The ghosts and the child made their way into the Manor feeling an eerie mixture of dark and ice magic hanging above them in the air. Little did the three know, they were all being watched by a certain little glowing red eye. Making their way through the halls everyone of them could tell the further they went into the manor something more dark and horrid awaited them in the darkness of her own hollow shell of a "home".

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Snatcher's POV

I felt the cold shivers of my old home crawl on to my back like a spider waiting for a chance to sink it's teeth into my dead flesh. Everyone seemed to be on edge as we moved through the Manor. I soon came across the door that lead to the second floor only to be surprised. Unlike last time where all the doors were unlocked, the entire door was covered in chains and locks just like my room on the third floor. "What? Why is this entire door covered in chains and locks?!" The kid asks. "Beats me. Maybe psycho lady doesn't want us here?" I said jokingly. Suddenly there was a knocking coming from the kitchen door behind us. MoonJumper and I exchanged suspicious looks to each other but both of us still go to confront the door with the kid. "What do you think could be behind the door?" MoonJumper asks. "I'm not quite sure but whatever it is I don't think it's going to be very friendly. But...we have to open it anyway so stand back just in case." I said quickly moving towards the door. I put my hand on the icy nob and start to turn it slowly. The door opens and to our luck no ones inside. "Who would knock on the door the just casually leave?" I say confused and annoyed. "Maybe it was just our imagination?" MoonJumper says curiously. "Hey guys what's that on the floor?" The kid says. "Where?" I ask confused. "Over here!" The kid said as she ran into the kitchen to pick up a sheet of paper on the floor. "It says something, here let me read it!" The kid said confidently. "It says "Do you really think that she'd want to seal her princy away for ever? Nope! Let's play a game, I hid a key around here. If you can find it you'll be able to unlock that door over there. But, there are multiple keys so good luck finding the right one!" Weird huh?" The kiddo says confused. "So basically it's like a scavenger hunt?" I said. "Sounds like it." MoonJumper says. "Ooooooh yay! I love scavenger hunts! This will be so much fun!" The kiddo says with excitement in her voice. "Hey kiddo, can you pass me that sheet of paper?" I ask. "Sure thing." The kid replies. Hat kid hands over the odd piece of paper me and I immediately sense that same dark magic that has been causing so much trouble as of lately. "Hey guys before we start searching I want to warn you of something, this paper has the same dark magic aura as the one in the forest and in the cave on it. I think that eye or whatever had to have put this in there for us." I said concerned. "I see, you are right the same magic is coming off of the paper but what can we do about it?" MoonJumper asks. "I just think we should be a little cautious incase whatever that thing is is here." I say worried. It already tried to trick Hat kid so surely it wasn't good. "Alright we understand. Well I'd say it's about time we get searching for the key." MoonJumper said. "I agree let's start." I say.

We start walking through the kitchen and the music room and so on. We checked cabinets, books, bookshelves, the fridge, drawers, and so on." We found multiple keys just like the eye's note said we would!" After a while we soon decided to go and check all the keys we found. "None of them work!" I yell annoyed. "Maybe we just haven't found the right one yet Snatcher?" The kid said thinking she was Einstein. "Kid, we've searched this place from bottom up. I'm not sure the key is even in here." I said with a frustrated tone in my voice. "Hey no reason to look so down!" That voice! It's the same one from my dream! "Where are you!" I shout. A glowing red eye floated up onto the wall. It looks just like the one Hat kid described. "No need to get so heated, so here take this, I did promise you a certain key for playing my game didn't I, so how about it?" A key drops out from the eye and falls onto the floor. It's a gold key. One that I've seen in the Manor before. "Good luck prince!" The eye tells me before disappearing into the darkness. "Prince...did he mean?" Hat kid says. "Kid I'm not in the mood to explain stuff right now. More importantly how did he know that?" I said worriedly. "Maybe cause he works with Vanessa?" MoonJumper said. "Look MoonJumper I don't want to hear it." I said feeling stressed. "Let's just unlock the door already okay!" I said starting to get ticked off. "O-Okay!" MoonJumper said with a hint of worry in his voice.

We made our way up the stairs into the cold darkness that was Vanessa's home. "It's freezing up here..." MoonJumper said shivering. "Since the crazy winter started because of Vanessa it would be no surprise to me that this place is colder too." I said to MoonJumper. "Ah I see it would appear so." MoonJumper said looking away from me. "Hey guys! I found this note on Vanessa's door! How did you guys miss it?" I look back across the hall way to see the kid standing next to Vanessa's door with another paper in her hands. "What does it say this time?" I ask confused. "It says "Be close to me" in red ink." Hat kid said with a mixture of confusion and disturbance on her face. I float closer down the to her and start to notice. Somethings written on the back. "Hey kiddo, what's on the back?" I ask. "Hm?" Hat kid turns the paper over and soon realizes what I mean. "Oh there's something on the back!" She said with surprise written on her face. 'I'll read it. It says "Just open the door. Please don't keep me waiting! I have a special surprise for you..." Weird huh? I guess she means her door since I found the paper on it." The kid say confirming my suspicions. "Bingo!" A voice in the darkness approached us with it's distorted voice. The same red eye starts floating back up on to the wall again. "It's you!" I shout. "Why yes it is! I see that you got her little message, now I wouldn't keep her waiting if I were you! Hehehe!" The glowing red eye taunts me only to disappear right after it left. "What do we do now?" MoonJumper asked. "I guess it's about time we finish this once and for all. Let's head into Vanessa's room." I said.

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Hat kid's POV

I nod in agreement to what Snatcher said and get ready to enter Vanessa's room when out of the blue, I see silhouette at the end of the hall way. "Hey guys I gonna stay out here if that's all right with you." I tell my ghost friends. "Are you sure you want to be out here alone? While Vanessa may be in her room I'm not sure if the weird eye thing is. Do you still want to remain here?" MoonJumper asked concerned. "Of course. I'll be fine. Go stop the crazy Ice Witch!" I cheer. "Well alright kiddo." Snatcher said. Both Snatcher and MoonJumper enter Vanessa's room while remain in the hallway as the door closed behind them. "Alright now that they're gone it's time to figure out what is at the end of the hallway." Slowly I make my way through the cold icy hallway to discover what was at the end of it. I spy with my little eye...A BOY?! What is a boy doing in the Manor alone? He looks to be my age. He's wearing grey pants with a white t-shirt with a orange jacket on top of it. He's also wearing a grey cap and a skeleton necklace. "Hey what are you doing in a dangerous place like this! You could get seriously hurt!" I tell the boy with a serious tone. The boy looked strangely shocked and confused to see me. "H-Hey is everything alright? Are you hurt at all?" I asked worriedly. "No I'm alright, we need to leave this place. I came in here seeking shelter from the storm only to find out there's this creepy Ice lady who keeps trying to freeze me to death!" The boy tells me. As much as I want to stay here and help Snatcher and MoonJumper I...need to get this boy to saftey. "Hey before we go I just wanted to say my name is Hat Kid, what's yours?" I ask. "My name is Timmy, thank you for agreeing to help me get out of here. By the way can I call you Hattie?" Timmy asks me. "Sure!" I cheerfully reply before walking down the stairs with him. We made our way downstairs and start walking down the hallway while asking each other questions about each other. "So do you have a family Timmy?" I ask him curiously. He looks down to the floor then back at me with an expression of sorrow. "I do. I bet they're worried sick about me..." He says concerned. "Oh that must be cool. I don't have a family but, in a way Snatcher and MoonJumper are kind of like family to me. Ah who am I kidding you don't know them. Hehe" I say with a small smile. Timmy looks back at me intrigued. "Really? What are they like?" Timmy asked with wonder in his eyes. "Well for starters Snatcher's kind of grumpy but he's really sweet at times and I really like to spend a lot of time with him since he has a ton of fun stuff to do. MoonJumper is really nice to me, he likes to talk to me, make flower crowns for me, and sometimes braid my hair!" I tell him. We finally reach the door and head out in to the cold of Subcon. "Hey I'll take you somewhere warmer Timmy." I said to him. "Oh um okay. Lead the way then!" He replied.

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Snatcher's POV

We make our way into Vanessa's cold icy snow filled room. I almost couldn't recognize the place. Last time I was here there were just some snow piles here and there but this time most of the room had been covered in ice with bigger piles of snow here and there. But then I noticed her. Vanessa standing across the room from us. The sight of her sent chills down my spine. Ever since our last encounter I've been on edge of the thought of her. "My Prince~" When ever I heard Vanessa say my name I always felt so helpless but this time more then ever. "I knew you would return to me...but not with that with that thing." Her words struck fear into the hearts of both me and MoonJumper. "Look Vanessa we're not here to play games with you. You need to stop this pointless winter!" I explain to her. "Oh my prince. I've already told you once. I did this for you and I have no intentions on stopping it. Now then, come to me my prince. We belong to each other~" Vanessa said. Why? Doesn't she see this winter is hurting everyone. Why doesn't she care about any of the children in the village or anyone else? Why do I have to be all she desires? Why- My thoughts are interrupted as a voice chimes into my head. "Don't listen to her Snatcher she's just trying to manipulate you!" MoonJumper tells me. "Sorry." I say still a little shaken up. "Why does he get your attention and not me! I should be all you ever care about besides, what even is he to you? He's just a floating corpse. How is he more special then yours truly?" Vanessa said questioning my choice. "I don't know? Maybe because he didn't murder me and the entire village just for buying you something nice?! I'm able to actually talk to him unlike you. He actually cares about me unlike you! Also his name isn't corpse it's MoonJumper!" I shout to Vanessa. "Oh my prince, that was such an understatement you just made. Don't you get it? I care about you more than anyone else could in the universe. I wanted nothing more than for it to be just us!" Vanessa snaps back at me. "Vanessa your definition of caring about someone wasn't caring at all! It was nothing more than an obsessive behavior! You didn't just hurt me with it! You hurt everyone with it!" I told her seriously. "Fine then! If this corpse really cares about you...then I want to hear why he does from his own mouth. There is no way he could care about you as much as I do if he didn't love you! Now then...MoonJumper do you love him?" Thunder rumbled as she said those words. Both me and MoonJumper shared faces of shock. Cause if MoonJumper said no, Vanessa would have the upper hand and get to have more reasons to keep me here. But if he said yes...what would that mean for the two of us? "Y-Yes, I do love him." D-Did he just say he...loved me? Vanessa's expression turned sour at his words. But it didn't take long for that expression to return to a mischievous grin. "Is that so? If you really do love him...then kiss him. It can't be just a simple peck, it has to be a long passionate kiss from a lover." MoonJumper's face was filled with horror. Yet his face had a bright blue blush plastered on his cheeks. "Go on now. If you really love him you'll do it." Vanessa said with a twisted grin on her face. MoonJumper faced me and started to float over to me. I fell to the floor in the shock and Moonjumper followed floating down to me. Before anything happened MoonJumper gave me a quick whisper in my ear. "I'm sorry."

https://youtu.be/HEkXBUgmajc

(Just some nice music to go with the occasion :3 It's your choice to listen)

MoonJumper came closer to me and slowly rapped his arms around me. He gave me one more quick glance before closing his eyes. Once he did I followed. MoonJumper got rid of the distance between us by placing his lips on mine. His lips were surprisingly warm and smooth. The way he kissed me was like a beautiful dance, one of a passionate and caring lover. Remembering Vanessa's words I tried to be as in sync with MoonJumper as posible. The active participation I had to give was starting to get a little too unbearable. It felt as if I could no longer block out everything that was happening out. It felt slightly nightmarish. Tears started to stream down my face. I wasn't ready for this, and neither was he. Finally after what felt like an eternity, we pulled away. To my surprise MoonJumper licked his lips a little. Then he gave a piercing glare at Vanessa. "Are you happy now?" MoonJumper asked hinting at his frustration. The look on Vanessa's face was strange, but it wasn't long till it was filled with hatred. "Get out!" Vanessa shrieked. "Get out get out get out get out now!" Vanessa said making the room feel colder than ever. Me and MoonJumper exchanged looks and knew it was time to book it. Quickly we made it out of her room and into the hall. "Where's the kid?!" I ask worried about what could've happened to her. "I'm gonna guess she heard Vanessa's scream and decided to leave." MoonJumper said reassuringly. "Now come on we don't want a repeat of what happened last time we were here!" MoonJumper said while grabbing my hand and dashing out of the Manor.

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Hat kid's POV

"Here we are! Snatcher's tree! Or my temporary home until this winter stops so I can get back to my spaceship." I said excited to bring Timmy inside. "Wow it's so much warmer in here. Thank you again for bringing me here Hattie, I can't thank you enough for getting me out of that retched place." Timmy exclaims to me. "It's no problem. If you want you can stay here for a little while before returning to your parents home." I tell him. "Really? Thanks so much! It's really cold at home so I really appreciate being here." Timmy said. I go to touch his hand to feel if he's still cold to find he's shivering. "Hey we have some blankets on the floor here if you want we can share some?" I offer to the shivering boy. "No it's really alright I-" I throw a blanket on Timmy before he has the chance to deny one. "Hehe betcha didn't expect that huh?" I say cheerfully. Timmy looks surprised but then looked down to the floor again. "Hey is something wrong?" I ask him worried. Timmy starts to wrap himself in the blanket and then looks back at me. "Nothings wrong just, why are you being so nice to me, I've already troubled you enough?"  Timmy asks me while looking troubled. "It's just what friends do silly! Plus I know a lot about the horrible things that crazy lady has done and if she did something awful to you then that automatically makes me want to brighten your day!" I tell Timmy with a smile. "Thank you Hattie, so much." Timmy said with a grateful expression. Me and Timmy continue to talk for a little while and I thought it was super duper fun making a new BFF! "I guess I should head back to my family for the night since it's starting to get late." Timmy said. "If you want I can walk with you." I tell him. "No need you've already done so much for me. I'll be there in a flash! Good night Hattie I'll see you again soon!" Timmy said as he disappeared right before my eyes. "He can teleport?! That's so cool!" I shout into the forest. I think though it's time I go to bed. I wrap myself up in blankets and hop into Snatcher's chair. Goodnight world. Snatcher, MoonJumper, I hope you're safe out there.

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Hi guys I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. There were some intresting things that happened and even a new character in the mix. Timmy! An unused scrapped character from A Hat in Time! Either way I'm really hyped for the next chapter and see you soon!