Chapter 25: Interdimensional

When the darkness cleared, we were outside the manor. I still felt a presence, and saw a shadow looming over me.

I turned around and froze at what I saw.

A man, probably around the same age as me, in dark robes with a dark aura that almost looked kind of glitchy around him, with grey eyes and pale skin, floating in the air.

I'd never met this man in my life, yet I knew that aura of being watched well.

He stared at me for a few seconds with a menacing frown.

"I'm not going to have twenty years of you growing up be wasted stupidly like this," He hissed.

Hold up...

"I did warn you that there was a beast here," He grumbled.

"Wait, WHAT?" I shouted, and he disappeared in a black-grey vortex.

I looked around, and the kid was stood up, looking around as well.

"L-let's just get out of here," I muttered, and she nodded.

We ran as fast as we possibly could back to the main section of the forest.

"Now..." She said, and I could tell she was mad.

She looked up at me in a very irritated gesture.

"You're going to tell me exactly what that was about, or I'm going to get very, very angry," She threatened.

I frowned.

"What is there to say?" I asked, "I have no idea what that is about. All I can assume is that that guy is the mysterious voice that talked to me earlier, from that aura of being watched I feel often. You know, the one that gave me those hookshot badges."

She raised an eyebrow.

"So what was he saying about watching you for twenty years?" She asked angrily.

"I'm just as clueless as you are!" I shouted, and she shook her head. "Maybe that... guy, thing, whatever it is, used to watch over me when I was little? I can only guess, with my fractured memory. I'll try to remember whatever I can, but..."

I put every bit of my consciousness into trying my damnedest to remember something.

I began to get something.

I tried even harder, and eventually it was revealed.

Here I was, sitting at a computer. I was playing... some video game on it, and from what I was saying I could tell I was struggling on a level. After some time, I beat it. I shook my head, and began to wonder about other options for my life instead of aimlessly playing some video game. I went to bed. After a couple of minutes, I sat up and looked around.

I felt like I was being watched.

I could tell from the thoughts that were running through my mind that this was a common occurence, but that this time it felt more realistic. Like I needed to check wherever I was living that there wasn't an intruder. I did so, and found nothing. I returned to my bedroom, and saw something that definitely shouldn't have been there out of the corner of my eye.

I turned to face it, and found nothing. I decided that I was merely imagining things and returned to bed, where I heard a very strange jingle and knew for a fact that it was real.

I muttered something about my apartment being haunted, and almost as if on cue, my television turned itself on. I got up, became irritated, and ran over to it and tried shutting it off, but it wouldn't respond.

I became extremely annoyed and unplugged it, but it still didn't shut off for a few seconds.

Now I really knew something was up, and I decided that I would try to find some paranormal or supernatural expert or experts to come in and poke around. I turned around and walked over to my bed, until a very weird, almost glitchy noise boomed through the apartment.

I turned back to my TV, and a vortex made entirely of static was in front of it, and it began to pull me in. I tried desperately to avoid it, and grabbed onto my bed post, but it snapped off, and I was sucked into the portal, screaming like a girl.

I blacked out, and some time later I awoke with a migraine in a large, dark room without my memories.

I snapped out of the memory with a gasp.

Looking back on these memories, that strange out-of-place 'object' I saw out of the corner of my eye looked mighty similar to that glitchy dude that just saved our rears.

Now I really had some thinking to do.

I sat down and put my hand to my chin. The kid walked up to me with a questioning look.

"What did you remember?" She asked.

"How I got here," I answered, and her eyes widened.

"So, how did you get here?" She asked.

"Well, I don't belong here. I think... I'm from an alternate dimension," I stated.

Her eyes widened more.

"But, how did you get here, though?" She asked.

So, I told her what I remembered, and told her that the strange object I saw in the corner of my eye seemed to look similar to that guy that saved us.

"That's... interesting," She said, "Why do you think he was there?"

"Well, he looked kinda, well, glitchy. The portal that took me here was made of static. I think he may have brought me here, but I'm not sure," I answered.

"HELLO!"

"HOLY HELL!" I yelled as Snatcher popped out of the ground, laughing his metaphorical ass off.

"Dammit, Snatcher!" I grumbled.

"Woah, hey, that's uncalled for! I was just saying hello!" He stated nonchalantly.

"And scared the life out of both me and the kid," I muttered.

"Well, it's your fault for sitting around! That contract isn't gonna complete itself! So, get to it!" He shouted.

"Fine," I grumbled, and we began walking toward the village.

I still don't think this will end well.

Why would Snatcher give the kid her soul back? No, no, honestly. He's a soul-eating demon. Like, yeah, he gets free work from us, that's a win for him, but we're taking stuff from his forest and we trespassed on his property. Also, he's still a soul-eating demon.

But then again, he seemed genuinely happy and, to be frank, kind in the mail delivery. With that mailman hat on, giving the kid a badge, even giving her a Time Piece?

Also, he doesn't really act like a soul-eating demon. He acts more, well, lax. While most soul-stealing demons act insane, angry, sadistic, and that kind of thing, Snatcher...

Eh...

Well, he gives new meaning to the term 'chillin' like a villain'.

Anyway, I still don't trust him (why would I), but who knows?

We'll just have to smash this outhouse and see what happens.