Ten years had passed since The Destruction. With Her wrath having rained down upon them all, the Snatcher, his minions, the dwellers, and everything in between that lived in Subcon Forest had been given an ample amount of time to come to terms with their current circumstances.

The end of the line had been inescapable, but their afterlife had only just begun.

With the team-like camaraderie they shared and the involvement of everyone, the Snatcher had managed to restore the greater part of the forest to be a suitable space for them to exist and re-build his kingdom from the ground up. Not completely, as there were still traces of Her ice around in places, and the buildings remained in permanent disrepair. But it was enough. They all voted yes to leave them as-is; spirits didn't need to worry about the boundaries of walls, after all. But at least the place was cleaned up and cleared of debris.

Plus, the dilapidated structures added a kind of 'derelict charm' to the area. Everyone who resided there seemed to think so.

It was here that boredom set in, now that preparation was complete. And when boredom took over, the former prince had started contracting unsuspecting trespassers to his forest, much like he'd done with the dwellers initially. The routine worked. Anyone lucky enough to escape from Subcon unscathed lived to spread the tale of the Snatcher, a malevolent, soul-stealing entity who made his living trapping unsuspecting people and forcing them to do his bidding. It had taken a dark turn from what he anticipated originally, but he liked it. The reputation of King-Savior had not been enough. He'd been a benevolent ruler in life, always doing the best for everyone before himself, and look where kindness and compassion brought him.

The more he watched living beings pass through his domain, the more resentful his heart became. How they still retained their lives, and had things that made them happy. It wasn't fair anymore. He had put in a LOT of time and effort into making the forest habitable once again, shouldn't he be allowed to set the ground rules regarding outsiders? Shouldn't HE be the one who lays down the law when uppity humans think they can just wander on through the woods without consequence?

Putting them to work doing chores around Subcon certainly sufficed as repayment. At least HE thought so. So what if most of them didn't live to see the morning light after doing what he asked? There were signs all over the place that warned foolish travelers against traipsing through the area all willy-nilly, and yet people paid them no heed. They had only themselves to blame for their ignorance. And once they paid the price for their indiscretions, well… the Snatcher truly began to live up to his name.

He'd been around long enough now to have found his new source of happiness: taking it away from other people.


On one such dismal day, he'd just finished up with one contractor. One of those… Mafia men, as he'd started to know them. Into his pocket dimension went the resulting soul, and the Snatcher sighed serenely as the oafish screaming ceased. As much as it truly made him happy that so many had been imprudent to the effect their trespassing might cause, their recurring stupidity regarding their arrangement (and their fruitless begging for their lives) astounded Snatcher endlessly.

With this business done until the next poor soul wandered by, the tall ghost made his way over to the tree house he had built his human ward, Cashmere, seven years prior. To this day, she was the only one of his minions who had a brain. And after the Mafia nonsense, Snatcher supposed, visiting with the human girl he'd indoctrinated into his ranks and assigning her selected tasks for the day would be a more relaxing errand.

After he met with Cashmere and talked with her, he could devote the next several hours to himself. Simple as that.

The undead minions took some time to get things going, but Cashmere was different. She always HAD been, with her quick wit, diligent work ethic, and natural affinity for parkour. The baby he'd found in Vanessa's yard had fought for life when he'd rescued her, and she KEPT fighting as the days passed. Fought to enjoy the life she'd been given despite her harsh beginnings. She fought to please her guardian, too; to keep her spot on their team, and to do well in his eyes when the opportunity presented itself.

Her goal was invaluability. He'd taken her in and raised her when she was little more than a helpless, crying newborn. In return, the girl paid that act of kindness forward day after day by flourishing. She worked hard at the tasks she was given, and practiced every skill she learned along the way until she was satisfied with the result.

It was no secret among his other minions that Cashmere was the Snatcher's favorite, and for good reason.

"Cashmeeeere~" The devil himself crooned softly once he'd reached the tree house, hoping to wake her if she still slept. "Are you up and about, child? I have a few things on the agenda I'd like you to do!"

Just to make sure, he peeked one large eye through the window on her door. Her bed was in the corner covered by a small wall, so he couldn't readily see her unless he changed angles.

So he did. There was a curtain in the way, but if he could just finagle a finger in the window to push it aside—

"Cashmere–? Are you still asleep? You know how I feel about sleeping in! Don't make me change form to come in there! I'll wake you up myself!"

For the next several moments, Subcon Forest was at peace. The mood probably would have stayed in that state of calm had the Snatcher NOT been able to take that fateful peek inside his charge's bedroom.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"


Hello, guys! Zoloto here! kind of a slower, establishing setting-chapter this time around, but I PROMISE it won't be this wordy vs. actual progressive action moving forward. I plan to update every thursday, and hopefully if I get enough progress going on future chapters (I have the next two written up already), I'll be able to add in another day per week so that I can post TWICE a week if people end up liking it.

Now, onto the comments!

Mad King C - Thank you for your kind words for these past two chapters! Ohoho, just wait tho!:D Snatcher will be the meanie we all know and love, no worries. This is placed in a weird timeline, closer to his death. Plus I feel like he's always treated his direct minions with more respect than his contractors, so we're gonna see very many sides to Noodle Boi here.

Mr. Mega1423 - Okay I kind of fangirled when I saw your comment, not going to lie! I love your story so I appreciate your taking the time to read mine and review it when it's still in it's baby stage. So I THANK YOU FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT!

That's all I have for now, but I thank everyone who comes along on this story with me, and I will see you next week!