What was she doing again?

Hat Kid looked up from where she lay in the grass, rubbing the back of her aching head. She knew she was forgetting something important, but for the life of her, she couldn't remember what it was—not until she looked up at the miasmic sky above her through a barren canopy of craggily, overlapping branches. Right: She'd beamed down to some forest in her hunt for Time Pieces. It was supposed to be a clear drop, but accidents did happen. She must've hit a branch or two on the way.

Even from space, the forest hadn't been a welcoming sight: A viscous, swirling purple mass that coated the landscape like a kind of poison. The alien had hunted through her ship's records for any usual information. It wasn't much—all of the data her species had on the planet was old to say the least—but she did learn about the massive, shattered Time Piece located within its depths. Curiosity tied to necessity urged her to search the foreboding place sooner rather than later.

She'd landed in the middle of a clearing centered around a large tree with a natural moat encompassing its base. Fires raged around it, both near and distant, although some acted as strange barriers that—while failing to burn any of the nearby wood—loomed threateningly over her when she neared. Beyond that, most of the forest was shrouded in a heavy gloom. A gnarled, thorny vine made for a bridge and the trunk had been carved out to fashion an odd house with twin, maw-like openings on either side. Despite this, however, the warm glow exuding from its interior was almost inviting.

She might've ventured inside if a voice from behind, spoken in a breathy tenor, hadn't stopped her, "Hello, child. You seem lost."

Startled, Hat Kid turned around to face a strange, spectral being hovering in the air. His skin was a pale blue and his face was covered by a crescent-shaped mask bearing a wide, eternal smile. A jolt of terror first coursed down her spine—she'd never seen a ghost before, had never even known they existed beyond superstition—but at the same time, the phantom didn't seem all that scary. He merely waited for her to respond with a tilt of his head, barely moving beyond his subtle rise and fall as he levitated in place.

She remained wary, but kept her umbrella down as she asked, "Who are you?"

"I am the Moonjumper. I live and breathe the Horizon, it is my home," he answered readily, "I was just about to return there, actually. This isn't any place I want to linger." He gestured toward her with a pointed nod, "This isn't any place for a little girl either. What are you doing here?"

The child debated how much she should tell him. She'd already faced off against a range of enemies who'd wanted the Time Pieces. A ghost probably had more reason than anyone to steal one, using its power to change their fate. Nevertheless, with another look around, she also considered how lost she was here. Combing through the forest would take time, so she needed all the help she could get. "I'm looking for hourglasses," she confessed at last, "Have you seen any?"

The specter paused for a quick second, then seemed to chuckle to himself, "Funny, that you should mention it…"

A haze of floating pixels seemed to manifest at the wave of his hand as he moved back. Hat Kid took a step away herself, watching in awe as the air began to distort in front of her, cubes of color blurring together and taking shape in quick succession before her eyes. Was this some kind of summoning spell? She didn't really get the chance to wholly rationalize what was happening as the shapes split off into nine blurs that warped themselves into Time Pieces.

It was stranger still though to wrap her head around how easy this was compared to all she had gone through to collect the others thus far. Half-amazed, her jaw hung slack as the Time Pieces hovered gently down onto the grass under Moonjumper's guiding hand. It took her a second longer to get over her shock and collect them, scrambling to pull off her backpack and tuck them inside one-by-one.

This was all of them: Each and every one she'd needed to find in the forest. Unbelievable… Too easy. With a raised brow and the last hourglass in hand, Hat Kid looked back toward the ghost, "This is… really nice of you."

Easily reading the confliction in her eyes, he returned her gratitude with a somewhat dismissive wave, "Think nothing about it. I've actually been investigating these relics myself." Before she could wince at her failed subtlety, he continued, "You see, there are a number of these scattered across my realm as well, taken by various spirits. They've been causing some trouble as a result. I presume they're also yours?"

She nodded, biting her lower lip. Another, aching pang shot through her head.

"These are quite the treasures you have. Powerful relics for someone so young." Moonjumper crossed his arms behind his back, moving away in a pacing fashion as he paused for a moment's thought. After brief consideration, he turned back to her, his calm voice a little sterner than before, "I can't spare the manpower to go search for them. The Horizon is a big place and my subjects are few… It will be dangerous, but—if you wish—you're free to return there with me and continue the hunt yourself."

The young alien could only blink back up at him in reply. On one hand, this was better than she could've ever hoped. Nine Time Pieces in one swoop: This was by far the most she had collected in so short a span. Even in Mafia Town, she had been lucky to gather two or three at most in a single day. She didn't really have any second to waste and should've jumped at the chance to gather as many as she could as soon as possible.

However, something still nagged at her—starting with how helpful and curt Moonjumper was being, as if he'd known her intentions well before she got there. That, and she didn't know what—or where—the Horizon was. Could she really just follow him to some, strange place? Even if he was trustworthy, what if wherever he took her made it hard to get back to her ship?

Did she even have a choice?

Seeing her reluctance, he explained further, "Of course, you'll need to prepare first. My home is a kind of spirit realm, so it will be difficult traveling back and forth from mortal world. It would be best if you gathered enough supplies for a long stay. In any case, leave now. These woods are too dangerous."

She nodded, although she still hadn't really given him an answer yet on whether or not she'd even go with him at all.

Maybe it was the fall or how many questions rushed through her mind, but her head still hurt. She braced it in her free hand, fingers rubbing her scalp. She felt tired and even a little sick. It could've been the forest's miasma affecting her as well, since it was strong enough to blanket the land in a thick layer of darkness. Whatever it was, she wanted to go back to her ship—and she would've if it weren't for the nagging feeling that persisted above the others. "I think…" it was getting harder to find her words, "I think I want to look around for a bit though. Just in case I'm still missing a Time Piece."

She felt like she was still missing something anyway, so that had to be it: An hourglass left unaccounted for. She wanted to examine the forest's large, ruined Time Piece as well. What were its coordinates again…?

"What's wrong, kiddo? You don't know where to go?"

Hat Kid thought she heard someone else. Another tenor similar, but different to Moonjumper's: It carried a proud, jeering tone, and had a slight gravel that vibrated as if the words were spoken through a filter. It was irritating. She half-expected to find somebody sitting in the tall armchair nestled within the home: She glanced over her shoulder, however, and saw no one.

"There's nothing left for you to find, child," Moonjumper shook his head, extending a hand toward her, "Let me guide you out of this forest. I assure you, you'll be perfectly safe."

Thoughts split between her headache, the invasive voice, and the present, she only half-paid attention as she slipped her hand into the phantom's own. His touch was firm and bittercold, but gentle. As he led the way through the shadowed, overgrown woodland trails, the girl kept looking back at the tree behind them and the warm light to exuded.

A strange sadness fell over her. The more she dwelled on it, the worse she felt—so bad that she might've tried to purge the feeling from her mind entirely if it weren't for the letterbox that caught her eye next. Fashioned to a tree immediately to her left along the path, there was no way to miss it. Despite the forsaken setting, it looked well kept, even modern. She stared at it for a long while as they passed, unconsciously reaching for a badge on her hat that wasn't there.

"Goooooood morning! Are you ready to complete your contractual obligations?"

Hat Kid heard it again. Now though, the voice didn't grate on her nerves as much: She actually felt a small smile tug at her lips, as if she were hearing an old friend. It was enough for her to stop in her tracks, much to Moonjumper's surprise as he looked back at her with a tilt of his head.

"Every so often, I sneak into mailboxes and steal letters, then deliver them to my minions. That way, it's almost like someone cares about them."

The minions… She blinked in confusion. Why did that seem so familiar?

"Child?"

Looking out to the vast expanse of woodlands, she began to envision some of its shadows taking new shape. Kid-sized, doll-like bodies cloaked in a deep purple. Bright faces staring back at her from the darkness. Some of the them mocking, most of them friendly. Fun… They were fun to be around, fun to talk to. Carefree, if grim, a lot like—

She took another glance back at the big tree. Even the maw-shaped opening of its trunk seemed to morph into something new: A wide, grinning face with twin fangs. It too was so familiar to her. It filled her with a baffling sense of combined fear and joy. She remembered terror and pain, being pushed to her limits as she fought for her life, but also much laughter. The former tried overruling the latter, assaulting her with visions of thorns surrounding her from all sides, towering figures, swirling mists of purple and blue, the harsh sting of severe burns, and an empty feeling in her chest. Cries ricocheted through her mind in a chaotic uproar, piercing her skull with a sharp, piercing pain:

"Put your name on the contract or I'll make your dead, hollow body sign it for you!"

"You didn't think I was going to let you keep all these Time Pieces, did you? They fell in my forest, kid! They belong to me!"

"Say goodbye to that little head of yours!"

She hated it: How much fear swept over her, how much it hurt. Everything in her told her to run—leave the voices behind, focus on the security of the hand that still gripped her own in a steady embrace—and never look back. The things that they screamed at her didn't make any sense! All they did was fill her with dread.

It was so warm though, that face, that home. Even far along the trail as they were, it shone like a beacon in the darkness, a lighthouse set above a miasmic sea. Despite all of her fear and confusion, it was all she wanted to run to. So she did.

Or she tried to. The instant the girl let go of Moonjumper's hand and turned on her heels to race back the way she came, she felt something thin, but strong tug at her wrist. A sharp, surprised cry left Hat Kid as it yanked her arm back. It hurt, biting deep into her flesh through the fabric of her sleeve. The more she tried to fight it, the worse her visions seemed to be, but they were easier to fight now. Real as they were, she knew there was something more on the other side of them—that something she was missing.

She thought it might be Moonjumper trying to hold her back, but when she looked toward him, he had already vanished. In his place—stretched by the thousands across every branch, trunk, and stone, so much that they blanketed over the entire landscape in a distorted haze like the furious scribbles of a madman scratching out a work of art—were a series of intersecting red cords. A half-dozen of them were lopped around her wrist, capturing it in a taut hold.

Another scream left her and she attempted to lash out at them with her umbrella. However, all it did was knock the thread aside with her pulled after them, causing her to stumble along the ground. All the while, they seemed to expand across the whole of the forest, devouring everything in sight in a blaze of red. The way back was closing behind her. The bright faces in the wood were disappearing, drowned out by the viscous color. More cords seemed to envelop tighter across her body, sending her writhing along the ground as she fought to escape them and retreat back to the large tree—what seemed now to be the only haven left in that cursed place.

She had to go back! There was something she had to see, someone she had to meet! The young alien didn't know how she knew, but there were still things she needed to do here! She needed to explore fields of fire and ice. She needed to take back something that was stolen. She needed to dance by roaring flames, brave a haunted manor, and talk to a village of ghosts. She needed to befriend them.

She didn't want to forget.

She didn't want to forget.

Hat Kid's eyes flew open. The world that had been slowly devoured by red now only consumed half her vision. Minus the crisscrossing wires stretched over a wide void that radiated with a dim glow, the rest of her sight was bathed in complete darkness. Her limbs her bound, but she was fastened in a limp crouch along a cold floor. Her head still hurt, but the visions had fled. Instead, however, a harsh, strained series of coughs shook her chest and it was hard to breathe.

She remembered now. Moonjumper. The Horizon. Between labored breathes, anger coursed through her upon realizing what the phantom prince had tried to do. Blending it with the first time they had met, he'd tried to overwrite her memories of Subcon Forest—the village, the minions, Snatcher, all of it. She'd nearly forgotten all of them…

What was he thinking?! What was he even planning to do with her after that? Well, given how he'd panicked after she'd stolen his mask, maybe he wasn't really thinking at all, but what would wiping her memories really accomplish? Maybe he just wanted to keep her from alerting the Dwellers and possibly curing their own cursed amnesia, or maybe he simply wanted to avoid confronting the issue altogether. It was probably the easiest solution to him now, taking other people's memories, after all these years. It still didn't quell her outrage.

As another strangled cough coursed through her though, Hat Kid realized she had bigger concerns. She didn't know where she was or how long she'd been unconscious, but another thing she remembered was Moonjumper's initial warning to her the first time they'd met. She'd felt sick then too, all thanks to the heavy ether that filled the Horizon's atmosphere.

She needed to eat something from the spirit world regularly or else it would kill her.

It was hard to tell from the dull glow of the strings, but as Hat Kid looked down at her hand through her uncovered eye, she noticed it seemed paler than normal. No, not pale: Transparent. Ghost-like. Whether or not Moonjumper had meant to let her time run out, it was! The girl became frantic, twisting herself among the threads as she feverishly searched for her backpack! She had it when she fell! It had to be there!

She actually found her umbrella first, kicking it with the tip of her boot in her panic. Swinging her body around, urging it into her grip with the tip of her fingers, she continued to look around for her bag and spotted her just under a meter away. When she finally grasped her weapon, she quickly fired her hookshot at the pack, capturing it by one of its straps and reeling over to her side.

The restraining cords made it difficult, but somehow, she was able to rip it open and tear out a bit of food from inside—one of the baker's little cakes, she found, as she shoved it in her mouth and then hurried to free herself. Her fingers found her hats next, all stashed together in a smashed heap within the confines of her bag. She pulled the hard hat out first, setting it aside with the light on to help her see, and then found her brewing hat next.

There were still a few vials left over from where she'd tried copying Snatcher's potions. It had been potent enough in the fights and it had even worked against the fire spirits before. Hat Kid wasn't sure if it could actually act as a weapon against all spiritual energies, or if hers was even as strong as the Subcon Ruler's. Still, she didn't have much else to try. Swallowing down the last bite of cake, she ripped off the potion's cap with her teeth and began to pour it across the cords.

A wicked hiss, like burning acid, cut through the silence. Much to her relief, the liquid began to eat at her bounds, igniting the severed tips of the threads with brief, violet flashes of light as the opposing colors overlapped. She felt the hold on her arms lessen, next dripping the potion on her legs and shaking off the cords. Despite the minor success though, she still tugged away at the ones lashed around her face, too afraid to risk getting the concoction on her own skin. Even if she wasn't a ghost, it had already proven to be almost as effective against the living in her battle with Snatcher.

Her hands stung—small abrasions running across her fingers—but she was able to free herself completely at last. The immediate danger passed, it also left her free to wonder where exactly she'd landed. She couldn't have been far from the castle, the way the ground had opened up. Maybe she was in some, distant section of the goblins' mines? Hat Kid hoped not, on the off-chance she ran into her skeletal 'friend' once again…

The child shuffled pack back on and reclaimed her hard hat. Its light failed to reach any surface beyond the expanse of earth at her feet, but she noticed again the cords surrounding her. Although she couldn't see where they went, they had to be connected to something: They wouldn't have been able to suspend her weight or themselves otherwise. Gingerly this time, she took one of the broken cords and began to follow it.

Where exactly was Moonjumper? He probably hadn't expected her break free from his spell or his threads—not until the last of her memories had been completely overwritten anyway—so maybe Hat Kid had at least bought herself some time to make a clean getaway. Nevertheless, she'd have to be careful to avoid him and his Dwellers. The Horizon was his completely to control: He could manipulate it however he saw fit to trap her. If someone spotted her, there'd be no guarantee of escape a second time…

At last, she came to a wall and from there she followed it to the wide, stone stairwell. The steps were old and rudimentarily carved, but a clear light shone at the top of them, leading to freedom. Hat Kid raced up without hesitation, bracing herself for the challenge to come.

She found herself back on the first floor of the palace, in a hall she didn't recognize.