As they made it back to the house, Lydia immediately told her family about what happened and showed them the fallen Timepiece.

"Well… I guess that means you have to get going then. Dear help me pack her things and I'll get the Trailblazer." Luna said as she went to the garage while Lenard went to grab the supplies and her siblings went to go get her clothing and such packed.

“Um… c-can I go too? To help Lydia..?” Wren asked.

Her parents, Warren and Gale, looked apprehensive but Lydia stepped up.

"Hey, it's okay! I'll help her as she helps me. And she's just as skilled as me. Plus…" she snapped her fingers and gold magic flew everywhere and within a few seconds, both of the girls' luggage and Lydia's siblings were carried front and center. Although the two siblings Were held like they were naughty kittens or puppies that were being punished. They did not look happy.

The adults and the girls laughed while Stella gave them the bird and Lamar huffed.

"You know, it's days like these that being the youngest SUCKS." Stella spat out.

“Sorry, not sorry. Can you put ME down at least hun?” Lamar asked.

Lydia gave an amused smirk and snapped her fingers and they both dropped to the floor.

"Well! Necessities for clothing and such are handled. We just have to wait for…" Before she finished, her father came out with two large bags filled with food.

"Figured that Wren might tag along?" Lydia asked with an amused smile. Her father chuckled.

“She asked before, not long after they learned of your past self’s future experience.” He replied.

Lydia raised a curious brow and a smile at her shy cousin.

Wren ducked away a little. “I-I wanted t-to help, a-and make sure you were o-ok with it..”

"Awwww, you big dork!" She hugged her and gave her a noogie on the head. To which she squeaked at.

"Alright! I have the Trailblazers up and running!" Luna chirped.

"You saw this coming too?" Lydia laughed.

"Well obviously! You two are practically conjoined to the hip!" She laughed.

As soon as they were done talking, both girls went to the Trailblazers. The Trailblazer is an advanced hovercraft that resembles a Quad. It goes from slow to freakin' fast. It's both solar powered and has a backup battery. One of the few advanced technologies developed by the remaining humans. They hopped aboard and got everything situated.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Lydia exclaimed. She swirled her pointer finger at both their belongings and they turned into backpacks that they easily picked up.

"I figured this would help us move around more easily." Lydia giggled at her family's shocked faces.

"I see someone has been studying ahead. Good job dear." Luna complimented.

“I’m so proud! You girls be safe now, and don’t cause too much trouble!” Lenard hoped that he hadn’t just jinxed them..

Both girls giggled and had mischievous smiles on their faces.

“Bye mom, bye dad… tell the kids I said to take care and get good grades!”

Warren nodded with a silent grunt. The man was never much of a talker. And her mother kissed her daughter's head. "Be good my little genius."

“I will mom, take care.” Wren hugged her mom, trying not to get emotional.

She hugged her back. "Now do us all a favor and bag yourself a respectable man while you're watching Lydia's back." Her mother winked at her, causing her to fluster.

“M-MOM!” She squeaked, trying to hide.

Her mother cackled. "You girls, be safe."

The girls nodded and started up the machines then quickly took off.

Time went as fast as Roadrunner pranking the Coyote in a race. Both freaking fast but painfully slow to watch. As they made their way to the edge of Subcon Forest, they both skidded to a halt. Wren was already nervous. Looking at the ominous dark forest.

“A-are you s-sure this i-is a good i-idea..?” Wren whimpered.

Lydia gulped. 'This place is a lot more intimidating than in the game…'

"As long as we steer from the traps that I showed you a while back, we won't be caught. And just in case…" Lydia snapped her fingers and a golden glow surrounded them for a second then vanished.

"This spell should disguise our soul's detection from him for a while. Just until Hat Kid can make her way here and after she signs his contract. After he goes away we'll introduce ourselves and later on when she beats him in the fight, then you'll go with her through her journey while I deal with tall, dark, and gloomy." She said as she went over her plan. "If you need to check up on me, then you can ask HK to teleport you to the forest. Okay?"

“Um… ok. One m-more question… Why is her name Hat Kid? Does she h-have a real name..?” Wren wondered, she’d been pondering that question for a while.

Lydia thought for a moment. "... You know, according to some fans about the game they theorized that her nickname, Hattie, is another name for Harriet. Although it hasn't been proven, yet. Either way, let's find a safe place where there's fewer traps and set up camp. I'll set it up so we're comfortable." Lydia said with a confident tone as she pressed forward and went into the forest with the Trailblazer.

“I’ll have to ask her then, when we meet.” Wren decided.

As they carefully navigated through the forest, Lydia pointed out where there were the traps and both avoided them like the plague. Lydia then saw a back clearing where hardly anything was disturbed. It looked kinda pretty. 'Oh! This must be where Hat Kid was supposed to meet the original beta version of Snatcher…. Moonjumper. Well…. I don't see why we can't set up here since he's not part of the game but more of the fandom. Though I'm surprised that the creators kept this place. Must be for either Hattie or Snatcher to unwind or think. Either way I'll set up a little bit into the woods so that we won't stick out like a sore thumb. And in case Snatcher comes by here, we'll at least be hidden a little bit.' Lydia pointed to Wren and whispered where to place their things.

As they set up, Lydia used a bit of her magic and set up a small cabin where it had electricity and plumbing.

"Ta-da!!!" She whispered sang to Wren.

“Wow… you’re amazing cuz!” she whispered in amazement.

Lydia waved a bashful dismissive wave of her hand. "Aw~ it was nothing but a simple homemaker spell. It ain't no mansion like home, but it has all the essentials that we'll need. Alrighty, let's get unpacked."

As they unpacked, they made sure to keep an eye out for any wandering minions that might've strayed too far from the village. And it was like this for the past week. Lydia and Wren took turns each day to patrol the area for a little girl with a Top hat.

It wasn't till later on a Saturday afternoon that Lydia was patrolling the outskirts of the forest when, from the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of purple teleport into the forest.

'Bingo!' she cheered.

She then pushed her Trailblazer into the forest. She wandered until she saw the little girl a few feet from her. It looked like she didn't see her yet. She quietly powered down the vehicle and hid behind a tree and watched as Hat Kid walked through the forest.

'Anytime now…'

Hat Kid then saw a minion and chased after the little thing as they led her to a trap. And just like it was rehearsed, which in Snatcher's case, it probably was, she tripped the trap and was now dangling from the tree. Then within seconds, everything went dark and spooky.

Snatcher's POV

Snatcher was reading one of his newer books when he had gotten an alert that a trap went off.

‘I am curious as to if Lydia is here..’ I pondered. ‘Or is it that Hat Brat? Only one way to find out.’ I teleported to where I heard the trap go off to see the Hat Brat.

I went to my trap and sliced it open with my claws. It was Hat Kid. I internally sighed but kept up the charade.

"Ahahaha Fooool! You blew it! You totally screwed yourself! Nobody enters my home and leaves in one piece! Tell you what though! Hang on a minute! You get to live! That's right! Aren't you lucky? Normally I'd eat your soul and toss your body, but you're a lucky one! You won the lottery, because I just happen to be missing a brain dead servant. That's right, the old one got himself killed, his head popped off and now I need a new towel boy! So tell you what, I've got a piece of paper here. Don't worry about all the details! I just need you to sign right here at the bottom."

I then showed the contract to her and she reluctantly signed it. Too scared for words.

"Ahahaha! That seals the deal! We're in business! Let me just grab this real quick…"

I then unceremoniously snatched her soul and put it in my subspace.

"Whoops! I guess this soul belongs to me now! Don't worry though, if you finish your chores quickly, you'll have your soul back real soon! And don't you dare forget our little contract! I've put it in your Start Menu so that it'll never leave your sight!"

I then dropped down into the shadows and slithered back into the darkness.

I wasn't too far though, I kept a careful watch through the darkness and that's when something different happened.

"What the…."

3rd pov

Lydia cast a spell where she blent into the shadows and with one fell swoop, she grabbed Hat Kids' wrist and pulled her behind a tree. Lydia knew that Snatcher was close by so she made sure that this was quick and to the point. She covered Hat Kids' mouth from her making any noise.

"Shh, shhhh! I'm not going to hurt you! I just want to help!" She whispered yelled to the hatted girl. In return the girl only raised a confused brow.

"I'm going to let go and you won't scream, got it? Then I'll be able to help you finish your chores faster, okay?"

HK reluctantly agreed and Lydia slowly let her go.

“Who are you? How can you help me?” HK asked immediately, keeping her voice down.

Lydia nodded while she smiled. She then took out a star shaped badge that had LPHK on it.

"This badge will increase ONLY your abilities in Health, Combat, and Magic by tenfold. It won't make you invinsible but it should help you with a lot of things in perspective. So even if your hat was stolen by someone, it won't work on them, it'll make them THINK so but the most boost it'll offer is a boost in ego. And here," once she placed the badge in the girls' hand, she rummaged through her bag and brought out an small emerald brooch in the shape of a flower.

“And.. what’s THAT for..?” She asked, pointing at the brooch. “And I still didn’t catch your name..”

"The name's Lydia kid. But you can call me El. And this brooch will help you figure things out. It has intelligence magic that will help you if you're in a pinch if you can't use or don't have a certain hat. I put a lot of thought into these, so don't lose them. 'Kay?" She explained.

“Oh, ok. It’s nice to meet you, El! I’m Harriet or Hattie for short! People have been calling me Hat Kid or Kid though..” She grumbled the last bit.

'The theory was spot on!' Lydia beamed. "Well, how about I call you Hattie? And if we're in front of company I call you Harriet?" She suggested.

“Ok I can dig that.” Hattie replied with a shrug. “Um.. I should probably get going though. I don’t wanna keep the fuzzy jack-o-lantern waiting TOO long.”

"Oh! Yeah, yeah! Go, go, go! And remember, he's always watching, even when think he isn't." Lydia made herself scarce as she ran back to her Trailblazer and zoomed off back to the hideout.

Once she came back, Wren was anxiously waiting for her. Lydia parked the craft and came running up to her dispelling the shadow spell.

"Hey…!" She called out as she ran huffing.

“W-where have you been?! D-did you finally s-see her or something, i-is everything ok?!” Wren asked in rapid paced worry.

"Hey hey! Everything's okay and going according to plan. Yes I met her and gave her the badge and the brooch. All that's left is to watch her from the shadows and help her if needed. Which will be tricky considering Snatcher will be watching from time to time. You ready?" Lydia asked with a mischievous smile.

She nodded as she calmed herself of her fears. “Y-yes… just a second.” She took a couple more seconds to collect herself.

Lydia raised an amused brow. "You okay cuz?" She smiled.

“Other than nearly having a heart attack? I’m just peachy.”

Lydia giggled. "Sorry. Let's get going then." As they cloaked themselves with a camouflage spell, they got on their Trailblazers and set off.