After all this time, she thought she'd know where she was going well enough by now. Whether curiously wandering around or in search of Moonjumper, she'd walked through the castle plenty during her stay. She shouldn't have been too far from the garden either… Hat Kid switched out her hard hat for her mask as she explored, on the lookout for any signs or movement as much as a possible secret passage out. Although—for once—she was grateful for the emptiness, it wasn't the first time she cursed the silence as her footsteps echoed off the stone walls.
It was several tense minutes before she found something familiar, darting past the dining and ballrooms to reach the wide foyer. If the literal ghost town were any more populated, the young alien would've thought against charging out the front door; however, she knew the entrance would be equally as empty as the rest of the palace and she could sneak around the outside walls and mountain pass to cross the ravine just as she had before. That was, until a heavy metal gate stopped her in her tracks.
It fell swiftly and with a loud clang, dropping over her almost like a guillotine. Hat Kid dodged it with a shocked scream, rearing back and stumbling to the ground. Just as in the spectral goats' home, there was no switch or crank to control it. Unfortunately, she didn't see a Dweller bell either…
"And where do you think you're running off too?" The child scrambled onto her feet, looking around in all directions. Moonjumper's voice seemed to come from everywhere, having regained its calm, but now far colder than ever before. "You woke up sooner than I expected. You must have a very strong mind. Or maybe I chose the wrong memories."
Hat Kid scowled at the walls, choking down her nerves, "Let me go, Moonjumper!"
"And then you'll do what?" His voice was much nearer now—from up high. She raised her head to see him weightlessly balanced on the edge of a drum chandelier a few meters above. He'd put back on his own mask already, which stared down at her with that wide, fake smile. "Convince my subjects to turn against me? Change their minds? You'd challenge everything they think they've known for generations."
Hat Kid moved away—already eying the halls with a sidelong glance to decide her next attempt at escape—while the phantom prince lowered himself with a slow, purposeful glide. He was still about a meter from the floor when he stopped. Even with his hands behind his back, carrying himself with his usual, gentlemanly manner, he loomed over her domineeringly. If his original outburst hadn't been evidence enough, the girl was beginning to see more and more each second who the various spirits called 'Mad Moon.'
He continued, "Maybe you just want to leave with your Time Pieces and wash your hands of this place. I couldn't fault you for that, but I also don't believe you're the sort to leave well enough alone."
Well… He wasn't wrong. The first thing she planned to do once she got away was tell Snatcher. Whether or not he believed her about Moonjumper or even knew who he was, he'd have to act if he learned that some of the Dwellers were trapped here. There's no way he'd let them stay like this! Not that she felt like admitting any of her intentions to the ghost before her though.
"You really are such a troublesome child…" Moonjumper sighed. Red strings began to manifest as his fingertips as he raised his hands alongside him. "I'm afraid I just can't let you leave now, dear. Don't worry though: I'll clear your mind completely this time and give you a suitable role here."
He flicked his arm in fluid strike that whipped half the strings in her direction. Hat Kid lunged out of the way, landing in a tuck-and-roll before sprinting back to her feet and taking off down the opposite hall she came from. There were wide windows throughout the castle: If she could find one, she could break out in an instant!
Of course, it wasn't that easy. She'd barely ran more than a few meters when the ground shifted beneath her. The beautiful tile arranged itself in a circle around her and then pillars of stone rose in sequence from the pattern, in attempt to cage her. As quick on her feet as she was with her thoughts, the girl propelled herself from one side to the other to make it over the top. All the while, a single order rang through her head: No matter what, don't stop!
She smacked the wall to avoid colliding into it as she turned the corner. A series of tall windows stood along her left side just ahead, but as she neared them—one-by-one—they began to slam shut and her path grew dark. No matter how much she urged her legs to carry her forward, she couldn't outpace them. To her other side, replacing the Horizon's soft blues, a jagged row of crimson eyes began to appear along the wall. They followed her every move.
Moonjumper's voice took to the air once again. He spoke as calmly as a doctor merely trying to convince her into taking a small shot, "There's no sense in tiring yourself out. Don't make this difficult."
Grimacing, she ignored him. A slate of rock launched up from the patch of floor right in front of her. She couldn't stop herself from running straight into it; however, she recovered fast. Kicking off its flat surface, she scaled over it without a glance back. She was afraid if she looked that she might break her pace even more than the misstep already had.
That couldn't have been more evident as the eyes grew in number. Lining the outer wall now, they paralleled the first, from which red cords fired and connected to the other side—an eye for an eye. The strings flared dangerously bright and she dodged any that flew in her path. The ones ahead acted as tripwires for her to navigate through as swiftly as possible, diving under some and leaping across others.
Before she could disappear down another passage, the ground began to quake, then it lurched without warning, flinging her and everything else in the hall upward. A table slammed against the wall and fell. A vase shattered to the floor, spilling its luminescent flowers in a shallow pool. Beyond the second she waited fighting to maintain her balance, Hat Kid stayed upright, then kept going.
From the very beginning, just about all the halls had looked the same. It was almost impossible for her to tell the difference if she wasn't paying attention. That's what made it even more disorienting when she shoved her way through a door—expecting it to be one of the guest rooms—and found herself in Moonjumper's study. Unwilling to consider the time it would take to backtrack, she ran over to the balcony and looked down. No good! It was just too far a drop.
For a moment, her eyes briefly met the flowers growing along the balustrade that Moonjumper had shown her before. As much as she still marveled over his control of the landscape, it now equally filled her heart with dread. She spun on her heel to backtrack and race for the stairs. Even if he changed the layout, certain areas couldn't go without notice: There had to be some things similar enough for her find her way out. Like the basic act of going down.
Just as with the windows, her path was cut off before she could reach it, the first step lifting itself up and sealing the stairwell. When she tried to retreat down the opposite end of the wall and find another way around, the phantom prince himself appeared through the floor and stopped her in her tracks. He swung at her again and she jumped to avoid the mess of cords launched her way.
"I won't simply leave you as a blank slate," he explained, "Of course you'll have new memories to replace the old—much more pleasant ones that whatever visions the Horizon assaulted you with."
She couldn't pay attention to his goading. Hat Kid bit her lower lip and fell into a crouch, raising her umbrella before her and driving it at the ghost like a lance. The attack was unexpected, lending her the element of surprise as her weapon struck his chest at full force—although whether he didn't think she would fight him so furiously or didn't know her counter would affect him at all was beyond her. She was just grateful that the potion she'd coated her umbrella with was still potent enough to work.
After striking him a second time with an upward swing to the head, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the colors change in the reflection of the stonework. The walled-off stairwell suddenly changed to a bright indigo, shimmering with the same ethereal energy she had seen in other blocked reaches known primarily to the spirits. For just a split second, she glanced back to Moonjumper and noted his momentary lapse in focus as he braced his mask. Immediately after, she activated her own and retreated through the starry veil.
Another quake already followed her even as she raced down the steps. The girl made it to the bottom only to find the whole level turned upside down. Aside from the path of the halls themselves, the majority of windows and doorways were just out of her reach. It wasn't until she came across one of the palace's round towers that was able to progress further. Here, she was forced to climb the stairs in reverse. The tower itself hadn't faired the changes as well as most other areas, with large chunks of rock broken from both the walls and floor. Umbrella in-hand, Hat Kid used her hookshot to latch onto sconces and fly over gaps, or leapt upon the green, ghostly outlines of bricks that had undone themselves with the help of her mask.
At last, she came to an opening that spilled her outside—but now she was even higher up than before! At this rate, Moonjumper really could keep her going in circles until she was too tired to fight him! She was a mouse lost in an ever-changing maze, with him almost constantly acting as a steady observer. Maybe she had to be more erratic, to make it impossible to guess which direction she'd run toward next. However, if she didn't also choose carefully where to go, she could end up cornering herself.
Moving along the outer walls, at least she was able to slow her pace a bit. She half-expected the walkway to crumble underneath her, but it remained stable. Her only guess was that it would draw all too much attention from the normally quiet town below and—for the time being—Moonjumper didn't want to risk it. It gave her a much-needed chance to catch her breath a bit before scaling the closest watchtower and sneaking back in through a small gate.
She didn't notice the dancing lights that passed overhead.
Clearly, walking out the front door wasn't an option anymore. The back of the castle was blocked off by the mountain: Unless she just happened to stumble along the right paths, the rough terrain would only be harder to navigate across. Was there a side entrance she'd forgotten, maybe a servant's passage she could use in secret?
Would it matter if there was? As she climbed down the watchtower, one of the first things the young alien noticed was that it wasn't as wide as the others. It would likely be the same case for those passages, constraining her movements.
All at once, the answer hit her: The garden! Although she'd never entered it except through the castle, the area around it had largely been cleared. It was close enough to the mountain pass as well that she might just have a chance to escape before Moonjumper caught on to the unorthodox route.
She was already on alert as a third quake shook the walls, dust spiraling from breaks in the rock. The step beneath her began to tremble and she hooked onto another sconce to swing to safety before it could collapse. From there, she didn't know where in the palace she'd ended up.
It didn't take long for Moonjumper to find her once again though. Soon enough, red eyes painted the walls and turned towards her. "There you are!" echoed his voice throughout the hall. His strings also reappeared, weaving across the space. Hat Kid veered through the chaotic web to reach the other side. A slab of stone rising from the ground attempted to block her way, but she was prepared for it this time—jumping up to race over it's lip without stopping.
Another corner turned led her close to the dining room, which should have been on the opposite side of the castle. All other chambers were sealed except for the one's heavy double-doors, and as she passed by the child couldn't resist sparing a curious glance inside. At the cost of a faltering second, it gave her a bit of notice as a wave of flying platters, cups, and saucers rushed out to give chase. One threw itself at her head and she cried out, shielding herself as it shattered in an explosion of ceramic shards to her right.
All she could do was keep running with the objects in hot pursuit. Maybe it was her imagination, but the hall seemed to stretch, looping on and on for the longest while. Dishes continued to launch themselves at her, one nearly striking her in the head and others crashing to the floor just after each step. Small pieces nipped the back of her legs, urging her onward.
Eventually, a plate slid under one of her feet, tripping her up. Unable to pull herself back, Hat Kid fell in a forward roll, landing hard on the ground. They didn't let up, shattering over her as she covered her head before flipping around, batting at them with her umbrella, and them opening it up as an improvised shield. Fortunately, there weren't too many left to throw themselves at her. She regained her footing as soon as possible, backing away with her weapon extended until the attack had stopped.
Unbeknownst to her, the floor behind her had fallen away. Her eyes widened in horror as she slipped and fell, twisting her body through the air to smack against the side of the newly carved pit, ricochet from its opposing end, and scramble back out. No sooner had she made it, Moonjumper faded in through one of the walls.
"Impressive…" he murmured in a flat tone. Then he motioned to either side of the hall to seal them just as he had the stairwell before. "But I'm getting impatient."
There was no restraint this time, now that she had made it clear that she could actually fight back. Moonjumper lashed out at her with his strings, clawing the air as they sailed toward her in a wide arc. Hat Kid flung herself as far as she could to the right, then swiftly back as the next hand of cords tried to strike from above. All the while, their battle was watched over by a multitude of eyes.
Seeing an opening, the child dove forward only for the phantom ruler to temporarily halt his onslaught with another wave of his hand in an upward motion. Hat Kid gasped as the floor shot up from under her, knocking the wind out of her lungs as she was flung toward the ceiling, then brutally struck back down again with another blow of stone from above. A moment's incapacitation was all it took for him to launch his strings toward her yet again, ensnaring her ankle in a painful hold and dragging her toward him along the floor. She kicked against the earth, but it was too smooth a surface to gain much traction and he was too strong!
With a hardened gaze, she allowed herself to be pulled into arm's reach only to lash out at him at the last moment with her umbrella yet again—striking him in the arm. She then quickly twisted her body around to reach inside her bag for her brewer hat, clamping her hand around a vial of potion and chucking it at him. At that range, there was no chance of dodging it. Still close enough herself to get swept in the eruption that followed, the girl grit her teeth. However, at the feeling of the now severed cords giving away at her leg, she quickly retreated, beads of sweat collecting at her head.
The hallway hadn't opened back up yet. Before the smoke could clear, another series of threads launched out at her once more. She fell back yet again to evade them only to hear a clatter from behind. A risky glance over her shoulder revealed another, smaller wave of dishes soaring from the dining room to her back. With a panicked leap, she moved aside to avoid them.
The scene was getting more chaotic and the space no wider to move through. The eyes to either side of her began aiming their own cords her way, firing through the air. A trio of them suspended in taut, horizontal lines that cut toward her like the blades of a bandsaw. She dodged them in succession: Double-jumping across the first pair and then tossing herself over the third.
This also helped her close the distance between her and Moonjumper a second time as he recovered from the blast. Still air-born, she swung her umbrella at his face. He was more cautious this time though and avoided her attack by reeling away. Twisting around to follow where she landed, he weaved his strings like a kind of web and sent it soaring across the hall.
No way around it, Hat Kid chose a gap in the mesh and dove through, this time managing to hit Moonjumper as she neared. He released a harsh grunt as the blow swiped his mask unevenly to one side. She didn't give him the chance to recover, already turned around by the time the stone cleared away for the same indigo haze as before. Without hesitation, she slipped down her Dweller mask and passed through it.
The ground rumbled beneath her and she braced herself for whatever obstacles came next: Another, stretched expanse of hall—this time with parts of the architecture gravelly distorted. Sections of the floor were ripped out and large bricks were frozen in the air. There was a massive crater toward the far end of it, and she quickly leapt up some of the suspended rock to hook on a chandelier and fly to the other side.
In what felt like the first piece of luck she'd had in a while, Hat Kid finally outpaced the changing environment. She was a floor above the garden, but she could see it right outside! Without hesitating, she ran onto the balcony above it before she could get locked in.
There was a tangle of flowers growing along the wall. Flipping herself over the balustrade, she climbed down the mess of foliage like a ladder. Halfway down, however, she began to feel its vines start to coil around her arms and legs and fell back in surprise. She avoided capture, but the landing was rough, and when she raced down the steps that led to the garden, they suddenly sloped beneath her. She slid down the rest of the way, landing in a heap on her hands and knees.
Moonjumper reappeared yet again, the calm in his voice beginning to break. "Are you having fun? Or are you losing your breath?" he sneered, arms raised beside him like daggers, "Because I, for one, getting tired of this game! In fact, I'm starting to think we should put you to rest!"
Her eyes widened as red threads began to coil across everything. She'd thought being out in the open would've given her more of an advantage, but the ghost used every surface for his cords to latch onto until they hung like a strong netting over their surroundings. And then he drew them in—they swarmed her from all sides!
There was no time to think: Hat Kid just ran for the nearest mess of cords before the opening between them could close. It nearly did. She braced her arms to cover her face and attempt to push back against them as she leapt through, hissing through her teeth as they stung her skin from beneath her clothes when she scraped past them. The back of her uncovered hands bloomed a fiery red from the pain.
A second attack followed from the left. Hat Kid scrambled to dodge, rolling a meter before springing up from the ground to thrust herself over them. Each strike following after that was just as relentless, leaving her on the defense. Worse still was that she knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer.
It probably didn't matter how hard she hit him: Thanks to the effects of Snatcher's potion, he could know pain, but—being dead—he wouldn't exhaust himself like a normal person did. As she was beginning to… She didn't need to beat him. She needed to push him back just enough for her to make a final break for it!
His mask—as far as she knew for now, his mask was his biggest weakness! Or at least a good enough distraction. For several minutes, she continued to surge through the tangle of cords until she got close to the phantom. The moment she was within range, she jumped up and struck him across the head with all of her might. The mask initially stayed, but the blow delayed him enough for her to move in and grab it.
A shout of fearful rage left him as she stole his prize away yet again. Narrowly avoiding the claw-like swipe of his hands in turn, she just threw it as far as she could in the other direction and ran! Moonjumper had two choices: Go after her or reclaim the mask first. Of course, he chose the latter.
That didn't mean she could rest easy. If anything, he was probably even more infuriated than he already was. The scary thought gave her an additional boost as she tore through the garden and jumped over its borders. Her feet skid in untended, unbalanced earth, spurring a cloud of dust behind her as she bolted away.
From there, Hat Kid didn't stop until she was on the other side of the ravine. Her heart hammered against the confines of her ribcage, and another worrisome issue rose to mind. Where was she supposed to go after that?! It was impossible for her to reach the Goat's territory the same way she initially found Moonjumper's. She still remembered how the Dwellers had found their way into the Horizon—an entrance that would spirit her off to the Subcon Forest instead of the Alpine Skyline. However, she also remembered the spiders that inhabited the woods surrounding it. Even if she were in any shape to fight them, there would be too many.
She kept running. Even if she got herself lost, it was better than stalling herself and waiting to get caught by Moonjumper again. If she could just find someplace safe to hide, just long enough for her to regain her stamina, she could think of a way out.
She jumped, spotting movement along the edge of her sight. To both her astonishment and relief, however, it was none other than two of the spectral goats. The first time she'd ever come across them, they'd made her uneasy. She had only just gotten over all of Subcon's horrors and didn't know what to make of them. Now though—standing silent, but proud and strong, motioning for her to come to them—they came across as saviors.
Mind still frazzled by panic, she couldn't help the suspicion that rose within her. Why were they here? After all this time, she'd never once seen any of them close to the ghost town. Not long after the question formed in her head though, the sky brightened a bit. The girl looked up and found a friend staring back at her: The pendulum-wielding celestial spirit, who had another familiar face painting the Horizon's deep void alongside them.
The second spirit was none other than the Founder Goat from the Alpine Skyline's storybook, although it looked a little different from his counterpart, alluding to his mortal origins. Whereas the other celestial spirits were made completely from the stars as living constellations, the goat had smaller patterns detailed along his translucent, violet body. His horns were shaped in the same geometric pattern she'd seen only once before, and his eyes shown just as brightly as any heavenly orb. Like others of his kind, he was difficult to read, but it was a friendly face all the same.
The young alien remembered something Moonjumper had told her, about the celestial spirits sometimes acting as guiding forces in the lives of mortals. Had they sent the goats to come help her? She was more than grateful, but again she wondered why? Maybe it didn't matter. What did was that she was safe at last.
Hat Kid looked back across the ravine one last time before following them. At this distance, everything still looked so beautiful, the forest, the town, the palace… Now that she could relax somewhat, she felt a bit sad that she had to go like this. She wished she could've done more to help the ghosts that lived there—Moonjumper included. However, there was nothing for her to do now except carry on her mission and hope for better days to come, when none of them would be weighed down by the pain of their memories and the chains of the past.