Chapter 41
The sun had risen over Alpine Skyline. The nomads each woke up peacefully, happy to see another day in the mountains following the purple flower invasion the day before.
Despite these events, everyone went back to their daily routines, discussing among themselves what had happened but with relief that the situation had been resolved by Arthur and Hat Kid's intervention. And although some of the nomads were sick after being exposed to the harmful pollen from the flowers, they miraculously recovered overnight and were back on their feet as if nothing had happened.
They therefore deduced that the disappearance of the flowers had had a particular influence on their healing. This didn't stop their local doctor, Dr. Alkhar, from checking if there were any traces or side effects of this mysterious disease left in them. Fortunately, he found nothing of the sort, so any concerns about it were put to rest.
While the nomads and the goats went about their business, Dr. Alkhar went to see how the two children were doing at his home.
He noticed a visible improvement in Arthur; the boy himself confirmed having no particular pain and said it was probably 'the best night he ever had in his life'. After checking, the nomad doctor confirmed that he was ready to leave, but advised him to be careful not to overexert himself and even suggested him to take some rest.
As for Hat Kid, she was forced to stay in bed for a good week as the doctor said yesterday, but Dr. Alkhar still noted a very slight improvement concerning her ankle, which was good news.
Once he finished what he had to do, Dr. Alkhar informed Arthur that Makhir wanted to talk to him and to meet him outside when he was ready. When the doctor was out of the room, Arthur spoke with Hat Kid to discuss what they had agreed to last night. The young Xerian gave him the Time Pieces and the relics she had recovered, and gave him a briefing on how her spaceship's central computer worked to detect the Time Rifts.
After that, Arthur promised Hat Kid he'd stop by every evening until she was back on her feet, and the two hugged before the twelve-year-old boy made his way to the door, leaving the small girl to rest for the day.
Once out of the house, he found Makhir waiting for him out front, accompanied by Dr. Alkhar, Seth, and Edna.
"Hey, kid!" the village chief greeted him. "How are you feeling?"
"Heya, Makhir," Arthur greeted him in return. "Much better. Still a little exhausted, but I'm good now. I can walk again, yadda yadda."
"Good for you!"
"Yeah. Alkhar said you wanted to talk to me?"
"That's right," Makhir replied, placing his hands behind his back. "Seth came to tell us all about... everything."
"How did it go?" Arthur asked as he looked at the primary concerned, resting his hands on his belt. Seth seemed to be doing much better than yesterday. He had a look of both joy and relief on his face. It was probably the happiest the boy had seen him so far.
"Honestly? Much better than I thought!" the nomad replied enthusiastically. He then added nervously, "Well, some got a little angry, but Makhir and Alkhar were very understanding and talked to them to calm them down. And also mom... heh... scared them a little too..."
"'Scared them a little'? Nonsense! I merely told them that if they dared to mess with my Sethy... I'd pull their ears a LITTLE. That's all," Edna replied, her voice low and slightly threatening on the last sentence.
"Ahem!" Makhir cleared his throat to speak again and calm his nervousness a bit at the woman's words. He was there when she made those threats to the disgruntled nomads. He still got the chills from it. "Anyway... we now have a lil' more light on this situation and especially on why we had to move here thanks to Seth's explanations. Although he does have some responsibility in all of this, the real problem would then be this infamous Snatcher from Subcon Forest..."
"Yeah, apparently, he's the one who dried up the river in your village and sent his lackeys to plant them killer flowers here on your land," Arthur confirmed. "Am I correct, Seth?"
"Absolutely," the blue-hooded nomad confirmed to the boy.
"Checkmate, you've got the culprit."
"But then, what can we do about him?" Dr. Alkhar asked.
"In and of itself, not much. He's a ghost. An immortal being," Arthur admitted, crossing his arms. "But me and Hat Kid got a way to make him swallow his smile and leave you guys alone for good."
"That's what we thought we heard," Makhir nodded. "Which is why we wanted to talk to you kids to find out more about it."
"As I explained to Ms. Helmy and Seth, we've dealt with the Snatcher before coming here. He also tried to screw us over, but we were able to give him a major beating. We know something about him that might get him in trouble if we told you guys in particular."
"Really? And what is that?" Makhir asked curiously.
"That's the whole point of it. I can't tell you... Not yet anyway."
"Why's that?"
"Because I intend to blackmail that noodle-shaped ghost moron," Arthur replied, a sly smirk on his face. "If he doesn't want you all to exploit this knowledge about him, he's gonna have to keep his nose clean or else... I don't think he's ready for the carnage you're probably ready to do to him. Mrs. Helmy is just asking for it after all."
"You betcha!" Edna cracked her knuckles.
"Just out of curiosity... Why not just tell us?" Dr. Alkhar asked.
"Hmph, I'm with you on that! I'd like to know!" Edna added, crossing her arms.
"Because one: I don't like revenge. And two: it'll keep him from continuing his nonsense in the future," Arthur explained. "He's given Seth a hard time, he's given you guys a hard time, he's given us a hard time... and potentially many others who've had the misfortune to walk into his forest and come face to face with him. That's gonna get him off his high horse for a bit..."
"I think it's a great idea! If it means I don't have to see him again, I'd like that..." Seth admitted, shuddering as he thought back to the soul-stealing ghost's terrifying smile.
"Hmm, that's clever. I've never liked violence anyway, so..." Makhir replied, looking thoughtful.
"Yeah, that's fine by me," Dr. Alkhar shrugged.
Edna sighed in frustration, but replied nonetheless, "Fine... But mark my words: if I ever run into him, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind! Ghost or not!"
"So be it," the village chief nodded with a smile. "In any case, thank you again for helping us with all these problems. It's a lot to handle for two kids, but you're both very brave."
"No problem," Arthur smiled back.
"There's also another topic I wanted to bring up," Makhir crossed his arms. "About the girl with the mustache you told me about..."
"Oh, that snake..." the young boy snarled as he realized he was talking about Mustache Girl. "What about her?"
"I asked the other nomads about her. Apparently, one of them saw a short person passing by who seemed to match that kid's description. She had her back to them when they saw her, but they told me she was wearing red clothes with a cloak and visible blonde pigtails. She was also carrying something shiny in her hands."
Upon hearing the description of the object, Arthur's eyes widened with interest. It was surely the Time Piece she stole from him after their fight yesterday. "When was that?" he asked.
"During the storm with the flowers yesterday," Makhir replied.
"So she was still there when the cataclysm happened..." the twelve-year-old boy concluded. "And did they see where she was going?"
"From what they told me, she was headed for the zipline at the entrance of Goat Village, the one that leads in and out of Alpine Skyline. She certainly took it to leave the area when the storm hit."
"So she's probably miles away now. Dammit..." Arthur concluded with a sigh. Then he began to snicker. "That's funny. She's a self-proclaimed 'hero' but she didn't do anything to fix the situation with the flowers and instead ran away with her tail between her legs. The hypocrite..."
"But if she was there during the purple flower invasion, then she must've been infected by the pollen just like some of us," Seth suggested. "She must probably be in bad shape right now."
"Even if that was the case, she certainly isn't anymore," Dr. Alkhar shook his head. "The illness's effects faded in the sick overnight after the flowers wilted. She must be well enough again to run a marathon by now."
Arthur let out a frustrated sigh. Mustache Girl was still out there, and will surely continue searching for the Time Pieces and trying to get in the way of him and Hat Kid. The competition goes on...
"Forget it. That'll be a problem for me and Hat Kid to deal with another day," he said, shaking his head. "Other than that, everything okay with you folks?"
"Yep. We're slowly recovering from yesterday's events, but overall we're okay," Makhir replied. "Aside from a few burned houses, the flowers didn't cause too much damage. We'll rebuild what we have to rebuild. No losses on our side, that's good enough."
"More fear than harm, as they say!" Dr. Alkhar affirmed.
"Good, then," Arthur nodded, glad to hear that the nomads were doing well and would be able to recover. He then looked up into the sky, where he could see the distant shape of Hat Kid's spaceship. "Well, that's not all, but I'll have to leave you guys to it. Since Hat Kid needs to stay in bed for a good week, I gotta take care of some stuff for her."
"No worries, kid! We'll take care of your friend in the meantime," Makhir replied with a thumbs up. "We'll stay at your beck and call if you need us."
"All right," Arthur replied. "I'll be back later tonight anyway to check on Hat Kid, so I'll probably see you then too."
"Sounds good! See you tonight then, kid!" Makhir waved him goodbye before turning to the other nomads and saying, "Come on, you guys. Let's go."
"All right, have a safe trip back, kid!" Dr. Alkhar waved goodbye to the boy in turn before following Makhir.
"Bye! And thanks again!" Seth also waved at him.
"Get home safe, young man! Be well and take care of yourself!" Edna told him. "Come on, Sethy."
"See ya, folks!" Arthur said goodbye to the nomads as they walked away to go about their business.
Alone again, the boy in the cowboy hat smiled, thinking of the hospitality and kindness these nomad people had shown him. A breath of fresh air; nothing like the people in his home world. Being able to help them in return was a godsend for him and he would do whatever was necessary with Hat Kid to make sure the Snatcher left them alone for good.
With that, Arthur took out of his pocket one of the Time Pieces given to him by his friend and pointed it skyward to return to the ship, taking off into the skies.
Upon returning to the spaceship, the first thing Arthur did was to deposit the four Time Pieces recovered from Alpine Skyline into the vault. This made a total of 32 Time Pieces recovered out of 56... which could have been 33 if he hadn't let Mustache Girl rob him of the one in the Dweller Dimension.
The young boy dismissed that thought and went into the gallery to place the set of relics on the empty base available in the room. The recreation was a breeze: he just had to place the crayon box on the pedestal, then fill it with the three crayons, and voila! The set was complete! As for the title and description, Arthur decided to let Hat Kid take care of it when she returned. It was her finds and her ship after all, so it was up to her to decide what to put on the sign.
Then he returned to the main room and, using the instructions given by Hat Kid earlier, used the main computer to check for any Time Rifts. Nothing to report. That's good.
With nothing better to do, the twelve-year-old boy approached the big glass window, greeting Rumbi as he passed by, who answered him with a '^^' expression on its LED screen, and observed the planet below. He saw the different places he had visited with Hat Kid since he arrived in this world: Mafia Town, Dead Bird Studio, Subcon Forest, and Alpine Skyline.
Looking back on his journey, he couldn't help but think how much this planet and the people he met there had changed him. He started out as a miserable, depressed, and hateful person, and now grew into a friendlier, braver, and more resourceful person.
Even though he still felt like an anomaly in this world that wasn't his own, he was still glad he came here and met the people he did, despite all the dangers he went through. Especially since now... he wasn't alone anymore and didn't feel like he had to endure life after all he had been through in his world.
It was almost as if... this was his real home. Maybe he could-
Arthur immediately shook his head at this crazy idea. No... he couldn't afford to think like that. It wasn't possible, although he wanted to. He wasn't born here, he didn't come from here... so he didn't belong here. He was an anomaly to this world... Nothing more. If one day, the opportunity to return to his home world presented itself... he would take it... even if it would be reluctantly. Just the way it is.
His train of thought was interrupted when his stomach began to rumble. It's true that he hadn't had time to eat breakfast yet this morning. He was hungry.
Without further ado, Arthur headed for the kitchen. As he approached the fridge, the young boy noticed a note taped to it. He removed it and began to read it.
Hi, kids! I took the liberty of filling your fridge while you were away. You two must be feeling a little peckish from your adventure around the planet! I hope you like the food I've prepared for you!
Have a nice day!
- Cooking Cat
Arthur began to smile. It was really nice of the chef cat to be so thoughtful of them, even though they hadn't had a chance to see each other since the hospital. It's a little strange but... Cooking Cat's concern for him and Hat Kid reminds him of his mother... Even in the moments when she wasn't around, she always found a way to show him that she loved him and cared for him no matter what.
With a sigh, the twelve-year-old boy stuck the note back on the fridge, not having the heart to throw it away even after reading it. He opened the fridge door and his eyes widened as he saw the contents.
Cooking Cat had indeed loaded the fridge with food; in fact, it was packed to the gills. There was all kinds of food: lasagna, spaghetti carbonara, vegetable soup, chicken curry, and lots of other dishes, plus the alien food Hat Kid already had in there. There was even a cake! Now Hat Kid will be very happy! He'll have to remember to bring her a slice when he comes to visit her tonight.
Arthur chose the simplicity of a chicken and vegetable sandwich on a small plate for this morning. He then sat down at the table to eat his sandwich, taking a bite out of it. Wow... For a sandwich, it was pretty damn good. Thanks a lot, Cooking Cat!
Just as he was about to take a second bite, Arthur heard a strange sound coming from the main room. He put his sandwich down on the table and went back into the room in question to see what it was. He climbed down the ladder and was startled to see a person, or rather a boy, with his back to him, in the middle of the room looking around curiously.
"The hell?! Who are you!?" he demanded aggressively, getting ready to pull out his crowbar if need be.
The kid jumped when he heard Arthur and quickly spun around to face him, allowing the latter to see his full appearance. He was wearing a red shirt with a pink-striped white tie, black pants with a light brown belt, and a pair of dark blue boots. His skin color was light, bordering on pale, he had blue eyes and black hair with a bobbed haircut that curled up at the end. His eyes widened as he pointed his finger at the twelve-year-old boy and exclaimed, "Hey! You're Crowbar!"
Upon hearing this, Arthur raised an eyebrow. "What? 'Crowbar'? Really? Where the heck did you get that from?" he asked. He eyed the boy from head to toe. He felt like he had seen him somewhere recently... "Do I... know you?"
"...Not really," the stranger replied, shaking his head. ...Okay, now Arthur was getting curious. Who is this kid? What's he doing here? And more importantly... why 'Crowbar'? Anyway, that wasn't important right now. Before the twelve-year-old boy could question him, the kid decided to introduce himself. "My name is Tie. Nice to meet you."
"'Tie', huh?" Arthur glanced at the boy's tie. "Hmmm... Okay." That made sense and had the merit of being loud and clear. But that wasn't the point. "How did you get here? And by the way, my name is Arthur, not 'Crowbar'." He preferred to clarify that last part, because being named after his weapon didn't sit well with him.
"Okay, fair enough," Tie shrugged. "To answer your first question: help from a friend. I'm taking a few stops on my way home." He then looked around. "Is, Hat around?"
Hat...? Hat Kid? This question immediately put Arthur on the defensive. How did he know Hat Kid? What did he want from her? ...Peck, who the hell is this kid?
"She's resting in her room at the moment," he lied, suspicious. Hat Kid was indeed resting, but in Alpine Skyline at the doctor's house, not in her room. But he didn't want to mention that.
He didn't know this 'Tie'... he didn't trust him. A kid out of nowhere who seemingly knew him and Hat Kid? No way he was going to tell him anything. That way, it'll deter him from trying to get into the bedroom. And if he ever tried to force his way into Hat Kid's room himself or try to steal the Time Pieces... he'll knock him out and throw him back into that portal he came from without hesitation.
"What do you want from her?" Arthur hissed, his teeth clenched.
"Oh uh, nothing," Tie replied, waving his hands. "Don't worry, I'm not here to cause trouble or hurt anybody. Promise."
Arthur huffed in disbelief as he rolled his eyes. Yeah, sure... They all say that. That one won't work on him. "Tch, sure. Next thing you'll tell me you just randomly popped into this ship like some kind of 100-year-old trained magician or through a portal?" he replied sarcastically.
"...Something like that," Tie simply shrugged as though this kind of situation was normal for him.
Arthur stared at him unamused. Pointing his finger at the boy with the tie, he was about to tell him that one, he obviously knew nothing about sarcasm, and two, that his answer was absurd.
However, as he opened his mouth, he suddenly recalled a somewhat similar situation... A month earlier, he himself had arrived in this world through a portal and the accusation he made to this kid... Arthur himself was on the other end of it facing Hat Kid who suspected him of the same thing: trying to hurt her or wanting to steal her Time Pieces. Here, it was clearly the same thing, except that the roles were now reversed with Tie being the suspected one.
The twelve-year-old boy's mouth closed immediately as his finger began to lower itself. Scanning Tie's face for any sign or expression that might reveal a lie, Arthur found none. So it was possible that Tie was telling the truth and perhaps... that he too came from another dimension, just like him.
"You look like you've had it rough," Tie said suddenly, studying his face.
Upon hearing this, Arthur glared at him. Seriously, what business is it of his? "What the hell do you mean by that?" he gritted his teeth.
"I'm saying I can see when somebody's had a rough life," Tie explained, weighing his words carefully. "Maybe I can't relate, but trust me, I know about having a bad past."
...Is that so? It was true that looking at Tie's face, he obviously didn't have the features of a healthy child. But could he really understand what Arthur himself had been through? The boy in the cowboy hat doubted it. He had seen and experienced it all: loneliness, rejection, neglect, cruelty, wounds and scars that never healed, and even the death of loved ones. He'd been through hell on earth 24/7... and he was only 12 years old. A record he said no one could ever have lived through.
"I doubt you'd ever understand," Arthur mumbled incredulously as he crossed his arms. The only people who could truly understand the extent of his pain were his mother, Charles... and now Hat Kid. All the rest never understood a single thing about him. It was too complicated to get a grip on anyway...
"Perhaps I can't understand what happened to you," Tie admitted with a shrug. "But I can understand the results, and what it does to you." His gaze wandered to the side, looking knowing. "How it makes you feel like if it would be better that you weren't around, or 'wrong' in comparison to everybody else. How much you bury it inside you and hold all of those thoughts until it hurts."
"..."
Arthur stared silently at the tie boy. That kind of talk... Only a connoisseur who had been through this sort of thing could find the words to say it. Although he knew nothing about Tie... in retrospect, the way he spoke, his face and his eyes seemed to speak for themselves. Maybe he really did know what he was talking about in the end, and by extension... that he had lived somewhat similarly to him... or at least had the feeling of it.
"Guess so..." Arthur sighed, letting his arms fall to his sides. Okay, this boy convinced him. He'll cut him some slack and give him the benefit of the doubt. "You're really just here as a stop?"
"Mm-hm," Tie nodded, his hands behind his back.
"Alright. What do you want?"
"Nothing, really. So, are you Hat's... assistant?"
"You can call it that, I guess," Arthur shrugged. At this point, he was more than just an 'assistant' in Hat Kid's eyes considering all she had done for him. They were friends, and he himself considered the young Xerian a true friend. But technically... yes, he was like an assistant in the search for the Time Pieces. "Come on, let's go sit somewhere instead of standing around like a couple of scarecrows."
With that, Arthur fetched two beanbags from Hat Kid's room and brought them back to the main room to continue their conversation while sitting. He placed them in front of each other, and he and Tie took their respective seats.
The twelve-year-old boy took the opportunity to look at Tie's facial features in more detail. "For someone who's had it 'rough' like me, you sure seem awfully okay," he remarked, noticing the lack of dark circles and reading a certain tranquility in the tie boy's face.
"Fair enough," Tie admitted as he intertwined his fingers and relaxed into his beanbag. "I've recently finished a long journey. During it, I met a lot of different people, and in the end I realised I had a lot of people behind me. One of them, a friend, told me who I was. And I came to a realisation that helped me overcome all that self-doubt."
"Glad to hear you've got it all figured out," Arthur sighed. Even though he had grown and gained confidence recently, he still had that hint of self-doubt screaming and gnawing at the back of his mind.
"But for the longest time, I really was in a dark place," Tie explained, looking down to the ground. "Was the darkest I'd ever been halfway through it, actually. It took a lot of work, fighting, and acceptance to overcome it all. Even now, I think I've still got some bad thoughts I haven't shaken off yet. I could never have done it on my own."
Arthur remained silent, as he stared at the ground, pensive. What Tie was saying made sense. And yet...
"Don't know how I'll be able to do that. I don't know if I even can," he admitted. "I'm more focused on just getting to the goal of what me and Hat Kid are doing. And after that..." Long silence... Peck, all his negative thoughts resurfaced. The young boy thought he had turned a corner, but this conversation seemed to prove otherwise. Despite his evolution, he still hadn't overcome years of trauma and self-doubt. "I'm not really sure. I don't see the point of trying to fix myself up. Nor do I feel like I deserve it."
Tie nodded, understanding and a sense of déjà vu in his eyes. "Sometimes it's not up to you," he explained before turning his gaze to the window in the direction of the planet below. "Sometimes the people around you are the ones who take it upon themselves to slap some sense into you, and get you to think about who you are. The important thing though, is that if you see an opportunity to fix yourself up... even if it's a little, even if it's from somebody else... you've got to take it."
As the words sunk into Arthur's mind, he also began to look at the planet. He could see what Tie meant... he had had this thought many times. Peck, he had it just before... Hat Kid, the Badge Seller, Cooking Cat, Mafia Barman, DJ Grooves, even the Conductor in a sense... Makhir, Dr. Alkhar, Seth, Edna, and the nomads. All of these people showed him a kindness that he never thought he would ever have, other than his own mother and Charles. And yet, he got it without even asking for it.
All this kindness had given birth to an urge that he tried many times to stifle: the urge to stay here in this universe where people cared about him, unlike his home world. But each time, his realistic and negative side reminded him that he didn't come from here, that he was an anomaly, that he didn't belong here, that he had to go back to where he came from as soon as he had the chance. Two sides fighting inside him... and it was a real torture for his mind.
"...How will I know?" he asked honestly.
"You'll know. Trust me," Tie assured.
Suddenly, the conversation was cut short by the same sound Arthur had heard earlier from the kitchen, followed by a beam of light that nearly blinded the twelve-year-old boy if he hadn't used his arm to shield his eyes. In the middle of the room, not far from the two occupied beanbags, was some sort of green portal, shining with a light of the same color.
"Ah, that must mean I'm moving on," Tie remarked as he got up from his seat.
"That thing?" Arthur pointed at the portal, his eyes wide with shock. It sounded crazy, but this portal looked exactly like the one that had taken him to this world a month ago, except the color was different.
"Yep." Tie began to move toward the portal. Halfway there, he turned to Arthur, walking backwards, to give him one last piece of advice, "Remember our talk, okay? There's nothing wrong with wanting to find happiness."
As Arthur watched the tie boy progress toward the portal, he asked him one last question, "Tie... who are you?"
Tie's only response was, "Just a brat who cares," accompanied by a smile. And with that, he walked into the portal and vanished into it. The portal emitted a powerful light again, forcing Arthur to cover his eyes. When it faded, the portal was gone for good.
The twelve-year-old boy stood there for a long time, wondering if what had happened had really happened or if he had just hallucinated.
"Nothing wrong with wanting to find happiness, huh?" he thought aloud, as Tie's words echoed over and over in his head.
Soon Arthur's stomach rumbled again, reminding him that he was still hungry. So he went back to the kitchen to finish his sandwich, while his conversation with this tie-wearing boy, unexpected to say the least, but which gave him food for thought, went round and round in his brain.
Later that day, an alarm sounded inside the ship while Arthur was busy drawing. This alarm was the one indicating the presence of Time Rifts!
The boy dropped everything and rushed to the main computer to get the information on the position and number of Time Rifts present. There were three in total: one purple and two blue. All were located in Alpine Skyline.
According to the photos, the purple Time Rift appeared to be near the zipline leading to the Lava Cake, therefore in Goat Village. One of the blues was on a shrub, just below the Twilight Bell, and the other was on the Windmill side, on the roof of a house that had a large wooden board in the shape of a cat's head with facial features drawn in paint.
Arthur never went to the Windmill side because it was Hat Kid who was in charge of the Time Piece there. However, he remembered what Makhir had said when they arrived on Alpine Skyline: it was Curly Tail Peak, one of the dreaded local gang's bases; the Lazy Paw Gang. The boy had never come across them, but judging by the scratch Hat Kid had taken on her abdomen, they were clearly not there to string beads. He will have to prepare himself to face them because there will surely be a welcoming committee for him as soon as he sets foot on their territory.
Now that he had all the information, Arthur headed straight for the hatch with a sheet in hand as a parachute and jumped out of the spaceship toward Alpine Skyline. When he landed in Goat Village, he was immediately swarmed by the nomads who came to thank him for helping them, to make sure he was doing better after his fight with the flowers, and to ask him a ton of questions about Hat Kid's condition.
Once again, Makhir had to step in and tell the nomads to move aside. Arthur thanked him and informed him without going into too much detail that he wouldn't be staying long and had just come to settle one last problem here. The nomad chief didn't ask any questions and ordered his people to give the boy some space to do what he had to do.
Once the nomad people returned to their own business, Arthur headed without further ado to the approximate location of the purple Time Rift in priority. It turned out to be not far away; in fact, the Time Rift was at the end of the wooden platform on the right, hanging in the air.
The twelve-year-old boy was a little hesitant to just jump in at first. He had never done purple Time Rifts before, he had no idea what to expect. However, he knew he had no choice, so he took his courage in both hands and jumped head first into the rift.
As his vision cleared, he felt drops of water from a heavy rain trickle down on his skin, wetting his hat and clothes in the process. He grunted. Great... he's going to have to dry all that out back on the ship.
His annoyance over, Arthur looked around with wide eyes. The atmosphere of the purple Time Rift was very different from the blue ones. Grey and gloomy skies, giant purple crystals standing all around in the background, and the notable lack of bubbles coming out through the breath unlike the blue rifts. A dark, sad, and dreary atmosphere that reminded the boy uncomfortably of his years-long mental state.
Regarding his surroundings, he seemed to be on an island that appeared to be strongly inspired by Alpine Skyline's environment, recognizable by the symbols on the walls and the various totems around. At the top of the island was some kind of hatch, which made Arthur understand that this was the only way to progress through the Time Rift.
Thus, he began to climb the island and head towards the hatch. On his way, he saw something that caught his attention, stuck between some haystacks. Curious, he went to get it and saw that it was a blurred picture. Arthur then remembered the different books that Hat Kid had recovered at each exit of purple rifts, each of which was about a person or a place in question. He made the connection with the picture he had recovered and put it in his pocket. After that, he reached the hatch and jumped in.
The boy found himself in another level of the rift, with three mountain peaks and simple flying hooks as the only junction between them. He saw the hatch at the top of the peak on which he had landed and went there at once. However, it was shut tight. No way to open it by hand. Seeing the number '3' above the locked hatch, he realized that he needed something to open it. Then he saw the rift pons scattered on the different peaks and deduced that he needed three of them to open the hatch.
So he went on a rift pon hunt, fighting off a few aggressive crows along the way. He also confronted a group of Lazy Paw cats for the first time, one of which took the opportunity to mischievously steal his cowboy hat. This action made Arthur so mad that he dislocated the thief's jaw with his crowbar and disposed of the rest of the group quite easily.
After having found the sufficient number of pons and recovered a picture in the process, Arthur returned to the hatch to unlock it and jumped inside.
From then on, it was wash, rinse, repeat. On the next two levels, the young boy found himself in a new area each time, picking up rift pons to open the hatch to the next level and eventually the few pictures along the way. He came across various creatures: goats, mad crows, explosive eggs, and even C.A.W. agents, which led him to believe that the latter were potentially from Alpine Skyline and more specifically the Birdhouse. It made sense in a way.
In the end, Arthur found himself in the last level of the Time Rift: a mini arena with the rift core at the center. Remembering when Hat Kid had first told him about it that it had to be destroyed, he began to hit the core multiple times with his crowbar until it shattered, leaving only a Time Piece in its place.
He picked it up and a few seconds later found himself back in Goat Village at the site of the purple rift that was now gone for good. Arthur smiled with satisfaction. A good thing done. It was then that he noticed a book in his hands, labeled 'The Twilight Ascent', and realized that it was one of the books Hat Kid received every time she left a purple Time Rift.
'So that's what the pictures are for,' he thought.
He read the book which consisted of the six pictures he retrieved from the Time Rift which were now legible instead of blurred. It seemed to tell the story of one goat in particular and, from what Arthur could make out, potentially the one who first discovered Alpine Skyline, who set up the ziplines across the mountains, and also the maker of the Twilight Bell and the link between the Dweller Dimension and Alpine Skyline.
Interesting, but nothing more. Nevertheless, he decided to keep the book and give it to Hat Kid later. Maybe she would be interested in reading it too.
Next step: the two blue Time Rifts. Arthur went first to the one located at Curly Tail Peak. When he got there, he took out his crowbar because he expected to be ambushed by the Lazy Paw Gang. Strangely enough, this was not the case and instead he was the one who surprised the few thief cats that were in the village. When the latter spotted him, they pounced on him to attack him and pick his pocket. This earned each of them a crowbar to the face and a few missing teeth.
Once he got rid of the gang members, the young boy climbed to the top of the village and saw the blue rift atop the house where Hat Kid had fought the right-paw cat of the Lazy Paw Gang. So he climbed onto the roof and jumped into the rift.
Once inside, it was chaos. The Time Rift was literally overrun with Lazy Paw cats. They soon swooped down on Arthur who had to defend himself as best he could against the hordes of thief cats. The boy didn't do too badly, except for a scratch on his left arm that he'll need to get treated later, and managed to get the Time Piece back at the end of the level.
Finally, he returned to the Twilight Bell and entered the blue rift on the shrub below the bell. This rift was less dangerous than the previous one, but the young boy still had to watch out for green and red holographic objects and goats walking around the entire level.
Once the Time Piece was recovered and the last Time Rift sealed, Arthur went to Dr. Alkhar to have his arm wound treated. He also took the opportunity to visit Hat Kid and give her the book he recovered from the rift. However, he decided not to tell her about the strange visit he received from Tie because he had a strong gut feeling that it would be better not to talk about him for reasons unknown even to him.
His left arm now bandaged and his conversation with Hat Kid finished, the boy returned to the spaceship. He then went to deposit the three Time Pieces in the vault, which was a total of 35 Time Pieces recovered.
Now that the Time Rift problem had been solved, Arthur decided it was time to deal with a bigger problem: the Snatcher. The young boy really didn't want to talk to him, but he had no choice or else the soul-stealing shadow would never leave the nomads in peace.
So it was with great reluctance that Arthur borrowed a Time Piece to return to the ship later and went down to Subcon Forest to confront the Snatcher. The place hadn't changed a bit since their last visit here: still as dark, gloomy, creepy, and unwelcoming.
Wanting to settle this matter as quickly as possible, Arthur first went to the Snatcher's tree to see if he was inside.
"Hey, Snatcher! You there?" he called to him. However, the room was completely empty. No trace of the ghost anywhere. "Where the hell is he?"
Figuring he might be in Subcon Village, he began to head there. As he walked along the path towards the village, a circle of thorny vines suddenly rose up around him, startling him and surrounding him. As dark clouds began to circle the area, Arthur realized he had stepped into one of the Snatcher's traps and let out an annoyed grunt. It wasn't long before the soul-stealing shadow emerged from the ground with his trademark golden grin.
"AHHHAHAHAHAHAAA! FOOOOOOOooooo..." the Snatcher exclaimed before pausing as soon as he recognized Arthur. His smug grin quickly turned into an angry scowl. "You again?!"
"Always so welcoming I see," Arthur replied in a sarcastic, unamused tone.
"What don't you understand about 'NEVER wanting to see you in my forest again', kid?! I thought I was ENOUGH clear about that!" the Snatcher growled, crossing his arms.
"I didn't come here for fun. Trust me," the boy didn't let himself be intimidated despite the ghost's visible annoyance and anger.
"Then get the heck out of here NOW!" the Snatcher towered over the boy, his arms outstretched menacingly to urge him to flee.
However, Arthur didn't flinch one bit. "Don't think so, noodle. You and I gotta talk," he held his ground, crossing his arms.
"I got no desire to speak to you! It's bad enough that your annoying friend is forcing me to be her... ugh... her BFF..." the Snatcher visibly shuddered in disgust at the word. "On top of that, you allow yourselves to just waltz into MY forest like it's a children's amusement park when I've told you a HUNDRED TIMES to get the heck out and never come back after what you two have put me through!"
"For the record, you clearly had it coming. Should've let us go instead of pulling that stunt on us."
"I-" the soul-stealing shadow raised a finger in protest, but resigned himself quickly enough upon realizing that Arthur was right about that. The fight would never have happened if he had let the two children go instead of trying to deceive and kill them. He let out an annoyed sigh, then said, "Alright, kiddo! You've got a point! But that doesn't change the fact that you and the purple-hatted brat are NOT welcome here! So... I'm going to ask you for the last time... to leave and never come back."
"Ain't happenin', noodle," Arthur shook his head. "You're gonna listen to what I have to say first, because if you refuse, I don't think you're ready for what's coming at you in the days ahead."
The Snatcher raised an eyebrow at the boy's boldness and chuckled. "Is that a threat, kiddo? You dare threatening ME?! The Snatcher?! The soul stealer?! THE Subcon Master?! Hahahahaha! That's a good one! Haha... heh..." he guffawed, wiping a tear from his eye. However, when he saw Arthur's unchanged look, he stopped laughing. "What? Wait... You're serious? Wow... Either you're gutsy, stupid, or you really got a death wish."
"None of the three. It's just a simple promise, noodle," Arthur replied. "Now you ready to listen to me, or you planning on clowning around a while longer?"
The Snatcher let out an irritated growl. This kid kept disrespecting him when he could kill him right there on the spot. The ghost had no shortage of desire to do so; he was about to mow him down and eat his soul for good. But seeing Arthur's serious look, he could see that he wasn't joking and that it was probably better to listen to what he had to say.
"Ugh... Alright, fine," he sighed in defeat. "I'm willing to hear you out, kid. But only on ONE condition: stop calling me a noodle! It's really getting old! You may be a kid, but that doesn't stop you from showing respect to me."
"Not sure you deserve it, but deal," Arthur shrugged. "Well, I'm not gonna beat around the bush. You know a guy named Seth?"
"Seth?"
"Yeah, a guy who came to your forest a few years ago, who you forced to work at your place as a chore boy, who ran away after making a blunder, and now you're giving him and his people hell."
"Listen, kid... There are plenty of people who came into my forest without permission and whom I gave a hard time just for the sake of it. Some of them aren't even here to talk about it anymore, if you know what I mean, hehehe..." the Snatcher snickered. "You'll have to be a little more specific there."
"Okay, lemme refresh your memory a bit then," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Seth is a nomad who lived in a village out in the desert called Sand n' Sails. He came to your forest to explore, you caught him and forced him to work for you. During one of his tasks, he accidentally woke up the Toilet of Doom and it made a mess of your place. You got mad, he got scared, he ran away, you chased him, he got out, and you swore to make his life and the ones of his people hell. Does that ring a bell now?"
The Snatcher seemed to think for a few seconds before remembering. "Ohhh, that runt... Of course I remember," he said bitterly. "So what about him?"
"Yesterday Hat Kid and I were stopping by the nomads who now live in the mountains," the young boy explained. "Seth told us it was you who dried up the river in their old village in revenge and, because of you, he and his whole tribe had to move to Alpine Skyline."
The Snatcher grinned evilly and calmly stated, "Maybe so."
Arthur glared at him, but continued, "Second point: he witnessed a while ago one of your minions quietly planting strange seeds all over Alpine. And yesterday, they all bloomed and started some kind of chaotic storm on the mountains. Judging by their nature, I guess you didn't send your guy to plant those flowers just for decoration at the nomads' homeland, did you?"
"Hohohooo! Congratulations, detective kid! You solved the case! Amazing!" the ghost clapped sarcastically and mockingly.
"So... you confess? Just like that? You ain't even gonna try to deny it or whatever?" the boy raised an eyebrow.
"Why deny it, kid? I do love it when people know about my... 'works,'" the Snatcher explained darkly. "The more people hear what I do, the more they fear me. And I like that."
"Of course..." Arthur sighed, shaking his head. He should have suspected that the Snatcher was too self-absorbed to just brag about his own actions instead of seeking to deny them. If nothing else, it made it easier for him to do what he had to do next. But before taking the next step, the boy had a question. "While we're on the subject, what exactly are these flowers?"
"The flower in question is called Tulipa mortiferum, more commonly known as the Subcon Tulip or death tulip. It's a parasitic flower that grows faster than any other common flower. In its budded state, there's nothing special about it: just an innocent flower growing. But as soon as it blooms... hehehehe... that's when the fun part begins. As a group, they cause a weather disturbance that triggers one of the most violent storms ever. They proliferate and release a noxious pollen that causes illness in exposed people and makes normally peaceful animals... aggressive. And that's not all! Some of them mutate and become 'alpha flowers' that can throw out explosive seeds and summon vines to defend themselves against any unfortunate soul who dares to approach them. A real killer! Hahahahaha!"
"I see," Arthur glared at the ghost with contempt. "So, you sent your lackey to plant those death flowers all over Alpine Skyline so they would destroy the nomad village and ruin Seth's life in the process."
The Snatcher was unmoved by the boy's visible disgust with him. Instead, a mocking, satisfied grin spread across his face. "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, kiddo," he said without the slightest regret. "That miserable worm caused havoc in MY forest by waking up that damned possessed outhouse! It took my minions a whole month to rebuild everything after his stupidity! Not only that, but he ran away when he wasn't supposed to leave the forest boundaries! He broke the contract he had with me! And that I will not tolerate..."
"You planned to punish him hard and put him through all the pain on Earth," Arthur pointed out the obvious. "Of course he was gonna freak out and run. You couldn't just expect him to wait to be a punching bag for you."
"Tsh... So what? I'm just supposed to let it go? Just pat him on the back and say, 'Oh, don't worry, kid. You ruined it all, but that's okay. Oh, you're running away? Okay, send me a postcard'?" the Snatcher huffed, rolling his eyes. "Nooo, absolutely not! He messed up my home, he has to pay! So I'll destroy as many villages as it takes, torment his scoundrel people ad infinitum, and make the rest of his miserable life a living hell if I have to! Hehehehe!"
Arthur let out an annoyed sigh. Clearly, the Snatcher had no intention of backing down. It didn't matter, the boy was expecting it anyway... So he decided that this was the right time to take action. "Well, newsflash, buddy: your latest shenanigans have failed," he informed him with a smirk.
The Snatcher's evil grin faded from his face upon hearing this. "What?"
"As I said, Hat Kid and I were passing through when the flowers attacked Alpine Skyline," Arthur explained, looking satisfied as he saw the Snatcher swallow his stupid smile. "It just so happens that we took the opportunity to do a little... gardening, if you know what I mean. As a result, the flowers wilted, there were no casualties among the nomads, the village suffered a little damage but not enough to make it unlivable. A quick coat of paint, and presto! Good as new. Too bad for you, Snatcher."
The soul-stealing shadow remained silent for a few seconds, before giving the boy a scornful look. "Grrr... Why do you brats always have to meddle in things that are none of your business? Hmph, whatever! I live forever after all. I've got plenty of time to try it a million times over!" he added, crossing his arms with a smug look.
"I don't think so, buddy," Arthur shook his head. "You had your fun. Now you're gonna behave yourself and leave Seth and the other nomads alone." The Snatcher nearly choked with laughter at this.
"And what exactly are you going to do? Pick my teeth with your tiny crowbar?" the ghost sneered mockingly. "You're on your own against ME, kid. You and your little friend may have defeated me before, but only because I let my guard down once. I won't make the same mistake twice. Speaking of that annoying hatted brat, where is she anyway?"
"Why do you care?"
"I don't! But that's the first time I've seen you here without her. You two always stuck together like glue pots making a mess of things. Call it 'curiosity', kid."
"Hmph... If you really wanna know, she's stuck on a patient bed with a cast on her ankle for a whole week because of your nonsense," the young boy said bitterly as he glared at him.
"What?" the Snatcher's eyes widened in shock.
"Them flowers summoned thorny vines that pierced her ankle. She would've been a goner if I hadn't stepped in. I guess you must be pretty proud of yourself for that..."
Arthur expected the soul-stealing shadow to gloat or laugh at Hat Kid's misfortune, but strangely the Snatcher had no particular reaction. His face was neutral, as if he were lost in thought or feeling... remorse? No, that was impossible.
Soon, the Snatcher shook his head to regain his composure and crossed his arms, glaring to the side. "Hmph! Serves her right!" he said with a scowl. "Maybe next time she'll think twice before forcing me to be her... BFF..." He shuddered as he said the word. "Ugh... I'd probably throw up in my mouth if I had a stomach."
"Well, save your vomit for later, Snatcher, because you'll probably throw up twice as much when you hear what I have to say," Arthur replied with a serious look.
"What now?" the ghost groaned in annoyance.
"Seth, the nomads, Alpine Skyline... You forget about them right away and move on. Because I may be alone, but the nomads are a whole lotta folks. Especially now that they know you're the one who caused the river at Sand n' Sails to dry up and the death flowers to invade Alpine Skyline. And believe me, they've got it in for you, and they'll be coming after you every chance they get."
"Pffff... hahahahaha!" the Snatcher burst out laughing at this. "That bunch of wimps wrapped up in their desert clothing? And what are they even going to do against me? They don't even know how to get past my invincibility! One good swipe and that'll put them out of their misery on the spot!"
That's when Arthur smirked and said, "That's right, they don't know how... But me and Hat Kid do."
"...What?" the Snatcher quickly lost his smile.
"Oh yeah, Snatcher. We know that the mere contact with a blue liquid makes you immediately vulnerable. You forgot already? I mean, after all, that's how you got your butt kicked the other day," the young boy grinned smugly, crossing his arms. "The nomads don't know about it yet, but if either I or Hat Kid were to slip it into their ears... heh, well, there goes the mess. By the way, do you know Seth's mother?"
"...No?"
"If there's one person you should never, and I mean NEVER, alienate, it's her. Anyone who got on her bad side still remembers the beating she gave them to this day. And unfortunately for you, you went after HER son. You can guess she wasn't too happy when she heard from Seth what you did to him and the whole tribe. And now she's gonna move heaven and earth to find any way to make you pay for it, even if it means barging into your house with her bare hands to give you a run for your money."
"Tsh!" the Snatcher huffed in disbelief. "Come on, she can't be that bad. Right?"
"You want an example, maybe?" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "The last one to incur Mrs. Helmy's wrath was Dr. Alkhar, the doctor of the nomad people. The lady told him to keep an eye on me and Hat Kid and make sure nothing happens to us. Unfortunately for him, we got mixed up in the flower invasion and ended up getting pretty banged up. I can tell you his butt didn't appreciate it when Mrs. Helmy found out about it after the storm."
The words and tone used by the boy to describe Dr. Alkhar's punishment by Edna were enough to send a shiver down the soul-stealing shadow's floating body, which surprised him at once. The latter didn't understand such a reaction coming from himself. Only Queen Vanessa could make him feel this way after... what she did to him.
Could it be... that he was afraid of this Mrs. Helmy? No way... He was the one who was supposed to scare people, not the other way around! Especially over something as ridiculous as a spanking. What was wrong with him?
"See now, Snatcher? You're in a monumental mess right now," Arthur grinned evilly.
"Uuugh! Alright, alright, I get it! Those scoundrels are mad at me, the scoundrel's mother is mad at me! I get it!" the Snatcher threw his arms up in frustration. He sighed to calm himself and asked, "Now... what do you want exactly?"
"As I told you before, I want you to leave the nomads alone once and for all. As for Seth, your old contract you had with him, either you forget it, or burn it, or use it as toilet paper, I don't care. But you leave 'em all alone with no exception," Arthur replied firmly, placing his hands behind his back. "If I ever hear from the nomads that you're up to your old tricks again... then the next day you'll have a mob of angry folks showing up at your door with guns loaded with blue paint, and you can be sure they'll turn the whole Subcon Forest upside down and make your life a misery 24/7."
The Snatcher stared at the boy as stunned as he ever was. So this kid would dare to blackmail him? Soon that shocked look turned into a hateful glare that was surely the most intense Arthur had ever received from the soul-stealing shadow.
"So you'd dare to blackmail me? Me? You've really got a LOT of nerve, boy!" he said in a low, threatening voice.
"Consider yourself lucky, because if it were up to me, I'd have already spilled the beans to the nomads as soon as I heard what you did! And believe you me, I got no sweat about it!" Arthur hissed, refusing to falter at the ghost's irritated and threatening tone. "But hey, for reasons from outer space, Hat Kid chose to make you her BFF and I don't think she'd appreciate me doing that." He then muttered, shaking his head, "That's one thing I'll never really understand..."
In a desperate attempt to get out of this situation without having to give in to the boy's relentlessness, the ghost formed a wicked smile and said, "You know I can end your life right here-"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Don't even think about it, noodle, because if Hat Kid finds out you've done me in, BFF or not, she won't hesitate to rat out the whole blue thing to the nomads herself, and as a bonus she'll probably come over and smack you in the face with her umbrella to calm you down once and for all."
"..." This left the Snatcher with his back against the wall. He couldn't believe it... Once again, Arthur and Hat Kid decided to be pests and come to thwart his plans. First they beat him up and humiliated him in front of his own minions, then the top hatted brat scribbled over his contract to force him to be her... ugh... contracted BFF, and now this disrespectful boy came to blackmail him into leaving a miserable nomad alone who woke up the damn outhouse with his stupidity and caused a mess at his home?! Grrrrr! He hated them! He hated them so much!
"You're a real poison, kid..." he sighed in defeat. "Ugh... Fine! I'll comply with your request! I'll leave the annoying nomad and his scoundrel people alone... and you keep your mouth shut about my... weakness. Right?"
"That's the idea, yes," Arthur nodded.
The Snatcher let out a grunt of frustration, obviously having no choice but to do as the boy asked. However, an idea came to him soon after, and a deceitful smile spread across his face.
"In that case..." He snapped his fingers and a new contract appeared between him and Arthur. "Let's make a contract to seal the deal. What do you say?"
"...Really? You need that to give your word?" Arthur asked him with an unamused look.
"What do you want me to say, kiddo?" the soul-stealing shadow shrugged innocently. "Old habits die hard. Besides, it would be proof of our... agreement, because after all, who's to say you wouldn't go back on your word someday just on principle?"
"'Tain't like me to break promises."
"And it's surely not like you to blackmail honest people?"
"'Cause you're honest, you?" Arthur huffed, rolling his eyes.
"And you think blackmail is honest, kid? Kinda hard to get the other party to trust you in this kind of situation," the Snatcher retorted with a smirk, crossing his arms. The twelve-year-old boy sighed. Obviously, he couldn't win this one. "Come on, kid. One signature, one handshake, and bang, you've got a deal!"
"Ugh... Okay, fine. I'll sign your stupid paper, if it means you'll shut up and leave the nomads alone," Arthur grumbled, grabbing the quill and reaching for the contract.
He began to read the terms of the contract:
CONTRACT: END OF HOSTILITIES TOWARDS SETH HELMY AND ALL THE NOMADS
Conditions:
- Leave Alpine Skyline and the nomad people in peace.
- Give up the vendetta against Seth Helmy.
- End the contract with Seth Helmy.
In exchange:
- Do not reveal the Snatcher's weakness to anyone.
SIGNED:
At first glance, the contract seemed to respect what was said, which surprised the young boy. No terms or conditions that could change what was agreed upon. Nothing written in very small print, or even behind the paper. Quite surprising coming from the ghost... Arthur still took the time to see if there was any trickery or anything, but it would seem not.
"Okay..." Arthur shrugged and prepared to sign the contract.
Meanwhile, the Snatcher grinned evilly while rubbing his hands together as he watched the tip of the quill get closer and closer to the paper. His actual plan was simple: once the signing was done, trick Arthur the exact same way Hat Kid had done to the ghost and change the terms of the contract at the last moment before stamping.
That way, not only would he force Arthur and Hat Kid to never come back to his forest, but he would also get their souls as a consolation prize. A cunning plan that will allow him to make the duo pay for the humiliation he suffered against them in the arena. Hehe, as they say, revenge is a dish best served cold!
The quill was an inch from the paper, a drop of ink dripping from the tip. The Snatcher silently gloated in anticipation as his plan was about to see the light...
...
"Hold on a second," Arthur suddenly pulled the quill away from the contract, glaring at the ghost.
"What? What's going on, kid?" the Snatcher asked, his voice slightly feverish with fear that the kid had caught on to the trick. "Don't you like the terms of the contract? That's what you wanted though, right?"
"Yeah, that's what we agreed on. That's why you're gonna stamp this contract first to keep it that way," the boy replied with a smirk. And with that, the soul-stealing shadow's whole plan fell apart because, if he puts the stamp, then he won't be able to change the terms of the contract anymore because they will be considered 'accepted' already.
"S-Stamp the contract first?" the Snatcher asked nervously. Arthur nodded firmly. "C-Come on, kid... That's not how it works. Normally, the signature comes first, and THEN I stamp the contract."
"Yet you did that with Hat Kid when you tried to get us out of your forest after our battle," the boy reminded him, raising an eyebrow.
"I-I was desperate, okay?! But now, no pressure or anything. Just a little contract between the two of us, nothing more! Come on, kid... Let's do this right."
However, Arthur was sick of hearing him protest. "Oh, what the peck! You know what? I'm done! I'm just gonna go tell the nomads everything, that'll be easier! See ya, noodle!" he said in an annoyed tone. He dropped the quill and began to walk away, which made the ghost panic.
"N-No, wait!" the Snatcher exclaimed as he dove into the ground and emerged before Arthur to stop him. "Okay okay, you win! I'll stamp the contract! Here, watch!" So he snapped his fingers to make the contract reappear at his side and immediately stamped it. "There, see? Just... sign that paper and shut the heck up about my weakness, okay?" he begged.
Arthur smiled victoriously and said as he picked up the quill again, "Well, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." the soul-stealing shadow grumbled as he crossed his arms.
After making sure the terms hadn't changed in the meantime, Arthur signed the contract with his name on it, finally making the deal between him and the Snatcher official.
"A pleasure doing business with you, Snatcher," he said in a slightly mocking tone.
"Hmph, sure..." the Snatcher growled, snapping his fingers to make the contract disappear. As per one of the deal's conditions, he also made another contract appear: the one that had been agreed upon with Seth years before. And with one swipe of his claw, the ghost tore the contract into small pieces, which then burned to ashes. Seth was now free of the Snatcher's grip and hostility for good. "Now... get out of my forest. Immediately."
"Will do. I'm done with you anyway," Arthur said as he pulled out his Time Piece and aimed it at the sky. Before triggering it, he smirked at the ghost and added mischievously, "Oh, by the way, Hat Kid says hi." And with that last taunt, he flew up into the sky toward the spaceship.
Meanwhile, the Snatcher watched him go with a dumbfounded look on his face. His eye twitched as his anger bubbled up inside him. The sheer accumulation of seeing the boy in his forest again after what he and Hat Kid had done to him, the fact that he had forced him to give up his revenge against Seth, and the frustration of having his plan thwarted again... To hear that Hat Kid said hello to him as if they were best buddies was the last straw.
The soul-stealing shadow took a huge breath as his facial expression changed from glowing gold to vibrant red and let out a loud, angry scream that echoed throughout Subcon Forest, causing bats in the trees to fly away and minions and dwellers all around to tremble in fear, "I. HATE. KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDS!"
A/N: Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sure, I admit, there's a lot of talk, but it was a necessary part for the conclusion or rather "epilogue" of the Alpine Skyline arc. Hehe, poor Snatcher. Arthur gave him a run for his money there. But don't worry, he'll get over it... Probably. Hehehe.
It's true I also said in the last chapter that there would be the last act of Mafia Town "Cheating the Race" and the beginning of Arctic Cruise here, but... the chapter was longer than expected and I had to cut it short here to avoid it being too long... That's okay, a little cliffhanger doesn't hurt once in a while, does it? Mwahahaha!
Ahem, anyway... What else did I want to say now? Oh yeah! Little appearance of a guest character: Tie Brat, from the fanfic "A Hat and a Tie in Time", written by OPFan37. I advise y'all to go and read their story; it's awesome! And if you guys wanna know, this passage where Tie and Arthur are talking face to face comes from chapter 41 "Across All" of AHaTiT. By the way, thank you, OPFan37, for including Arthur for that passage in your story! It made me really happy! ^^
Anyway! Let's get to the reviews now!
To HexoSpikeZ: Thank you very much for your feedback! I'm glad to see that you like the evolution and especially the reasons for the characters' behavior! Regarding the possibility of including one of the Death Wish challenges, I don't really plan to include them in my story at this time. As such, I find them complicated to set up. But who knows? Maybe at some point I'll come up with some crazy idea that'll allow me to set up something like that. But in the meantime, there's nothing planned about it. Anyway, thanks again for your feedback! It makes me very happy to see you still enjoying the fic ! ^^
To Mike Snowball: Wow! That's a lot of reviews! I'll try to answer each of them according to the respective chapters you wrote them in.
Chapter 22: Glad to see you liked the diary entry! I don't know if there will be more though. To be seen later.
Chapter 39: Hehe, no worries! Ideas come and go, it's an endless loop! Hmmm, regarding modded content and just the idea of a custom Time Rift level... I don't think there will be one. At least not yet. I can't really predict what changes in plans there will be in my story. Sometimes ideas come out of the blue. I'll have to see what happens next. As for the second suggestion, don't worry. I'll know how to write it. At least, I think so... Maybe? Hmm, we'll see!
Chapter 40: Sorry to contradict you, but I don't plan to have a romantic relationship between Arthur and Hat Kid. There's another kind of close relationship planned for them, but not this one. Now, if you want to ship both of them, you're allowed to. I don't have anything against that.
Chapter 35: I can't say anything about this. No fun if I do. You'll know it at the end of the story ;)
Chapter 41: Thanks a lot! Glad to see you like my story! :D
Anyway! That's it for today, folks! Next chapter, I promise, it'll be the last act of Mafia Town, followed by the beginning of Arctic Cruise! Or maybe I'll just write three lines and that'll be for the following chapter, who knows? Hehehe...
Anyway, enough joking around! I'll see you all soon for the next chapter! ^^