the dining room, most of the children had returned from outside, Paulo was kicking a soccer ball inside, but upon seeing her stern expression and recalling the rule of no outdoor toys indoors, he reluctantly placed the ball near the entrance.

It was a nice and peaceful scene, watching those bright and happy children eat their food and chatter among themselves. There were some really cruel people out there, heartless monsters that had abandoned their children for no reason. Others simply didn't have the money to raise a child and hoped that their little one had a better chance anywhere else. Some of the kids in her care lost their parents in an accident. It was horrible, but at least she would try her best to make their lives enjoyable, just because it had a bad start didn't mean it had to end terribly.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, a smell reached her nose, something incredibly foul and putrid, strangely sweet yet disgusting. She had to gag. It was the smell of rotten and decaying meat, yet it clearly weren't the meatballs in the spaghetti. No, it came from all around her, it was overwhelming, making her eyes water and making breathing difficult. When she blinked, the room was covered in a thick smoke, every breath burned in her nose and hurt in her lungs. The smell only got worse, making inhaling near impossible. On instinct, she put a hand in front of her mouth, but as soon as she blinked again, it was gone. The smoke, the abhorrent smell, everything had returned back to normal. All the children were just sitting at the table eating, the air in the room was perfectly clear, no smoke, no rot, just a normal dining room in an old building. She took a few deep ragged breaths, causing the kids to look at her in worry.

She smiled and straightened herself again, trying to appear collected and composed to ease their concern. “Estou bem. Não se preocupem, crianças.” (I'm alright. Don't worry, children.) They returned to their food with slight unease, eyeing her occasionally. Maybe she needed to lie down. First auditory and now visual hallucinations. It could be that she was just exhausted, however, she didn't recall doing anything strenuous, but it wouldn't do for her to get sick now. Her little episode had caused a bit of tension, some of her more emotional kids were looking at her like they were about to cry. Thinking on her feet, she got an idea, playing a nice and upbeat song on the piano might help. When she proposed the idea, she was met with cheers, making her internally sigh in relief. Everyone gathered in the room where the piano stood, a donation from one of the richer parents that had adopted young Felicitas.

As soon as she started to play the first notes of one the many children songs she knew, the orphans started to sing along with her. It was a joy to hear them sing, some were very good at hitting the notes right, others were really crooked singers, yet they seemed to have fun, that was what mattered the most. When she turned to look over her shoulder, she was met by smiling faces, some focused and rigid to not fumble the lyrics, while others were simply swaying along to the r hymn. She gave them a soft smile and turned back around to focus on the instrument. It was so serene and peaceful, just like it had been many times before. Something felt off though, but she couldn't put her finger on it. What could possibly be wrong? It was a pleasant, sunny day outside, the kids were happy, she was happy...

She absentmindedly wiped her forehead on her shoulder, was she catching a fever? It was getting horribly warm, and with ever passing second it got hotter until she felt like the heat was crushing her. The singing behind her turned into crying and screaming bit by bit.

“MILLA!” Her name being yelled at the top of a young girl's lungs made her swiftly turn around again. What greeted her switched the agonizing heat she felt to freezing cold.

They were burning! Each and everyone of them! “Ajude-me!” (Help me!) She could only watch as they panicked, trying desperately to put off the fire that was relentlessly burning them. “Por que não está nos ajudando, Milla?! (Why aren't you helping us, Milla?!) Milla wanted to stand up, to reach out to Aline who was crying in pain as her skin turned red, with all her might she tried to force her limps to move, tears running down her face as she did so. Nothing worked, no matter how hard she tried to move, it was futile. Aline turned to look at her, sobbing and crying. “Você nos odeia? Por que nos deixou morrer?” (Did you hate us? Why did you let us die?”

“Não foi minha intenção! Tentei ajudar você!” (I didn`t mean to! I tried to help you!) Why? Why was that happening! Her poor children! Why was no one helping them?! Why did no one hear their cries?!

“Você nos matou, Milla! VOCÊ NOS MATOU, MILLA!” (You killed us, Milla! YOU KILLED US, MILLA!) It was a chorus of pain, a cacophony of horror. The blazing heat was scorching them, as they screamed in pain and terror. And all she could do was weep, her whole body was shaking. Despite the fact that it had been boiling hot just a few seconds ago, everything felt cold all of a sudden.

Something was off...and she finally figured out what it was...she should have realized it a lot sooner. It was a nightmare, a mental manifestation of fear or trauma. Now that the nightmare realized that she had broken free from its hold, it was forced to fight her directly. The thing had grown significantly, thanks to her own energy. Its wide, orange eyes locked on her as it cackled and imitated the voices of those now only existing in her memories, taunting her further. “Não consigo respirar!” (I can't breathe)

It took Milla a moment to get her bearings and focus on the monstrosity. One of the horror's sharp claws sprung out of the scorched ground, slashing her, making her yelp. How did that nightmare break free? No matter the case, it needed to be stopped! Easier said than done since she felt weak from the nightmare having drained her which in turn made it more powerful.

She started by shooting psy-blasts, normally that did some damage and would eventually force the nightmare to split in an attempt to heal itself, however, it simply used claws that it summoned from in front of itself to deflect every attack. The moment she stopped to think of a different way to approach the problem, the nightmare disappeared under the ground. “Em vez disso, você deveria ter morrido!” (You should have died instead) Claws started to pop out from under her, above her and even out of the walls. Reacting quickly, the now focused psychonaut created a shield to protect herself from the claws. A few seconds later, it reappeared, it's glowing, orange eyes still fixed on her

The way it glared at her gave her an idea. It couldn't focus on her, if it couldn't see her.

The monstrous nightmare looked around in a frantic manner after having lost its target. That was the opportunity she needed. It was a risky move, but it was her best shot at a decisive blow against her enemy. By sneaking close to it carefully and using levitation to reach its face she aimed a psy-blast right in its eye which caused the wretched beast to recoil. Unfortunately, her invisibility couldn't last forever, but maybe it didn't need to. The attack was powerful enough to force the nightmare to split. When it did, Milla wasted no time picking up the personal demons it split into. The demonic, charred faces of Aline and Paulo stared at her, whispering phrases and words that she had to ignore as she ended her nightmare by shoving the tormented memories of her kids back to their host that she once again sealed away in a corner of her mind.

The inside of her own car was the first thing she saw when she snapped awake and jolted. “Ai!” Her knee made painful contact with the bottom of the glove compartment.

“So, you did manage to get the nightmare under control. I was about to park at the side of the road and aid you. Are you alright?” It was a blessing that he was focused on the road and wasn't looking at her when she hurt her knee as that embarrassment would have made her want to turn invisible and stay that way for the rest of the week.

They must be close to HQ about now, the sun had completely set. “I'm alright, don't worry.” In truth, she felt tired and pretty shaken, yet right now was not the time to speak up about it. Sasha's brow furrowed, but he didn't say anything. Whatever occupied his thoughts for a moment was left unspoken. “Is something bothering you?”

“No.” Short, simple and to the point. It didn't take a genius to conclude that he clearly didn't want to talk about it. “Get some rest, we'll be back at the Motherlobe in around an hour.”

[crescentblossom66]

The file best left forgotten Chapter 2

The cool and sweet drink, albeit pretty delicious, especially for a town as remote and dusty as this, did little to soothe the headache that was still plaguing her. She lifted the glass of orange juice, swirling the contents around as if it was a fine wine before setting it back down. Milla wondered what was keeping her partner for so long. Well, given that they were in the middle of nowhere, that his reports were always very detailed and elaborate, and that he likely had to convince the Motherlobe to even send a vehicle in the first place, it wasn't too surprising. They were low on funds, something that had everyone on edge back at base. It was as if the nations were treating them as useful, yet not entirely needed, despite their accomplishments, facing great dangers that could have resulted in nation wide disasters. Not even speaking of the service they provided for those that would usually just get locked up and forgotten, deemed to unstable and psychotic to be among the general public, those that were prisoners of their own minds. She shook her head, trying to banish the thoughts of that horrible time, the time she was just like those people she was now trying desperately to safe.

“Milla!” She nearly jumped in her seat, not even having noticed that her partner had returned to the small diner that he had left her at. She should have noticed him approach, maybe she had shut off the aura around her too much to quell that piercing headache.

“I heard you just fine, darling, you don't have to shout at me.” She gave a rather forced smile, one that once again failed to change the neutral expression of the German, he only rose an eyebrow.

Sasha sat down opposite of her. “I did try to call you normally three times before getting loud, but you didn't respond.” She internally cringed a bit, it confirmed that she had really gotten too lost in her own thoughts. “Moving on, I contacted the HQ using Otto's latest invention, the psy-transmitter. It turns thoughts into psy-morse code, which can be deciphered by a psy-receiver. It's still in its infancy, a few errors still need to be ironed out-” He pulled a cigarette out of his coat pocket swiftly lighting it with pyrokinesis, the sight, even if it was only brief, caused Milla to get goosebumps. The brief terror on her face didn't go unnoticed, even if she had hoped that it did. She swore that she could see concern in his expression, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. “I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention there, it won't happen again.” Milla's forced smile turned into a genuine one, however it was only brief. “You should get used to pyrokinesis and the sight of fire though, it won't do if you let fear overtake you in the middle of a mission.” Milla wondered if he was just that bad at trying to make someone feel better, or if he simply wasn't aware that what he was saying made her feel worse.

Her gaze fell to the surface of the table, there was a point in his reasoning. What if they failed a mission because of her fear? “I'm trying, I really am. It's not that easy.” Fire was a grim reminder of her greatest failure to date and the worst day of her life. It had taken her a few years to accept what had happened, to forgive herself enough so that she could move on, but fire triggered those memories, caused all those painful feelings to resurface. She had no idea how she was going to ever stay focused around nature's fiercest element.

Sasha simply nodded before returning to the topic at hand. “As I was saying, I managed to reach HQ and had them arrange a means for transportation for out bewildered subjects. They should arrive here in a few hours.” He cast his gaze outside where he had created a shield around the distressed men and women to keep them in place while they waited and also to make sure that they couldn't wreck more havoc. “It should give us ample time to compare notes on our findings inside these people's minds.”

Even if it irked her a little that the deathly afraid were contained like cattle, she had to admit that this use of a psy-shield was pretty impressive on his part. At least they won't harm themselves or the townsfolk. “It was strange, really. It wasn't like the mind of someone healthy, nor was it like that of a person who lost their grip on reality. The mindscape I found myself in looked very much the same as this town after I dispatched of a few panic attacks. It was as if they found it a safe place, but that can't quite be given the huge amount of panic attacks. If this town was their mental safe-haven, why would they feel fear there?”

Sasha listened intently, taking a moment before responding to her report. “So the woman whose mind you entered had the same mental world as the one I found myself in. Two people having an identical world is a very slim chance, less than one percent. It's even stranger considering that the mind I entered belong to a man who's from a completely different country. He's from Norway, came here to study, I believe.”

“You managed to talk to the man?” Her partner shook his head.

“No, I gleaned that information by using telekinesis to reach into his pocket to get his wallet. Thankfully, he had his ID card on him.”

Milla gave him a disapproving glare. “You stole his wallet! I thought you are a psychonaut, not a petty thief. Even if it was only for information, you can't just take the belongings of others without their consent.”

Sasha sighed, the frustration palpable in his aura. “Milla, I couldn't really ask mister Johansen for his identification, could I? Given that his speech, is more akin to a neanderthal than that of a man intelligent enough to study abroad.”

Milla calmed herself down again. He had a point, and it got them some valuable information, even if way he acquired said information felt morally wrong and a bit questionable. In an attempt to defuse the situation, her partner spoke up again. “If it makes you feel better, I returned the wallet to his rightful owner right after.”

“I would hope so.” His aura of frustration increased noticeably for second before it returned back to neutral. As an awkward silence and tension filled their table, which she wasn't going to be held accountable for, Milla decided to get their former discussion back on track. “Did you meet the projection of the mind's owner? I was shocked to see that the woman had no face and no back. It really threw me for a loop.”

Once again, he didn't even flinch from the abnormality she described. “That's...very concerning, given that the mental image of oneself is the very perception of how one views themselves...Intriguing.” Intriguing wasn't really how Milla would describe that harrowing sight. That woman appeared utterly confused, panicked and at the verge of a collapse. It was deeply saddening and horrible. It made her wonder what happened to that group of people that was still trying, and failing, to get out of the psy-shield Sasha had created to contain them.

The more she looked at them, the sadder she felt. Maybe they would never recall who they once were, maybe their families were looking for them, but couldn't contact them. What if they were stuck in this awful state forever? What if Sasha and her couldn't find a way to help them? She recalled the mural covered door that she had seen earlier. That woman had a family, a partner and a child. Both perhaps forgotten forever now...

She felt a small tingling at the very edge of her consciousness. It was much akin to a gentle knock, a quiet request for entry. At least his politeness somewhat made up for the German's lack of emotional intelligence. She allowed him into her thoughts, making him see what she was thinking about. You're doing it again. I know that it's very difficult for you, but you must distance yourself from them. You're only hurting yourself. Even if that was true, what was she supposed to do? Completely ignore the plight of those that she was supposed to help? No, I'm not telling you not to pity them, I'm telling you to not get to invested. You'll end up harming your own psyche.

Right, she had to control her thoughts more again. He could pretty much hear anything she was thinking. I know...but when I look at them, I see all those bad emotions, all the heavy burdens they are carrying. Her thoughts showed pictures of the people trapped just outside, their fearful eyes that dart around nervously for anything that they could recognize, only to find nothing. She directed her thoughts to the woman who's mind she had explored showing the dusty streets with the strange engine noises, the woman with no face or back, and the void that stretched out beyond.

Hold on! You saw one of those enigmatic doors too? Had she really forgotten to mention the strangest part of her misadventure? She really must have lost her groove if that was the case. She focused on her memory of that door, showing the elaborate details of the panels that decorated it. The flowers, the woman and her family...everything about it that she could recall. Hm...The one I saw looked more decrepit. It's fascinating that the one you saw also has those...pictures for the lack of a better word. She could feel a pull now, like he was gently tugging at her metaphorical sleeve. Sasha wanted her to enter his thoughts.

His thoughts were just as organized and sterile as his mind was. He must have focused on that door for a while as she could see every crack and every hole in that door. One of those big holes was too large to have been caused by time eroding the wood. It almost looked like someone had punched it. The murals of the door were showing a family of three, the adult man was shown yelling at his wife and child. Another showed a slightly older kid studying hard, the book was written in a different language. It was incredible that he could discern the letters on of that book from far away. Is that written in Norwegian? You said that the men was from Norway.

I'm not too well versed in Scandinavian languages, given the context, I'd assume so.

The last image showed the same woman, maybe a bit older than on the first picture, and a young man bidding her farewell with a confident smile while opening the door to exit the house. So, both minds had a door like that and both showed what we can assume to be the owners of those minds on them. That can't be a coincident, if you ask me.

Those images could be random thoughts strung together in attempt to stay sane. It could be a defense mechanism to not loose all connection to their surroundings. Or ti could be simple daydreams not at the forefront of their thoughts...

...Or it could just be their memories. That would explain why they're in those images.

...Or it could be just that. It would explain that violent monster that forced me out of that man's mind. Sasha's thoughts turned to that of the same vicious creature. The same horrifying eerily glowing orange eyes, the overwhelming amount of dread that thing exuded, the sharp claws, the hard to properly grasp shape, it was the very same thing that she had seen.

You saw that strange thing too! That was why I ended up so disoriented. Have you ever encountered something like that?

So far, no. I've seen a lot over the years, but this...I tried to attack it, yet I was forced out before I could aim. In the end, I only managed to get a splitting headache.

So she wasn't the only one. It was clear that the strange...thing was the culprit of their heads throbbing after it attacked. Even though it had claws, it never even made direct contact. Its mere presence had caused her to get tossed out of that mind rather forcefully.

Milla withdrew from the mind of her partner, getting out of his thoughts and back to the diner. It appeared that the reinforcements they had requested finally arrived. As the noise outside caused her fellow psychonaut to look outside and making her face his side, she couldn't help but noticed that he looked a bit drained and tired. It made sense given the events of the day, yet...it was so strange seeing him be affected by anything. It wasn't the first time, but now would be the first time that she'd speak up about it. “Are you alright, darling? You look a bit tired.”

Almost the same second her words of worry had reached him, he rose up from his chair quick enough to nearly knock the chair over. He pushed his glasses back up and straightens his posture. “I'm fine. We should go, we shouldn't let them wait.” Milla was left perplexed, wondering about the strange reaction to her innocent and normal question. Where all German men so difficult to figure out? Or was it just him?

[crescentblossom66]

The file best left forgotten Chapter 1

Hello Psychonauts fandom! I love the games and had a couple of ideas for a fic that I could write. This isn't my first fanfic, but the very first that I try my hand on in this fandom. I still struggle a bit with the depiction of the two characters this stroy is going to be about, Sasha and Milla, so please forgive me if they appear a bit "stiff" still.

My native language isn't English, I try my best, yet it might show sometimes. If you have some feedback or advice, I welcome it. Alright, enough form me, here's the pilot chapter.

Urgent’, they said, ‘a matter of the utmost importance’, they said. If that were the case, why on earth are we on a way to some remote town out in the middle of nowhere? The musings of the person next to her, which she heard without needing to listen, were laced with frustration which his face showed none of. She had to admit that it was a rather minor case they had been debriefed about, apparently a small group of people were running amok, injuring other people around them and themselves. People being displeased with their lives, letting their frustrations cloud their judgement, a tale as old as time. A job for a good therapist, sure, but not an emergency that would require our intervention.

Don't be like that, darling. There's a lot of people that need our help, it's not limited to an international crisis. Unfortunately, it did little to quell the dissatisfaction of the man. At this rate, it was going to be a long trip to that remote town, nothing but a dirt road and cornfields to look at. Even though she was driving, the boredom was slowly getting to her. A brief glance to her side revealed that her companion was currently busy looking outside, more lost in thought and not actively interested in the scenery. All she had to do was stealthily press the button for the radio and...

“Gott verdammt, Milla! Is that really necessary!? How am I supposed to concentrate with this...ruckus!” Sasha jolted, giving her a glare, discernible even through his shades. She couldn't help but laugh a little, finding his reaction funny.

“I'm sorry, but this silence was deafening. I need something to lift the mood a little.” She turned her head briefly, catching him look ahead at the miles upon miles of asphalt and dirt.

He was about to protest, but instead he only sighed. “Can we at least turn down the volume?” She had to concede to that, feeling a bit guilt for startling him...even if it was funny.

After another two hours of travel mostly spent in silence, the two arrived in a fairly small desert town. The first word that came to mind upon seeing the old wooden houses and the poor infrastructure of the sparsely populated Rhodes was old fashioned. One could have thought they went back in time to the eighteen-hundreds, seeing carriages pulled by horses and men with guns at their hips, if it weren't for the relatively new, yet dirty cars parked on the side of the road.

Milla slowed the car down, finding a spot where the dry desert wind wouldn't dirty her beautiful red car too much. Her partner, ever observant, seemed to already scan the environment for anything out of the ordinary. The moment they had entered the town and maybe even a few minutes before it, she could feel it, a sort of tension, an unease that hit her like small waves mentally. She had learned to shut off the thoughts and energies that radiated off people naturally in her training, however, this thick tension and feeling of something being off would have been felt by even non-psychics, she was quite sure of that. It was no surprise that her fellow psychic immediately focused down one area in particular just north of them.

Let's see what that commotion is about. The sooner we finish up here, the earlier we can be back to base. Research, research, always research. The amount of times that those thoughts preoccupied the forefront of his thoughts was staggering. She couldn't help but frown. Those were people he was trying to study, not machines or equipment. As much as it irked her, she wasn't going to start an argument, not now that they had to focus on helping those poor people.

As they continued walking toward the area where the disturbance was the strongest, other people started to rush past them, either looking concerned or downright terrified. Roughly around the center of the town, a large gathering of people had formed. It must be pretty bad if it got the attention of so many others. It's hard to even weave through the crowd.

They prevailed in the end, making it past the onlookers and laying eyes on a frankly strange scene. In her few years of being a psychonaut she had seen many strange behaviors, people losing themselves to rage due to life having dealt them an unfair card, others cried until their eyes were bloodshot and red from grief and tragedy. But what they both were witnessing now could only be described as peculiar. It was a small group, just five people, their bodies twitched and their movements were swift, but quite uncontrolled.

I have to say that this is truly abnormal. I expected to see them trying to cause harm in the from of destroying everything around them in a fit of rage, but this...this is curious.

Curious, yes, but look closer. They're frightened. This isn't aggression, it's panic that's making them lash out.

The eyes of the distressed were darting around nervously as if to to scan the close proximity for threats. When someone got too close, however, the affected people behaved in a more erratic way, screaming incomprehensible words that neither Milla nor Sasha could pinpoint as an existing language. In fact, it sounded like complete gibberish.

I don't think we'll glean more information by just observing them. It's best if we split up and compare our findings later. Her fellow psychonaut pointed at a rather unremarkable man of average build and height. I take this one. Before she could agree or disagree with his decision, he had already placed a psycho-portal on his target. So much for communication and working together. Even a few years after they've been assigned as partners, she sometimes still questioned the decision of the grand-head of the organization. Milla ultimately found it best to not dwell on her misgivings further and instead focused on strong emotions present around her. Fear, an overwhelming amount of it, it practically radiated off the distressed people, but one aura in particular caught her attention. In the corner of a building, hidden by the shadow cast from the roof above was a young woman wearing a light blue dress. She had pulled her knees up to her chest and was shaking so much that even her weeping turned into a quivering wailing. It was nearly enough to bring tears to her own eyes. It was another thing she couldn't understand, how little he seemed to care for the emotional well-being of those they were trying to help.

She took a deep breath before entering the mind of the shivering woman, preparing to see either a normal mental world filled with panic attacks that were the cause for the state and maybe signs of paranoia, or a chaotic, implausible world that would hint at a distorted perception of the world that caused the poor woman to get scared. The Latina was right in one assumption at least, there were indeed panic attacks...a lot of panic attacks. The moment Milla entered, the focus of the fast and hard to grasp enemies shifted to her. It was hard to point out where she was as the panic attacks distorted the area around her too much to see, however she could at least confirm that the physics seemed to be operating normally as she appear on solid ground.

That was about all she could really acknowledge before she had to start dodging projectiles launched from four of of those wicked panic attacks. Two started to warp to a different spot on the field, out of her sight, likely somewhere right behind her, while the remaining two charged right at her, sharp claws ready to tear into her. What those panic attacks didn't know was that they were up against the levitation expert of the psychonauts. The barrage of attacks simply missed her, as the distorted mental creatures hit only air. Staying airborne clearly was a smart idea as she forced them to only use their projectile attacks...that didn't make them easier to hit when she tried to hit them with psy-blasts.

After struggling to hit them with her own attacks while avoiding theirs for a while, she had an idea. Perhaps she could lift them up, that way they at least couldn't use their superior speed anymore. Thankfully, it worked and she soon vanquished the beasts. She landed safely on the ground again which now had taken the appearance of the same dusty street that her body was currently standing on in the real world. Upon closer inspection, the entirety of this mental world looked just like the town they were in. Had this woman lived here all her life? If so, why was she so panicked and afraid, most people find comfort in their hometown. The noises were strange, too, it was a sort of low humming, like a machine whirring or a car engine.

Milla had just turned around the corner when she gasped at what she saw. It clearly was the mental version of the woman who's mind she was in, the blue dress and body type made it clear, however, a gaping void was where her face was supposed to be and the backside of the woman was non-existent, like she was nearly 2-dimensional. Even if she had seen a lot of strange things in the minds of others, it took the season psychonaut a moment to regain her composure. She put on a smile, trying her best to look as approachable as she could. Calming the disturbed girl down was paramount, after that, she had to try and get her to talk to her. “Hello there, my name is Milla, and I'm here to help you. Can you understand me?”

All she received as an answer were strange noises that could hardly be interpreted as speech, far from any coherent language. This was going to be difficult, especially because the woman backed away from her. Another think that irked the season psychonaut was that this poor woman had been wondering about aimlessly in her own mind. It was as if she had no idea where she was, it was like she was a stranger in her own mind. Milla briefly wondered if her partner had encountered the same phenomenon or if it was exclusive, she doubted it, given that the other people of that group were behaving in the same manner.

As she was trying to think of something that she could do to help the woman, she heard various voices behind her saying an all too familiar word. She sighed both in relief and out of exasperation. This mind still had censors, so it at least meant that the mind she was in was aware that something was out of the ordinary, even if it was just her. It was what she thought at least, because as she turned around to likely face a bunch of censors trying to stamp her out, instead she saw a large group of them hurrying down the dusty streets. She braced herself, knowing that this was a bad sign, something was fundamentally wrong here.

She followed the censors who lead them to what she could only describe as a black void. She subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself as the oppressive feeling of fear that had permeated this whole mental structure got even stronger. It felt like gravity had intensified the moment she stepped onto the blackness, preparing to levitate just in case that the ground was non-solid. She could stand just fine though, even if the ground shook lightly as if a weak earthquake had hit this creepy, dark area. It became clear to her that the sounds were that of an engine, likely either a bus or truck's. The question became why this was even here, and the reason, at least made a glimpse of the reason, became apparent a short way in the distant. A large door was at the end of this hallway, it was separated into multiple images. Various common garden and indoor plants were depicted, Milla could recognize orchids, lilies and hyacinths. Another showed a big field outside and an elderly woman with a soft smile, while yet another showed a middle aged man in a hospital bed, hooked up to various machines. Interestingly, she recognized the owner of this mind on one of them, a family of three was sitting around a warm fireplace. The censors that she had followed reached the door, attacking it before something struck them out of the shadows getting rid of all of them. It instantly put Milla on high alert. It was difficult to make out the shape of whatever it was, it has claws, long ones at that and its eyes were eerily glowing orange. Before she could even prepare a psy-blast, a loud shriek froze her in place before she found herself back on the dusty street.

Her head was throbbing like she had a bad migraine, and she stumbled backwards, disoriented. What was that thing? She was back in the real world, that much was clear as she quickly noticed that aura of fear again.

“Milla, you're back. What have you gathered?” She turned her head quicklyto Sasha, wishing that she hadn't because the motion made her feel dizzy. Unlike her, Sasha looked as unfazed as ever, calm and collected. Maybe the mind he entered had been less strange than hers, either that or he was way better at dealing with this situation.

“Just...give me a moment please, my head is killing me, darling.” This was going to be a long story to tell.

[nasubeenwithcat]

Attention please, peck necks…

when I use a machine translater to read eng fanfics, he gets off his train and conducts an orchestra. always.

[nasubeenwithcat]

I got some new brush…

[nasubeenwithcat]

I lost you nine times

[nasubeenwithcat]

doodle

[theonelcl]

HKSTDOI: KINGSLAYER IS OUT NOW!!!!

After the longest wait known to man, Team Purple's character action A Hat in Time mod is now available to play!

24 Playable Acts

More than 2000 voiced lines of dialogue!

6 fully custom Boss Fights!

A completely original combat system inspired by Devil May Cry and Ultrakill!

Countless minigames in a custom hub!

Yes, a fishing minigame!

Intense action unseen in other mods!

Dozens of lore entries to dig through for an intriguing story!

Yeah, Hootowl is still in the mod.

Go get it now! We worked so so so so so so SOOOO hard on this, and we're so happy to finally have it ready for you all to play. We love you all! You're the greatest community we could ever ask for, thank you so so so much.

Steam Workshop::HKSTDOI: Kingslayer

[crescentblossom66]

Love how me and a few others spread the headcanon that Conductor's name is Connor. So many fics now have this as his first name, it's kinda cool.

[nasubeenwithcat]

shh🤫

[r3d1ke]

Hi!

K see ya

[crescentblossom66]

Had to install a new SSD today. It's really hard when your a total noob and only learned last year about PC components. (I still don't get what half of them do)

I had to take out my 800+ € GPU for it. I really thought I'd wreck the whole thing XD

Now my PC runs again...thankfully I failed to destroy it.

[crescentblossom66]

First Train on the Moon Part 2

Here's part two. It's significantly longer than part 1, but I think it turned out great. I took elements from the science express and beta train rush and even alpha version of Grooves makes an appearance. I hope you liked the second part of your delayed birthday present @nasubeenwithcat

Everything was a blur, people were panicking and freaking out. The passengers were, like him, being lifted into the air by some unseen force. Connor couldn't believe his own eyes when he caught a glimpse of the outside. He saw the rails...which was highly unusual as the train normally obviously ran on those. “Everyone, stay calm! This is probably just a temporary thing!” He hoped so, yet very much doubted it. It was likely the doing of the science owls. As he struggled to get anywhere, now that he was floating basically at the ceiling, he thought that Redd, who normally tended to the science owls...when he actually did his job, might know more. Wait! Redd! He was outside earlier!

With a new found worry that only piled up onto the fear he was already feeling, the black-clad bird pushed himself toward the caboose tearing open the door. “HELP!” The sight he was greeted with made the breath in his lungs hitch. His red-feathered brother was gripping the railing of the caboose tightly, his legs being pulled up as if a harsh wind was coming from right under him.

The yellow owl extended a wing, making sure to stay inside the train cart, grabbing the frame of the door with one talon while reaching his other out to toward Redd. “Redd, grab me wing!” The red owl had gritted his beak as he looked up at his older brother with despair and fear, reaching out one wing to grab the offered wing.

“Connor, am I glad ta see ye!” After missing a few times, due to turbulence, Connor managed to pull Redd into the cart, not without getting dangerously close to slipping off the door frame and being sucked out into the air. “Thanks fer savin' me. I thought I was gonna meet me maker out there. What the peck is goin' on!?”

“I was hopin' ye knew somethin'!” They could still hear the people panicking over in the passenger compartment. Redd was shaking with panic when Connor grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to get him to focus. “Yer the one who's around the science owls fer the most part. Have ye heard anythin', anythin' that can help us figure out what we're dealin' with here?”

After composing himself by taking a few deep breaths, Redd spoke in a shaky and fearful voice. “An anti-gravity device. I-I thought it was hogwash, but...” It all but confirmed the suspicion that the science owls had something to do with it.

“I'm gonna try and see if I can get other there.” Trying to keep a level head in this situation, the yellow owl made his way over to the passenger cart to reach the one that the owls used for their experiments. On his way there, he found Walter as he was passing through. His gaze shifted to him briefly, the relief of seeing his brother safe clear on his face to him only, as he addressed the crowd..

“Stay as calm as you can. We will resolve the issue posthaste. Please make sure to stay away from the windows and find something to hold on to!” Walter tried his best to keep the passengers calm with moderate success while Connor squeezed past him, finding his green feathered brother who obviously wasn't doing too well. Greg was flailing around wildly, nearly slapping the bird that opened the door to the science room with a wing. Telling Greg to calm down when he was panicking like that was a fool's errand. He painfully recalled the day that the yellow clad owl had curled up in a ball, weeping like a chick when the news of their fathers illness reached him. It took him at least a year to recover to the point that he could function again after their pa's passing. He reacted the same after hearing that their fifth sibling, Alfred, had gone missing after spending some time in Subcon Forest. His cooking was sorely missed, just as much as his optimistic attitude.

“Hang in there, Greg. I'll find out what's goin' on.” He could only see the unbridled fear and pure terror in the green bird's eyes. Connor couldn't even imagine just what kind of horror scenarios were torturing the mind of his younger brother. All he got as an answer was a quiet whimper and a nod.

As soon as he reached the room. He saw the science owls high fiving each other and cheering as they floated in the air. “Success!” One of them yelled, raising a fist in the air triumphantly. “After years of persistent failures, our unyielding resolve finally bore fruit!” As he got closer, he could make out the same device that the owls were working on when he walked through the compartment around an hour ago. So this was the culprit for the mass hysteria that was now plaguing their train.

Even though burst of anger were not a common thing with him, he now felt his blood boil. Not only did they endanger the other passengers, but they also caused more stress to his brothers. But the thing that angered him the most is that they did to the train, the same train that his father had spent years to build, the very same one that his father had taught them how to operate and run, the only thing that the old owl had left them after his death. The train, his home, was now floating around in midair. “Hey, ye peck necks, get us back down ta the ground! Yer scarin' the passengers and yer messin' with a family heirloom here!” The sheer volume and rage in his voice made the science owls flinch and turn their heads toward him, looking like deer caught in headlights. “Get us back ta the ground, NOW!”

If the sudden flip in personality from kind and easy going to rage-filled and imposing wasn't going to make the owls shiver, it was the fact that he looked looked like he was going to tear them to shreds with his own talons. “Uh...yeah...about that. We didn't build in a way to reverse the effects.” For a moment Connor just stared at them like they were from another planet, the sheer incompetence of the normally intelligent lab-coat-wearing birds was leaving him speechless.

“What! Ye mean ta tell me that ye build a strange thingamajig that is able ta break the laws of physics by makin' a train float, yet ye didnae think of a way ta stop it again?!” He balled his talons to fists, trying hard to regain his composure. “Any way ye can get us back down?”

“One of the owl, clearly the one science owl that couldn't read the tension in room, spoke up.”We're not just going to switch it off, now that we managed a breakthrough! We're advancing birdkind at a rapid pace and you're trying to make us quit now?!” Some of the other science owls were trying hard to make the agitated science owl stop talking after seeing that the train conductor they were arguing with was starting to lose the shred of composure that he had worked hard to retain.

“TO PECK WITH SCIENCE!”

Kicking the device was undoubtedly a bad decision as the moment he did so, it started to go into some kind of overdrive, flinging him and the science owls to the ceiling, slamming him against it and make him and the owls yell out in pain as they got briefly felt like their bones were going to snap. He could see everything spin briefly as a moment later they were flung around violently before everything stopped and he fell to the the left wall of the train which had now become it's ground.

Everything ached, he felt like his whole body was broken as he groaned and tried to keep the unconsciousness at bay. He was more or less able to, sitting up and blinking until his vision returned back to normal. He looked around, the science owls were out cold and the equipment they had that wasn't mounted to the floor was either broken or dented. He was lucky that none of it hit him as they got whiled around. He froze when he took a glance out the now shattered windows, they landed in some sort of city, yet it wasn't one he was familiar with. Groaning again as he forced his body into cooperation, he got to his feet and went to check on the other carts. He noticed Greg, whose had was bleeding from a slight cut, together with Redd and Walter who were tending to Greg and the passengers respectively. “How's Greg, Redd?”

Redd looked up at him, feeling relieved after seeing Connor in one piece. “That cut isnae to bad, it knocked him out cold though. Hope he still remembers us once he comes to.” Redd gave a solemn chuckle, trying to ease the fear with some humor.

“Everyone who's hurt, please move to the left side of the train while those of ye who are fine go to the right.” Walter instructed the people, holding his injured left wing, ignoring the pain that spread through it like a wildfire every time he moved it. “Connor, good ta see ye, can ye help me check on the passengers?” Connor nodded, starting with the mother of the small boy he helped earlier who was trying to be brave by telling her that they'd be okay.

After everyone was more or less cared for after Redd got the first aid kit, the three brothers who weren't currently blacked out ventured outside the train. As Redd took in the bright lights and neon signs, gaping in awe and letting out a stunned 'Wow', Walter's gaze was transfixed on their train, contrasting his brother's excited and awestruck expression with one of deep sorrow. “Would ye look at this place, this is the bomb!” Redd walked off, leaving Connor who shared his white-feathered brother's sentiment.

“We'll try ta fix it, Walt. As long as the engines are nae too busted up, we can repair her.” Connor put a wing on his brother's shoulder causing the slightly older owl to flinch and hiss. “We better get ye patched up.”

“This is a disaster, Connor. This is our livelihood, never even mind the last remaining memory of our pa.” He took Walter back past the exiting passengers who looked around, trying to figure out where they had stranded. He helped his found that Walter had dislocated his shoulder, so he did his best to put it back in its socket without causing the other too much pain. The loud yelp the eldest brother let out woke up Greg who more or less jolted and sat up straight before immediately bringing a wing to his head as the injury he sustained in the crash stung.

“What...What happened? All I remember is everythin' spinnin'. Am I dead? Are we all dead!? Oh no! Is that city outside purgatory?! Oh nononono! I donnae wanna be dead! I never managed ta find me a lovin' wife!” The green bird put his head in his wings, shaking which caused both relief and sympathy to wash over the other two. At least Greg was still his old self...his very easily frightened and anxiety-ridden self.

Connor went over to Greg, checking him over. “Yer nae dead, feather brain.” He gave a relieved chuckle which wasn't returned, but caused Greg to look up at his brother. “We're all alive, Walter, Redd, ye and I. We ran inta some trouble with a strange thingamajig that the science owls created, caused the whole train ta float and land in some strange city. Redd went ta explore it.” Greg tried to take all that information in, nodding along yet clearly too overwhelmed to understand all of that at once.

“First things first, we have ta assess the damage done ta the engines.” As Walter said 'damage' Greg looked around for the first time, nearly screaming at the sight that greeted him.

“The whole train's destroyed! How did this happen?!” Connor put a wing on Gregs shoulder, trying to stop his younger brother from spiraling yet again.

“One thing at a time, Greggy. We'll fix 'er up.” The assurance seemed to help somewhat as the green bird calmed down a bit, but was still very much out of it. “We cannae expect Greg ta just recover from the shock. I gotta say even I'm feelin' rather exhausted and I'm achin', so are ye, Walt.”

The white owl wanted to argue, but one look at his brothers made his words get stuck in his throat and he instead took a deep breath to clear his mind. “Alright...We'll find some place ta stay fer a few days. Tomorrow we'll figure out how ta repair the train.”

“A'ight. I'll go and look 'round fer a bit, figure out where we are and where the peck Redd went ta.” Walter nodded and helped the still rather upset-looking Greg out of the train.

Connor looked at the literal train wreck one more time, thinking on how ta fix this mess before he started to walk down the streets. He soon found that wherever this place was, it looked more modern when the cities he knew. Fancy cars were running down the street, bright neon signs lit up the tall buildings, and the smell of food from restaurants and fast food joints entered his nose. All he knew were rundown streets with many holes in them, old wooden buildings, and the most that was done for advertising were fliers and billboards. He felt horribly out of place, especially since the residents of that city were glaring at him like he was some kind of circus attraction. Said residents appeared to be penguins, those were rare, so it was strange to see so many in one place, in fact, the whole city appeared to be full with them. The train must have crashed in a rare penguin city. “Excuse me, uh...where exactly are we?” He decided to ask the friendliest looking penguin he could find who looked at him like he just asked the dumbest question ever.

“You're on the moon, dude. Do you come from a different planet or something?” The moon! How the peck did they end up on the moon?! Connor only managed to mumble a quiet 'thanks' before he walked on, walking into an alley briefly.

“How the peck did we get here? How are we going to get home?” Noticing that he was panicking just as bad as Greg, he calmed himself. At least no one was seriously harmed and he now knew where exactly he was...even if he would have rather been somewhere on the planet. He walked back to the street, he still had a brown clothed brother to find. He had an inkling where he was as soon as the bright neon signs of a club pierced his retina.

The train was normally quite loud, but this place was ear-deafening. Loud music everywhere that had a loud and strong bass and instruments he didn't even recognize. Connor looked around past the many dancing and half-drunk guests, he found his brother sitting on one of the stools near the bar. “Redd, what the peck are you doing here? We gotta figure out a way ta get home and yer getting' wasted?” The look of absolute annoyance and irritation didn't bother the red owl who started at him with unfocused eyes.

“Ah, good ta see ye me dear brother. This place 's mighty fine, aye?” Between the loud music and the heavy slurring of the word, Connor could hardly understand a word that his brother was saying. “Have one o' these foamy drinks, they're just the best.” Redd looked like he was struggling to even remain seated at this point. How many of those weird colorful drinks did he have?

Connor pulled Redd to his feet and had to catch him before he fell on his face. “There's no time fer this nonsense, yer gonna come back with me. Walter and Greg are worried about ye.” Some of the more sober patrons of the club were turning their heads at them, watching Connor drag his brother toward the exit.

The red feathered bird was having none of this. “I'm nae comin' I wanna stay 'ere. I like this place, the train's borin'.” Redd flailed around hitting his older brother in the face with his talons balled to fists. Not expecting this, the yellow bird stumbled back, holding his beak where the more or less unwanted attack hit him.

The black suit wearing conductor reached out a talon. “That's just the alcohol speakin'. Ye love the train same we do!” The hand he tried to put on his younger sibling was pushed away as soon as it made contact.

“Yer speakin' nonsesen! It's not the same anymore!” He was slurring his words more, but aside from the anger and the clear haze in the eyes of his brother was something that looked more like sadness and anger. A sadness that Connor wrongly attributed to his brother's longing for a different life away from the train. It angered him to see Redd, who was always lacking off and hardly helping, now dismissing his whole family. Connor had always supported him, same went for Greg and Walter, even if both of them showed their support differently. Greg tried despite struggling with his anxiety and Walter was harsh because he cared about Redd and wanted him to do better. It ended up in a small fight, the patrons watching the two brothers fight each other, punching and shoving each other.

“I hate that train! It's bad now!” the younger brother yelled as he slammed his older sibling against the counter of the bar.

The other grit his beak and kicked the legs away from under him, using his drunken state to his advantage. “Why are ye like this! We're all tryin' ta support ye, yet all ye do is make life harder fer us!” Neither bird noticed that someone was approaching them. “Ye slack off all the time, ye never do yer work! All ye ever do is complain!” Connor was panting, stopping now that the anger left his body somewhat after informing Redd about his shortcomings.

A loud and booming female voice behind him caused him to turn around. “What's going on over here, darlings? This club has a serious 'no fighting' policy.” It was one of those penguins, but that one was a lot taller than the others. They wore a red jacket and had shades in the shape of stars. Even among the club-goers in their fancy clothing, this penguin stood out like a sore thumb.

Connor flinched a bit under their gaze, not sure how to respond...he did just start a fight in the middle of an establishment, clearly not one of his finest moments. “Uh...ye see, I was just 'ere ta pick up me brother Redd. We have some business ta attend ta.” He still wasn't sure about the gender of that penguin, they looked masculine, but spoke in a more feminine voice.

“What business, darling? Could you be one of those strange birds that crashed into the bank in the center of the city? A bit obvious and on the nose for a bank robbery, no?” Even though the penguin chuckled, Connor wasn't quite sure if it was a joke or not.

Normally he was more confident and not afraid of others, unlike Greg, but being the center of attention and stared down by a large group of unfamiliar birds caused even him to feel a lump in his throat. “We just wanna get back home, none o' us mean any harm.”

“I donnae wanna go home!” Redd butted in with his own comment.

“Not now, Redd!” The yellow owl shot him a glare before looking back at the group of penguins.

They started to whisper among each other and some nodded while others frowned. The tall penguin speaking again caused his to flinch a bit. “We on the moon are always happy to help others, as long as you don't start any trouble. Do I have your word that you will not mess up our beautiful city, darlings? I have enough work on my flippers being a celebrity, you know.” The penuins around the red-jacket wearing teal-colored bird cheered and called out a name 'DJ Grooves!' it was like they were chanting it while the apparent DJ smiled and waved a hand. While Redd, drunk as he was, also started cheering, nearly tripping over his own feet, Connor was far less impressed. Not only was that penguin eccentric, but also rather full of themselves. At least they offered their help, the sooner they could leave the moon, the better.

After returning to the train, he found Walter waiting for Redd and him. He seemed to have calmed down significantly, sporting his regular cold expression instead of one of uncertainty and worry. “Good to see you back.” His sharp gaze fell on Redd. “So, I take it our dear youngest brother went fer a drink while all hell broke loose over here?” Connor just nodded, still a bit angry at Redd.

“How's Greg?” As soon as he asked the question he could hear the sound of a wrench tightening a bolt. “Already working, eh?” Walter nodded. “I got a wee bit o' help from the locals, they're gonna help us get back home.”

Walter sighed in relief at the news. “That's the best news I heard all day. It'll take a while, but we'll make it. I made sure that the passengers are safe and cared fer in the hotels. Those science owls will pay fer all the damage, I made sure o' that.” Walter's gaze hardened which caused Redd to laugh out, nearly doubling over.

“Hahaha! They got a scolding from ol' Walt! I'm sure they got so scared they wet their feathers!”

Connor sighed. “This'll be a long week, eh?”

[nasubeen-2nd]

What? I literally screamed the moment I received the notice. Thank you so much! There are so many scenes that I like, I can't sum up my impressions well…😭

So let me first say how impressed I am about how well you cooked the beta materials really well. How difficult it is to do that. I think I said this in part 1, and I really like the characteristics you gave to the brothers whose names only are clear. They really seem to be alive! That realistic portrayal of emotions is definitely making me cry. I need to read your last conductor brothers fiction again… Personally, I was grabbed my heart by the scene where Connor and Redd fight in the nightclub. Last time, if I remember correctly, Connor defended Red from suspicion of murder. He believed his brother's innocence when the owl complained, but this time he fought him. (Oh my god he has known that those words weren't about alcohol. Even in part 1 there was mention of Red's interest in a train’s outside.)Eventually he brought his brother back to the train. I really love this thick and complex relationship. Connor, who is not only kind and devoted, but also fights for his responsibilities and beliefs as a conductor, how cute… And finally, let me say that I love your writing rhythm. This isn't just for this piece, though. You manage to combine rich psychological descriptions with environmental descriptions linked to them, and yet the amount is appropriate enough to keep me from getting bored.

Sorry for pecking long. Thank you so much…💘

[crescentblossom66]

No need to apologize, I love to hear feedback for my writing. I still got a lot to learn, but I think my recent works are at least improvements over the old.

If you want, I can write my thoughts for this story here.

Connor (Conductor) had his early Train Rush personality and like before, I wanted to make the brothers unique. Redd got a brown suit with a cream colored tie and a mischievous personality while Greg has a yellow suit to match the green feathers with a pink tie. I made him rather anxious, but hard-working. Walter got a prussian blue suit with light blue tie as he has a colder, more serious personality and black is Connor's suit color.

The story follows the early alpha version of train rush where the train is supposed to crash on the moon. I just added the brothers in and followed their story.

The reason why Redd was lashing out was because he misses his father and associates the train with him. He has unresolved grief. I couldn't explore that plot point more.

[crescentblossom66]

First Train on the Moon Part 2

Here's part two. It's significantly longer than part 1, but I think it turned out great. I took elements from the science express and beta train rush and even alpha version of Grooves makes an appearance. I hope you liked the second part of your delayed birthday present @nasubeenwithcat

Everything was a blur, people were panicking and freaking out. The passengers were, like him, being lifted into the air by some unseen force. Connor couldn't believe his own eyes when he caught a glimpse of the outside. He saw the rails...which was highly unusual as the train normally obviously ran on those. “Everyone, stay calm! This is probably just a temporary thing!” He hoped so, yet very much doubted it. It was likely the doing of the science owls. As he struggled to get anywhere, now that he was floating basically at the ceiling, he thought that Redd, who normally tended to the science owls...when he actually did his job, might know more. Wait! Redd! He was outside earlier!

With a new found worry that only piled up onto the fear he was already feeling, the black-clad bird pushed himself toward the caboose tearing open the door. “HELP!” The sight he was greeted with made the breath in his lungs hitch. His red-feathered brother was gripping the railing of the caboose tightly, his legs being pulled up as if a harsh wind was coming from right under him.

The yellow owl extended a wing, making sure to stay inside the train cart, grabbing the frame of the door with one talon while reaching his other out to toward Redd. “Redd, grab me wing!” The red owl had gritted his beak as he looked up at his older brother with despair and fear, reaching out one wing to grab the offered wing.

“Connor, am I glad ta see ye!” After missing a few times, due to turbulence, Connor managed to pull Redd into the cart, not without getting dangerously close to slipping off the door frame and being sucked out into the air. “Thanks fer savin' me. I thought I was gonna meet me maker out there. What the peck is goin' on!?”

“I was hopin' ye knew somethin'!” They could still hear the people panicking over in the passenger compartment. Redd was shaking with panic when Connor grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to get him to focus. “Yer the one who's around the science owls fer the most part. Have ye heard anythin', anythin' that can help us figure out what we're dealin' with here?”

After composing himself by taking a few deep breaths, Redd spoke in a shaky and fearful voice. “An anti-gravity device. I-I thought it was hogwash, but...” It all but confirmed the suspicion that the science owls had something to do with it.

“I'm gonna try and see if I can get other there.” Trying to keep a level head in this situation, the yellow owl made his way over to the passenger cart to reach the one that the owls used for their experiments. On his way there, he found Walter as he was passing through. His gaze shifted to him briefly, the relief of seeing his brother safe clear on his face to him only, as he addressed the crowd..

“Stay as calm as you can. We will resolve the issue posthaste. Please make sure to stay away from the windows and find something to hold on to!” Walter tried his best to keep the passengers calm with moderate success while Connor squeezed past him, finding his green feathered brother who obviously wasn't doing too well. Greg was flailing around wildly, nearly slapping the bird that opened the door to the science room with a wing. Telling Greg to calm down when he was panicking like that was a fool's errand. He painfully recalled the day that the yellow clad owl had curled up in a ball, weeping like a chick when the news of their fathers illness reached him. It took him at least a year to recover to the point that he could function again after their pa's passing. He reacted the same after hearing that their fifth sibling, Alfred, had gone missing after spending some time in Subcon Forest. His cooking was sorely missed, just as much as his optimistic attitude.

“Hang in there, Greg. I'll find out what's goin' on.” He could only see the unbridled fear and pure terror in the green bird's eyes. Connor couldn't even imagine just what kind of horror scenarios were torturing the mind of his younger brother. All he got as an answer was a quiet whimper and a nod.

As soon as he reached the room. He saw the science owls high fiving each other and cheering as they floated in the air. “Success!” One of them yelled, raising a fist in the air triumphantly. “After years of persistent failures, our unyielding resolve finally bore fruit!” As he got closer, he could make out the same device that the owls were working on when he walked through the compartment around an hour ago. So this was the culprit for the mass hysteria that was now plaguing their train.

Even though burst of anger were not a common thing with him, he now felt his blood boil. Not only did they endanger the other passengers, but they also caused more stress to his brothers. But the thing that angered him the most is that they did to the train, the same train that his father had spent years to build, the very same one that his father had taught them how to operate and run, the only thing that the old owl had left them after his death. The train, his home, was now floating around in midair. “Hey, ye peck necks, get us back down ta the ground! Yer scarin' the passengers and yer messin' with a family heirloom here!” The sheer volume and rage in his voice made the science owls flinch and turn their heads toward him, looking like deer caught in headlights. “Get us back ta the ground, NOW!”

If the sudden flip in personality from kind and easy going to rage-filled and imposing wasn't going to make the owls shiver, it was the fact that he looked looked like he was going to tear them to shreds with his own talons. “Uh...yeah...about that. We didn't build in a way to reverse the effects.” For a moment Connor just stared at them like they were from another planet, the sheer incompetence of the normally intelligent lab-coat-wearing birds was leaving him speechless.

“What! Ye mean ta tell me that ye build a strange thingamajig that is able ta break the laws of physics by makin' a train float, yet ye didnae think of a way ta stop it again?!” He balled his talons to fists, trying hard to regain his composure. “Any way ye can get us back down?”

“One of the owl, clearly the one science owl that couldn't read the tension in room, spoke up.”We're not just going to switch it off, now that we managed a breakthrough! We're advancing birdkind at a rapid pace and you're trying to make us quit now?!” Some of the other science owls were trying hard to make the agitated science owl stop talking after seeing that the train conductor they were arguing with was starting to lose the shred of composure that he had worked hard to retain.

“TO PECK WITH SCIENCE!”

Kicking the device was undoubtedly a bad decision as the moment he did so, it started to go into some kind of overdrive, flinging him and the science owls to the ceiling, slamming him against it and make him and the owls yell out in pain as they got briefly felt like their bones were going to snap. He could see everything spin briefly as a moment later they were flung around violently before everything stopped and he fell to the the left wall of the train which had now become it's ground.

Everything ached, he felt like his whole body was broken as he groaned and tried to keep the unconsciousness at bay. He was more or less able to, sitting up and blinking until his vision returned back to normal. He looked around, the science owls were out cold and the equipment they had that wasn't mounted to the floor was either broken or dented. He was lucky that none of it hit him as they got whiled around. He froze when he took a glance out the now shattered windows, they landed in some sort of city, yet it wasn't one he was familiar with. Groaning again as he forced his body into cooperation, he got to his feet and went to check on the other carts. He noticed Greg, whose had was bleeding from a slight cut, together with Redd and Walter who were tending to Greg and the passengers respectively. “How's Greg, Redd?”

Redd looked up at him, feeling relieved after seeing Connor in one piece. “That cut isnae to bad, it knocked him out cold though. Hope he still remembers us once he comes to.” Redd gave a solemn chuckle, trying to ease the fear with some humor.

“Everyone who's hurt, please move to the left side of the train while those of ye who are fine go to the right.” Walter instructed the people, holding his injured left wing, ignoring the pain that spread through it like a wildfire every time he moved it. “Connor, good ta see ye, can ye help me check on the passengers?” Connor nodded, starting with the mother of the small boy he helped earlier who was trying to be brave by telling her that they'd be okay.

After everyone was more or less cared for after Redd got the first aid kit, the three brothers who weren't currently blacked out ventured outside the train. As Redd took in the bright lights and neon signs, gaping in awe and letting out a stunned 'Wow', Walter's gaze was transfixed on their train, contrasting his brother's excited and awestruck expression with one of deep sorrow. “Would ye look at this place, this is the bomb!” Redd walked off, leaving Connor who shared his white-feathered brother's sentiment.

“We'll try ta fix it, Walt. As long as the engines are nae too busted up, we can repair her.” Connor put a wing on his brother's shoulder causing the slightly older owl to flinch and hiss. “We better get ye patched up.”

“This is a disaster, Connor. This is our livelihood, never even mind the last remaining memory of our pa.” He took Walter back past the exiting passengers who looked around, trying to figure out where they had stranded. He helped his found that Walter had dislocated his shoulder, so he did his best to put it back in its socket without causing the other too much pain. The loud yelp the eldest brother let out woke up Greg who more or less jolted and sat up straight before immediately bringing a wing to his head as the injury he sustained in the crash stung.

“What...What happened? All I remember is everythin' spinnin'. Am I dead? Are we all dead!? Oh no! Is that city outside purgatory?! Oh nononono! I donnae wanna be dead! I never managed ta find me a lovin' wife!” The green bird put his head in his wings, shaking which caused both relief and sympathy to wash over the other two. At least Greg was still his old self...his very easily frightened and anxiety-ridden self.

Connor went over to Greg, checking him over. “Yer nae dead, feather brain.” He gave a relieved chuckle which wasn't returned, but caused Greg to look up at his brother. “We're all alive, Walter, Redd, ye and I. We ran inta some trouble with a strange thingamajig that the science owls created, caused the whole train ta float and land in some strange city. Redd went ta explore it.” Greg tried to take all that information in, nodding along yet clearly too overwhelmed to understand all of that at once.

“First things first, we have ta assess the damage done ta the engines.” As Walter said 'damage' Greg looked around for the first time, nearly screaming at the sight that greeted him.

“The whole train's destroyed! How did this happen?!” Connor put a wing on Gregs shoulder, trying to stop his younger brother from spiraling yet again.

“One thing at a time, Greggy. We'll fix 'er up.” The assurance seemed to help somewhat as the green bird calmed down a bit, but was still very much out of it. “We cannae expect Greg ta just recover from the shock. I gotta say even I'm feelin' rather exhausted and I'm achin', so are ye, Walt.”

The white owl wanted to argue, but one look at his brothers made his words get stuck in his throat and he instead took a deep breath to clear his mind. “Alright...We'll find some place ta stay fer a few days. Tomorrow we'll figure out how ta repair the train.”

“A'ight. I'll go and look 'round fer a bit, figure out where we are and where the peck Redd went ta.” Walter nodded and helped the still rather upset-looking Greg out of the train.

Connor looked at the literal train wreck one more time, thinking on how ta fix this mess before he started to walk down the streets. He soon found that wherever this place was, it looked more modern when the cities he knew. Fancy cars were running down the street, bright neon signs lit up the tall buildings, and the smell of food from restaurants and fast food joints entered his nose. All he knew were rundown streets with many holes in them, old wooden buildings, and the most that was done for advertising were fliers and billboards. He felt horribly out of place, especially since the residents of that city were glaring at him like he was some kind of circus attraction. Said residents appeared to be penguins, those were rare, so it was strange to see so many in one place, in fact, the whole city appeared to be full with them. The train must have crashed in a rare penguin city. “Excuse me, uh...where exactly are we?” He decided to ask the friendliest looking penguin he could find who looked at him like he just asked the dumbest question ever.

“You're on the moon, dude. Do you come from a different planet or something?” The moon! How the peck did they end up on the moon?! Connor only managed to mumble a quiet 'thanks' before he walked on, walking into an alley briefly.

“How the peck did we get here? How are we going to get home?” Noticing that he was panicking just as bad as Greg, he calmed himself. At least no one was seriously harmed and he now knew where exactly he was...even if he would have rather been somewhere on the planet. He walked back to the street, he still had a brown clothed brother to find. He had an inkling where he was as soon as the bright neon signs of a club pierced his retina.

The train was normally quite loud, but this place was ear-deafening. Loud music everywhere that had a loud and strong bass and instruments he didn't even recognize. Connor looked around past the many dancing and half-drunk guests, he found his brother sitting on one of the stools near the bar. “Redd, what the peck are you doing here? We gotta figure out a way ta get home and yer getting' wasted?” The look of absolute annoyance and irritation didn't bother the red owl who started at him with unfocused eyes.

“Ah, good ta see ye me dear brother. This place 's mighty fine, aye?” Between the loud music and the heavy slurring of the word, Connor could hardly understand a word that his brother was saying. “Have one o' these foamy drinks, they're just the best.” Redd looked like he was struggling to even remain seated at this point. How many of those weird colorful drinks did he have?

Connor pulled Redd to his feet and had to catch him before he fell on his face. “There's no time fer this nonsense, yer gonna come back with me. Walter and Greg are worried about ye.” Some of the more sober patrons of the club were turning their heads at them, watching Connor drag his brother toward the exit.

The red feathered bird was having none of this. “I'm nae comin' I wanna stay 'ere. I like this place, the train's borin'.” Redd flailed around hitting his older brother in the face with his talons balled to fists. Not expecting this, the yellow bird stumbled back, holding his beak where the more or less unwanted attack hit him.

The black suit wearing conductor reached out a talon. “That's just the alcohol speakin'. Ye love the train same we do!” The hand he tried to put on his younger sibling was pushed away as soon as it made contact.

“Yer speakin' nonsesen! It's not the same anymore!” He was slurring his words more, but aside from the anger and the clear haze in the eyes of his brother was something that looked more like sadness and anger. A sadness that Connor wrongly attributed to his brother's longing for a different life away from the train. It angered him to see Redd, who was always lacking off and hardly helping, now dismissing his whole family. Connor had always supported him, same went for Greg and Walter, even if both of them showed their support differently. Greg tried despite struggling with his anxiety and Walter was harsh because he cared about Redd and wanted him to do better. It ended up in a small fight, the patrons watching the two brothers fight each other, punching and shoving each other.

“I hate that train! It's bad now!” the younger brother yelled as he slammed his older sibling against the counter of the bar.

The other grit his beak and kicked the legs away from under him, using his drunken state to his advantage. “Why are ye like this! We're all tryin' ta support ye, yet all ye do is make life harder fer us!” Neither bird noticed that someone was approaching them. “Ye slack off all the time, ye never do yer work! All ye ever do is complain!” Connor was panting, stopping now that the anger left his body somewhat after informing Redd about his shortcomings.

A loud and booming female voice behind him caused him to turn around. “What's going on over here, darlings? This club has a serious 'no fighting' policy.” It was one of those penguins, but that one was a lot taller than the others. They wore a red jacket and had shades in the shape of stars. Even among the club-goers in their fancy clothing, this penguin stood out like a sore thumb.

Connor flinched a bit under their gaze, not sure how to respond...he did just start a fight in the middle of an establishment, clearly not one of his finest moments. “Uh...ye see, I was just 'ere ta pick up me brother Redd. We have some business ta attend ta.” He still wasn't sure about the gender of that penguin, they looked masculine, but spoke in a more feminine voice.

“What business, darling? Could you be one of those strange birds that crashed into the bank in the center of the city? A bit obvious and on the nose for a bank robbery, no?” Even though the penguin chuckled, Connor wasn't quite sure if it was a joke or not.

Normally he was more confident and not afraid of others, unlike Greg, but being the center of attention and stared down by a large group of unfamiliar birds caused even him to feel a lump in his throat. “We just wanna get back home, none o' us mean any harm.”

“I donnae wanna go home!” Redd butted in with his own comment.

“Not now, Redd!” The yellow owl shot him a glare before looking back at the group of penguins.

They started to whisper among each other and some nodded while others frowned. The tall penguin speaking again caused his to flinch a bit. “We on the moon are always happy to help others, as long as you don't start any trouble. Do I have your word that you will not mess up our beautiful city, darlings? I have enough work on my flippers being a celebrity, you know.” The penuins around the red-jacket wearing teal-colored bird cheered and called out a name 'DJ Grooves!' it was like they were chanting it while the apparent DJ smiled and waved a hand. While Redd, drunk as he was, also started cheering, nearly tripping over his own feet, Connor was far less impressed. Not only was that penguin eccentric, but also rather full of themselves. At least they offered their help, the sooner they could leave the moon, the better.

After returning to the train, he found Walter waiting for Redd and him. He seemed to have calmed down significantly, sporting his regular cold expression instead of one of uncertainty and worry. “Good to see you back.” His sharp gaze fell on Redd. “So, I take it our dear youngest brother went fer a drink while all hell broke loose over here?” Connor just nodded, still a bit angry at Redd.

“How's Greg?” As soon as he asked the question he could hear the sound of a wrench tightening a bolt. “Already working, eh?” Walter nodded. “I got a wee bit o' help from the locals, they're gonna help us get back home.”

Walter sighed in relief at the news. “That's the best news I heard all day. It'll take a while, but we'll make it. I made sure that the passengers are safe and cared fer in the hotels. Those science owls will pay fer all the damage, I made sure o' that.” Walter's gaze hardened which caused Redd to laugh out, nearly doubling over.

“Hahaha! They got a scolding from ol' Walt! I'm sure they got so scared they wet their feathers!”

Connor sighed. “This'll be a long week, eh?”

[majormeilani]

ok. this may sound weird but i have a question for ahit fans-

do you actually LIKE the game a hat in time as it is? i'm talking NO beta content, NO dlc, NO mods, nothing extra. just base game, vanilla. and this is excluding aus and headcanons too LOL.

yes

no

Voting ended onSep 27, 2024

this sounds weird to ask but i have a reason for it. i want you to really think about your answer too.

[crescentblossom66]

First Train on the Moon Part 1

I know it's late and only half finished so far, but I'll write part 2 as soon as I'm able. Enjoy this late birthday present, @nasubeenwithcat I hope you like more conductor brother content. Conductor (Connor) is back to being the nice version of him from the beta of Train Rush, by the way. Just wanted to point that out so that him being OOC is explained. I guess he's closer to Japanese Conductor that way :)

The sun was up high already causing the sand that it shone on to sparkle and glitter, sometimes he wondered if it would turn to glass if the desert he and his brothers called their home would get any hotter. Unlike him, the passengers on the train likely were more than glad about the AC on that was keeping the compartments from turning into blazing ovens with stagnant air. Connor was snapped out of his thoughts by the crying of a young boy that caught his attention immediately. Not wasting a single moment, he went over to the boy that the boy's mother was trying to comfort to the best of her ability. “Everythin' alright here, lil' guy?” He bent down to boy's level, giving him a soft smile which caused the cries to die down and be replaced by quiet sobs instead. That easy smile and his good nature was exactly why Connor of all four of them was the one taking care of the needs of the passengers. People liked how approachable and kindhearted he was.

“I-I lost my toy...I can't find him. Now Tricie's all alone. This placed is scary.” The young boy lamented, wiping away tears with his sleeve.

The black-suited conductor looked at the boy with sympathy. “Oh dear, ye're best friend got lost on the train, eh? I know this here train better than anyone else, I'm sure that I can find yer wee buddy. What does Tricie look like?”

“He's a green triceratops with a cool yellow hat and a cape. He's a superhero.” Through his tears, the young child gave a proud smile.

“Then I'm sure ye needn't worry about 'im till I find 'im. He's strong and not afraid.” A small nod came from the boy, and he realized that he was feeling scared without his toy. The yellow owl checked his pockets for something that could cheer the boy up, but found nothing. “You know who else isnae scared of anyhing'? A train conductor like me. We get protected by our hats. They may look silly, but they ward off scary things like bad guys and protect from scary placed.-” The boy glanced at the black cap that the owl held in his wings. “-It will be hard fer me ta not be scared with it gone, buy it will protect ye until I find yer superhero friend.” He gently placed the cap on the head of the boy for whom the accessory was way too big, so it almost obscured his eyes. For a moment, the older bird cringed internally, thinking that his little temporary gift hadn't done the trick, he was more than happy when the boy smiled.

“Mom, do I look cool?” With a new gleam in his eyes, the young bird turned to his mother who chuckled and gave a silent thanks to Connor by looking at him with a small smile. Having done his job, the yellow bird walked through the compartment, keeping an eye open for the toy of the boy.

He stepped out of the passenger cart and out to the caboose where he found his rust-red-feathered younger brother Redd who sitting on the ground, leaning against the railing with his hat dipped low and his hands behind his head. Connor shook his head at his slacker of a brother and gave the offending bird's foot a light kick which startled the red bird. Redd awkwardly flailed around briefly, being startled awake and torn out of his brief slumber. “What the peck, Con! I was having such a nice dream!” He crossed his wings as if his older sibling was the one who did something wrong. “I was winning big time in the casino on the other side of town, got a couple of pretty girls next ta me and...” He trailed off once he realized that the other was having none of it.

“Listen here, Redd. This lovely train doesnae run itself. All o' us need ta do our parts and ye slackin' off his ain't helpin' any o' us.”

The red bird dusted off his light brown suit and straightened his tie. “Don't be a stick in the mud too, Con. Why can't we ever enjoy life a bit? Ye sound like Walter.”

“Don't ye try and guilt-trip me, Redd. I wouldnae yell at ye if ye did this once or twice, but yer doin this all the time!” The yellow owl sighed. “Look, have ye seen a small toy, looks like a dinosaur, a triceratops ta be more precise.” The other bird shook his head, still looking rather annoyed.

“Nae, I was out here the whole day, saw nothin'” With a nod and slightly disappointed expression, the older brother left the caboose and went the other way instead, walking through the passenger cart. As he walked past the compartment with the science owls that Redd was supposed to tend to, he saw them standing around in a circle in awe of the strange machine that they had presumably just finished. Considering that he couldn't make heads or tails of the strange inventions of the owls, he dismissed it and just kept walking to the machine room. Once he opened the door, he slipped and nearly fell on an oil stain. “Greg, ye here?” He could see light green feathers and a bit of yellow under the engine.

“Please donnae tell me that we just lost oil, Connor, Walter is going to kill me! I heard a splat while I was working on fixin' a pipe down 'ere and, and I'm afraid that somethin' spilled.” His brother's feathers were raised and the green bird was shaking.

Greg had always been a nervous wreck. He was amazing at fixing machines, but he was very prone to being make a big deal out of small issues. Knowing this, Connor found it best to not tell Greg about the oil stain. “Nae, nothing wrong out here.” He instead grabbed a mop to clean the small oil stain that had nearly caused his face to make unwanted contract with the cold, hard iron floor of the machine room. “By the way, ye haven't seen a wee dinosaur toy by chance?” A small yelp of pain that echoed a little came from the green bird as he hit his head trying to reach his wrench.

“Cannae say that I have seen something like that. I was mostly in here, trying to fix one of our engines. I tell ye if I spot something like that.” Connor was about to leave when his brother spoke up again. “Wait, did a wee one lose their toy?! Oh no, they probably are scared that they willnae see that precious toy again! Maybe it's their support toy and they need to help them with anxiety, or, or maybe that toy is their best friend!” Connor sighed, his brother breaking into hysterics over something as trivial as a lost toy. It was kind of nice of Greg to worry about the boy, but having a second-hand panic attack in kid's stead won't help anyone.

“I gave the wee lad me hat, Greg, he's doin' fine. Just worry 'bout the engine, I'll find it.” The black-suited owl pushed the wrench within reach of his brother, who picked it up and visibly relaxed at the reassurance.

“O-Okay, Connor. I'll leave that matter ta ye for now.” With the green-feathered mass of anxiety tamed, the yellow owl entered the control room. Focused and stiff as a statue, he found Walter, who made sure that the train was keeping it's schedule and ran smoothly.

The yellow-feathered bird closed the door behind himself and watched as his brother opened the window, looking down at the item that he was searching for all this time. “Wait, Walter, donnae throw it out!” He sprinted over to his white-feathered brother who jolted and nearly dropped the triceratops toy.

“Goodness gracious, Connor! Ye nearly gave me a heart attack! I was just opening the window ta let some air in.” The yellow feathers on the younger owl flattened down after the initial shock. The white owl in a deep blue suit wondered why exactly all his brothers thought that he was some kind of cruel villain.

“I really thought ye were gonna throw the wee thing out. I've been lookin' fer that toy everywhere, a young lad lost it.” Walter nodded and handed the superhero dinosaur to his younger brother.

“Take it back to that wee child, I'm sure they miss it. Also, inform him that he should take better care of his belongings. Maybe no one can find his toy next time. Leaving an precious item at the train station could result in it bein' lost forever. ” Walter gave his signature strict glare which was aimed at the young owner of the action figure rather than his brother he was actually staring at. If only Walter knew how scary and downright threatening that expression looked, he'd understand just why small children cry every time he's around them. His regular rather stoic and cold appearance and demeanor didn't help that matter either.

“So that's where it was. I'll take the wee thing back to its owner.” His older brother looked him over, his face hardening further.

“Where's your cap, Connor? Ye know that we have a ta look proper at all cost, I thought ye of all people listened ta pa's teachings.”

Connor weakly chuckled. “Sorry, Walter. Me hat's currently on a mission ta protect the wee lad who this dino belongs ta. On that note, I really should return it soon.”As he did so, the boy jumped out of his seat the moment the yellow owl returned with the beloved green triceratops.

“You found him!” Connor got tackled into a hug and felt a sense of accomplishment after returning the lost item. The mother of the young passenger looked relieved as well, probably because her son was so distressed after losing the small object.

Connor was about to retrieve his hat, but stopped midway. He didn't have the heart to take the cap away, especially not now that he could see the joy in the face of the young bird.

As he watched the family sit down again, he got torn out of his thoughts of endearment by a large rumble and a strange feeling that he could only describe as falling, yet somehow not at the same time. His confusion was soon replaced by panic. “What's happenin'!”