Chapter 32
The minion guided Arthur and Hat Kid through the village, passing near the pipes emerging from the ground and the panicking minions and Dwellers. They eventually arrived in front of a large gap – where the bridge presumably used to be before it was destroyed in the past by the Snatcher – with flying hooks acting as the only way to get across it.
"The arena is on the other side of that gap!" the minion said as he pointed at the shape of a large structure faintly seen through the fog where more ghoulish magic was coming out from. He pointed up at the flying hooks and said, "If you have something to grapple onto these hooks, you can get to the other side!".
"Yeah, we can do that," Arthur said with a nod. "Say, uh... how tough is the Toilet of Doom by the way? Know anything that might help us exploit its weaknesses to defeat it easier?" he asked.
The minion placed his hand on his chin in a thinking manner and said, "Hmm... Well, the Toilet of Doom is quite tough, but thankfully it has a weak point. I remember from the time when the boss fought it that it has some sort of heart inside of it. It's protected by the outhouse's door, but it occasionally opens and the toilet turns blue in the process. That's when it's the most vulnerable."
"Noted. Do you remember its attacks too?" Arthur asked him.
"I remember it uses acid bubbles, cherry bombs, and shockwaves to attack its enemies. I think there's also a flaw in its bubble attack: some of them don't actually hurt you. You can probably use that to your advantage too," the minion explained.
"Sounds good. Alright, we'll try to take care of this," Arthur said with a nod.
"Thank you, newbies. Good luck!" the minion said, before running off.
"Well, looks like we're fighting a toilet then. Not the most 'hygienic' foe, but it's not like we have a choice. Let's do this, I guess," Arthur said with a look of disgust. Hat Kid grimaced in disgust and sighed. She didn't want to touch a dumb, smelly toilet, but like Arthur said they had no other choice.
The two children swung across the chasm by using their Hookshot abilities and landed on the other side. As they did, more pipes emerged on the sides of the path. They went forward and entered the arena. On the low walls of the arena were various books, Erlenmeyer flasks, skulls, candles, brooms, and closets. Cages with Dwellers trapped inside were hanging by chains from the ceiling. In the middle of the arena was a pool filled with a green, bubbling liquid – probably acid – with a lit lantern hanging above it. And inside said pool was a wooden outhouse with a small pipe sticking out of it on its left side and a basket filled with dirty toilet paper attached on its right side. The outhouse was moving, meaning it was alive. That was it: the Toilet of Doom.
"Oof... Smells bad already," Arthur said with a disgusted expression, waving his hand in front of his nose. Hat Kid covered her nose with her hand and nodded in disgust. "So that's the Toilet of Doom... It's exactly like they said: old, possessed, smelly..."
The Toilet of Doom suddenly noticed the duo and it roared loudly at them as its door opened, revealing a green, pulsating, gelatinous and sticky substance surrounded by a jumbled mess of pipes inside of it, which appeared to be its heart.
"... and very pissed off too," Arthur added nervously as the possessed outhouse's door closed. Arthur took a deep breath and pulled out his crowbar. "Alright, get ready," he said. Hat Kid nodded and pulled out her umbrella.
The Toilet of Doom made its first move, sinking into the pool and reemerging outside of it on the other side of the arena. Its door opened and it began spitting large acid bubbles at the two children. Arthur and Hat Kid did their best to dodge every single one of them to avoid getting dissolved on the spot. Eventually, one of the bubbles popped, revealing an activated cherry bomb that was inside of it. Hat Kid glanced at the fruit, then at the Toilet of Doom, and she smirked as an idea came through her mind.
While avoiding the bubbles, she ran towards the cherry bomb and picked it up, cringing as she did since it came from the disgusting toilet. She then ran towards the Toilet of Doom with the cherry bomb in hands. Upon seeing her coming with the fruit, the outhouse trembled in fear and raised its door protectively as if begging for its life. Though, Hat Kid remained merciless and threw the cherry bomb at it, causing the fruit to explode on impact and making the outhouse fall on its back. Hat Kid looked at her hands with a grossed-out expression and waved them in the air in an attempt to shake off any droplets of the gross water. She made a mental note to take a bath as soon as possible.
Despite the hit, The Toilet of Doom bounced back up and disappeared into the ground, before reappearing a bit farther away from the duo. It then leaped up high into the air and slammed back down on the ground. Arthur and Hat Kid both yelped as they were bounced up in the air due to the strength of the impact. They then saw a shockwave created by the outhouse come their way, and they quickly got up and jumped over it. The Toilet of Doom jumped and slammed back down again, but this time, the two children jumped right before the impact and jumped over the next shockwave as it came.
The outhouse then jumped back into the acid pool, and its door opened before a horn blared out, causing the two children to cover their ears at the noise. Suddenly, clanging was heard and cages swung towards the duo.
"Look out!" Arthur shouted, tackling Hat Kid out of the way as a cage swung in her direction. He then quickly got up and helped the young alien up on her feet.
While dodging the incoming cages, the duo then noticed that the Toilet of Doom was now blue and its heart was currently exposed. It was time to strike; but how could they hit it without going into the acid pool? Arthur then spotted the lantern above the outhouse, and that gave him an idea. He latched onto the lantern with his Hookshot ability and swung towards the outhouse, kicking it in the heart and knocking the toilet out of the pool.
The Toilet of Doom was not done though. It bounced back up before continuing to attack the duo with its bubble and shockwave attacks. During the battle, a crowd of minions and Dwellers gathered around the arena to watch the fight unfold. They cheered every time the two children managed to land a hit on the outhouse, clapping and throwing roses in the arena.
After getting hit multiple times, the Toilet of Doom let out a furious roar, forcing Arthur and Hat Kid to cover their ears. It then jumped in the acid pool and spouted out three bubbles that floated above the pond, before sinking back into it and reemerging at another spot of the arena. The outhouse then made small jumps to create shockwaves to harm the duo; though it didn't bounce them up like the high jumps did.
While jumping over the shockwaves, the two children looked at the floating bubbles and noticed that two of them were transparent instead of green. These ones must be made of clean water instead of acid: it must be the flaw in the bubble attack that the minion talked about earlier. Speaking of which, one of the two water bubbles had a cherry bomb inside. Arthur and Hat Kid nodded at each other, having the same idea.
While Arthur distracted the Toilet of Doom, Hat Kid grappled onto the lantern and swung inside the bubble containing the cherry bomb before grabbing the fruit, causing the bubble to pop and activating the cherry in the process. She then threw it at the outhouse while its back was turned, and it blew up, knocking it on the ground.
Furious, the Toilet of Doom jumped back into the pool and spouted out six bubbles, before going back out and creating shockwaves again. Three were made of acid, the others were made of water, and one of them had a cherry bomb in it. This will be more difficult... Arthur once again acted as a distraction and Hat Kid went to grab the cherry bomb. She latched onto the lantern again and swung between the bubbles – barely missing an acid one – before eventually managing to grab the cherry bomb. Once again, she threw it at the outhouse, damaging it even further.
This time, the Toilet of Doom was enraged and let out another angry roar, almost causing the two children to stumble on their backs. It then spat a cherry bomb above the acid pool as three cages containing Dwellers lowered down around the fruit. The cages then opened, allowing the Dwellers to fly inside the cherry. To the children's shock, the cherry bomb grew larger and larger with each Dweller going inside, and became massive with a black skull painted on it, a giant clock and giant lit dynamites strapped around it. The weight of the giant fruit caused a slight tremor as it fell inside the acid pond, making the two children and the minions outside the arena stumble backward on the ground.
The Toilet of Doom jumped on top of the giant cherry bomb as it began ticking. Its door opened and it began dancing to taunt the duo, unintentionally becoming blue and signaling its vulnerability. After getting up, Arthur and Hat Kid's jaws dropped, and the minions all gasped and trembled at the sight of the massive time-ticking bomb.
"We gotta defuse that bomb or else we're all gonna blow into pieces!" Arthur said. He then looked at the summoned cages that seemed to be leading up to the top of the cherry bomb and figured they could use them to reach the outhouse. "I got this," he said with a determined look.
The twelve-year-old boy ran towards the closest cage, jumping on it, and continued on from cage to cage until he was on top of the giant cherry bomb. He whacked the Toilet of Doom in its heart, causing it to fall back and land roughly on the cherry bomb. This caused the giant fruit to blow up, but thankfully the explosion was not very powerful, and it simply knocked Arthur and the outhouse away.
"Arthur!" Hat Kid shouted worriedly, watching the boy roughly land on his back. She ran to his side to check on him.
"Ow, ah... I'm fine. Good thing the explosion wasn't very strong," Arthur said, wincing slightly in pain. Hat Kid sighed in relief and helped him up on his feet.
Meanwhile, the Toilet of Doom recovered from the explosion and bounced back up. The duo noticed it was beginning to splinter as some boards on it became a bit loose.
"Looks like that toilet is nearing the end of its tether. Let's keep this up," Arthur said. Hat Kid nodded determinedly, gripping her umbrella tighter.
A furious growl came out of the Toilet of Doom. It then began jumping high and slamming back down to create shockwaves again, which the children proceeded to jump over. Suddenly, the outhouse attempted to bodyslam them, forcing the duo to roll out of the way to avoid getting squashed. Now on its back, the outhouse attempted to get back up but it seemed to be struggling. In the meantime, its door was opened and it became blue.
Seizing the opportunity, Hat Kid jumped and stomped on its heart. The outhouse roared loudly in pain, causing Hat Kid to be knocked away by the strength of the roar. The small girl coughed and waved her hand in front of her nose because of the horrible smell that came with the roar, before she got up.
The battle continued on; and after getting hit a few more times, the Toilet of Doom really looked battered and exhausted, and smoke was starting to come out of its pipe. One last hit and it will probably fall apart. In a last and desperate attempt to get rid of the duo, the outhouse used its bubble attack again. This time, it spat out more bubbles and at a faster speed. One of them almost hit Arthur, but he managed to dodge it just in time. No doubt he was getting more skilled and reactive when it came to a fight. Eventually, one of the bubbles popped near Hat Kid, revealing a cherry bomb. That was it... the time to strike.
Hat Kid picked the cherry bomb up and began running towards the outhouse. The Toilet of Doom panicked and focused its attacks on her, spitting out acid bubbles at an even faster rate. However, the young alien practically danced between the bubbles and dodged them as they came. Once she was close enough, she let out a battle cry as she spinned around and threw the cherry bomb in a bowling style at the outhouse, knocking it on its back one last time.
Suddenly, the Toilet of Doom shook rapidly and a lot of smoke came out of its door and the pipe. And finally, it blew up after a few seconds, reducing it to a pile of broken boards and pipes. A high quantity of dirty, smelly water splashed the whole arena, including the two children. They gagged and grimaced in disgust as they looked at themselves, water dripping from their bodies and clothes.
"Remember when I said I'd throw a fit if the Snatcher made us clean his toilet? I think I'm about to do that now," Arthur said irritated, his eye twitching.
Meanwhile, the crowd of minions and Dwellers slowly and cautiously approached the remains of the outhouse.
"They... they actually did it! The Toilet of Doom is no more!" a minion said joyfully.
And right after he said that, the whole crowd cheered and clapped happily to celebrate the children's victory. Some of the minions delivered the Dwellers that were imprisoned inside the cages, and the latters joined the cheering.
Once again, Arthur felt a bit overwhelmed by all the cheering, but he was starting to take it slightly better than before. Maybe he really is doing good deeds after all. He and Hat Kid yelped in surprise as a few minions joyfully picked them up – not even caring that they were covered in dirty water – and began carrying them back to Subcon Village, accompanied by the rest of the crowd who cheered along the way.
While they were being carried, Arthur nervously and timidly said to Hat Kid, "Never thought I'd say this... but I guess we're heroes in a haunted forest now, right?". The small girl only shrugged and smiled happily in response.
After returning to Subcon Village, the two children were allowed to take a shower and wash their clothes inside one of the minions' house. After that, they returned outside and were warmly greeted by all the minions and the Dwellers who continued cheering for them. It just goes without saying that they were happy that the Toilet of Doom was gone for good and won't be causing any more trouble inside the forest. One of the minions then approached the duo, carrying a Time Piece in his hands.
"Thank you so much for dealing with the Toilet of Doom, newbies! Now that it's gone, we won't have to fear its destructive ways anymore!" he said happily.
"Oh, uh, don't mention it. We were just... doing our contractual obligations," Arthur said shyly, rubbing the back of his head.
"Still, you saved us all, newbies! Thank you! We found this among the remains of the outhouse. We want you to have it," the minion said, showing them the Time Piece. Wait, it was among the remains of the outhouse? This statement caused Arthur and Hat Kid to stare at the hourglass with disgusted looks. "Don't worry, we made sure to wash it before bringing it to you," the minion reassured them as if reading their thoughts. The two children sighed in relief, then Hat Kid took the Time Piece with a smile before she pocketed it.
The duo then looked to the side and saw the Snatcher approaching them with his arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face.
"I gotta admit, you're both more useful and tougher than I thought," he said.
"Well, it ain't the first fight we had. Otherwise, we'd be toilet food by now," Arthur deadpanned. Hat Kid put her hands on her hips and nodded with a proud grin.
"I can see that," the Snatcher said, still keeping a neutral expression. The shadow's lack of proper reaction seemed kinda strange to the duo's eyes. He didn't look happy or angry at all. They defeated the Toilet of Doom and saved his forest – that's what he wanted, right?
The Snatcher then grinned and said, "Well, I guess that wraps up your true last contract this time." He snapped his fingers, making the contract about the Toilet of Doom inside Hat Kid's hat vanish. After that, he leaned closer to the duo and asked, "Now I suppose you're both waiting for me to give you your souls back and let you leave, right?". Arthur almost wanted to make a sarcastic answer, but considering he already pissed the Snatcher off before and he got strangled for that, he decided against it.
"Well, that was the deal, right? We did all of your dirty work and even risked our necks for it. So yeah, we want them back and get out of here for good," Arthur said with a serious expression as he crossed his arms.
Hat Kid, on the other hand, was a bit more hesitant to leave Subcon Forest forever. Even though she would like to have her soul back and return to her spaceship, she kinda grew attached to the minions and the Dwellers who were all nice to them since day one... and the Snatcher too in a way.
Even if the soul-stealing shadow was a big jerk to them, she was still certain there was a slight bit of good in him, considering how worried he looked about his subjects when the Toilet of Doom attacked. He was just being a 'soon-deh-ray' and pretended to not care about anyone. Perhaps she could still find a way to befriend him somehow.
Plus, she wasn't sure they got all of the Time Pieces from this place yet. They had been so busy taking care of their contractual obligations, so they hadn't been able to visit every nook and cranny of the forest. Maybe they could stay just for a little longer?
She didn't get the time to voice her opinion though, since the Snatcher spoke again.
"In that case, meet me in the arena in two hours after my minions finish cleaning it, then we'll talk about it. In the meantime..." the Snatcher said, before snapping his fingers. Tables covered by white tablecloths with different sorts of food and drinks on them were summoned all around the village. "Enjoy the festivities as celebration for your hard work and heroic acts! You both deserve it! After all, we'd all want your last moments in Subcon Forest to be memorable. Hehehehehe!" he added with an ominous grin, before he vanished into the ground.
While all of the minions and Dwellers cheered happily and went to the tables to get some food and drinks, Arthur and Hat Kid exchanged worried and skeptical looks. The Snatcher's behavior and the way he spoke in the last sentence sounded strange and suspicious. Is he really going to give them their souls and freedom back?
Only one way to find out... For now, all they could do is wait and enjoy the festivities while they last.
Two hours later, the festivities ended. The minions returned to their homes and Subcon Village returned to its usual, quiet state. It was also time for the two children to meet the Snatcher inside the arena. They walked across the gap on a solid board that the minions placed as a temporary bridge until a new one is built, and headed inside the arena. The place was clean and the remains of the Toilet of Doom were removed after the minions cleaned it all up. The duo looked around for any sign of the soul-stealing shadow, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is the Snatcher? He said he'd meet us here," Arthur asked puzzled, earning a confused shrug from Hat Kid. He didn't like this... Something about this meeting felt off to him. The more he thought about it, the more he started to believe that the Snatcher never really had any intention of returning their souls and letting them go. Suddenly, he noticed something glowing at the other side of the arena.
"Hey, what's that over there?" the young boy asked, pointing at the strange item.
Curious, he and Hat Kid walked a bit closer, then their eyes widened as they recognized the object. It was a Time Piece. How did it get here? They didn't remember seeing it after the fight with the Toilet of Doom, and if the minions saw it they wouldn't have left it on the floor like that.
"Huh... Something doesn't feel right. Let's be careful," Arthur said in suspicion. Hat Kid nodded.
They began to approach the leftover Time Piece slowly and cautiously. When Hat Kid knelt down to grab it, it suddenly vanished out of sight.
"What?! Where did it go?" Arthur asked as he and Hat Kid formed surprised and confused looks.
"Wait up, kids. Remember how the old contractor had his head pop off?" a familiar voice ominously said from behind. The two children flinched and slowly turned around, only to be met with the Snatcher standing inside the acid pool and grinning menacingly at them. Of course, the acid didn't hurt him since he was a shadow. "That wasn't a coincidence. It popped off the moment he stopped being useful to me. And guess who else just became obsolete?" he asked, giving the duo a knowing look. Arthur and Hat Kid's faces went pale. They had a feeling they knew what he meant by that. "That's right. You two," he answered as he pointed his two-fingered hand at them, confirming their fears.
"Now that that possessed outhouse isn't bothering me anymore, and all those contracts of yours are tidied away... I don't need either of you around," the soul-stealing shadow added maliciously.
"Hey, hang on a minute! That wasn't part of the deal! You said you'd return our souls and let us go if we did all your dirty work!" Arthur reminded him angrily, pointing his finger at him.
"I said we'd talk about it, and that's what we're doing right now... And I say you're not leaving my forest alive," the Snatcher said with a sinister grin, sending a chill down the duo's spines. "Besides, you didn't think I was gonna let you keep all these Time Pieces, did you? They fell in my forest, kids! They belong to ME," he added firmly.
While Hat Kid formed a scared expression on her face, Arthur gritted his teeth and tightened his fists in anger. He knew it! He knew they couldn't trust the Snatcher to keep his word! Yet another promise breaker. Though, Arthur wasn't surprised... The Snatcher is an evil shadow after all. Of course he wouldn't honor his part of the deal and would try to get rid of them eventually.
Without a warning, the Snatcher suddenly reached his hands forward and snatched both of the duo's hats from their heads to take their abilities away. Arthur and Hat Kid gasped and touched the top of their heads frantically, suddenly feeling naked without their hats. The soul-stealing shadow then placed Hat Kid's top hat on his head and Arthur's cowboy hat on top of it, before giving the two children a smug grin.
Arthur then felt his eye twitch as his anger built within him. Did that ghost just... STEAL HIS COWBOY HAT?! The very same one that his mom gifted him when he turned seven, and the ONLY reminder he had of her?! Okay, that's IT! This time, he had more than enough! Shadow or not, he's gonna wipe that dumb grin off his ghostly face for good!
Suddenly, purple shadow magic generated from the Snatcher's hands, and soon the whole place was plunged into darkness. The only thing Arthur and Hat Kid could see was the Snatcher's large golden grin taunting them in the dark.
"Time you saw what I'm really capable of, kids. Say goodbye to those little heads of yours!" the soul-stealing shadow said maliciously.
"You want our heads, do you? Then come get them, noodle!" Arthur taunted him angrily, showing no fear to the shadow. He pulled out his crowbar, while Hat Kid pulled out her umbrella.
The Snatcher growled at the insult and angrily yelled, "DON'T CALL ME 'NOODLE'!", his voice echoing.
In a blink of an eye, the darkness dissipated and the arena was surrounded by shadow magic, trapping the three inside. Minions were also gathered on the sidelines, eager to watch the fight between their boss and his former contractors.
The Snatcher attacked first, firing purple magic beams from beneath the two children's feet. Arthur and Hat Kid anticipated the move and leaped out of the way of each blast, avoiding the beams. Then, the soul-stealing shadow summoned his minions in the arena and began spinning them around, forcing the two children to jump over them to avoid getting hit.
Remembering the Badge Seller's words about the Snatcher's weakness, the duo observed the shadow patiently and waited for him to turn blue in order to strike. However, as if reading their minds, the Snatcher turned to them and grinned tauntingly.
"You're probably both waiting for me to turn blue, aren't you?" he asked smugly. Arthur and Hat Kid raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Sorry kiddos, blue doesn't suit me. And I guess that makes me invincible, huh? That's too bad! HA HA HA HA HA HA!" he said, laughing evilly. Peck! He figured out their tactic. How are they going to hit him if he won't turn blue? Not to mention that they can't use any of their abilities without their hats. This fight was clearly unfair.
With a snap of his fingers, the Snatcher switched Hat Kid's top hat with her Brewing Hat and summoned five blue potion vials that orbited around him.
"Let's try some of these!" he said with an evil grin. Then, with a motion of his hands, he began throwing each potion at the two children. Arthur and Hat Kid ran out of the way as the potions exploded after touching the ground. "Not enough? Let's try 1,000!" he said gleefully. The duo's jaws dropped as the Snatcher summoned a large cloud of blue potions above the arena.
"Peck, peck, peck, peck, peck, PECK!" Arthur swore repeatedly while he and Hat Kid ran around the arena with their arms covering their heads, as a rain of blue potions came down on them.
And unfortunately, they both got hit by some of the blue potions, causing them to yelp in pain and stumble on the ground. After quickly recovering from the hits, they got up as they hissed in pain under the satisfied grin of the Snatcher.
"Too many, eh? Let's try just one for each of you," the soul-stealing shadow said mockingly. True to his word, he summoned only two potions – one for each of the duo. As he threw the potions at them, Arthur and Hat Kid simply stepped out of the way and gave him unamused looks. However, the Snatcher stopped the potions mid-air before they could hit the ground.
"Wait, hold on. Those ones should totally have hit you both!" he said, placing his hand on his chin in a fake thinking manner. With a motion of his hand, he hovered the potions above the children's head – one above Arthur's head, and the other above Hat Kid's head. "Come on, give them a chance!" he insisted with a mischievous grin.
The two children ran away to avoid the potions, but to their shock, they kept following each movements they made while still floating above their heads. Suddenly, the potions fell down, but the two children rolled out of the way before they could hit them, and the vials exploded on impact.
"You're both kinda rude, aren't you?" the Snatcher pouted, crossing his arms. Arthur and Hat Kid glared at him. This ghost was clearly messing with them.
"You think you're funny, Snatcher? Stop playing that little game of yours now!" Arthur hissed angrily.
"What are you gonna do about it, kiddo? Hit me with your crowbar? Oh wait, you can't!" the Snatcher taunted him with a smug grin. Arthur huffed as he rolled his eyes.
"What? You're acting like the class clown now?" the young boy snarked with an unamused look.
"Jokes on you, kiddo. You're the ones providing me the entertainment here!" the soul-stealing shadow retorted smugly.
He then summoned his minions back in the arena and spinned them around. While he was doing that, he also fired magic beams under the duo's feet. It was getting more intense for Arthur and Hat Kid who were forced to jump over the minions and avoid the beams at the same time. Thankfully, they managed to avoid them all.
Suddenly, the Snatcher disappeared into the acid pool and reappeared all around the arena as multiple shadow clones of Arthur and Hat Kid. They all had dorky golden eyes and they made a silly dance as they tauntingly said, "This is how you two look like! You're idiots!". While Hat Kid wasn't really affected by the taunts, these words hit Arthur right where it hurts...
"Hey, freak! Look at my drawing over here: it's you! You look like a monkey! Haha!"
Arthur felt tears forming in his eyes at the sudden flashback. However, he managed to stop them from coming out. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on his crowbar. In a fit of sudden rage, the young boy screamed and swung his crowbar at the clones, but the latters jumped back before he could hit them. Then, all of the clones vanished and the Snatcher emerged from the acid pool.
"What's wrong, kid? Did I hit a nerve? Whoops!" the soul-stealing shadow said to Arthur mockingly. The twelve-year-old boy's breath was slow and loud as he glared angrily at the Snatcher. He was in an uncontrollable rage right now.
"I hope your minions are good dentists, 'cause I'm gonna knock those fangs outta your mouth! We'll see if you're still laughing after that," Arthur shouted in pure rage. Hat Kid flinched a little at his outburst. She hadn't seen him look so mad since the recording of 'Train Rush' after the Conductor tricked them into activating a bomb on his train and forced them to go through many hazards to defuse it for his movie. Though, hearing the Snatcher taunt Arthur made the small girl really angry and she glared at the shadow. No one ever treats her friend like that and gets away with it without a beating!
"HA HA HA HA HA HA! Then, go on and try, kiddo!" the Snatcher taunted smugly.
He summoned another huge amount of potions to rain down on the duo. Once again, the two children were unable to dodge them all. They yelled in pain and fell on the ground as they got hit. They tried to get up, but they struggled to do so. They were getting weaker and more tired from the fight. Their slight hope of winning the battle was starting to fade away. Could this be truly the end after all of this?
From the sidelines, one of the minions watching the fight said, "The newbies are exhausted. Looks like they're about to lose."
"That's a shame. I kinda liked them," another one said sadly.
"Yeah, me too," the former answered sadly.
The Snatcher grinned evilly as he saw a chance to eliminate his former contractors for good. He decided to start off with Arthur, since he constantly kept defying him and insulting him during their contractual obligations.
As she lifted her head up, Hat Kid's eyes widened as she spotted a potion on the ground. Looks like it was the only one that didn't break on impact. ...Wait, hang on a second... the potion is blue, and the Snatcher is only vulnerable when he's blue. Hat Kid smirked. That gives her an idea. She looked at the Snatcher, and she gasped when she saw he was leaning over Arthur who still struggled to get up. He was about to kill him! She had to act quick! Pushing with all her strength, she managed to get up on her feet. She then picked up the still-intact blue potion and glared at the Snatcher. She knew what she had to do now...
"Looks like you're on your last legs, kiddo," the Snatcher said mockingly, watching Arthur struggle to get up. The young boy rolled on his back to look up at the shadow dead in the eye.
"Go to hell, noodle..." Arthur weakly said, insulting him once more.
"Arrogant to the end. Why am I not surprised?" the Snatcher growled angrily. He then shrugged and said with an evil smirk, "Oh well! Say goodbye, kid!". He then raised his clawed hand up, ready to strike the boy down. Arthur closed his eyes and raised his arms above himself protectively, bracing himself for the incoming blow.
However, just before he could kill the young boy, the Snatcher yelped as he felt something hit him in the back and shatter on impact. The whole crowd of minions gasped dramatically. The soul-stealing shadow turned around to see the culprit who was none other than Hat Kid.
"Hehehe," the small girl snickered with an evil grin as she brushed off her hands. The Snatcher glared at her before looking down at himself, his eyes widening as he did. He was all covered in blue potion now.
He gave Hat Kid a shocked look and asked, "Did you just color me blue with my own attack?". Hat Kid put her hands behind her back and nodded at him with a smug look. "This can't count, right? Surely this doesn't count?" he asked, slightly panicking.
"Heh... What's wrong, noodle? I thought you said blue didn't suit you," Arthur asked tauntingly as he slowly got up to his feet and patted the dust off of himself.
"Nah-nah-nah-na-nah~!" Hat Kid chanted mockingly, waving her hands at each side of her head and sticking her tongue out at the shadow.
For once, the Snatcher was at a complete loss of words. He couldn't believe he got outsmarted by a couple of kids who used his own attack against him to make him vulnerable. His eye twitched as his anger built within him. His usual golden grin was replaced by a red glowing scowl as a dark aura formed around him.
"That does it, time to DIE,"the Snatcher shouted furiously with a deeper and darker voice, causing the minions around the arena to tremble in fear at his tone. Arthur and Hat Kid both gulped nervously. This time, they really pissed him off...
Now in a furious state, the soul-stealing shadow fired more magic beams from beneath the children's feet and at a faster pace. He even included a new move, which was to spin the beams around in the arena before firing them from the ground. Arthur and Hat Kid did their best to dodge the incoming beams. They were galvanized and determined to take the Snatcher down now that he was vulnerable.
Although, they couldn't hit him while he was still in the acid pond, and they couldn't use the lantern to their advantage either since their Hookshot abilities were taken away when the soul-stealing shadow stole their hats. Therefore, they had to wait for him to get out of the pond to hit him. The Snatcher is in an angry state, chances are he will make mistakes when trying to throw everything he got at them. They just had to keep dodging until an opportunity presents itself.
Eventually, the Snatcher had enough and sunk into the acid pool before reemerging outside of it, causing a small tremor and creating a shockwave. The two children didn't expect that and stumbled because of the tremor. However, they reacted quickly and got up before jumping over the incoming shockwave. The soul-stealing shadow repeated his attack multiple times, sinking into the ground and coming out of it at another spot of the arena. Sure enough, the duo made sure to jump at the right time.
The Snatcher then reemerged from the ground, a bit too close to the children as he growled angrily at them. Sensing an opportunity, Hat Kid whacked him with her umbrella. The soul-stealing shadow yelped in pain, and sunk into the ground before reappearing inside the acid pool.
Growling, the Snatcher decided to try something else. He plunged the whole place into darkness, then he smirked and winked with his right eye. Suddenly, two Snatchers appeared at both sides of Hat Kid, grinning menacingly at her. The young alien was confused as she glanced between the two shadows. Which one should she hit?
She shrugged and hit the one on her right with her umbrella. However, to her shock, it did nothing to him. She then screamed in pain as she felt something scratch her violently in the back, making her fall forward on the ground. She could hear the Snatcher laugh evilly as the darkness dissipated from the area. As she looked up, her jaw dropped as she saw a cutout of the Snatcher fall backward on the ground and vanish out of sight. She then realized that the Snatcher she tried to hit was just a decoy. Furious that she got tricked, Hat Kid got up and readied herself for the soul-stealing shadow's next move. Arthur also witnessed his friend getting hurt and he grew even more furious than he was already.
The Snatcher reappeared in the pond and used his magic beam attacks again, which the children proceeded to dodge. Neither sides wanted to back down from the fight, and they kept throwing everything they got at each others. Eventually, the Snatcher plunged the arena into darkness again and he winked with his left eye. Then, two Snatchers appeared at both sides of Arthur.
As the young boy tried to figure out which Snatcher was real, he then realized something. Depending on which eye he winks with, the real Snatcher will be on the same side relative to the victim's position. Therefore, should the Snatcher wink with his right eye, he will be on the left, and vice versa. The soul-stealing shadow just winked with his left eye, which means he is... on the right!
Arthur swung his crowbar at the Snatcher on his right, and the latter yelped at the sudden hit. Darkness dissipated once again, and Arthur smirked in satisfaction as he saw the Snatcher rub his cheek where he got hit. The soul-stealing shadow snarled angrily and returned in the pool.
The battle continued on for a while with the Snatcher using his magic beams, shockwaves, and decoy attacks, while the two children did their best to dodge them all and hit the soul-stealing shadow whenever they could. Eventually, both parties started to grow weaker and tired from the fight. It was only a matter of time before it ends with only a sole winner: either the duo or the Snatcher.
In a last attempt to get rid of his former contractors, the Snatcher did his shockwave attack, coming out of more spots to create more shockwaves; but the two children dodged them all, although with a bit of struggle due to fatigue. He reemerged close to Hat Kid, and the latter attempted to whack him with her umbrella.
However, the Snatcher anticipated that and disappeared into the ground, much to Hat Kid's confusion and panic. He then reappeared behind her and grinned evilly as he raised both of his clawed hands, ready to strike the small girl down while her back was turned. Unfortunately for the shadow, Arthur noticed that. He gasped, then he gritted his teeth and readied his crowbar.
"Oh no, you DON'T!" the young boy shouted angrily, before throwing his crowbar at the shadow as hard as he could. The Snatcher didn't expect that and took the crowbar right in the face. The soul-stealing shadow yelled out in pain and fell back, defeated.
Suddenly, a flash of white occured, forcing Arthur and Hat Kid to cover their eyes with their arms. After it went away, the duo found themselves alone in a dark abyss, much to their confusion. Where were they? Did they do it? Did they defeat the Snatcher? As they looked down, they both found their hats, as well as Arthur's crowbar, lying at their feet. They eagerly proceeded to pick them up and place their respective hats back on their heads.
As they looked around, they spotted the faint golden glow of the Snatcher's face a bit far away from them. He was hunched over on his hands, painting and appearing in great pain. Gripping their respective weapons and with a glare, Arthur and Hat Kid began to walk towards him.
"You're both such disrespectful young kids..." the Snatcher said weakly in between huffs as the two children continued to approach him.
"You okay, Snatcher? You look like you just ran a marathon, or in your case... took a real beating," Arthur joked with a satisfied grin, making Hat Kid grin as well.
"Very funny, kid..." the Snatcher said sarcastically with a growl. He huffed and weakly said, "I feel... so weak..."
The two children only kept walking towards him.
"Please... have mercy..." he pleaded desperately.
The duo ignored his pleas, and only continued approaching him. However, they didn't notice the small mischievous smirk slowly creeping up on the shadow's face.
"Please... HAVE A SEAT!" he yelled out as he unexpectedly lunged forward and got right in front of the two children's face with an evil grin.
"WHOA!" Arthur and Hat Kid both yelped in surprise at the sudden jumpscare. They dropped their weapons and fell backward as a bench appeared underneath them, making them sit on it.
"All these Time Pieces landed in MY forest. They are MY property," the Snatcher shouted angrily and firmly. He then snapped his fingers, and a new contract appeared before the duo. "So, let's make a deal, kids. You both get out of my forest, and we never see you again. How's that sound for a deal?" he asked with a hopeful smile, eager to kick the children out of his forest for good. After losing against them and being humiliated in front of his minions, the soul-stealing shadow wanted nothing more but to send these kids on their merry way and get them off his back for good.
As much as he wanted to leave Subcon Forest for good after everything that happened, Arthur didn't approve this new deal for a very good reason.
"Hey, not so fast, noodle. These Time Pieces belong to us. Well... to her, I mean," the twelve-year-old boy said, correcting himself at the end as he motioned his head to Hat Kid. "We came to Subcon Forest to get them back, and as much I wanna get out of this hellhole after all the tricks you pulled on us, we're NOT leaving without the Time Pieces," he argued with a serious look, crossing his arms. Hat Kid crossed her arms and nodded as she looked at the Snatcher dead serious. The soul-stealing shadow seemed really displeased by the answer.
"Not a fan? Too bad! You don't make the calls here," the Snatcher said firmly. He then said, "Here, I'll even make it easier for you!", before stamping the contract prematurely in hope to convince the duo to sign it. "Now all that's left is for you two to sign it!" he said, his tone sounding desperate.
The two children read the contract, and everything in it was telling them to 'get out'. The title said 'GET OUT', the objectives were 'Get Out. Just Get Out,' the two pictures both showed the Snatcher with an angry frown carrying a sign saying 'GET OUT', the available parts of the forest were 'None of it. Get Out,' and lastly, instead of saying that their souls will be kept hostage, it was replaced by 'Please take all of your junk and leave.'
Arthur sighed in defeat and said to Hat Kid, "I don't think we got much of a choice, Hat Kid." The purple-hatted girl sighed and nodded in defeat. The young boy looked at the Snatcher and said, "Fine. We'll sign it." The soul-stealing shadow grinned and crossed his arms smugly, happy that he still got the last word in this.
Arthur signed his name on the contract, before giving the quill to Hat Kid. She sadly took it and began to sign the contract. However, after she wrote the first letter of her name, she stopped as she realized something... The Snatcher already stamped the contract, right? Therefore, he already gave his agreement to do whatever is written on it. A mischievous smile formed on Hat Kid's face as she had an idea that could allow her to get the remaining Time Pieces back and get something else she wanted at the same time.
To Arthur and the Snatcher's shock, she began changing the terms of the contract. She scribbled the title and wrote 'STAY AND HAVE FUN' accompanied by three little stars, replaced the objectives with 'Be Nice', drew a happy face over the Snatcher's angry frown and replaced the words on the sign with 'STAY' on both pictures. On the accessible parts of the forest's section, she scribbled on 'None of It. Get Out,' and wrote 'All of It' instead. And finally, she scribbled the words 'take all of your junk and leave', and replaced them with 'Be my BFF' and added a heart next to it, before she finished signing her name on the contract.
After she was done, Hat Kid crossed her arms and formed a smug look on her face, while Arthur and the Snatcher stared at her dumbfounded.
"Are you crazy? You should've changed the contract so that the Snatcher was forced to return the rest of the Time Pieces to us, not make us stay in this hellhole!" Arthur whispered to Hat Kid, looking at her as if she was crazy.
The small girl whispered in his ear to tell him that the Snatcher might just need a friend. Arthur raised an eyebrow at her in total confusion as his brain was comically doing maths after hearing what she just said. He then shook his head and sighed in defeat. Whatever, he gives up. He is done trying to question her logic.
Meanwhile, the Snatcher's eye twitched and his mouth was wide open, still dumbfounded that Hat Kid just changed the contract on him. He mentally facepalmed and cursed himself for stamping the contract too soon.
"... You understand that's not how contracts work, right? I'm giving you a chance to scram, kid! There's no catches or clauses this time!" the soul-stealing shadow said nervously, trying to get Hat Kid to change her mind. However, the young alien's composure remained unmoved as she continued to stare at him with a smug look. Sweat began to drip from the Snatcher's forehead. He gave Arthur a pleading look, desperately asking him for some help.
"Don't look at me like that. You got yourself into this mess, you try to get out of it on your own," the young boy said firmly, his arms crossed. He had to admit, it was funny to watch the Snatcher desperately and nervously trying so hard to make Hat Kid leave. It was almost like he was afraid of her. Kinda ironic for an evil shadow that likes to scare people and take their souls away. The Snatcher gave the boy an annoyed look, before looking back at Hat Kid nervously.
"L-look, wha... what if I gave you your souls back, will that make you leave?" the soul-stealing shadow asked in a desperate tone, catching the interest of the duo.
Before any of them could answer, the Snatcher snapped his fingers. The souls of Arthur and Hat Kid appeared above them, and floated back down inside their respective bodies. The two children sighed, feeling relieved, energised, and Arthur felt the usual amount of empty – which was still a whole lot. It felt good to have their souls back. However, despite that, none of them moved or spoke a word. They still wanted the rest of the Time Pieces, and Hat Kid still wanted to be able to come back in Subcon Forest in the future and become the Snatcher's BFF.
"Yes? No? Hello? Are you there? Why aren't you saying anything?" the Snatcher asked, feeling uneasy by the lack of response from the duo. Arthur and Hat Kid remained silent nonetheless. They had a staring contest with the Snatcher for a few moments, before the latter ended it.
"... You're quite the characters, aren't you. And tough negotiators," he remarked. He sighed in defeat and said, "Fine, I'll sweeten the deal for you." He snapped his fingers and a Time Piece appeared, floating at his side. "Here, take my last Time Piece. If I continue to see you two around my forest after this, I'll be very disappointed!" he said unamused.
With a victorious and cheerful smile, Hat Kid hopped from the bench and joyfully ran to the Time Piece, before grabbing it.
"Thanks, BFF!" she said with a giggle, making the Snatcher cringe at the name.
While Hat Kid was examining the Time Piece, the soul-stealing shadow discreetly floated to Arthur's side and asked him in a whisper, "Is she always like this?", while staring at the girl.
"Always. But I'm used to it by now," Arthur whispered with a shrug. The Snatcher nodded in understanding. The young boy hopped from the bench and said, "Well, I guess we're off then. Not a moment too soon...", before joining Hat Kid at her side. "Let's get out of here," he said to her. The purple-hatted girl nodded and grabbed Arthur's hand, ready to send them both back to the spaceship.
"Bye, BFF!" Hat Kid said to the Snatcher happily.
"I'm NOT your BFF!" the soul-stealing shadow insisted angrily, crossing his arms. Hat Kid simply giggled, while Arthur rolled his eyes.
After that, Hat Kid raised the Time Piece up as it glowed brighter, confirming that it worked again. Then, the two children flew off to the sky, returning on the spaceship.
"Kids..." the Snatcher muttered in annoyance as he shook his head. This experience took away any further desire to have kids sign contracts from him in the future. He then teleported back to Subcon Forest to read a book, and hopefully forget that any of this ever happened.
A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you liked this chapter full of action! I gotta admit, I didn't expect to write both of the Toilet of Doom's Boss Fight and the Snatcher's one into the same chapter. However, when I finished the first fight, I noticed it was too short for a single chapter. Therefore, I decided to include them both. That's good. At least, I got the Snatcher's Boss Fight out of the way now.
Don't worry though, Subcon Forest's chapter section is not done yet. There are still the Time Rifts to take care of, and that will be in the next chapter. And after that, heh... guess what, guys. It'll be time to reveal Arthur's past! Indeed, Arthur will finally reveal his origins and what he went through in the past to Hat Kid. Get ready for a lot of emotions and dark stuff when the time will come. And after that, we'll be moving on to Alpine Skyline. Not the most interesting chapter, but eh, the duo have to get through that part anyway.
Anyway, time to answer a few reviews!
To Nothosaurus: Yeah, the Snatcher had enough of Arthur constantly insulting him and defying him, so he just snapped and strangled him. Yikes!
To HexoSpikeZ: Actually, the Snatcher didn't make the nightmare. It was just Arthur's mind that created the nightmare, based on his traumatic experiences from the past and inside Queen Vanessa's Manor. But yeah, it was freaky. ^^; Thankfully, no serious injuries occured in this chapters. Only minor ones.
To Mad King C: Thank you. For now, I haven't planned for more appearances in the story for Queen Vanessa other than the Time Rift, but who knows, maybe an idea might cross my mind and I'll write it down. I like both fights as well, especially the music for the Toilet of Doom's Boss Fight. Anyway, I already know what happens when you hit the Emperess in the Jewelry Store (Yikes!). I also tested the noose's supposed insta-kill, but after waiting for a while, it still didn't kill me. How long do you have to stay on the noose for it to kill you?
To pokemonsora01: Yup, unexpectedly wrote both of them in one chapter (WOW! Emote)! Yeah, this nightmare sure left Arthur traumatized on the moment. Anyway, thank you!
To Typeunmasked: Nice! XD
To Rub37: Yeah... I honestly think the most fit punishment for someone like Arthur's dad would be for him to end up all alone with nothing but his own thoughts and drinks to keep him company. No one likes ending up alone: that's one of our biggest fears. Anyway, you got both fights served on a silver plate here. ;P
All right! That's all for today, folks! See you all in the next chapter!