All throughout the afternoon, the girls stealthily hid and assisted HK with some of her chores if they proved to be too risky. Meanwhile Snatcher did his routine appearances and finally decided to send the kid to the Manor. But not because he was supposed to but he had a hunch about something. So he called the kid over to his tree home to talk about the mission and other things.

“I’ve got a lonely old friend who’s living all by herself in a dusty old house.” Snatcher was saying to Harriet. “You should pay her a visit.” He brought out a contract for her to sign. "Her cookies are absolutely to DIE for~." He said with emphasis on the DIE part.

She wasn't too sure about the mission but she reluctantly signed it anyway. As soon as she was out of ear and eye shot, he started to investigate. He followed HK from afar, only to see footprints on the thin layer of snow but no one was there. Or so it seemed. As soon as Harriet parkoured across the broken off bridge, he focused his magic and swiped at the space he was able to detect. And as soon as he scooped up the little weight on his hand, it let out a loud "Eep!"

With his magic he decloaked Wren and stared intently at her shivering form.

“O-oh G-god… p-please! D-don’t h-hurt m-me!”

Snatcher merely grinned maliciously at her words. “Well then, you best tell me what I want to know then, shouldn’t you?”

Wren gulped.

But before she could say anything, a golden ball of light slammed right into him. Knocking Wren out of his grip.

"RUN!!!!" Lydia yelled as she reapplied the cloaking spell on her cousin. She grabbed her hand and booked it.

Wren was stumbling behind her. “H-how d-did he kn-know?!”

"I don't know! But I'm not going to find out!" They made their way deeper in the forest and finally made it to their hideout.

"D-did… we l-lose h-him?" Lydia huffed and puffed in exhaustion.

“Y-yeah… I.. I th-think s-so..” She huffed in reply. She looked behind them, just to be sure.

To their luck, he wasn't there. But that didn't mean that they weren't alone. A crescent shaped entity peered down at them secretly.

“Are you ladies quite alright?” He asked, looking forward to having some fun with them.

Both of them practically jumped out of their skin.

"W-who's there?!" Lydia ordered as she lit up her hands with magic. Wren took a defensive stance but was still scared. She could fight still though.

“Well you won’t find me there.” The voice mused. “I am Moon Jumper, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He hummed and called Snatcher over. “Oh Jack-O-Lantern! Your prey is in these woods! All you have to do is find them.”

Lydia found the voice and gasped. 'Moonjumper?! B-but I-I only thought that he was only mentioned in the attic of Vanessa's! Why is he here as an official character?!' But she had no time to think. She and Wren had to get out of there with their belongings before Snatcher arrived. She snapped her fingers and mumbled a packing spell. The cabin was gone and everything was packed in their backpacks. She cloaked both of them and their things, grabbed Wren and left like the Devil was on their heels, which in retrospect, he was.

“Oh come on! I just want to ask a few harmless questions!” Snatcher stated as he looked for the girls. He wasn’t far either.

The girls ran a bit farther and when Lydia had enough breath, she threw her voice in the opposite direction to confuse him.

"HARMLESS MY ASS YOU SOUL STEALING FLOOF NOODLE!!!"

“WHO ARE YOU CALLING A FLOOF NOODLE!!!” He chased after her voice.

Luckily for them he went in the opposite direction of where they were running.

'Good! It worked. Curse that croissant ghost!' They somehow managed to arrive at a deeper and darker part of the forest. By then, we slowed to a stop.

"I- hack- I think we're safe for n-now… hold on, let me…" she flicked her fingers like a lighter and a golden glow of a fire lit up in her hand and she shone it around. All she saw was nothing but black and a heaving Wren.

“P-please…… t-tell me….. We a-are…… alone…” She wheezed.

Lydia wasn't sure. All she could see was nothingness. But she didn't see the jack-o'-lantern face of Snatcher. "I think so… but we better be on guard. Let's set up." She snapped her fingers and the cabin and their stuff was all laid out.

"Okay. If my magic is as spot on as it is now, we and Harriet should be safe until after she defeats Snatcher after the contract has expired. Let's rest." They walked back into the cabin and slept with one eye open the whole night.

They stayed in the cabin for a week. It wasn't till they heard loud booms coming from the upper half of the forest that they jumped.

“W-WHAT W-WAS TH-THAT?!” Wren yelped.

"THAT, is our cue to pack up. We need to get to the upper half quick, then after HK signs the deal and retrieves the Timepiece, we pull her aside and hand her our share. Then YOU are going to go with Harriet. You have enough magic to defend her and yourself. You ready?" Lydia said as she and her cousin stepped out of the cabin. Lydia snapped her fingers and everything was packed up.

"As for temporary living arrangements, just ask her if you could crash at her place until everything is complete. Okay?"

Wren nodded. “W-will you be ok, I-I’m still not very k-keen on the idea o-of you being a-alone..”

Lydia hopped aboard her Trailblazer as did Wren with hers. Lydia smiled at her. "Don't worry! I can take care of myself. It's you that I worry about sometimes. But that's okay! HK has a teleport that can beam you down to the forest to check on me. Remember?"

Wren nodded reluctantly. "Ok.. still, be careful, Lydia.."

Lydia looked at her with a reassuring smile. "It's gonna be okay! Whatever he has in store, I can handle it. Now let's go!" 

As they started up the vehicles and zoomed off ahead, Harriet was already in a void like space where a defeated Snatcher laid.

*Huffs* "You're such a disrespectful young lady. I feel… so weak… *huffs* Please… *huffs* have mercy…Please… HAVE A SEAT!" Snatcher all but flew into Hattie's face. "All the timepieces landed in MY forest. They are MY property!" He ranted. "So, let's make a deal, young lady. You get out of my forest, and we never see each other again. How's that sound for a deal?" He asked, slightly eager. She shook her head. "Well, how about this then? Tell me who your magically cloaked friends are." He pressed.

Hattie looked confused. But either way she wouldn't budge. She crossed her arms in determination .

He looked annoyed at this. “Not a fan? Too bad! You don’t make the calls here.” He made a contract to either leave or tell him what he wanted. “Here. I’ll even make it easy for you! Now all that’s left is for you to sign it!”

She looked it over and squinted at it. She then smirked and practically rewrote the whole contract to him being her BFF. And for the other option. A "Maybe?"

“You understand that’s not how contracts work, right? I’m giving you a chance to scram, kid! There’s no catches or clauses if you choose to leave! What if I give you your soul back, will that make you choose?” Snatcher almost sounded like he was begging, he really wanted to know.

He sent back her soul to her body making her feel rejuvenated and just the normal amount of emptiness. But Hattie didn't say anything. Just stared intently and curiously at him.

“Yes? No? Hello? Are you there? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Snatcher asked impatiently.

Hattie gave him a raised brow in a "Really?" Motion.

"........."

He sighed. “You’re quite the character, aren’t you? And a tough negotiator. Fine, I’ll sweeten the deal for you.” He summoned a timepiece. “Here, take my last timepiece. If I continue to see you around my forest after this, I’ll be VERY disappointed!”

The world went back to normal but instead of going back to his tree house, he stuck around and eyed her down. He was Hell bent on getting to the bottom of who else was in his forest.

“...are you SURE you can’t give me SOMETHING? I’M DYING OF CURIOSITY OVER HERE!!!”

Hattie then remembered that one lady that helped her out. And said lady was hiding in the shadows to see what the heck was going on. "This wasn't part of the game!" She whispered yelled to Wren. Wren looked a bit nervous as she said that. "Change of plans. I'll stick around and you go to the outer edge of the forest that's close to Alpine Skylines. I'll send her your way." Lydia whispered as she narrowed her eyes at the two.

Hattie finally caved.

“There are two of them helping me. I don’t know one of their names, but one of them is called Lydia. But I call her El.”

Snatcher paused. Then he smiled wide. “Lydia… hm? Very useful.”

Hattie looked confused by why he wanted to know. He almost seemed… excited?

“I’m curious, what does she look like? Does she wield magic?” Snatcher questioned excitedly.

Hattie rose an brow. Then stopped. She figured or at least assumed, at what was going on. She made a mischievous and cheeky cat-like smug face.

“... What’s THAT face for?” Snatcher asked to which Hattie’s grin widened.

“Nnnnnnnothingggg..” She replied with the innocence of a hedgehog.

“...”

“Well? I’m waiting.” Snatcher decided to dismiss her strange face and attitude for now.

Lydia couldn't hear what they were saying from the distance that she was at. So she did what any impatient lady in waiting did.

'That's it!' She stepped out of the woods and flung a large magic ball of magic. Which promptly smacked Snatcher between his eyes.

She acted out on the gabby male.

Hattie's eyes grew to be as wide as dinner plates. But she did what every child did once seeing an act of cartoonist violence. She laughed.

“Don’t laugh at my suffering!” Snatcher raged, rubbing the sore spot.

“B-BUT IT WAS S-SO FUNNY!!” She sputtered.

"Wren! Change of plans! AGAIN!!! Grab Hattie and get going!" Lydia called out to her cousin. To which she started up her Trailblazer and swooped in and snatched Hattie and made a beeline to the forest.

Lydia walked up front till Snatcher saw her.

“Well, well, well. You must be one of the young ladies helpers. Is your name Lydia by any chance?”

She kept calm. She knew what he could do, so she kept her hands and feet ready to move and attack if by chance.

"I am. I am Lydia Starlight. Eldest daughter of the descendants of the Starlight family from the kingdom of Subcon. Now living in the rural area of Twilight Meadows. And I already know that you're the guardian of the forest and former royalty… what is it that you want?" She asked stoically.

“Oh? A descendant from my kingdom AND had a life in the Mother Dimension. How fascinating! I must say, I’m an instant fan.” He chuckled darkly.

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "So you're aware that I, or at least, my soul, is from another dimension? Any reason why?"

“Oh nothing BIG really. I just cast a SMALL spell once and HAPPENED upon your name while I was interacting in the Mother Dimension. Could it have been a coincidence? Maybe. But I don’t BELIEVE in coincidences.” He replied.

She rose a suspicious brow. "Then, answer me this, how did I die? And did you transfer my soul to this world? And if so, why? Why give me that second chance?"

“Hahahahah! A test? Really? Fine, I’ll amuse you. You got hit by a car when one of those brats shoved you in the road. I brought you here because we still had a contract..” He grumbled a little, crossing his arms. “But instead of your soul coming to me like it was supposed to, it went to the you of this world. How annoying.”

She narrowed her eyes. Whether it be from suspicion or being pissed. She couldn't tell. "And to why would my soul be going to you if I was playing as Hattie? That's indirect misdirection. And even if my soul were to go to you, what were you going to do with it? Eat it? Play with it? And most importantly…. Who in Hell's name killed me?" She growled the last part with venom.

He chuckled again. “Well, it was your name on the contract, therefore it was your soul I took. As for what I was going to do with it… I didn’t know yet at the time, but I would’ve made GREAT use of it. Then there’s who…” His mood soured considerably as he scowled at no one in particular. “Vanessa..”

"THAT BITCH!!!" She ranted with a fiery voice as her magic from her hands flared with golden magic that looked like fire. Her eyes went black except for her irises. They were gold and filled with rage. She then focused her eyes on Snatcher. And for a minute, he felt more excited.

He shivered involuntarily. “What next?”

"Alright. Listen up FLOOF NOODLE. Do you still have connections to the other dimension?" She growled out.

He almost snickered at that stupid pet name. “Multiple. As long as A Hat in Time exists in the Mother Dimension, I can cross over with a simple spell.” His smile widened. “Please tell me death is involved.”

She thought it out then smirked. "More than that. If we play our cards right you'll get to scare, torture, and mentally screw up that bitch. And once she's had her limit, you can deal the final blow. Am I still technically under contract? If not, then I'll make a deal with you."

“I’m listening~.” He said, sickeningly sweet.

"I know for a FACT that the Hell of an orphanage I was at is too cheap to throw anything away that they might see as value. Selling the stuff, maybe. But I also know that a lot of kids at the orphanage wanted to screw with me and steal my games. That also included AHIT. So here's the deal, if by chance, that ONE of them is still playing with the stuff that I left behind, YOU find a way to get to that BITCH if she's still there. If not, then you'll have to go through the orphanage's records to see where she went. I don't know how far your power extends, but if you're able to manipulate her life to that as low as a sewer rat, then make sure she isn't missed when she's "taken care of", then your reward will be whatever you want with me.

I know I have a family now. But this goes BEYOND them. If it wasn't for HER then I would've had a life where my very species wasn't on the verge of extinction! I might be a white witch and I believe that there is a God, but right now… just imagining the satisfied face of that wretch… I would gladly sell my soul to you and watch her rot in Hell for the rest of eternity." She declared.

“...”

“You REALLY want her to suffer. Very well then, let’s get this on paper, hm?” He summoned a contract. “As long as Luke Sizemore exists in the Mother Dimension, my power can extend anywhere. That requires a stronger spell though, and some preparation.”

"What sort of things do you need? At this point in the game, I could probably knock out that frozen bitch of a toxic woman to next week and set her Manor ablaze while she's in it." She said darkly. Yeah… she wasn't in the mood for bull.

Snatcher didn't comment on that but DID make a mental note on future plans on his TO DO LIST. He summoned a long list of ten items that he needed. He handed it to her and she looked through it carefully.

"Most of these are dried herbs that I can probably find in the forest or outside it. The other half I'll have to hunt down in a forest where there are ACTUAL live animals that aren't sentient and have a job. Which is tricky to find considering what this planet has evolved into… and the last thing I can easily get from one of my familiars." She said mostly to herself but he heard it otherwise.

“Great! Now that that’s settled, shall we seal the deal?” He held out the contract for her to sign.

She looked a bit hesitant but her revenge and the satisfaction from said deed overrode all rational thinking. She grabbed the magic quile and signed her name in fancy cursive. His stamp was then plastered on the side and it was magically rolled up to his claws.

"So what now?" She asked with a hint of nervousness.

He grinned menacingly. “Now… we get the boring part done and gather herbs. You can crash at my place tonight since it’ll be close to dark by the time we are done.”

She nodded. "I think I saw some herbs in a patch somewhere a mile back in the northeast of the forest. Let's start there." She was about to go get her Trailblazer until Snatcher picked her up bridal style.

"Hey! What gives?!" She demanded.

“It’s faster this way.” He replied bluntly. ‘Besides, you started it when you gave me that stupid pet name.’ He thought to himself childishly.

She rolled her eyes as she braced for teleportation. He then sunk to the shadows and slithered all the way to where there was a large patch of mixed herbs growing together. He then put her down carefully as she tried to regain her bearings.

"Okay… definitely going to have to get used to that…" she mumbled as she shook herself awake. She then started searching for the right herbs and started picking. She then saw Snatcher doing nothing. " 'Ey! If you need these to, then start helpin'!" She ordered.

“You don’t make the calls here. You get what I need, I’ll torture that girl. That’s the deal.”

"So you're going to stand there and do nothing? Isn't that more boring than helping out?" She stated monotonously.

“...”

Well when she put it that way.. He groaned and started his own search.

It took a while, but they were able to get enough just from that patch.

"Okay, you know of a forest that still has the primal animals we need?" She asked.

“Hmm… There is one location… it’s remote and not part of the game, in Alpine Skyline..”

"I know you're not a big fan of going outside of your territory, but we need those bones and pelts." She stated. He didn't look comfortable with it at all. "Just tell some of your minions to watch the forest and we'll be back in no time. We can make this a game! Who can hunt down the most kills. Sound fun?" She suggested.

"... Ok… I suppose that I could leave for a LITTLE while.." He agreed reluctantly.

"That's the SPIRIT!" She slapped his back in what was supposed to be encouraging.

He blinked. “Why did you hit me?”

Lydia looked at him curiously. "It's called moral support… sometimes I hit too hard when doing that…" she rubbed her arm awkwardly. To Snatcher it looked kinda cute.

“...oh.” He thought about it a little longer before chuckling. “What a GHOSTly pun.”

Her grin widened significantly. "Of course! I always make a SPECTOR out of it." She giggled.

He laughed. “Punning is a squad GHOUL now. Deal?”

She laughed at that. "Deal. I'll try to keep up without COFFIN." She laughed at her pun so hard that she accidentally snorted a little then slapped her mouth shut. She blushed profusely and slowly looked at the curious ghoul.

“... what was that?!” His devilish smirk suggested that he knew, though his curious yellow eyes suggested otherwise.

She quickly whipped her head away in embarrassment. "It was nothing! Just a hiccup! Now where's the forest you mentioned?" She tried to change the subject.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that that was an adorable little snort, but for your sake, I’ll go with hiccup.” He chuckled a little before focusing on the topic change, ignorant of the fact that he’d called her snort adorable. “It’s on the south side of the Alpine Skyline. Since I, unfortunately, have to come with, I will show you tomorrow after we get some rest.”

She tried to hide her blushing and embarrassed face. "A-Alright. It'll give me some time to dry the herbs." She tried to keep it cool. And was failing at it as she began to walk back towards the tree house. Trying to avoid eye contact.

“What? Was it something I said?” He tailed her, this time legitimately confused.

"It's nothing….!" She tried to hide her face with her red hair as she tried to keep on the path without running into a trap.

“Then why are you suddenly all shy? You're being weird now!” He protested. He found it adorable, really, but he wouldn’t admit it.

Lydia stopped for a minute, then turned around with her face still red but with a mad tsundere face with her arms crossed underneath her chest with a sassy hip out. "You REALLY have no idea why…?" She said with adorable sass with an eyebrow raised.

“Should I?” He cocked his head to the side, a tint of yellow on his cheeks.

She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Just think through what you said not only a few seconds ago. THEN get back with me." She marched with a huff as she rushed to the treehouse. Snatcher looked confused but decided to think on it.

Processing, processing, proce- “OH MY GOD!!” He turned neon yellow and covered his face. “Noooooooo..”

Lydia was already in the tree structure when she heard him yell to himself from outside. She simply rolled her eyes and focused her magic on slightly drying out the herbs that she bunched together and was going to hang with strings. "Hmph! Boys… it doesn't matter how OLD and DEAD they are. The same universal concept in all dimensions is that they are TERRIBLE at reading the mood." She muttered as she hung the herbs on the coat rack that he hardly used.

Snatcher went to sulk and berate himself in his room. Mostly out of humiliation and embarrassment.

But then again… as he thought about it more, he noticed how cute she was when she was upset about her snort. And how fun it was… Snatcher grinned deviously.

“Oh my~ This will be FUN!” Snatcher chuckled with dark amusement.