A story that hit me and I just had to do it, especially after reading some awesome Hat In Time stories. :)

A Hat In Time belongs to Gears For Breakfast. I own nothing.

Also, Hat Kid's name is Charlotte in this story and this story takes place after "A Hat's Family", which can be found on my page.

Protective Shadow

Snatcher smiled as he waited outside the school to pick up Charlotte, the small child he had a huge soft spot for. He checked the time and noted it was already ten minutes past the time school let out. "Hmm, I wonder where she is," he said to himself before hearing a cry and something slammed against the door.

Jumping, he was about to check and see what it was when he saw Charlotte come running out of the school with some bigger kids on her tail. One snatched her backpack, but she got free of it, still running until one kid threw a rock, missing her, but making her trip.

Seeing this, Snatcher knew right away that his earlier suspicions had been right. For the past few days, Charlotte had been coming home with bruises, but saying she had fallen down. The shadowy figure had been suspicious about that, which was why he had come today to pick her up from school.

He now dove into the ground, flying rapidly to catch up to the group of bullies that were about to do further harm to his niece.

Charlotte looked up at the bullies and tried to get up, but one of them pushed her down. "Stay down, shrimp," said one of them meanly.

"I want first crack at her," said one of the girls.

Suddenly, a purple circle appeared under their feet. "How about I take the first crack at you?" A whispery voice said in a deep, menacing tone as Snatcher rose out of the ground. The bullies tried to move, but were stuck to the ground thanks to the shadow's magic. The being moved his tail and it coiled around Charlotte, who gasped and looked up before sagging in relief at seeing it was her uncle, but he looked very angry.

"Charlotte," he asked and she flinched. "Have these children been bullying you the past few days?"

The child bit her lip, seeing her uncle give her a look that meant he already knew and not to lie to him. She dipped her head and nodded. "Yes," she said softly.

Snatcher turned to the terrified group and he raised his arms. "I've got half a mind to give you all a taste of your own medicine," he growled. "But if you start running by the time I say 'go', I might reconsider."

The bullies looked very scared right now and the shadowy being smirked, releasing their feet from his magic. "Go," he said in a low voice.

No sooner had he said that, the group scattered fast and he smirked, letting out a roar as an explosion of colorful magic exploded from the very spot the bullies had been standing on. None of the magic hit them, but it did make them run faster and seemed to drive the point home, which was what he had been hoping it would do.

Satisfied and smirking, Snatcher looked back at the child, who was looking at him with wide eyes. "Now, you and me need to talk, kiddo," he said.

She didn't dare argue and he could see the look of fear that she tried to hide, but he saw it plain as day. His tail coiled a little more snugly around her, not allowing her to escape, but not hurting her either as Snatcher headed for an nearby park, his tail moving to in front of him as he sat down, setting Charlotte in his lap, his tail still around her as she struggled a bit to get free. "Kiddo," he said, making her look up at him. "You know I'm not mad at you, right?"

She nodded, biting her lip a bit and he sighed. "Kid," he said. "I'm not mad at you. I was mad at the bullies for hurting you."

"Yeah, but...you're scary when you're mad," the child admitted.

He felt a bit guilty at scaring her like that. "But you know I wasn't trying to scare you, right?" He asked.

She nodded, but he noticed she still looked pensive. He fell into thought a moment before an idea hit him and he smiled. "Come here, you!" He said playfully as he grabbed her gently in his arms and flew up into a nearby tree, setting her down on a branch. She went to move, but felt fingers tickling her sides and she giggled, trying to move away, but Snatcher didn't let her escape him. He now gently grabbed her wrists and held them gently in one hand to keep her from trying to protect her tickle spots while his other hand lifted up her shirt to the bottom of her ribcage, his tail coming around and the end of it dipping into the child's belly button and tickling it like crazy.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! UNCLE SNAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAATCHER!" She cried out through her laughter.

"Cootchie, cootchie coo!" He cooed in her ear. "That little tummy is all mine!"

Charlotte squealed with laughter as his tail wiggled faster into her belly button before it stopped and she took some deep breaths before squealing again as her uncle blew a giant raspberry right over the sensitive spot, chuckling as he heard his niece laugh. "Hmm, almost nice and tender," the shadow-like being said with a laugh. "One more raspberry ought to do the trick and then, I'll have a feast of ticklish tummy."

The child laughed and squirmed, squealing as another huge raspberry was blown right onto her belly button. "Ah, yes. Just right," Snatcher said with a chuckle. "And I'm very hungry right now."

His voice became playful, which made Charlotte squeak and giggle before she burst out laughing again as her uncle began playfully munching on her stomach, making over-exaggerated munching sounds that sent the child into a constant laughing fit. Hearing this, Snatcher blew one last big raspberry into his niece's stomach before stopping the tickle torture, holding the kid as she continued laughing for a bit before calming down, a big grin on her face. "That's better," he said, gently pinching her cheek in affection. "Can't have my favorite niece afraid of me now, can I?"

Charlotte giggled. "Uncle Snatcher, I'm your only niece," she said.

"Which makes you my favorite," he said with a smile before using his powers to heal the bruises she had received earlier. "There. Feel better?"

She nodded before looking down. "How did you know?" She asked.

"I sensed you weren't being truthful about something and so decided to come pick you up today to see for myself about how you got those bruises," he said, gently tilting her chin to look up at him. "I was worried about you and wondering what had happened that you were scared to tell me or your folks about it."

A few tears escaped the child's eyes, which the shadow-like being gently wiped away. "Kiddo, please don't ever hesitate to tell me or your folks about something like this again, okay?" He said, pulling her into a comforting hug. "Promise me?"

She nodded. "I promise, Uncle Snatcher," she said, hugging him back.

He sighed, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry I scared you when I scared the bullies," he said. "I'm just protective of you, kid."

Charlotte giggled. "A protective, shadow uncle."

"You better believe it, kiddo," he chuckled, his tail coiling around her again and placing her on his back as he stood up. The child reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, snuggling her face into his mane. He smiled as he looped his arms under her knees. "You ready to go home? I think your mother is making your favorite dinner tonight."

The child eagerly nodded and giggled happily as Snatcher took off flying, the shadow-like being smiling as he heard his niece giggling.

I hope those kids heed my warning, because if not, then this shadow is going to teach them a thing or two about not bullying, he thought to himself as he did a few loop-de-loops in the sky, making Charlotte laugh again.

I just had to. :)

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GoldGuardian2418