Chapter 12: Subcon Fear
The cannon in Hat's room I unfortunately had the displeasure of discovering existed on a previous outing of ours, where she had shot us out onto a nearby planet where we then had to outrun manic dolphins. Long story.
"This way!" Hat beckoned as she began digging through the pillows.
"Perhaps if you tossed out some of the pillows-" I began to suggest.
"My preciousessss!" She comically hissed.
"You need over 100 preciouses?"
"Yessssssspppptthhhh." The hiss turned into a raspberry.
I shrugged as Bow went before me. Since they were both in the cannon anyway, I looked through the telescope at this area of the planet, and I was surprised to see a dark gloomy woods.
'Symbolism you biscuit.' I cursed it.
There was then a loud 'ker-thunk', and I watched as the nozzle of the cannon extended out under the window, and I silently thanked some higher power that it wasn't me in there, as there was a loud-
BANG!
-and the two of them were shot down into the forest.
"Let's go." I told myself as I jumped out and let myself fall.
The trees were creepily tall as I slowed my descent by spinning my yo-yo. The trees were everywhere, darkness blocked out the sun but everything was illuminated by lights I couldn't discern. And all the while I felt a great foreboding sense. Bottom line; forest bad.
Not even the giggling of Hat and Bow, looking all scruffed up after landing in the branches seemed to brighten it up. Though they seemed to be doing fine.
"Hey, Badge Seller." I spoke out of the blue.
"Oh? How did you know I was here?" I turned around to face them.
"Just guessed." I shrugged. "You look like you fit right in here."
"Hmhmhm...I suppose you're right in a way." They said, which made me raise an eyebrow, but they kept talking: "You appear to have picked up a new companion."
"Yeah. That's Bow." I looked up at them, and they were jumping about in the tree branches, so engrossed in each other they didn't notice us.
"A customer is always appreciated, though I get the sense you don't get along." They spoke.
"And you know that how?"
"I have my ways."
"Have I told you that you really creep me out?"
"Oh, I can discern that quite easily."
I sighed. "Can we talk about something else?"
"Unhealthy for you, but fine." They agreed. "This is Subcon Forest. The most unholy of all areas."
"Very specific word." I grumbled.
"Everything here is otherworldly, dark, unknown." They went on. "It doesn't bode well for you at all."
"When have things turned up well for me?"
"Fair point. Now then, I've given you information, so it's only fair you buy something."
"You have truly outwitted me with your sleight-of-hand selling skills."
"And your humour is so dry because of your bitterness."
"Take my Pons already." He needed to stop. "I'll take the extra pin and...that Badge there."
"Ah, a favourite I made for you." They chuckled. "I call it the K-O Yo-Yo Badge."
"'Kay, what's it do?" I asked as I pinned it on next to the Spider Tie Badge.
"Well, you know how you do that charging trick? Try that."
"It's called a Charge Shot, and-woah."
As I spun my yo-yo, it suddenly straightened out as the body turned into a mallet head and the string became a very thin arm. I now had a hammer with a comically large head and a wire thin body that bent slightly from the weight of the head.
"It turns your yo-yo into a hammer briefly." They explained.
"Huh." I gave it a few practise swings, and the weight was definitely there, it could hit hard, and it returned to being my deadly toy after a few seconds. "That...is actually really cool. Thanks, Badge Seller."
"Anything for a customer. Speaking of which..."
"Badge Seller!" I stepped aside as Hat came tumbling down, Bow not far behind. "This is Bow! Also, hi!"
As they got acquainted I took the chance to look around the forest, and totally not distracting myself so I didn't look Bow in the eye. The tree we had landed next to seemed to be hollowed out in the middle, making room for a large chair, lamp and bookcase. It was obvious at least somebody lived here, but a part of me felt like I didn't want to meet them...
"Thank you for your business." Badge Seller said, making me glance over at them.
"Thanks! C'mon, Bow!" Hat gestured as the two of them began running off, and I followed behind.
"Take care." Badge Selleer waved to me as I passed him, and there was definitely something behind it.
The two of them were prancing up ahead, unperturbed by the disturbing visuals around them, though that was the norm for them I suppose. They didn't care about this gloomy, threatening atmosphere; all they cared about was that it was a new adventure, that was it. They probably didn't even feel this foreboding sense of danger at the back of my mind...growing bigger...and bigger...screaming!
"Captain, stop!" I suddenly yelled.
"Huh?" She looked back at me, but was in mid-jump, and as soon as she landed, she suddenly got pulled up in a bag!
"Hat!" "Captain!" Bow and me cried respectively. I rushed to help her, when suddenly everything grew dark, and Hat was dumped out of the bag and fell to the ground.
"Oof!" She huffed.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"'Course I am!" She brushed me and herself off.
Then that sense of dread came back again, as a long shadowy figure emerged out of the ground. Actually, scratch that, he WAS a shadow. With gleaming yellow eyes and a similar mouth, almost like he was a jack-o-lantern.
"Hahahahahaha! FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLS!" He suddenly screamed loudly. "You fell for it! You actually fell for it! I can't believe it! The oldest trick in the book! And now! Your life is forfeit to m-!"
He suddenly paused when he noticed who he was talking to. "Oh. It's just a bunch of kids."
"Charming that, coming from a condom." I couldn't resist, it just came to me.
"Scratch that. Two kids and one BRAT." He emphasised, getting right up in our faces. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Nope. But hello!" Hat waved. "I'm Hat, this is Bow, and this is Tie."
"Hi." Bow waved casually.
"Pleasure." I muttered.
"Oh-ho. Wise little pack are we? Well then, since I seem to be in the most generous mood ever, let me fill you in." He leaned back. "The name's Snatcher-" Very on the nose "-I run Subcon Forest! I'm the boss! The head honcho! Ruler! Capiche? Which means anything that lands in this forest, is now property of me! And that includes you three!"
"Pretty sure that's slavery." I pointed out.
"Slavery? Ha! That's a lovely term compared to my line of work!" He chuckled, suddenly leaning on his arm casually. "Here's the deal, kids. Since you're in MY neck of the woods, that being the whole woods, you gotta play by my rules, and that means working for me."
"Work?" Hat frowned at the mere mention of the word, Bow joining her.
"Exactly. 'Course, I'm not completely heartless." He snapped his fingers and caused a Time Piece to appear! "You do my dirty work, and I'll give you some of these. These ARE what you want, right?"
"Yesyesyesyesyes!" Hat nodded so hard her head could fly off.
"Then we got ourselves a deal, don't we? Now to make it official." A contract appeared before them. "Just sign here, and we'll get started right away." A quill pen was created as well.
"Hold on, Captain." I stopped her as she reached for it. This did not seem right at all. I read the contract, and found I couldn't understand half of it!
"Something, wrong, brat?" Snatcher quipped.
"Yeah. I can't read most of it. We're not signing anything like this!" I slapped Hat's hand away as she reached for the quill again.
"Oh, you're not, are you?" His voice dropped in tone to sound more menacing. "I don't think you get it, brat. You don't make the rules around here. I do! So you sign my contract, or you die! End of story!"
Excuse me for wanting this to be fair. But I don't think fair was gonna cut it in this situation. Even though his eyes were just golden glowing ovals, there was a sinister glint in them I had seen before and didn't like. This thing was trouble, no doubt about it, but there was no way we were getting out of this situation. Therefore, I had to play it smart.
"Fine. But give me my own contract to sign." I said.
"Cocky, aren't you?" Snatcher hissed. "Well, jokes on you, brat! That works out in my favour." A second contract appeared. "You both sign on the dotted lines." We both signed, and he took them and looked at them, frowning ever so slightly. It seemed he didn't know how to read our language. "I suppose that checks out. But I'm gonna need one teensy-weensy little thing from you all."
Oh no. "That being."
"Nothing much. Just your souls." He said it so casually I was even more shocked when I suddenly had a violent sensation of falling, even though I was standing perfectly still. And I felt empty. Empty like a part of me had been taken.
"Just a little failsafe to make sure you don't run off." Snatcher cackled. "Don't worry, munchkins. I can't harm you with your own souls whilst they're detached from you...unfortunately...but let's just say if you try to leave without them, well, your bodies are NOT gonna like that."
I clutched my chest desperately. This sensation of emptiness, like I'd lost a part of me. It was painful. It was different from anything I'd felt before, yet still reminded me of similar feelings. It was awful.
"Now then. To business." Snatcher continued. "Every job has a contract, so let's start off with something simple. I've got a bunch of troublemakers who I want to CLEAR OFF so to speak. Just get rid of them. Easy." Another contract appeared. "Okay, kid. You sign for yourself and your little bow friend there."
"Alright." Hat nodded, signing. It seemed even she had been affected by having her soul taken, at least somewhat.
"And you, brat." He turned to me.
"Wha-?" I was still in shock.
"You'll be doing the same thing. Over in the other side of the woods." He produced another contract.
"N-No..." I steeled myself. "I need to help Captain."
"Oh, you need to, do you?" He smirked. "Well then...now you're definitely splitting up! Sign!"
"No!" I yelled. "Hat needs me to...to...!"
"It's okay, Tie!" Hat called. "I have Bow with me, remember?"
That was a punch to the gut, and I looked at Bow, who wouldn't look at me.
"Right...silly me..." I signed the contact without further fuss.
"Excellent! Well then, good luck, all! And remember! I'm always watching you!" And with that, he and the darkness surrounding us vanished, leaving us in the forest once again.
"Well, this is a predicament." Bow nodded.
"Yep! But we'll get out of it! We always find a way!" Hat beamed. "C'mon, Bow! Let's go!"
"Alright!" She agreed, and they began sprinting off east.
"Bye Tie!" Hat called as they vanished into the forest.
"...Bye..." I barely whispered, before turning and heading off in the opposite direction.
'Of course it ended up like this.' I tried to tell myself in my head. 'It should have been like this from the very beginning. She deserves better then me. I should have been like Bow. But I tried, didn't I? To be something...else? And yet...I always thought...I always fooled myself into thinking...it would be okay! S-So...has everything I've done been for nothing!? Am I still the same in the end!?'
"Sugar!" I cursed as I stamped the ground in frustration. I was so selfish for thinking like this. Selfish and angry. Nothing had changed. And it only took one person to make me realise that. Who was I trying to kid all this time, trying to not be what I am?
I clutched my chest. The emptiness was agonising. I felt like I was going to be sick. I just wanted to collapse.
'Calm down!' I slapped myself, the stinging clearing my head. 'You have to keep going! Because...! Because...' I racked my brain, desperately trying to come up with a reason. I HAD to have a reason! 'Because...because...because...!'
That tiny bit of hope was still there. That one wish. That one want.
"That's why...that's why." I nodded to myself. And it was enough for me to keep walking.
"We want to die! Yaaaaaaaaaay!"
"You and me both, buddy." I sighed. This forest was really kicking me right in the psyche.
I'd eventually come across a bunch of what I could only describe as fox spirits dancing around a fire, proclaiming that they want to die. It was quite an experience.
"So, uh, how can I become convicted of assisted suicide?" I questioned them in a roundabout way.
"Our spirits must asceeeeeend!" The one closest to me sang. "We need spiritual energy for our ritual!"
"Great. Thanks for the help." I sarcastically responded. "I'll...find something."
Using the Spider Tie Badge to climb trees, I was able to survey the area quite easily, and what a place. It was filled with ghosts, spiders, and every other creepy thing you can think of off the top of your head. Still, this stuff was nothing to me. I've seen so much bizarre stuff at this point ghosts are well within the realm of belief. And eventually I think I found what I needed.
"Either this apple is radioactive or spiritual, one of the two." I figured as I held up the massive apple the size of my head and ran it back to the fire. "Here you go." I chucked it in.
"More! More!" Well, that was an indication at least.
So I kept retrieving apples and bringing them back, until one of them cried: "You've brought enough! Yaaaaay! Now we can diiiiie! Thank yoooooou!" And with that, they faded away.
"Welp, that happened." I stated.
"It certainly did." I am actually used to people popping up behind me now. Only this one was Snatcher. "Turns out you're actually good at following orders! Who'd have thought with that bad attitude?"
"Hey, I did what you said." I hinted.
"Of course! Believe me or not, I'm a ruler of my word." He said as he pulled a Time Piece out of his shadowy body.
'I choose not.' I thought as I caught it when he tossed it to me.
"But I must say, you certainly are an interesting one." An evil smirk appeared on his face. "Judging from that little episode you had back there."
I flinched. "You-!"
"I told you, brat. This is my forest. I know everything that goes on in here." His shadowy body snaked around me as he drew in closer. "And more then that, I've been taking a good look at those souls you so generously relinquished. The other twos are all gumdrops and rainbows, dull as dirt. But yours..." The smile widened. "You're pretty messed up, aren't you?"
I clutched the Time Piece tightly. This thing officially scared me. And if it knew all the things I wanted to keep buried for so long-!
"Ahhh, but that doesn't matter." He backed off suddenly. "Who am I to judge someone by their past? As long as you keep doing good work, that's all I care about. So go put that thing back in your spaceship. Have dinner. Go to bed. Do whatever. But you're dancing in the palm of my hand now. Sleep tight with that knowledge!" He then vanished.
My legs gave way and I fell to the ground. Didn't realise they'd turned to jelly. It felt like everything was crumbling around me. My soul was gone, it felt like Hat was gone, my entire reason to keep moving forward...it was too much.
"Tie! Yoo-hoo! Tie!"
"Huh?" I sat up. A familiar voice was calling to me, and I saw a familiar red yarn butterfly poking out of one of the tree trunks. "Knit?"
"Over here!" I got up and walked over to her as she fluttered around. "You're here! Wowie! I can't believe it!"
"Here? You mean this is where you live?"
"Yeah! It's so nice to see you here!" The light seemed to glow brightly. "Ooh-ooh! Pull me up!"
"Pull...you...?"
"Uh-huh! C'mon, I won't bite."
"If you say so..." I grabbed the thread and began pulling...and pulling and pulling, but all I pulled up was more red thread. "How long is this!?"
"Just keep going!" She cried.
So I kept pulling more and more red thread out, until the end came up, with an identical orb of bright light on the end, so I essentially now just had a pile of tangled up red yarn.
"Knit, where exactly are you?" I questioned.
"Right here!" The pile of yarn responded, as it began twisting together.
The yarn gathered together and formed into a doll-like body made completely out of red yarn, about half my own height. The single golden eye from her butterfly form had now become two gold orbs acting as eyes, with no mouth to speak of, as strands of red yarn fell down over her head like hair in a ponytail, with mitten hands, stumps for feet, and two silver needles acted as hairpins on the right and left side of her head.
"We finally meet in the flesh, Tie! Well, yarn and flesh." She proclaimed, even though she was half my height.
"You're completely made out of yarn." I noted.
"Magic yarn." She...corrected me? "So, what brings you to Subcon? Still off on your quest?"
"Pretty much." I shrugged.
"Well then, I can be good help. If there's one place I know, it's here." She proclaimed. "Follow me." She then began walking, and I followed behind her, carrying the Time Piece with me.
"As you can probably tell, Subcon is home to all sorts of spiritual things." She said as she walked. "There's a reason for that. This forest has a whole lot of magical energy in it! A lot of it tied to other planes of reality."
"Wait, you mean, other worlds?" I questioned.
"Whatever you can think of! Heaven, hell, alternate timelines, alternate universes, other dimensions, worlds in your own mind, you name it!" She proclaimed proudly. "Fair warning; don't ever fall asleep around here if you're not used to it."
"I'll keep that in mind..."
"Bit mindblown that things like that exist?"
"I fly on a ship made out of wood that is powered by hourglasses that control the flow of time. I don't think I'm gonna have an existential crisis over other worlds."
"Aw, really? I was hoping to blow your mind with the grandeur of the workings of our universes!" Knit's arms unravelled and stretched out for emphasis, before tightening back up again. "Fair enough, though."
"You seem to know a lot about this." I spoke sceptically.
"I'm just well-versed in it." She shrugged. "You're lucky we met. I'm gonna show you a secret now."
"That so?" We stopped in front of a large tree.
"Wait here a second." She suddenly completely unravelled into a single thred of yarn with her eyes and needles tied to the end and snaked her way through a crack in the tree, and after a few seconds the tree vanished with an ethereal glow, revealing a tunnel, with Knit already reformed, posing. "Ta-da! This way!"
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"We're going to see my dad." Knit said.
"You have a dad?"
"That's surprising?"
"I don't know how things work."
"Well, this way." She hurried on as we appeared to be reaching the end of the tunnel, and we came out into a small garden which seemed to be the only well-lit area in this whole forest, natural light shining down.
In the middle was a grave. Completely made out of multicoloured yarn, cross, stone and all, with knitted flowers of varying colours lying at the base of it. And in the middle of the grave was a name knitted in in big red letters.
"Moonjumper?" I read.
"Hey dad!" Knit beamed at the grave. "Sorry it's been so long, but look! I brought a friend today!"
"Your dad is...?" I began.
"This is him. Or his...you know." She gestured at it. "I tried to make it as nice as possible, and put it somewhere the nastiest of forest dwellers wouldn't find it." She took her needles out and began using her own arm to begin knitting, with one hand no less! She sat down as she worked, and I took that as my cue to do the same.
"Dad was really amazing." She spoke as she worked. "He was one of those special beings. He knew all about alternate realities, and could travel between them freely. He could stitch anything together, puppeteer even inanimate objects, and give life even!"
"Sounds like a string user to me." I looked at her. "So he made you?"
"Yeah. I was the last thing he made, actually." She nodded. "I sometimes reckon he made me so that I loved him, that my love for him wasn't my own free will."
"How...do you feel about that?"
"My love for him makes me happy, even though he's gone. So I should just feel good that I'm happy, right?"
"Even if it's fake?"
"I accept that. I think my love for him is genuine regardless."
I couldn't. Something like that made my skin crawl.
"How did he...die?" I was aiming to change the conversation topic, but I didn't think too far ahead, asking how her dad died out of the blue.
"That's a bit complicated, but I think I can explain." She seemed surprisingly okay with this. "Underlining point is; this world rejected dad."
"What?"
"Dad may have been able to travel universes, but this one was where he was born, his true home." She said. "The trouble is, this world didn't want him."
"What does that even mean?" I questioned.
"A being like him knows these kinds of things." She said. "He knew this world didn't want him...and he knew a lot of worlds which didn't want the versions of him. Well, maybe that's the wrong word. He was conceived in multiple worlds, but he didn't survive in many. He just...faded out of existence. And he knew it was coming. That's why he made me, hoping to continue on in this world...somehow."
"The heck is up with that!?" I jumped to my feet. "The world didn't WANT HIM? And he died because of that!? That's...not fair! That's not right! How does the world decide you're not good enough to live in it!?"
"It's not a matter of 'whether you're good enough' or 'the world not wanting something'." Knit spoke calmly. "Everything has a place in the world, and dad was so powerful, crossed so many lines, he warped his place in it, and he had to be erased for it to remain stable. He died so this universe could live. And he'd seen so many...he could have just let this one be destroyed...but he didn't. He saw something good in this one. And he left me to see it."
I slowly sat down. "That's wrong. How am I supposed to feel about my universe REJECTING someone? Anything for that matter?"
"Ah, I did blow your mind." She nodded.
"Please don't joke about this."
Her eyes softened. "It's a major thing. Don't worry, you don't have to worry about it." She finished knitting a rose, which she put down. "Bottom line is; dad was pretty great. And I'm glad he made me."
She looked at me. "I'm sorry if what I've told you made you angry. It's just...you're my friend, and I wanted to share it with you."
"...It's okay, Knit." I told her. "Thank you. You're dad, and you, are amazing."
"Thanks." She smiled with her eyes. "I'm...actually gonna look around Subcon for a bit. I imagine you need to put that Time Piece back?"
"Yeah, yeah..." I nodded. "Can I have a moment with your dad?"
"Sure!" Her eyes turned upward into a smile. "Just touch the magic orb on the tree when you wanna leave." She then hopped up and walked away.
I waited for a moment until she was gone, and I looked at the knitted grave.
"I wonder why you died for this universe." I spoke to it. "I wonder why you died for this one...when I'm in it. I'm sure you could have found a better one. What kind of universe kills you, but lets me live? What is my place here?"
Of course, a grave couldn't respond. I just needed to say it. To someone.
I sighed as I stood up, picking up the Time Piece, as I walked back down the tunnel, poking a glowing red orb that caused the tree to vanish so I could walk past it, before it reappeared.
"I need to get my soul back." I groaned.
Then, something happened.
There was a flash, and the roar of an engine, as a motorbike suddenly ran past me.
Time seemed to slow down as I saw who was riding it. A young woman with orange hair, an emerald eye, an eyepatch, a grey under suit, black vest and matching trousers. I seemed to expect her to be wearing a fedora, but she wasn't, and had what looked to be a witch doctor riding at the back with her. And just like that, she was gone again.
"...Wait." I pathetically spoke after a full second had passed, and I began running. "Wait! Are you-? GAH!"
I tripped over a tree root and smacked my head against the ground hard, the Time Piece falling out of my grip and rolling away.
"Ow...!" I held my face as it throbbed with pain. "No...hold on...!" I picked myself up and ran over, grabbing the Time Piece.
"Just a few seconds!" I told myself. "I need to know!" I smashed the Time Piece against a tree and-
"GAH!" I tripped over a tree root and smacked my head against the ground hard, the Time Piece falling out of my grip and rolling away.
And I lay there. Face in pain, in the dirt, unmoving.
There goes that one wish.
K-O Yo-Yo: Changes Tie's Charge Shot into a giant powerful hammer strike.
And here we get into the Subcon Forest Arc ladies and gentlemen! If you've played the game or watched a let's play, you now that this area of the game gives you the most feels from fear to excitement. And so, I aim for it to be the same here! So strap in ladies and gentlemen, because for the next few chapters...
*Slips on a boxing glove* I'm gonna punch you square in the feels.
More importantly though, everybody give a big hand for the appearance of Julia from Konan720's HiT series everybody! And if you wanna see this moment from her point of view, check out Konan720's 'A Hat in Time: Julia's Return (Title might change?)'. And if not...go read it anyway. Seriously.
But now, we have a reader request! And I'm contractually obligated by Snatcher to oblige! So let's get on with it.
Tie: Found another letter addressed to you in the Mail Room, Captain.
Hat: Aren't you supposed to be depressed, Tie?
Tie: This isn't canon, Captain. Anyway, the letter is from Happiness studios asking: 'Where did you find Roombi? And how is your friendship with him?'
Hat: Roombi was specifically designed and created to be the Roomba for this ship! He came with it basically.
Tie: He's the best pet ever. HE cleans up after HER instead of the other way around.
Hat: You mean he cleans up after US?
Tie: I know what I said.
Hat: Anyway, we're besties! Roombi is the best pet ever!"
Tie: I clean him, by the way.
With that, this chapter ends, and the suffering of your heart and mine begins! See you in the next chapter!
