Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hat Kid landed in her usual pose as she arrived in Subcon forest, grinning from ear to ear and ready to spend a fun day with Snatcher. Propping her umbrella on her shoulder, she strolled up the twisted, thorny root that acted as a bridge to Snatcher’s home. A minion by the fence called a greeting, and Hat Kid happily waved back in return. 

She loved it here. It had freaked her out a great deal when she’d first arrived, but that was a month ago. Now, she and Snatcher were best friends—and not just by contractual obligation! He never outright said it, especially in front of others, but he was quite fond of her, and she saw him almost as a father figure or at least as a fun uncle. He protected her from any dangers to her in Subcon, and he’d even helped her fight off Empress when the evil feline had attempted to get her revenge on the little alien on her spaceship. He also gave her advice and scolded her plenty, reminding Hat Kid of her own father back on her home planet. 

“Hey kiddo, what’s up?” Snatcher welcomed as he looked up from his book. His smile always brightened when she visited him, which was often every other day. 

She grinned and hopped up onto the arm of his chair, noticing that the book he was reading was some sort of book on different magic types. Huh, that was different. “Just saying hi to my BFF!” she chirped as she looked up at him. “What about you?”

He chuckled. “Currently, I’m saying ‘hi’ back.” He lightly flicked the brim of her top hat teasingly, prompting her to swat at his retreating claws with an indignant squeak. 

“Hey!” She pouted at him and fixed her hat, though that dissolved into giggles quickly. “Okay, I walked into that one.”

Snatcher winked at her, but then his mood took a sudden drop and his smile faded. “... hey, kid? I know you like to visit here often, but there’s a bit of a… problem, that’s come up, so you need to stay away from Subcon for a few days at least while I take care of it.”

Hat Kid blinked, shocked at the sudden change in attitude as well as the news. “What?!” Her eyes narrowed, and Snatcher could see the determination burning in them. “C’mon, Snatcher! We’ve handled Vanessa together; what could be worse than her?”

Snatcher narrowed his eyes right back, subconsciously looming over Hat Kid in a show of intimidation to get his point across. He’d anticipated her stubbornness, but that didn’t mean he was happy to deal with it. “Yes, we handled her, but are you forgetting the fact that you nearly died?!”

Hat Kid flinched back slightly from the volume and tone of his voice. He noticed, but continued anyway. 

“This threat is different from Vanessa. He isn’t motivated by blind obsession.” He leaned down close to her, just centimeters from her face. “He is calm, and calculating, and if you make one wrong move you’ll meet a fate worse than death itself!”

Hat Kid’s eyes were wide, completely caught off guard by his behavior. She hadn’t been afraid of him in a long time, but now she felt some of that fear creeping back into her mind unbidden. She knew he’d never hurt her, but she was still intimidated nonetheless. What really worried her, though, was his expression. She knew that he was scared of her meeting this “fate worse than death itself,” and that spoke volumes because this was Snatcher. He was the Stealer of Souls; the Shadow of Subcon. He did not scare easily. Not to this extent.

Snatcher saw the fear in her expression and backed off with a sigh. “Look, kid, you’re strong. We both know you are.” He snickered. “Who else can jump around a sinking ship while carrying an old walrus?” Hat Kid relaxed some, but then he returned to being serious. “But this threat is on another level.”

Hat Kid frowned and sat down on the arm of his chair, giving him her full attention. A few Subconites were watching from outside the tree as well, interested in what was going to happen. “Can… you at least tell me what or who it is?”

Snatcher stared at her for a solid ten seconds, thinking, before he looked away and sighed. “You know my story. How Vanessa locked me in the cellar and left me to freeze to death?”

Hat Kid nodded with a small shiver.

Snatcher looked down at his book thoughtfully, expression unreadable. “... when I died, I… split apart.”

The young alien tilted her head, curiosity piqued. 

“What you see of me now, is… I’m like the soul of the prince, I guess you could say.” He glanced down at her to see her eyes widen. “I’m not sure how, but the prince’s body eventually gained an intelligence or spirit of its own. He is the threat I’ve been speaking of. Moonjumper.”

Snatcher uttered the name with such venom that Hat Kid felt the urge to back away, but she knew she wasn’t in danger from him. Even when she made him angry… which she enjoyed doing often, truth be told. But that was no surprise. 

“What’s so bad about him?” she asked cautiously, watching his reaction carefully. 

His claws twitched and his mane spiked ever so slightly. “His magic. I’ll give you a hint; he’s called the Puppeteer.”

Hat Kid’s eyes went big. “He can possess people?!”

He smirked at her dramatic reaction. “Well, not quite.” His smile fell. “He uses magical red strings, and he can control every fiber of them. He’s cunning and fast, and if he gets his strings around you, you’ll be under his control.”

She hugged herself and shuddered, disturbed at the news. “... that sounds awful…”

He nodded solemnly and eyed her. “Which is exactly why you need to be outside of Subcon until I get him to leave again. Not only will he enslave you, but he’ll kill you too when he’s done using you against me.”

She suddenly glared at him, which clearly surprised him. “No!” She jumped to her feet, wobbling a little on the arm of the chair, and pointed at his face. “You’re my best friend! I’m not letting you fight him alone!”

Snatcher frowned. “Kid—”

“What if we come up with another scheme like with Vanessa?” 

“I’m not putting you through something like that again!” he shouted abruptly, startling her into falling off the chair. “I’ve beat him before alone and I’ll do it again, alone!”

She landed on her back with an “Oomph!” Snatcher leaned over to look at her, and glowered down at her as she looked back up with mixed surprise and anger.  

“He can’t hurt me like he will hurt you,” he hissed. “If you try to fight him, you will lose, Hat Kid. No mortal can win against him.”

She blinked, shocked at him calling her Hat Kid. He’d… never done that before, even once. Not directly, anyhow. “... but if you fight him alone, you’ll have lower chances of winning,” she managed when she’d regained her composure and sat up. She knew she was losing this battle of wills, but she was too stubborn to give up just yet. “And yeah I’m mortal, but if we work together—”

Snatcher actually growled and roughly picked her up by her cape, earning him a slightly choked gasp from the startled girl. She quickly grabbed her collar and lifted herself a little, alleviating the pressure now on her neck. “If we ‘work together,’ then I’ll have to protect you from his attacks constantly. I won’t be able to beat him back as easily. And when you get captured, he’ll force you to fight me before destroying you himself!”

Hat Kid just stared, angry that he apparently had such little faith in her even though, somewhere in the back of her young mind, she knew he was being logical and was probably right. Still, she wasn’t going to give in so easily. She opened her mouth to protest again, but Snatcher tightened his grip on her and narrowed his eyes into slits. His deep scowl silenced her, and she ended up just looking at him with a pitiful, pleading expression.

“Giving me that look won’t work this time, kid,” he declared with a sigh. He backed off from being so in her face, but didn’t set her down just yet. He could tell she was uncomfortable with this position... good. “Look, you aren’t going to win this one. You can keep trying, but the angrier you make me, the less chance you have of actually swaying me. So give. It. Up.”

He simply let go of her cape then, making her squeak in alarm and grunt when she landed on her rear. She slowly got up, rubbing her backside as it surely was going to bruise from that impact, and stared up at Snatcher with tears in her eyes. His words hurt; she never thought he’d brush her off like this, even if it was for a good reason. “... fine.”

Her compliance obviously surprised him, and her dejected tone broke his heart a little since he knew he was the one that caused it. “Good. Now get the heck out of my forest.” The old phrase lacked any enthusiasm; both he and Hat Kid weren’t feeling great right now, emotionally or otherwise. “... be safe, kiddo.”

Without a word, she backed out of his tree and turned to go. He sighed and looked down, disappointed in himself for his poor handling of the situation, when he heard a faint “Good luck” from the kid. He glanced back up to where she’d been, but she was already gone.

Snatcher groaned and dragged his claws down his face, frustrated, stressed, and angry at himself. He knew there were probably a thousand ways he could’ve gone about that better, yet he chose one that left the kid in tears and him overwhelmed. Plus, he now realized, he’d resorted to some of his old tactics to scare the girl, and he hated the fact that something in him enjoyed it. He was still a sort of demon after all, wasn’t he?

With shame weighing heavily on his mind, he grudgingly returned to his chair and resumed studying… though he found it difficult to regain his focus.

Hat Kid kicked a rock as she trudged across the dreary landscape. He hadn’t yelled at her like that since… well, a long time ago. It hurt. Wiping the remaining tears from her eyes and sniffling, she tried to turn her sorrow into anger. So what if he didn’t trust her? She was fine on her own without him, and he was probably better off without her getting in his way anyways! She should’ve known this was going to happen, what with her past experiences and all. Why did she keep letting her guard down only to get hurt again?

She sighed, her thoughts only serving to drag her mood down further. Hoping that she could drown her worries in cookies and milk, she lifted her Time Piece and mentally summoned its magic to take her back up to her ship. As her feet left the ground and she flew rapidly through the air, she looked back down at Snatcher’s giant mushroom tree with regret. Maybe she shouldn’t have given in so easily. What if he got hurt, or Moonjumper took over? What if she could really help him? What if—

She yelped as something wrapped around her foot and she was violently yanked from the air, the Time Piece slipping from her grip thanks to the sudden jerk and falling far out of reach. Panicking, she scrambled for her umbrella and pulled it out, swiftly moving to open it so she could avoid the bone-crushing impact with the ground that was rushing towards her.

She grunted as the umbrella caught in the air and briefly halted her descent, almost causing her to let go of it in her frazzled state. She looked down and watched as her Time Piece disappeared through the trees, but she knew that the Subconites would help her get it back if she couldn’t find it on her own. Frowning and frustrated, she waited several seconds as she floated back to the ground and landed lightly on the wilting grass. Normally she’d land in a pose, but she really wasn’t feeling up to doing so at the moment.

She sighed and closed her umbrella, starting to walk in the direction of the fallen magical item until she remembered something that stopped her in her tracks.

She hadn’t just lost her grip out of the blue. No, something had actually grabbed her and pulled her back before she could exit the atmosphere of Earth. She’d felt something wrap around her ankle, almost like a rope…

Quickly checking, she was relieved but also unnerved to find nothing attached to her anywhere. But, that meant that something had just attacked her, basically, and she was very much so on guard.

She cleared her throat and called out, clearly hesitant and with her umbrella at the ready. “Hello?”

Nothing but the dreary forest ambiance answered her, so she hoped that maybe everything was actually okay and she was alone and nothing was stalking her but wait Vanessa was her only real enemy in Subcon forest so why was she so scared—

“WHY HELLO THERE!”

Hat Kid let out a small shriek at the sudden voice and whirled around, her entire body trembling as she took in the sight of this… newcomer. Her eyes widened and she looked up, realizing he was just so tall, and the next thing she noticed were the shackles on his wrists. His voice was somewhat similar to Snatcher’s, but it was more high-pitched and sounded more echoey than warped.

He laughed, though his mouth didn’t move or change expression at all. Only his mismatched red eyes, or what Hat Kid thought were his eyes anyway, moved, and that in and of itself was more unnerving than the Badge Seller had been the first time she’d met him. His blue skin almost seemed to glow in the pale moonlight, and—wait, his torn outfit looked an awful lot like—!

“Moonjumper!” Hat Kid immediately backed away, suddenly far more afraid of him as she realized who and what he was. All of Snatcher’s warnings raced through her mind and she felt her breath quicken; this was bad. This was really bad.

He only seemed thrilled at the recognition and clasped his hands in front of him, twisted excitement radiating from him. His shackles clanged with his every move, making Hat Kid wonder how he’d managed to sneak up on her.

“Well, I must admit I am simply flattered that you know who I am!” His eyes narrowed and looked down at her, and she felt as though she’d seen his face before somewhere… “And to think, you were just about to leave before I got to say hello!”

She was well aware of how much her hands trembled as she took another step back, and Moonjumper tilted his head slightly. His smile seemed taunting despite it not shifting at all.

“What, nothing to say? You sure seemed raring to speak with Snatcher just a minute ago…”

She gasped at the realization that he’d apparently been spying on her and Snatcher, and the partially transparent spirit laughed at her expression.

“Well, I’m just glad I caught you before you departed. Would’ve left my plan with much to be desired, hm?” He began to approach her, but she held her umbrella in front of her defensively. He paused briefly at the action, before his stagnant grin seemed to broaden ever so slightly—though that could’ve been her imagination. “HA! Do you truly think that you can hurt me with that measly excuse for a weapon? I’m a ghost, kiddo.”

Something about how he called her that nickname set her off, and she charged him angrily with her umbrella raised. Moonjumper’s mask didn’t change, but he seemed to be sneering as her attack went right through him… as well as her whole body as she stumbled forward from the momentum. The spirit laughed maniacally as he floated around her slowly, much like a predator circling its prey.

Hat Kid regained her footing and shivered; going through a ghost felt just plain weird and wrong. She definitely wasn’t going to do that again. She turned around to face Moonjumper and jumped back when she realized he had stopped mere centimeters from her face.

He chuckled darkly. “Oh, child. So naive, so innocent.” He tilted his head slightly downward, eyes still focused on her as he continuously drifted towards her while she kept backing away. “And yet, you have stumbled upon creatures of your worst nightmares. Better yet, you made friends with one of them! And in doing so…” He lifted a claw and adjusted his monocle a little, stopping in his advances and enjoying how much this poor girl was shaking. “... you have given him a weakness I can take advantage of.”

Hat Kid paled at his words, but before she could turn and run she felt something snake around her right ankle and tighten. She gasped and looked down, simultaneously trying to lift her foot and stomp on whatever grabbed her in panicked reflex—

Except her leg didn’t respond. She found that she could move the rest of her body just fine, but her entire right leg felt numb and she couldn’t get it to do anything. As a result, she lost her balance and fell onto her back with a grunt, muted pain flaring in her ankle as it twisted from her foot not moving. Her breathing sped up and went shallow, and after sitting up she started to whack at the bright red string she hadn’t noticed before in an attempt to get it off of her ankle. Seeing that her efforts were futile, she discarded her weapon to the side and moved to try and grab the string—which she now realized was coming from Moonjumper’s claws—while his laughter echoed around her. 

Before she could grab it, however, a second string shot from Moonjumper’s claws and snagged her left wrist. She cried out as it tightened painfully, and suddenly her whole arm was numb and no longer under her control as well. Her enemy gave her no time to react before her other ankle and wrist were snared, and soon she could only control her head and torso. All of her arms and legs were numb, which was a bizarre situation in and of itself, but turned extra weird as her body slowly stood up straight with no input from her.

“Ah, such energy, such flexibility,” Moonjumper cooed as he drifted closer. His eyes were wild with invigoration and anticipation. “Yes, yes, you will be a fine puppet indeed! Thank you for your… cooperation.”

Hat Kid attempted to recoil from him, but only succeeded in leaning backwards a little with a whimper. She was all-too aware of the tears now gathering in her eyes, realizing that she was responsible for this. Why hadn’t she run before he got to her? Why had she left Snatcher’s sight before trying to return to her ship?

Desperate, she opened her mouth and found her voice. “SNATCHER! HEL—”

She was abruptly cut off when her own hand forcefully slapped over her mouth, silencing her and making her wince at the slight sting. She glared up at Moonjumper, angry and utterly terrified as she felt her legs move without her bidding them to.

Still with her hand over her mouth, she walked up to Moonjumper like a robot and stopped in front of him. Her limbs twitched, and she suppressed a grimace at the severe discomfort she was feeling right now.

Moonjumper seemed to grin widely as he laughed down at her, and he lifted another claw to summon the last string he’d need. He saw the child’s eyes widen in horror as she realized what he was going to do, but before she could do more than let out a muffled scream, the red string was wrapped around her neck and she lost all control. Everything went fuzzy, and though she was vaguely aware of herself, it felt like a distant dream she couldn’t catch hold of.

He lowered her hand back to her side and made her smile as he laughed, far too pleased with himself. Yes, this would do quite nicely indeed!

Chapter Text

“SNATCHER! HEL—”

Snatcher’s head shot up from being stooped over his book at the scream, suddenly feeling an empty pit in his metaphorical stomach as he heard the raw terror in Hat Kid’s cry for help. Without wasting another moment, he dropped his book and shot out of his tree like a bullet, extending his senses to pick up on Hat Kid’s aura.

… she was definitely still in the forest, but her aura was hazy, almost like smoke, when before it’d been strong and vibrant. His frown deepened and he sped up towards it.

Inwardly, he knew that Moonjumper had probably gotten to her, but how?! His mind raced over the possibilities, but that only served to make him more anxious so he tried to stifle it as much as he could. She was in danger, and he was going to save her. That was all that mattered now. It was time to focus, not worry!

Ten seconds felt like forever as he finally neared her aura’s foggy center. He slowed down and astutely observed his surroundings, noticing the distinct lack of any structures nearby in this small clearing between trees. He could sense Moonjumper’s aura, but it was faint and scattered due to a ghost’s ability to mask their energy at least somewhat. He knew that his enemy was likely hiding in the moonlight, much like he himself could do with shadows.

His gaze halted abruptly when he noticed the slumped form in the middle of the clearing, just meters away. Forcing down his own panic and trying to stay alert of his surroundings, Snatcher quickly approached the heap and discovered that it was indeed Hat Kid. She was unconscious and looked like she’d simply collapsed, her clothes showing no sign of her being attacked aside from being a little dirty. Still, he knew better than to assume Moonjumper hadn’t gotten to her. He shuddered as he remembered her shrill scream.

Knowing the danger of a fight likely breaking out between himself and his enemy, he sent a message to his minions through his aura: STAY AWAY. The last thing he needed was Moonjumper getting to his subjects as well. He then returned his attention to Hat Kid.

“... kid?” His fears peaked when he looked closer and realized she wasn’t visibly breathing, and he immediately reached out to pick her up.

Taking her into his arms, she remained utterly limp and he had to catch her hat as it slipped off of her head. He stared down at her face, horrified at the fact that she was actually not breathing at all. Hardly able to keep from trembling and feeling despair welling up inside him, he adjusted his grip and set the top hat on the ground so he could check her pulse.

As he did so, he froze in shock when he felt something around her neck. Whatever it was was invisible, but there was definitely something there as his claw brushed over it. Could it be—

His guard was down for an instant, and in that moment something rammed into him with enough force to make him drop Hat Kid. He tumbled in the air for a moment before regaining his composure and whirling around, lashing out with a furious snarl.

Moonjumper dodged the sloppy attack easily and laughed. Snatcher startled when he saw Hat Kid—with her hat back on her head—standing next to his foe but on the ground, a malicious smile on her face along with dull grey eyes that did not fit her and sent a distinctive chill through his body. This was not right. Everything was going wrong here; this was exactly what he was trying to stop from happening!

She looked up at him, eyes somehow void and completely lacking the normal spark that was always there. Snatcher looked into her eyes intently, and he hoped it wasn’t his imagination that he could see a faint glimmer of her in them. Moonjumper couldn’t take control of something without a soul, after all, so Hat Kid had to still be alive in there somewhere. He refused to believe otherwise, and his thoughts were reinforced by the sight of her breathing again.

“Do you like my new puppet?” Moonjumper sneered, his eyes showing twisted mirth as he regained the shadow’s attention. “I decided to take a page from your book. Now she’s mine!”

Snatcher bristled with rage, but he didn’t verbally respond. He wasn’t going to play into this game, not a chance!

Moonjumper laughed and suddenly disappeared into the moonlight, sending Snatcher on high alert as he turned to try and keep track of where the corpse could reappear from. As he did so, however, Hat Kid charged at him with her umbrella raised and smacked his back, causing him to grunt in shock more than pain as he turned to face her. She shouldn’t be able to hurt him, he wasn’t blue—!

Her normally blue umbrella was faintly glowing with a dark red hue, and Snatcher immediately knew that Moonjumper had imbued it with his magic so it could hurt spirits. Of course.

A powerful blast of magic suddenly hit him from behind, sending a strong wave of weakening pain through him. He twisted with a roar and swiped at his assailant, but he had already disappeared again. Snatcher floated up a little higher to hopefully avoid Hat Kid as she continued to try and hit him, but Moonjumper appeared from above and tackled the shadow back to the ground.

“Not so fast!” he taunted, pinning Snatcher’s wrists to the dirt and laughing in his face. “There’s no cheating out of this one for you!”

Snatcher growled and summoned his fire, promptly erupting into flames for a moment and causing Moonjumper to swiftly back off with a screech of pain. The Soul Stealer immediately got up and lunged for his opponent, managing to catch him off guard and slashing him across the face with his sharpened claws. Moonjumper shrieked and fell backwards, covering his mask with his hands while Hat Kid attacked Snatcher again. 

Angry and mentally fired up, Snatcher whipped around and grabbed Hat Kid’s enchanted umbrella as she swung it. He ripped it from her grasp and threw it aside, glaring at her as she glared fiercely back and jumped at him. He caught her arm with one hand and used his other to feel along her wrist until he found the invisible string. Ignoring her attempts to scratch at him and struggle, he finally felt where the string was and severed it with a swipe of his claws. As the invisible string fell, its cloaking magic dissolved and it returned to its bright red appearance. Snatcher noticed with a flame of hope that a tiny bit of color returned to her eyes, proving that she was still alive.

Recovering from the hard hit he’d taken, Moonjumper’s eyes widened as he felt his puppet loosen slightly from his grasp. He took his hands away from his face, revealing two deep gauges in his mask that went diagonally from just above his left eye down to the edge below his mouth. True to his suspicions, Snatcher was holding his puppet in the air and working to sever the strings that kept her under Moonjumper’s control. His hands fisted as Snatcher cut her other arm free, and he sprang into action. 

Snatcher paused when Hat Kid suddenly slumped in his hand, alarmed that maybe he’d hurt her. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as a sudden blast of magic hit him on the back of the head, forcing him to pitch forward with a cry of severe pain. He only tightened his grip on Hat Kid’s arm as the world spun, but Moonjumper raked his claws across Snatcher’s front while he was still dazed and harshly tore the child from his grip. The shadow roared and curled in on himself, covering the smokey cuts with his hands on instinct. He forced his eyes open and soon realized the lack of Hat Kid in his grasp, making him look up in a panic. 

“Now, there is no need for further violence,” Moonjumper hissed angrily. Hat Kid stood at his side again, glaring at Snatcher with a hatred that cut him to his core despite it being phonated. 

He couldn’t help but notice her sleeve was torn where he’d been holding her, making his proverbial heart sink further with the fear of her being injured. By now his wounds were no longer bleeding shadows, but they still hurt and had weakened his power. 

“Give me ownership of Subcon, and I’ll let both you and her go,” Moonjumper continued. He lifted a hand and a contract appeared above his palm, a quill coming into existence next to it.

Snatcher scoffed at the lack of style on the simple parchment and feather, inwardly noting that his own were far superior. “We both know that’s a lie. How about you just leave and go back to living in exile?”

Moonjumper stared at him for a moment before his eyes narrowed and he began to laugh. He held up a hand and two bright red strings began to form from them, slowly drifting to reattach onto Hat Kid as she stood there. The contract and quill he had summoned poofed into red-tinged smoke. “Very well.”

Snatcher growled and dove into the ground, melding with a tree’s shadow there and traveling through them with ease. He suddenly appeared beneath Hat Kid and shot into the air, grabbing her and taking her with him while she struggled and kicked at him wildly. He was aware of Moonjumper angrily giving chase, but didn’t hesitate any longer. 

Thankfully, Moonjumper’s new strings hadn’t gotten to her yet, leaving only the two around her ankles and the one around her neck left. Snatcher made quick work of two of them, leaving the one wrapped tightly around her throat to get rid of last. Snatcher angled himself to head back towards the ground and tightened his one-armed grip on the alien as he dodged a lunge from Moonjumper. 

With one more slash, Snatcher sliced the final invisible string attached to Hat Kid and severed the powerful magic tied to her with it. She instantly stopped struggling and gasped, her bright turquoise eyes widening before they rolled back and she went limp. Snatcher smiled in anxious relief and held her close, waiting for her to wake back up and drifting to a stop as they reached the ground. 

The brief silence was destroyed when Moonjumper let out a loud, irate screech.

“MY PUPPET!” he shrieked from above them, shackles rattling as he clutched his head. His eyes were focused solely on Hat Kid, who was already waking up with a groan. His smile remained stagnant as ever, but there was clearly no mirth in his expression as he shook with rage. “HOW DARE YOU!”

“Hey there, kiddo.” Snatcher grinned in his usual menacing way, but as Hat Kid hazily looked up at him, she could see the immense relief and joy in his eyes. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

She smiled and rubbed her head, glad her monstrous headache was already fading and that strength was returning to her limbs. “... sorry for smacking you.”

Snatcher laughed, feeling so much tension leave him as he saw his kid was back to normal and even smiling at him. “Consider us even! Now…” He helped her stand on her own feet and turned to face their foe, giving the puppeteer a smug grin. “... we have someone we gotta give payback to!”

Hat Kid gave a grin of her own as she picked up her nearby (still enchanted) umbrella and glared up at Moonjumper. Having Snatcher at her side, her fears of the Puppeteer melted away and left steely determination in their wake. The tides had turned!

Moonjumper’s eyes narrowed and his hair bristled with anger as he seethed down at the two. There was no way he was going to let his rival get away with this. At least, not without paying a steep price. “You forget the extent of my power,” he hissed at Snatcher. The shadow seemed slightly confused, but no less confident. “I’ve not wasted my time in exile!”

He disappeared into the moonlight once more, his expression sinister before he vanished. Snatcher and Hat Kid turned so they were back to back, keeping close eyes on anywhere the moonlight fell. Seconds dragged on and the tension thickened, until Moonjumper lunged at Hat Kid while her face was turned away.

She heard his shackles and turned just in time to dodge his lunge with a yelp. He adjusted his trajectory and would’ve gotten her with his claws, but she swung her umbrella and smacked his arm away instead. He hissed and camouflaged himself in the moonlight just as Snatcher attacked, barely evading the shadow’s claws.

Without warning, Moonjumper dispelled the enchantment on Hat Kid’s umbrella, causing her to gasp as it flashed once and then lost its reddish glow. The ghostly corpse took advantage of her brief distraction to appear behind her and blast her with a burst of bright magic, laughing as Snatcher cried out in horror.

Hat Kid lost her breath and collapsed forward, pain tearing through her body and almost causing her to lose consciousness as her ears loudly rang. Moonjumper’s magic was different than Snatcher’s; while the shadow’s attacks caused intense burning pain that lasted a little while, the Puppeteer’s made her entire body sting sharply with that awful pins and needles sensation and left her light-headed and weak once it faded.

She wasn’t sure how long exactly the horrible pain and ear ringing lasted, but once they ebbed away she lifted her head from the dirt. Her vision swam and she closed her eyes again with a groan, holding her head in her hands until it became bearable and she tried again. Blinking a few times to clear the blurriness, she finally realized that Snatcher had apparently tackled Moonjumper and both were on the ground clawing at each other. Neither looked to be in good shape, and if it continued much longer she wasn’t sure who would win.

Determination flowing through her to just stop this, Hat Kid got to her feet with a wince—wow she felt weak—and ran towards the two fighting ghosts while putting her umbrella away. She wasn’t sure how to stop the violence, so she went with the first thing that came to her mind: hugging.

She latched onto Moonjumper’s middle from behind and felt him instantly stiffen while Snatcher shouted her name in surprised relief. Then, taking advantage of Hat Kid’s distraction, Snatcher blasted Moonjumper in the face with a strong enough attack to leave the corpse dazed and tip the scale in the shadow’s favor. 

Hat Kid’s grip loosened just enough for Snatcher to grab her by the cape and pull her safely away as their foe sloppily struck out at her.

Then, with one more blow, Moonjumper collapsed into a limp heap on the forest floor. His form fragmented for a moment, a testament to him being weakened, and his claws dug into the ground. He wanted to get up. He had to get up and finish the fight… but, as he attempted to lift himself up, his arms shook and he soon lost the battle against gravity. Curse that girl for distracting him at such a crucial time...

Snatcher huffed and began approaching him, but Hat Kid tugged on his fluff to get his attention and he looked at her inquisitively. She gestured wordlessly at Moonjumper and, Snatcher figuring that she wanted the last blow, the shadow nodded with a pained grimace and allowed her to go before him.

Hat Kid smiled gratefully at her exhausted BFF before she turned to the fallen spirit and carefully went up to him. “Moonjumper?” Her entire body was still sore and weak from his attack, but she pushed those facts aside for now.

He groaned lightly but managed to turn his head and look at her, eyes full of tired resignation as he guessed what she was going to do. “... go ahead. Banish me again…”

Hat Kid looked at him with sympathy, clearly catching the corpse off guard as he blinked in surprise. She then offered her hand to Moonjumper with a sincere smile on her face. “I forgive you, Moonjumper.”

Silence took over the area, the only sound coming from the leaves rustling in the breeze as both ghosts stared in utter shock.

“... WHAT?!” Snatcher broke the quiet with a shout and was soon next to Hat Kid, ignoring his own injuries despite how he swayed slightly from the toll they’d taken on him. “Kid, that’s-that’s not a funny joke!”

Hat Kid only smiled at him, hand still extended to a speechless Moonjumper. “It’s not a joke. You two need to stop fighting, and if I’m friends with both of you, that’ll fix it!”

Snatcher blinked a few times, her childish logic taking a moment to sink in. He then sighed loudly and face-palmed. “Kid, it’s not that simple. You becoming his friend is only gonna make things more tense.” He angrily gestured at Moonjumper. “Did you forget he just tried to kill you and take over my kingdom?!”

She shook her head, undeterred. “No, but do you really wanna keep fighting forever?” She crossed her arms over her chest, proud of herself for coming up with such a clearcut resolution. “Let’s just be friends! I’m tired of having enemies.”

Snatcher groaned in a very I-hate-everything-about-this manner, but her words did give him pause. He glowered at Moonjumper. “... what do you think about what the brat’s suggesting?”

The ghost in question blinked a few times, still reeling from Hat Kid’s forgiveness. Slowly, he nodded. “... I am... honestly rather tired of fighting as well.” He looked at Snatcher hopefully and lifted his head. “Perhaps we could… split the kingdom?”

“NO,” the shadow snarled immediately. His eyes were intimidating slits and he had to stifle the angry magic sparking at his clawtips. “Not a chance, moonboy. I suppose I can allow you to take up residence here, but only if you remember your place and don’t try anything EVER.”

Moonjumper was clearly disappointed as his shoulders sagged, and he looked ready to attack Snatcher again before he paused in reconsideration with a glance towards the little alien. “... I…” He looked away and growled under his breath, unwilling to compromise in favor of getting what he wanted.

Hat Kid hummed in thought and lightly tapped her foot. “... what if you go be king somewhere else, Moonjumper?”

The Puppeteer scoffed and rolled his eyes with a pained wince. “No. Subcon is the only place I wish to rule.”

Snatcher sighed in annoyance; he had to give Hat Kid credit for trying, but this was just not going to work out and he knew it. “See, kid? Just becoming friends isn’t going to solve anything.”

Her shoulders slumped in defeat, though she still had that spark of determination in her eyes. “But…”

Snatcher tensed as Moonjumper shakily rose in the air, still exhausted and hurt but trying to at least seem dignified. “Give up, child.” He narrowed his eyes and allowed some of his anger to return, though it was greatly unfounded due to the undeserved kindness she’d just shown him. “Our war will never truly en—”

“Oh!” Hat Kid interrupted, snapping her fingers as an idea came to her. Moonjumper was clearly angered by her cutting him off, but he did nothing but narrow his eyes to show it. “What if you rule together?” She looked between the two ghosts with excitement and bounced on her toes. “Like Moonjumper could be your advisor, or something!!”

“What?!”

“What?!”

Both spirits shouted in unison, exchanging a bewildered glance before focusing back on Hat Kid.

“Kiddo, I know you don’t like us fighting, but come on!” Snatcher whined with an angry gesture at Moonjumper. “He’s—”

Hat Kid stomped her foot and looked pointedly up at him. “So what? You’ve been the one to tell me before to let past stuff go.” She crossed her arms again as Snatcher glanced away. “You guys used to be the same person anyway, right? Why can’t you just work together?”

Moonjumper slouched slightly while Snatcher opened his mouth to argue, but both of them remained silent. After all, they didn’t really have a good answer to that question anymore. They’d been fighting for decades over the kingdom and they truly hated each other at first, but now… Snatcher’s eyes widened as he realized that his anger wasn’t nearly as vibrant or deep anymore. Plus, he could think of a few ways Moonjumper’s skills would be useful… he blamed Hat Kid for softening him up to where he was actually considering this. 

The Soul Stealer sighed dramatically, but he noticed the child perk up as she sensed she was winning. “Fiiiine, kid. I guess we… don’t really have to hate each other anymore…” Yeesh, those words were almost painful to say. Curse this kid for consistently bruising his pride. He reluctantly looked at a surprised Moonjumper. “... so, uh, what do you say?”

Moonjumper still wasn’t completely happy with this option, but he supposed it was better than fighting for the rest of their afterlives. He hated to admit even internally how it was likely impossible for him to win against Snatcher in their battles over Subcon; the shadow was simply too powerful and too established over the kingdom. Even the Subconites weren’t fond of the Puppeteer, which honestly hurt since they were going to be his loving subjects before Vanessa ruined everything.

“Look, I know we technically have eternity, but I don’t want to wait that long for an answer, moonboy.” Snatcher raised an invisible eyebrow, but his voice successfully snapped Moonjumper from his thoughts.

“I…” Moonjumper glanced at Hat Kid’s encouraging smile, before he gave a resolute nod and shook Snatcher’s outstretched hand. “Very well.”

Hat Kid cheered while the Soul Stealer smiled, suddenly satisfied with this outcome despite his hesitance and worries. “Great! We can work out the details and sign a contract back at my tree.”

Before Moonjumper could react, Hat Kid rushed to him and gave him a large hug around his middle, startling him into almost attacking her. He stopped himself from doing so, however, and instead just stared down at the top of her hat with his hands partway lifted. An awkward second passed before the little alien let go with a giggle.

“Yes, she does that a lot,” Snatcher supplied without prompt and with a roll of his eyes. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Er… thank you, small one…” Moonjumper hesitantly patted her hat twice before pulling away. This was just too weird for him.

Snatcher turned to Hat Kid, noticing the exhaustion and dull pain in her eyes. He was suddenly reminded that he wasn’t sure what Moonjumper’s magic blast did to a mortal—to spirits it just stung worse than a hive of angry hornets—but he was just so thankful it hadn’t killed her like he’d been terrified of it doing. 

He huffed and returned his glare to Moonjumper before gesturing at the alien. “Are there any side effects of your magic being used on a mortal?”

Hat Kid and Moonjumper both looked surprised by the question, but then the former looked to the latter with worry.

The Puppeteer absently played with the shackles on his wrists, completely unused to feeling… what was this emotion again? Oh, right… guilt. “Ah, since it was a short blast and not prolonged exposure, she will be fine after some rest.”

Snatcher and Hat Kid visibly relaxed, and the Soul Stealer crossed his arms. “I don’t think either of us are currently in any condition to work out the terms of our… agreement,” he started slowly. “Moonboy, come to my tree tomorrow morning, and we’ll work out the details then.” He narrowed his eyes dangerously. “And don’t you dare try anything!”

Moonjumper nodded soberly, though inwardly he hated taking orders from his ex enemy. “You have my word.”

Then, with one final glance at the duo, Moonjumper drifted into a moonbeam and disappeared, aura and all. As soon as he was gone, Hat Kid latched onto Snatcher tightly in a hug.

He lowered himself to be closer to her and wrapped her in an embrace of his own, holding her as though she might vanish at any moment. Their adrenaline faded, leaving both of them to face the onslaught of emotions that suddenly came in its wake.

Hat Kid was the first to shed tears, though Snatcher felt his own threatening to fall. “‘M s-sorry,” she mumbled sincerely into his fluff.

He pulled her away slightly so he could look at her in surprise. “What? No no no, kid. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that… I’m sorry, kiddo. I… I let you down.”

She wasn’t sure her voice would work, so she instead hugged him again as she cried. He curled around her and closed his eyes, relishing the positive contact while trying not to drown in his own guilt and shame. Plus, he was just so tired...

On Hat Kid’s end, she found great comfort in Snatcher’s show of affection and his fluffy warmth. His apology spoke volumes to her, and she found she had no anger towards him anymore. He proved that sometimes it was okay to let her guard down. If she hadn’t, she would’ve never grown close to him, or CC, or Conductor, or any of the others, and she couldn’t imagine her life without them now that they were like her second family.

“I-it’s okay,” she said after she’d regained some of her composure. Her voice was slightly scratchy from crying, but she didn’t care. “I forgive you, Snatcher. I’m-I’m sorry I got caught…”

He opened his eyes sleepily and looked down at her, suddenly awake at her words. He took a moment to process what she said, and when he did, he gave a quiet laugh. He was mostly just relieved, having been terrified of her staying mad at him, but now those worries were put to rest. He smiled softly at her, his own eyes getting wet again. “... thanks, kiddo. And, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay… and I want you to know that I couldn’t have beat him without you, this time.”

Her own smile returned upon seeing his, and she buried her face into his mane. She was overwhelmed with a lot of emotions, but her happiness took charge at his genuine care and love for her. She considered saying something she’d wanted to tell him for a while, but nerves caused her stomach to do flips as she tried rallying her courage to finally say it.

Snatcher sensed her hesitation and looked down at her once more. “You okay, kid? You tensed up again.”

Hat Kid looked up at him and met his eyes, searching them with her own. She could see that he really cared, and even though she knew that already, the reassurance gave her the push she needed.

She took a shaky breath, then spoke. “I love you, Snatcher. You’re… you’re the coolest dad ever.”

Snatcher completely froze, his mind going utterly blank at her heartfelt words. She… what? And she just called him—what?!

She was tempted to giggle at his expression, but her fear over his reaction was stronger and she started to regret her words. “I-I mean, if you don’t—oomph!”

She was interrupted by a reinforced hug, her vision instantly obscured by Snatcher’s fluff as he embraced her tightly. His voice was actually tearful as he spoke, and she felt tears prick her own eyes once more.

“... I love you too, kiddo.”

He would never talk about it aloud, but Snatcher had been planning with Vanessa to start having kids as soon as they married. It’s why they’d already prepared a baby room, after all. Snatcher had been so excited (and nervous) about becoming a father, but then those hopes were dashed to pieces as everything fell apart on that fateful day. Now though, as he held Hat Kid close, he felt that hole in his heart heal. What he had once deemed as being far beyond repair was now filled with something so much better than he ever could’ve imagined, and he wouldn’t trade her for anything.