Any sort of waiting game could make the average child restless with anticipation. Away from her ship with little to do, no more tasks left to keep her and Bow busy or spirits to hunt for, Hat Kid was at her wits' end. She'd already shown her friend around the remaining parts of Subcon they'd yet to explore together. Snatcher still refused to give them a proper post, ordering them to get out of sight. Other than gathering fuel for the foxes' bonfires, even the various spirits didn't have much of a place for them—and then Kit would chase them off out of fear for their safeties.

Considering all that the supernatural beings had personally put them through, one would think they'd have no problems letting the young aliens do as they pleased; however, that was far from the case. They were 'in the way.' They 'couldn't keep up.' They'd 'already done everything they could.' Until the battle started, there was nothing left for them to do, so the pair spent their current wealth of downtime resting or wandering around.

During one of their walks through the deepest parts of the ruins, Hat and Bow managed to find some old training dummies tucked away in a dilapidated shack. Most of them were weathered beyond use, but one was in good enough condition to drag outside to spar with. After fitting it with the wooden sword and shield they found, it made for a solid contender against them both. They took turns striking it with their umbrellas, keeping only to simple moves. While quick on their feet, neither was truly an expert in combat: They mainly relied on their tools and agility to get through all of Earth's challenges. Basic attacks and blocks were all they knew. Nevertheless, if one practiced those steps enough, it was sometimes all a person needed in a sudden conflict.

Moving with a slight bounce, they were never in one spot for long. The two bobbed and weaved past each other, rotating around their imaginary 'enemy.' Each blow was met with a cushioned crunch beneath their weapons and the heavy smell of mold and mildew from the dummy's leather hide.

Hat Kid's mind was busy all the while: What hadn't they done to prepare? The two girls could practically find their way through the snow-covered trees in their sleep now. They'd restocked their potions, just in case they needed them. They'd even combed through Snatcher's many books for hours in case they found some trick to give their side just one extra advantage. Maybe the spirits were right and there wasn't any more they could do...

It was frustrating to accept, especially the more time went on. All of that bubbling dread manifested in the power behind each swing. Womp, womp! Thwomp!

She attacked it so fiercely that Bow Kid had to move back and comment, "I think you can let up a bit, Hat. The dummy did nothing to you."

She did, but her restless expression stayed as it was, "I can't help it. I don't like just sitting around!"

Her friend gave her an empathetic grin, "I know. We've still got the last of the Time Pieces waiting for us too."

Don't remind me…

With a heavy sigh, Hat Kid plopped onto a nearby boulder. Even through her coat, the cold stone started to leech off her body heat. It was still better than sitting on the wet ground though. Bow settled down next to her, drawing a foot up to retie her bootlaces. Hat's gaze fell toward the trees in the distance, covered by a haze of fog and miasma.

In the very least, it was clear to tell that Vanessa was getting more active, if only through her statue soldiers so far. One of them stood silhouetted in the mist, never moving more than a little at a time—so fast that one could blink and miss it—as it scouted the forest. Just as quickly, an eight-legged figure soon dropped from the branches above with a monstrous screech. The usually sneaky enemy didn't have a chance to react as the big bug threw its body on top of it, knocking them hard enough against one of the surrounding trunks that the girls could see and hear it sway from afar. As the statue tried to regain its footing, the two could also see that one of its legs had snapped off from the knee down.

Hat Kid watched the rest of the bitter fight with a quiet shiver. The statues weren't human, but the haze left too much to the imagination. Even she had to admit though, the spiders did make excellent lookouts.

The haze also hid the ghost that left the now broken figure. There was no way for Hat Kid to discern their ethereal, pale grey bodies through the shrouded snowfall. For not the first time, she wondered why they were colorless. All of the other lost souls she'd encountered were vivid and bright. Her own soul looked fuchsia when Snatcher had taken it. These were as dull as the industrial, impersonal rock and steel foundations of an empty factory. Something about it didn't sit right with her.

She shivered again, tightening her coat around her. The cold was really starting to get to her too. There was also the worry that the phantom would just use their camouflage to their advantage and was still lingering around.

Bow Kid suddenly tapped her shoulder, drawing her attention slightly off-course with a point of her finger. Hat followed her gaze to where a strong light had manifested not far from the conflict. Its swirling, violet bloom was striking against the oppressively dark atmosphere. The pair of young aliens shared a knowing look: It was a time rift, one distorted by an individual's memories, thoughts, and dreams. Since it was unlikely that the spider had any interest in the Time Piece that ultimately created it, the statue must've had the relic—the two shattering together upon attack.

Hat Kid was so surprised to have her wish partially granted out of the blue that she didn't immediately jump up with her friend to bullet toward the rift. That's how she was able to tell that, no matter how much of her own warmth it had already absorbed, the rock under her had somehow grown unnaturally colder. It was freezing! She spun on her heel as she stood, hugging herself: Little by little, ice crystals were forming across the boulder's surface.

Softly, like the high-pitched trickle of glass chips, she heard the frost expanding around them now before they saw it. It was taking over everything: The rocks, the ruins, the trees. And it only meant one thing…

There was something akin to a muffled explosion deeper in the woods, back toward the village. The true battle had finally begun.

"Hat!" Bow shouted for her attention with a stern, concerned look. Unlike the former's eyes, which was set to the distance, the latter shot a look back to the time rift. That was their objective: That should take priority. It was small now, but they rarely made a habit of staying that size. Rifts grew, devouring everything around them. And they needed to collect its Time Piece…

Hat Kid knew that, but why now?! All of Subcon needed them! They had to help!

You know your duty. This isn't your fight, some inside voice told her. However, this time, it didn't belong to Snatcher, or Kit, or any of the spirits that had brushed them aside. It mimicked people she'd known for far longer. She bit her lip, conflicted, then chased after her fellow clocksmith.

She backed her decision through firm logic: No matter how much time passed in the rift, they'd be spat out back to the point they entered from as soon as they found its Time Piece. It would be like they never left. If they waited, even if they won against Vanessa, it's possible for the rift to worsen to a dangerous degree. So, as much as Hat Kid hated this, this was the right choice to make. For now. Afterward, she'd sprint toward the fighting like her life depended on it.

Neither child hesitated as they dove into the blinding pocket of suspended light, their world instantaneously warping around them.

The children were dropped into an infinite canopy. It wasn't the first time Hat Kid had entered a level with this kind of set-up, but it was the first time she'd seen it so overgrown. For as far as the eye could see, the rift was teeming with plant life. Coils of moss and ivy clung to the thick bark of the flourishing trees. There weren't many of Subcon's signature treehouses and the ones that were there were equally blanketed by flora. Shafts of warm light broke through the mass of leaves above them from seemingly nowhere. The area was filled with the scent of pollen and dew.

On any other day, she'd have welcomed the change from the frozen wasteland Subcon was about to turn into. Right then, she really just wanted to clear the rift as soon as possible. The two girls took in more of their immediate surroundings from their position on a wide branch. Neither considered finding a way down: If there was any earth to speak of, the way to it looked endless.

Bow Kid was a lot calmer here than in Subcon, more comfortable with the work they'd trained all their young lives to do with even with what little actual experience she'd had with rifts during their adventure on the S.S. Literally Can't Sink. She took the lead, climbing the tree they were in to hop over to the next one on their right. A familiar, shimmering object hovered close-by, and she stopped next to it with nod back down at her companion, "Are we still collecting these?"

Beyond their different color from regular rifts, the purple ones had another, signature difference in that they copied key memories of a person's life into a physical, scrapbook-like form. It had been against her better judgement at first, but Hat Kid always checked them to piece together bits of knowledge on the people she met her on Earth. Usually, it helped her understand them better or could even show her important secrets.

Again, they weren't technically in a hurry, but Hat Kid felt hurried anyway. She didn't care about the storybook pages—as she called them—as she usually did: She'd rather grab whatever rift pons were needed to access the next level and get going. She shuffled from foot to foot anxiously.

Although, if the rift was based around the memories of the ghost from earlier… Then the pages might offer some clue about how to fight them. So far, they'd fled as soon as the stone bodies they'd possessed were destroyed; however, the girls had only really seen their spectral selves when they were isolated, one against a or many powerful spirits. That might not be the case now that both sides would be giving their all.

Hat Kid had to reminded herself once more that it only felt like another delay. We've got plenty of time to kill… she thought, not without inwardly cringing as it came to her. For a moment, she'd adopted a bit of Snatcher's dark humor. It didn't ease her nerves in the slightest.

Climbing up to Bow's perch, she rejoined her friend's side and examined the storybook page closer. Of course, it was impossible to tell what memories it contained just by looking at it: It required contact to warp them to another time and place where they could watch past events unfold as quiet, unnoticed observers. To the people they met therein, they'd be nonexistent, and there was nothing they could do to interfere with whatever happened.

It was probably for the best, given how close Hat had gotten to so many. If it weren't for that fact, she might've already given into a heat-of-the-moment temptation and altered something drastic. She and Bow shared another look, letting each other know they were ready. Hands outstretched, they touched the page at the same time and felt themselves carried away to somewhere new once again.