The ravine proved to be an unsurpassable obstacle for her alone. Or so she first thought. It took a lot longer, but Hat Kid found a path near the mountainside to steadily maneuver around the steep drop to the wasteland on the other side—using levitating chunks of rock as platforms to help her across. With her Sprint Hat, she was able to regain some of the time she had lost.

Although the area looked so much the same the it was hard to tell by sight alone, she was far from where she'd initially met Moonjumper. Here, there were no red ribbons to guide her path and she would have to be mindful not to lose her own way. She didn't see anyone nearby, which was good since it meant that the ghosts were probably covering more ground on their search elsewhere; however, Moonjumper didn't know that she'd followed after him either. If she couldn't find her way back, that was probably bad…

The child reached into her pack and unwrapped a slice of bread leftover from her visit to the bakery to munch on as she looked around, glad that she'd thought ahead to bring something along. She'd kick herself if she let the Horizon's ether get to her, after all the other dangers she'd faced.

It was impossible to tell how far the wasteland stretched on. As far as the eye could see, beyond the rocky passes, it seemed to disappear straight into the void. There weren't many places for anyone to hide: She just didn't know how far the ghost might've gotten with her Time Piece either.

She didn't think—or at least hoped—that he hadn't used it yet. Her anomaly-tracking device hadn't gone off, so that was a good sign. It was likely that the ghost didn't know how to use the mystical relic, but given how quickly Mustache Girl had figured it out after stealing them from her ship, Hat Kid wasn't about to leave anything to chance by wasting time. She moved with a quick tread, alert for anything that might disturb the still atmosphere, too aware of her own footsteps against the hard earth.

She must've been walking for an odd twenty minutes before she heard something rolling back and forth across stone. The isolated noise was easy to track: She followed it over a steady incline to the lip of a large crater several meters wide—vacant except for the dark, sickly-yellow figure huddled in its center and the shining hourglass in his grasp. The specter seemed grotesquely deformed: Rather possess the usual snake-like shape, the arch of his back was littered with huge bulbs similar to boils and the rest of him caked and curled in overlapping rolls of ectoplasm.

Had Kid wasn't an expert on ghosts, but in no way did he match what little Moonjumper had told her. He was supposed to be a child, but the sickly-looking being was at least double her size. Since he hadn't noticed her yet, she kept back for a moment longer, watching as he fumbled with the Time Piece. It was obvious that he didn't know how to use it. He was trying to figure it out though—desperately—and she was worried it wouldn't be much longer before he settled for shattering the relic.

She skid down into the crater from behind him, her umbrella drawn at the ready. She didn't want to fight for it, but she got a bad feeling she'd have to. It didn't stop her from trying to pacify the situation though, "Excuse me?"

The ghost instantly froze at the sound of her voice, then snapped his gaze around to fire an ugly glare in her direction. His eyes narrowed at her coldly, their near-white glow piercing in the dim light. To her disgust, the swells along his body seemed to roll in place whenever he moved.

Hat Kid did her best to ignore the sight of him though and instead just pointed at the Time Piece, "That's mine: I need that back… please."

He hunched further forward with a snarl, saying nothing and curling around the hourglass like a hungry dog guarding its meal. He replied with a loud, viscous bark that echoed all too similarly to the demonic, echoing tones Queen Vanessa spoke in, "You're not dead… Who are you?!"

"A friend. Moonjumper and the other ghosts are looking for you." She held a hand up passively, taking step after careful step closer to the young phantom. "They're worried. You probably shouldn't be out here by yourself. Just give that to me and then we can go back to the village together, ok?"

Even her best efforts wouldn't be able to calm him. He was too angry, too caught up in his own turmoil of emotions to listen to reason from anyone. "I don't want to go back!" He pounded the earth hard with a heavy, clawed hand, "I don't want to be here! Go away, get away from me!"

Hat Kid tried being more direct, her expression shifting a little harder with determination, "I can't just leave you with that hourglass." She shuffled closer, shaking her head, "I don't think you understand: It's dangerous—"

The ghost child cut her off, "I know what it can do! I heard the spirits talking about it! This thing can change the past, can't it? I could go back to before I ever died…" He hunched lower, curling even further around the Time Piece. "What do you need it for anyway? You're still alive—you shouldn't even be here! All I want is a chance to save myself, that's all! So just go!"

She bit her lower lip. It wasn't like she couldn't sympathize with him: She did. She'd had enough close calls on this planet alone where she'd nearly lost her own life and a part of her still couldn't imagine crossing that point of no return. The fact that there were ghosts only made everything more confusing to her. She didn't know what he was going through. But she knew no matter what, there was no coming back from it. And she couldn't let him use the relic.

She'd seen the Time Pieces' power, had learned about them all her life: They could rewrite history yes, but never without a cost—there was always some cause and effect. They often ruined more lives than they saved. They could destroy worlds, like they'd nearly done after Mustache Girl had broken into her ship. In the very least, the want for their power could drive a person insane. True, at times she'd been tempted to use them, but the only reason she had any personally was because they'd become a standard power source for her world. If she ever thought of using them with so much as a fraction of their true ability, well… She'd be in enough trouble for losing them, especially if she couldn't manage to get each and every one back.

"I don't know what happened to you, but you're wrong if you think changing time can fix anything," she insisted, "You don't know what it will do."

"I just got sick…" The ghost had turned his attention anyway from her, his voice becoming somber, but desperate as he focused on the Time Piece once more, "I was sick, that's all. If I can go back to before that, then…"

He clasped the Time Piece tightly in one hand, a flicker in his eyes confirming what Hat Kid dreaded he'd do: He was going to try smashing it. She rushed forward as he raised it above his head, temporarily forgetting his incorporeal state. Lucky for her, in order to focus on maintaining his grip on the hourglass, he seemed to forget that too. She didn't know how long he'd been dead, but apparently not long enough to fully master his abilities. The young alien barreled into him, jarring him enough to knock the Time Piece from his grasp.

It started falling before she could grab it. She lifted her knee up to try to catch it, all this did though was cushion the fall a bit before it rolled along the dirt. Before she could collect it, the ghost slammed in front of her. Although forced to leap back, Hat Kid made sure to keep more distance between them than needed in order to give herself some time to quickly switch out her hats.

Balanced on one fist, he lashed out at her with the back of his hand. She jumped out of the way a second time just as she felt the rim of her Brewing Hat with her fingertips and pulled it out. She didn't still know if she'd matched Snatcher's recipe perfectly, but she felt confident enough that it would work at least for a short time. The girl had already grabbed one of the attached vials of blue potion before her feet had touched the ground, chucking it at him a second after. She doubted he was anywhere near as strong as Snatcher or could mimic the spells that Subcon Forest's ruler had mastered, but that didn't mean she was going to hold back.

The ghost cried out in a mix of confusion and pain as the vial exploded against him, blinding their immediate surroundings in a thick haze. Taking advantage of the cover, Hat Kid ran toward him again and lashed out at him across the chest with her umbrella. He wasn't braced for the follow up attack and she was able to rebound from it with ease.

Whatever satisfaction she felt at her early success quickly dwindled, however, as he pounded the ground with his fists—causing it to erupt around them. It expanded too quickly: Hat Kid was knocked back and thrown off her feet. The air momentarily rushed from her lungs upon impact, temporarily stunning her.

She looked up and rolled out of the way to avoid being pounded into the dirt as he slammed a fist down again. Still in a crouch, she grabbed a second vial and tossed it into his face, diving through the blue mist to before he could attempt to crush her again. Hat Kid's feet skid along the earth, kicking up dust, as she looked back behind her. The ghost, however, had already vanished by the time the haze cleared.

Before she could question where he went, he'd looped behind her, fading up from the ground. The child had been in enough fights—and the attack was similar enough to one of Snatcher's—that her body lunged out of the way by memory before she'd even really thought of moving as he swung his tail in a wide arc. It really did seem like he could only rely on physical hits, too new a ghost to have mastered much beyond control over his intangibility and levitation.

Again though, she couldn't dismiss him easily as the weak ghost she'd been told about. His tantrum had broken apart some of the rock surrounding them, and the next time he punched at the ground it sent the loose debris flying into the air. Hat Kid scrambled to weave around the falling stones that rained over her. As she raced to dodge them, he swung his tail at her once more—catching her against her midriff to throw her back against the crater's inner wall.

She flipped out of the way before he could lash out again, her eyes briefly scanning the ground to see if the Time Piece was still ok. Much to her relief, after glaring through the dust, she spotted it rolled along the other side of the crater—far out of reach, but thankfully apart from most of the fighting as well. The heard the nearby eruption before she saw it the time, jumping to avoid the rolling wave of rock and waiting steadily as the ghost vanished underground once again. When he reappeared, she was ready for him: She bound across the ruined landscape and struck him in the side with her umbrella. He wildly swung to counter her, but missed by a hair as she dropped back to her feet.

The next time he lashed out with his tail, she dove under it, dropping to her knee before reaching up to her hat's crown for another vial. Again the girl aimed for his face, meaning to blind him once more, but he was prepared this time, blocking the explosion with his arms to cover his eyes and swiping part of the mess away to the ground. He was already pretty stained with the potion's rich, azure color though. Somehow, it made him appear even more grotesque: It looked as if the 'boils' were oozing with the sticky liquid.

Aside for a few extras she had in her bag, she was she was also out of vials now too. She would have to wrap this up. As the ghost drove her fist down toward her again, she ran back over to the wall and used it to propel herself higher into the air, hitting him in the head and then dropping back down on the other side. Soon though, the hail of rock returned even worse than before as he flung his full weight into the ground in a fit of anger. Everything seemed to quake around them as she dodged both the flying and rolling waves of debris in a confusing dance of quick leaps and urgent tumbles along the broken earth.

Hat Kid tried to get close to him again, but he swept out of sight before she could, swiftly reemerging from behind her to finally crush her before she spun to the side of the punch. Kicking off the dirt, she turned used the moment's delay needed for him to recover his momentum to drive the final hit home—barreling against his chest and sending the ghost sprawling back.

He curled around himself, shaking and shivering with a pained groan, but beyond that didn't get back up. The young alien took the opportunity to catch her breath claiming the Time Piece, then looked at him again over her shoulder in wonder as his already deteriorated form gradually began to shift and shrink before her eyes. Forced out of his rage and severely weakened, the young ghost's body took a shape more fitting to who he was—if still possessing a sickly yellow color splattered with the blue potion. He looked just like the Dwellers, but much smaller than average—about half her size—and without a mask of his own. His body also wavered, his translucency shifting weakly.

Hat Kid braced the Time Piece against her chest, walking over to him but making sure to keep her distance in case he changed back. He didn't though, he just began to sob. Even after everything, it was hard to see him as anything else than another kid, who'd thrown a tantrum and was just now breaking down after it. He didn't' look at her, but he did speak in a bitter, grief-worn voice.

"I was sick is all..." he kept insisting, "Just sick… I just want to go back."

For a second, she thought of leaving him, finding the others, and just letting them handle the situation. She was just a kid herself and didn't know how best to comfort him. The part of her that wanted to kept her there though, and she asked somewhat hesitantly, "Do you even know how you got sick?"

He didn't answer her, keeping his gaze on the rock beneath him. There was silence.

For a moment, she shuffled from foot to foot nervously, then continued with a shake of her head, "I don't think there's anything you could've done anyway—definitely not for something like that. And you can't just change time to make things better. You've gotta move forward. That's all anyone can do…"

He didn't respond to her then either. Fortunately for the both of them, help had at last arrived. Two Dwellers, one green and the other red, appeared from the top of the crater. The red Dweller swiftly departed—likely to tell Moonjumper—while the other glided down to them and over to the young ghost's side. The shamrock phantom helped him up and checked him over first before looking at Hat Kid and giving her a grateful nod.

"Thank you for your help," the elder said in a masculine, if soft-spoken manner, "I don't know how you got over here though… Do you need help getting back?"

Hat Kid answered with a simple shake of her head. She could get back to the castle the way she came faster than if she waited for the Dwellers to bring back the swing and carry her over the ravine. She waited a moment longer to watch the two go, hoping that the young ghost would be ok, then slid the Time Piece into her bag after briefly inspecting it for damage.

She wasn't feeling her best after the fight. Hat Kid took out her canteen and the last Dweller cake leftover from her visit to the bakery as a light snack to help clear her head. Then she steadily began to tackle the incline out of the crater. For just a second, she marveled at the overwhelming quiet that had fallen immediately after the battle. It didn't surprise her anymore, but it did give a new meaning to the phrase 'as silent as the grave.'

What did startle her were the figures she found herself facing as soon as she'd climbed back up to level ground—enough to freeze her in place with a bewildered and scared look. There were six of them now, but unlike the previous ones she'd seen, they were all shadow-like in form and taller than any person could actually be. Even still, she knew each of them by name, and what was what scared her most.

Worse still, they spoke to her. "You should have been back weeks ago!" barked an older man's disembodied voice in an angry, stern tone, "We know you lied to us! How could you lose the Time Pieces?!"

Hat Kid shuffled back, confused, hurt and guilty. She didn't understand why they were here in the forms they took: Just that everything felt very much real. I didn't mean to! I'm trying to get them back! She wanted to explain herself, but the words caught in her throat.

"I warned you that she was a failure!" another voice sneered—a woman's this time, fiercely waving in the girl's direction, "Absent-minded, immature, unprepared—and now look! Countless Time Pieces are in jeopardy because of her!"

"How disappointing…" sighed another man, although younger and suaver than the first, "This is a mark beyond her family—but against the entire fellowship."

"How could you think that she could be a clocksmith?!"

"She's nothing like her sister."

"…breaking every code in violation…"

"…she didn't even tell us…"

Their voices seemed to build in her ears as a rising cacophony of harsh, grating noises, all furious with her. She covered them to dry to drown the sound out to no avail, closing her eyes tightly shut and fighting to keep her breath steady. It was hard to know what was happening—it was impossible to think! And in the end all Hat Kid could do was mutter a simple phrase in a pleading mantra:

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry!"

She gasped as a pair of cold hands firmly gripped her shoulders, snapping her gaze behind her to find Moonjumper's masked face staring down at her own. It took her moment to recollect herself enough to calm down and fully register his presence. When she looked around them, the shadows had already gone, seemingly having vanished as soon as he appeared. Although she still couldn't see beyond the mask's permanent smile, she felt something much sadder behind it. He held onto her in a way that was meant to comfort.

Overwhelmed, she blinked back tears and pulled her lips into a firm line before enveloping her arms around Moonjumper's waist in a tight hug. She didn't' really think about it: She just wanted something to steady her. At first, the phantom prince went sharply rigid at the embrace. Soon enough though, he relaxed enough to meekly return the gesture and give her a consoling pat on the head.

It seemed like they would be there for a while, as Hat Kid struggled to fully calm down after what she had seen. She had no idea why it happened, but Moonjumper seemed to know immediately. After a long pause, he drew in a slow breath in a mute, drawn out sigh, "The Horizon is unique to other spiritual realms, you know. From the fact alone that it works as a limbo. This is supposed to be a place of spiritual healing, so lost souls can let go of their burdens before they carry on to the afterlife.

"However, sometimes…" and here he paused to find the words, "this place tries to force that healing upon its denizens. They're not real, but it can make them see visions of whatever weighs down their souls the most…. What did you see?"

Hat Kid didn't want to answer, or even think about it. It was taking enough effort to process his explanation. Instead, she balled the fabric of his coat tighter within her hands and shook her head against his chest.

A second later, she felt him gently nudge her chin up so she'd look at him. "Since you're alive, I didn't think that the Horizon might affect you in this way," he continued in a soft, somber tone, "I should have warned you. I'm sorry."

The child had managed to keep her tears back, but wiped at her face nonetheless, shaking her head a second time. There probably hadn't been many—if any—living mortals visiting the Horizon before her, so how was he supposed to know? "It's not your fault…" she muttered, trying to work a small, reassuring grin of her own onto her face. It didn't really work.

"Do you still have that mask you arrived with?" he asked, tapping the side of his with his finger pointedly, "Our masks are meant to help protect us not only against the spirits—but any spiritual powers. It should help you see things as they are through the Horizon's ether, so that the visions can't bother you."

"Is that why you wear your mask?"

He stilled. Hat Kid had only asked out of curiosity, but now she wondered if she'd said something wrong. Still, Moonjumper gave her a single, small nod in reply. She wondered what kinds of visions bothered him enough to keep the mask on all the time, or if—at this point—he was just more comfortable wearing it than not.

Either way, she didn't pry any further. It seemed like a touchy subject and she still wasn't up for sharing what'd she'd seen. Hat Kid looked down and rubbed at her face again. "I think I'm tired," she said, "and hungry…"

Moonjumper patted her on the head once more, than straightened up with her hand clasped in his own, "Let's get you back to the castle then. I'd say you've earned a good rest."