Masked (A Hat In Time)

The Real Enemy

Please, dear readers.

Sit back.

Relax.

And join the audience.

There's nothing to fear.

You are safe.

They, however, are not.

---

Hat Kid and Bow Kid had been double-crossed and betrayed many times.

The first, of course, was with Mu. They'd started as friends until she found out about the power of the timepieces. She wanted to change the past, but she didn't know the damage it'd do to the time-space continuum. It started as a petty rivalry but then escalated into a fight over a time rift and domination of the planet.

Then there was DJ Grooves. He wanted the timepieces to go back in time and win Award 42. He was prepared to kill them for that. He was greedy, angry, and in the wrong, but at least Bow Kid could somewhat understand his motivation.

After that was Snatcher. As soon as they were out of work for him, he tried to murder them. That much should be expected from a soulless ghost.

Everything about those betrayals had one thing in common.

They could be fixed, at least somewhat.

Hattie and Bow had managed to reform a shaky relationship with Mu, DJ Grooves, forgave them, and even helped them in the end. And Snatcher reluctantly accepted the BFF contract. Everything had worked out.

But...this?

Just from the look in the Outlander's eye, Bow could tell that there was no fixing this.

He wasn't their friend. He never was. And now he was going to destroy them.

The Outlander, now wearing Jaide's mask, tilted his head back. The eyes of the mask glowed a fiery yellow. "Oh, finally," he sighed, his smile crooked. "How I've longed for this."

Hat Kid clutched her umbrella tighter and ran at him.

He just glared at her. "Rude," he scoffed. "I'm trying to have a moment here."

Two black, dripping hands shot out of Hat Kid's shadow and grabbed at her, slamming her to the ground. Bow Kid gasped but suddenly felt something pushing at her head, and she crashed to the ground too. Her jaw hit the hard rock, and she bit her tongue. She tried to struggle against the hands, but they just pressed her head harder into the ground. The pressure made her skull feel like it was going to burst.

The Outlander laughed. "Oh, how fitting!" Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Outlander's feet moving closer, and his voice was growing louder as if he were coming closer. "It's nice to see you impudent brats finally on the ground at my feet!" He giggled.

Bow Kid could feel the hands moving her, dragging her along the ground until she found herself right next to Hat Kid. She couldn't even turn her head to look at her friend. The shadow hands had immobilized her.

Dread flooded through her. There might not be a way to win this.

The pressure of the hands loosened just slightly, and the Outlander lifted Bow Kid's chin with a finger. She scowled as soon as she saw his yellow eyes and evil grin. Jaide had worn the mask too, yet she'd looked so different from him.

"Now, here's how we're going to do it, girls," the Outlander said, curling his tail in. "I'm going to gloat, and you're going to stare up at me with hatred and fear and maybe ask a few questions to know how I really did it. And then I kill you!" He chuckled. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun."