I absolutely love reading about Grimdarks. For me, it's the endless ways authors find to make something innocent completely dark and twisted.
So, this is morbid. Way to morbid for the original source material. Also, kinda sad ending.
You've been warned!
Please enjoy!
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(Third POV)

He'd let this happen. He should've watched where she was exploring Subcon. He should've found her quicker. Snatcher let his BFF, his child, get like this. More importantly, close enough to get the manor.

Close enough to get killed. Killed for real this time. She can't come back.

Hat Kid had gone in manor to fetch another one of her Time Pieces, but Vanessa had spotted her. The hat wearing child had started to run out of the manor to escape, but Vanessa was quicker. The deranged Queen remembered her from the first time she came to run errands for Snatcher, her ex. So instead of turning her to ice, she bashed the child's head in and left her to bled on Snatcher's door step.

After coming back from looking her, Snatcher found Hat Kid in front of his door. Nothing seemed unusual, until he pulled the hat off her head. Blood was all he saw. He was in complete shock. He promised he'd protected her. Vanessa had killed his child and now he has to work with the consequences.

Snatcher could only look the poor child's body, her eyes were wide open and staring up at him as if she was pleading for help. The blood was still flowing on the floor and coloring it with it's crimson.

Snatcher could feel the tears roll down his face as he thought of what her final moments could be like. Agony and fear.

Snatcher finally couldn't hold it in anymore and broke out in a sob. He reached down and carefully picked her up. He pushed her frail body close to his.

He went into his house and sat in his chair. He raised his hand and shut her eyes, so he wouldn't have to look at them. Slowly, he began to rock her like if she was only sleeping in his arms.

He'd have to do something about this eventually he wasn't ready to let her go. He couldn't. She's all he has-or had, left. The last one who believed in him.

She's now gone, or maybe not?

Hat Kid felt a bright, warm, and soothing light as she opened her eyes. Wait- eyes? She was sure as soon that she felt the crash and heard the crack of her skull, she was long gone. She died a painful way, but she didn't regret anything in her life.

So how's is she "alive?" Or is she dead and she just doesn't know it yet. She tried to walk forward, but couldn't. She tried to move her arm, it stayed in its place. What was going on?! Is this..death?

"I'm so sorry...I should've never let you leave my sight, kiddo."

Wait- she knew that voice! Well, Snatcher is dead, is she a ghost like him? That'd be....unfortunate but better than never seeing her friends again!

"This is all my fault, kid. There isn't a excuse or reason to explain this. I just hope you understand." Snatcher mourned.

Hat Kid tried to open her mouth but it was as if her voice had been stripped from her throat. She attempted to look around, she realized she was in Snatcher's house but her head was held low. Why couldn't she look up at him?

"I should've tried to keep you around longer. I promised to protect you, and I failed. Please forgive me."

Hat Kid had to come up with some way to tell him he could hear her! This is torment not being able to talk her BFF!

"Snatcher! I'm here, I can hear you!" Hat Kid mentally called out.

Snatcher seemed to have heard her in some way. As his head shot up from his sobbing. He reached over and lifted her chin so their eyes meant.

Hat Kid could tell how much he'd been crying and just how broken he'd seemed.

"Your soul? How is your soul speaking to me? Ha, aren't you something, kid?" Snatcher asked.
"Why can't I move? What happened?" Hat Kid asked.

Snatcher sighed and a object she'd seen before formed in his head followed by light blue strings. That from the object, was tied onto her in some way. If she could gasp, she would.

"The puppet tools from Deathwish?"
"Yeah, kiddo. You were dead on my doorstep when I found you. I-I can't-couldn't let you go. So I reused them to...keep you around."

Snatcher stared at the seemingly lifeless puppet he'd made, even though he could hear her. He had attached strings on her wrists, ankles, and neck so he could move her around as if she was alive, in grief. He didn't expect her to "speak." But there was nothing wrong with that.

"Why can't I move?" Hat Kid asked.
"Well, you're a puppet. Only I can, kiddo."

Hat Kid didn't really know how to answer. What did this mean for her? Is she just Snatcher's slave for eternity, or until he got bored? Doing his bidding? Never seeing her other friends again? Or could this actually work? And they'd live happily together as BFFS? Even as mentor and child?

Hat Kid regretted making that thought.

She'd never thought it'd be like this. At first, everything was okay. He took her to her favorite parts of Subcon and read her stories. But after doing that for so long, it got draining. She hadn't been able to go to her ship, or see any of her friends. They've been looking for her.

Today, Snatcher went out today, doing some errands and left Hat Kid alone in his chair. That meant she was unable to move.

She had a lot of time to think to herself in that chair. Ever since she'd became a puppet, Snatcher had been trying to make her feel alive again. Like, unusually nice. Which was odd for him.

But eventually she now wants just to move on. Accept death, and just go on the next life, or wherever she'd end up.

She needs to tell Snatcher to get her soul out of this puppet. They both need to move on. But how?

Time flew by quick as Snatcher quickly returned.

"Heyyyy, kiddo!" Snatcher greeted.
"Snatcher, can I ask you something?" Hat Kid asked.

Snatcher looked down at her river like eyes. Confused. What could she be wanting to tell him?

"Did I deserve this?"
"What do you mean, kid?"
"This is torment, I don't like it."

Snatcher was stunned. No..there was no way he was implying that. Not her. He wanted her, he needed Hat Kid in his life. Snatcher was dead silent, so she'd went on.

"The more I sit here in this empty shell, the urge increases to move on."
"NO! IM NOT LOSING YOU TOO! YOU'RE ALL I HAVE LEFT!"

Snatcher picked up her puppet body and hugged it tightly. It broke his heart she'd mentioned that, it broke his heart she couldn't hold him back.

Ever since that was brought up, Hat Kid slowly started to resent, Snatcher for what he did her. They got in arguments and when Snatcher was mad, he leave her alone which he knew she hated.

When arguing didn't work, Hat Kid tried begging. Sometimes, she tried to persuade, other times she just be crying. But the worse for Snatcher was, when his kid said how much pain she was in.

Today, she was crying again, about missing her friends. He was looking at her, feeling guilty. He was considering it. Give her what she wanted. She'd be happy, and in the run long that's what he wanted for her.

"P-please my friends don't even know I left this world. I need to go on. We're both miserable!" Hat Kid cried.

Snatcher took a deep breath as she kept rambling on.

"Okay." Snatcher said, cutting her off.

Hat Kid was confused as Snatcher picked her up. She didn't know what to say.

"Okay, I'll give you what you want. As long as your happy." Snatcher added.
"Really?" Hat Kid asked.

Snatcher pulled her away from his shoulder, the puppet's head clicked to the side like a old worn toy. He nodded.

Snatcher finally realized what she was saying all this time. She was right, as always.

"J-just, one more time. P-please, kid?" Snatcher begged her.

Hat Kid knew right away what he meant. Her soul was smiling and crying and she saw his smile slowly breaking.

"I love you!" Hat Kid said.
Snatcher pulled her in for another hug, "o-oh Ive longed to hear that again. I love you too, so, so, much, kiddo."

Not wanting this to be anymore harder than it was. Snatcher raised the doll over his head and smashed the wooden corpse on the ground. It made a loud screaming noise followed by wood breaking.

Soon, Hat Kid's purple soul flew out, she looked at Snatcher, nodded. And flew up to the sky. Thankful that the torture was now over and Snatcher had found it in himself to set her free. 

He did it. Snatcher did it. He set the kiddo free. His baby, was now up in the starry sky.

Now he's alone, in his own abiding shame.