When Hat Kid woke up, she was lying next to a dying camp fire. She was using Wilson's vest as a blanket again. Looking around, she found the scientist sitting on a log nearby, eating a cooked carrot. "Morning, dear." he said as she started moving around. "I tried to find anything other than carrots and berries, but I wasn't very lucky."

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Morning Wilson. It's fine. Here's your vest back."

"After we eat breakfast, we'll start searching through the woods." he pointed to the dark treeline with his carrot. "It's dark in there, and it's easy to get lost. So stick close to me."

She nodded, taking a handful of berries.

"If I may pry," he started, sitting closer to her. "You say how you want to go back to your ship, and your friends. But you haven't mentioned your parents once." he looked at her with concern. "Aren't they worried about you?"

"Probably not." she shrugged. "They abandoned me as a baby."

Guilt flashed on his face. "Well, well uh, I'm sorry I brought it up."

"Don't be. You're worried about me." she pat his arm. "Besides it's not like it's your fault."

"My parents weren't the best either. They were there, but not...there. Emotionally. They probably don't know I'm here either." he nudged her gently. "I won't tell your folks you're here as long as you don't tell mine."

She laughed, nearly spitting berries out her nose.

Hat Kid felt a drop of water on her nose. Looking up, she felt more drops of water hit her face. Wilson groaned. "Of course it starts raining. Well, finish eating and we'll head out."

The Woods were huge and dark. The trees stretched high into the sky, towering over the two of them. She could barely see too far ahead of her, leaving her blindsided. And the heavy rain was turning the dirt into a muddy slush.

Hat Kid felt bad for Wilson. She had her umbrella, and her boots, to protect her from the downpour, but he didn't have anything. His clothes were wet, and his hair was slicked downwards. She offered him the umbrella, but he declined.

They did share the umbrella when he needed to look at the map, though.

She'd normally complain about how it would be impossible to find something in these woods, but she knew that the Time Piece would glow, and make noises as they got closer.

The nearby trees groaned, and she squeezed Wilson's hand tightly. He stopped walking. "Better safe than sorry..." he grumbled, pulling several pine cones from his bag. Kneeling down, he planted the cones.

She looked at him, totally confused. "Don't look at me like that. I haven't lost my mind yet, dear." he assured her. "Sometimes, the trees come alive. But I found that you can pacify them by planting pine cones."

She nodded, glancing at the trees with a newfound suspicion. "Are you sure you don't want my umbrella?" she asked him for the tenth time.

"I told you, I'm fine." he replied, sounding harsher than he meant. "C'mon." she winced, following behind him. She wasn't holding his hand.

After walking some more, he came to a dead stop. Not looking, she bumped into his leg. "Hey, why'd we stop?" she asked, moving ahead.

"Dear, wait-" he tried to warn her, but it was too late.

Hat Kid stared at the human skeleton sprawled out in front of her. It was laying on the ground, looking upwards and stretching one hand out in a pleading gesture. Laying around the skeleton were scattered bits of rock and rope, and nearby a spear was stuck in the ground.

She looked back at Wilson. He gave a serious frown, walking closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder in a comforting motion. "I'm...sorry. I should have warned you."

"Who were they?" she whispered, gripping his pant leg.

"I...I don't know. It's too late for them now."

She felt tears stream down her cheeks. This poor soul was long gone. He leaned down and hugged her tight. "I'm here. It's OK."

After scavenging the supplies from the skeleton, the two were back on track. "Is...that a clearing?" she heard Wilson ask himself. He grabbed her hand. "Cross your fingers..."

The clearing was large and full of wooden houses. There was a cobblestone pathway in the middle of it, and berry bushes, carrot patches and grass tufts scattered around.

Hat Kid felt elated. Civilization! Maybe there were people who could help! Or maybe even a proper bathroom!

Her hope shattered as soon as she saw the inhabitants.

Humanoid pig monsters shambled throughout the town, speaking in broken English and snorting at each other. They didn't seem to mind the rain, throwing mud balls at each other. And their smell indicated they didn't have a bathroom.

"These are Pigmen." Wilson sighed, waving a hand towards the village. "They're not helpful. Especially since we don't have food. But, we could look at the King. Pig Kings like shiny things, maybe he has the Time Piece. If he doesn't, that means it's probably not in the woods."

The two stayed on the edge of the clearing, trying to not alarm the inhabitants. The two hid in a bush, and peeked through it at the King. The King was huge and morbidly obese, with massive horns, jewelry(?) and grass clothes. The stench made Hat Kid gag.

"I don't see a Time Piece." he whispered.

"I don't either."

They both sighed, sinking back into the bush. "That means it's probably in the swamp." he muttered, sounding very disappointed.

Wilson winced, holding his head and hunching over. His head hurt and he was starving. Again. She looked at him, and tapped his shoulder. "Are you OK?"

"I'm..fine." he said softly. "I'm just.." he hesitated. "I'm just hungry. That's all. Don't worry about me, we need to find that Time Piece-"

"The Pigs have berry bushes and carrots. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we...borrow them." she gave a mischievous grin.

He returned the smile. "I'll distract them, you gather." he told her, giving her a wink before standing up.

She dashed to the berry bushes, starting to pick the red orbs as fast as she could. She couldn't help but pop a few in her mouth; she was hungry too.

Hat Kid stopped gathering berries, because she heard Pigs screaming. Looking towards the noise, she saw one of the houses on fire, with the Pigs wailing and running around. "WHO DO THIS? MY STUFF!" they wailed. Nearby, Wilson stood there, trying to look nonchalant.

"YOU! UGLY MONKEY MAN! YOU DO THIS?" one of the pigs asked, pointing and getting a little too close for Wilson's comfort.

He gasped in surprise. "What? Me? I would never! But I did see that Pig over there do it." he pointed to a Pig who had not noticed the fire. The original Pig roared, and punched the accused Pig in the back.

Before her very eyes, there was a Piggy War. Pigs punching and kicking and biting one another like mad. Wilson watched from the side, leering at them like a hungry alley cat watching a horde of mice. He was in control, and he knew it.

He glanced at her, motioning for her to keep picking.

She nodded, finishing the berry bushes and moving to the carrots.

As the Pigs slaughtered their own kind, their bodies exploded with a poof, leaving a pile of meat and a piece of their skin behind. This is what Wilson was waiting for. Darting into the fray, snatching the goodies and darting out before any of the other Pigs could notice.

She motioned she was done, and he nodded. The two snuck out of the Pig Village and back into the woods unnoticed with their bounty.

"That was great!" he squealed, looking at the haul of food from the Pig Village. He snatched Hat Kid up and held her tight, spinning around from excitement. "You did great! That went even better than I hoped!"

"We should probably get it off the muddy ground." she offered, returning the hug.

"You're right, you're right!" he set her down, and began to shove the food into the bag. Although he munched on most of the berries. "We can cook the steak for dinner, and save the rest for later-"

"You're kinda drooling." she said, stifling her laughter.

"I am?" he asked, wiping his mouth. "I'm sorry, I wolfed down a bunch of berries and started thinking about steak."

Hat Kid went quiet. "Do you hear something?"

He finished packing the meat and carrots back in the bag, frowning. "Hm?" he stood up, tense and silent. A look of panic creeped into his features.

"Hounds."

Wilson began to hurriedly take the axe out of his bag. "It's too early for Hounds! They're not supposed to be here for another few day at least!" he picked Hat Kid up with one hand, holding the axe in the other, and started to sprint.

She could feel how tense and fearful he was, and it made her scared as well. "Hounds? Wilson, talk to me here. What are hounds?" she asked, looking over her shoulder. She could hear the baying and barking get louder.

"Hounds are huge monsters who resemble wolves from Hell." he explained dodging tree branches and rocks. "We need to get to the Beefalo. They attack Hounds."

The two burst through the treeline. The Beefalo could be seen on the horizon. So far...

Out of the woods burst the Hounds. Monster canines, covered in thick black fur. They had white eyes and huge mouths lined with razor-sharp teeth. They snarled and barked, chasing after the two.

She screamed. They were horrifying! Easily the size of large cars, and just as fast. "They're gaining on us!"

He skidded to a halt. Setting Hat Kid on the ground, he handed her the backpack. "You need to run towards the Beefalo. I'll stall them."

"NO! You can't! They'll kill you!" she wailed.

"This is non negotiable!" he snapped. "I'll be fine. Go! I'll hold them off!"

She started crying, but did as she was told. She started running towards the Beefalo in the distance. Wilson turned to face the monsters, taking a deep breath and holding his axe with both hands.

The 4 Hounds formed a semi-circle around him. They snarled and pawed at the ground, and they all had a standoff to see who would make the first move.

The Hounds went first.

One charged at him, and he swung the Axe. There was a sickening squelsh as the axe sliced the Hound's face open. It whimpered and backed off. "Yeah! Who's next!?" he challenged.

Another charged at him, and he jumped out of the way, hitting the Hound in the side. The axe broke, leaving the head embedded in the Hound's side, and Wilson with a stick. He slowly looked down at the stick, and back to the Hounds.

The beasts seem to sneer at him.

Two charged at once, one knocking him to his feet and the other trying to maul his face. Using the broken axe handle to hold the Hound back, the Hound with the axe head still in it's side charged again. It began to viciously tear apart his leg.

He screamed in pain as the beast tore his leg open, unable to fight back.

Hat Kid stopped in her tracks, dropping the backpack at her feet. She had to help! She began to run back. Swapping her Top Hat for her Brewing Hat.

"HEY! UGLY!" she yelled. One of the Hounds not attacking Wilson looked up, only to get bashed in the face with her umbrella. The one mauling her companion's leg looked up, roaring at her. "How's the taste of bombs?!" she asked, throwing a vial into it's roaring mouth.

The Hound swallowed, and started to charge at her before exploding in a large poof of ash and dust. Another charged at her, only to get smacked in the face with her umbrella. Two charged at once, hitting each other as she rolled out of the way. They collapsed to the ground, both exploding in a poof of smoke.

Only one Hound remained. It huffed and barked at her, pawing the ground. She readied another vial. "You want me? Come get me!" she roared at it. The Monster roared at her, charging with incredible speed. She threw the vial in it's mouth, and jumped out the way. As the Hound turned to charge again, it exploded like it's brothers.

Once she was sure there were no other Hounds to deal with, she rushed to Wilson's side. He was badly injured, his leg torn open to the bone and bleeding, and his ribs were bruised due to having a Hound on his chest for an extended period of time.

He coughed, trying to sit up. "I thought...I told you to run.."

"I started to, but you were hurt. I had to help!" she helped him sit up. "Are you OK?"

"I will be. Thank you." he said in a tired voice. Taking a deep breath, he slowly stood up, wincing and taking sharp breaths all the while. She circled alongside him as he stumbled and swayed into camp, and helping him sit down near the fire.

"What can I do to help?" she said, trying to look at his leg, but finding herself unable to.

"Well, promise me you will never do anything that reckless again." he ordered, shifting to be more comfortable.

"I don't think I can." she grinned at him.

Wilson shook his head. "Alright then, I have a big job for you. But seeing as how you managed to fight four Hounds at once and get out without a scratch, I don't think you'll have a hard time with it. You remember those spiders?"

She shuddered. How could she forget?

"I need you to kill a few of them."

"What?!" she exclaimed. "Why?"

"Spiders have a gland that can can heal. I trust you can do it?" he asked, his tone soft. "I can understand if you can't."

"I can do it!" she removed her brewing hat, placing her signature top hat on her head. "I'll get you some of those glands! Ew that's a gross word."

"Um, where's the backpack?" he asked, looking around.

"Oh. I'll get that too."

After having an intense fight against Hound Monsters the size of cars, fighting spiders the size of basketball didn't seem so scary or difficult anymore. They were still gross looking and made her head hurt. Hat Kid had lured a few out at a time before whacking them with her umbrella until they poofed out of existence, leaving their spoils behind.

She was counting how many glands she had gathered, when she felt a sharp pain in the back of her foot. She yelped in pain, spinning around to find a spider. It must have snuck up on her. She whacked it to death, figuring she should head back.

She retrieved the backpack, and picked lots of flowers to replace their flower crowns. Wilson was right, picking them did make her head feel better.

She limped back to the camp. "Wilson?" she asked, looking at her companion. He was leaning back on a log, his eyes closed. As she got closer, he seemed to snap out of and sat up slightly.

"Sorry, I was just-" he stopped himself, looking at her up and down. "Are you limping?"

"A spider got my leg a little bit." she whimpered, lifting up her injured leg slightly.

He huffed. "Hey, I'm the only one who can get hurt around here. C'mere." he pat the grass next to him. "I can fix that up too. Give me the backpack, and grab some ash from the fire pit."

Setting the backpack down, she limped over to the fire pit, grabbing several handfuls. "OK. Now what?"

"Give it to me."

She sat next to him, handing him the ash. He had pulled out a piece of paper, placing the spider glands on the paper, dumping the ash on top. Using a rock, he mashed the two together to form a sticky paste. "Show me your bite."

She rolled up her pant leg. Looking at the wound, she grimaced. It looked red and swollen, bleeding slightly. "This might sting. Here-" he offered her his hand. "If it hurts, squeeze my hand."

She nodded, putting on a brave face and took his hand. As he started to glob on the paste, she winced and squeezed his hand. It certainly stung. But when he was done, she felt much better.

He smiled, before looking serious. "Ha..this isn't going to be fun." he murmured, looking at his leg. She still couldn't look at it.

"D-Do you want my hand to squeeze?"

He gave a weak laugh. "As much as I'd like that, I need both hands to do this." he took several deep breaths before he started applying the salve to his own leg. She hid her face in her hands, unable to watch His face twisted in pain as the salve touched the raw flesh and bone. After all the salve was applied, he wrapped the paper around his leg as a form of wrapping.

When it was all said and done, he sighed, leaning back onto the log again. "I forget how much it stings until I apply it."

"Will that help?" she asked, peeking through her fingers.

"My leg will be fine by tomorrow. But having some food in me will certainly speed up the process." he gave a shaky smile. "I'd love some steak."

As Wilson was unable to move very far, he had to count on Hat Kid to cook two pieces of meat for the both of them along with some carrots. Because she 'needed vegetables in her diet for proper nutrition'.

Cooking them had gone without a hitch, aside from the fact she dropped one on the ground. He assured her that it was fine and he would eat it.

She munched on her mandatory vegetables while her steak cooled, and he had to stop himself from tearing into his like a starved beast. He was a gentleman, and he had company. He had to retain his manners no matter how empty his belly was.

Although it was a little difficult without plates or utensils.

"Can I ask a question?" she asked between bites.

"That was a question." he grinned at her.

She frowned, doing the math in her head. "Can I ask you several questions?"

"I suppose."

"So, so earlier you said that 'It's too early for Hounds' and you know so much about how this world works, but your map is so empty, and how you said you haven't explored 'This World' so much. So what do you mean by all of that?" she asked, slurring her words together by how fast she was talking.

Wilson was quiet, slowly eating his steak as he thought about how to answer. "So, I did not end up here like you did. I didn't accidentally teleport here using extraterrestrial time magic."

"It's not magic-"

"I was tricked here, by a demon in a bad suit. He promised me knowledge and to help with my work. I agreed, and he had me build a portal that brought me here."

"Maxwell." she replied.

He nodded. "The very same. He controls everything in this world. I am a pawn in his amusement. And sometimes...things don't go my way. And I die." he faltered, looking for words. "When I die, I wake up in another version of his world. All of the rules are the same, but the island shifts and I start from day one."

"How long have you been here?" she asked, feeling pity for her friend.

"God only knows. Long enough to know how everything works. And, this brings me to my biggest fear. You, my dear, are not under Maxwell's control. You elude him and his magical bullshit. Pardon my french. And my fear, is that if you die..."

"You won't come back."

Hat Kid was shocked, this was a lot to take in.

"That's why I worry so much! If I die, I'll come back. But if you die, who knows!" he shifted, so he could look at her better. "That's why we need to find your Time Piece! So we can send you home!"

"Right!" she said, a new fire in her eyes. "And it's in the swamp, right?"

"Most likely. Knowing Maxwell, he's probably going to be pulling some strings to make it difficult. I want to be absolutely prepared. So while my leg heals, and my ribs stop hurting," he winced, feeling the area where they were bruised. "We can gather supplies."

Hat Kid nodded. "Right!"

"Now, eat your dinner so you can get some sleep. Sensible bites."

"Wait, I think you should get some sleep tonight." she replied. "I haven't seen you sleep."

"I'll be fine, dear." he ruffled her hair. "Someone needs to watch the fire, and you need your sleep more than me."

She pouted, hands on her hips. "What if, we get the fire really big? And then we won't worry about it going out."

He scratched his chin. "I...suppose that could work."

She cheered, dumping a pile of logs into the fire pit. It shot up, roaring and crackling. Wilson whistled, noting the size and intensity. "Sure beats darkness."

Hat Kid giggled, munching on her steak and trying to snuggle against his side.

"Ow, ow, ribs!" he whimpered. "Here, try this." he shifted, so she was leaning more on his arm.

She hugged his arm, giving him a "Goodnight Wilson!" before starting to drift off.

"Goodnight, my dear." he purred, leaning against the log.

It wasn't long before the two were fast asleep.

Conductor shivered at the entrance of the Subcon woods. It was cold and dark, and he had heard it was full of ghosts.

There was no way the Lass would be in here.

"C'mon darling! You want to find her, or not?" Grooves shouted from a few yards away.

"I'm coming!" he shouted back, marching forward. "I want to find her! I just...dislike dark woods. And maybe she's not here."

"We talked to everyone in Mafia Town, I checked the Moon, you checked the studios. This is next on the list."

The birds yelped and screeched as they set off one of Snatcher's traps. Their confused screaming turned into arguing, both accusing each other of setting the trap.

After a few loud, angry moments, they fell out of the trap and into a purple expanse. Snatcher formed in front of him, ready to do his usual spiel.

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLS!" he roared. "YOU BLEW IT! YOU BOTH SCREWED YOURSELVES!"

Conductor screamed, hiding behind Grooves. Grooves was scared, but didn't show it as much as his business rival did. "H-Hello there good...sir. We're here to ask you a question?"

Snatcher's smile grew wider as he floated closer. "Is it to beg for mercy?"

"N-No," DJ Grooves pulled a small poster from his jacket. It was a photo from when he had Hat Kid run around and get publicity. "Have you seen this girl?"

Snatcher took the poster, squinting at it. "Wait...you know that Kid?" his tone softened, and sounded almost worried.

"Do you?" the birds asked simultaneously.

"Yeah! Little brat burst in, looking for Time Pieces? She thinks we're BFF's or something. I haven't seen her in a couple of days. Is she OK?" he asked, snapping his talons and causing the trap to disappear.

"We came to ask ye that!" Conductor stepped out from behind Grooves. "Ye haven't seen the Lassie either?"

Snatcher shook his head. "I sent my minions to search every nook and cranny, but they've turned up short. There's only one place we haven't looked." he pointed up, past the treeline and into the starry night sky.

"Her ship."