Ayo CosmoKnight I drew that thing.

It's so fun to write Snatcher's thought processes. I feel like it's showing good insight too, which will push me down the path of revealing the themes I want to reveal.

I love Elliot, but in the end, we might be getting more Snatcher than him.

ALSO HUGE THANKS TO MY BETA READER. I FORGOT TO SAY IT LAST CHAPTER AND I NEED TO KEEP SAYING IT. I WOULD JUST DIE WITHOUT YOU THANK YOU

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Thankfully, they got through the village without another problem. Hat Kid led Snatcher to a towering Windmill. They both had to crane their heads back to even glimpse the top.

Snatcher shielded his eyes. Was there something glimmering at the top, or was that the sun in the way? How long has it been since I last saw the sun?

Hat Kid started toward the Windmill. Snatcher stared at her. "Please tell me we're here just to visit," he said cautiously.

She spun around, walking backward as she answered him. "Of course not," she said with a snort. "There's something I need at the top."

Snatcher begrudgingly followed her. "Besides," she continued, resting her hand on the doors' handles. "We can just go up the staircase to the top to grab it."

She swung the doors open and turned again. "Hm."

"There is a grievous lack of stairs," Snatcher pointed out, looking over her head. The only things in the room besides patches of hay and wooden crates were the spinning gears and moving pulleys of the windmill.

Hat Kid scanned the room distastefully. "No kidding." After a moment, she shrugged. "Oh well. Shouldn't be too hard to climb."

Eyes wide with disbelief, Snatcher stared at Hat Kid. "What?" he asked. Did I hear her right? "We're going to climb that?"

"Yeah." She straightened her hat and paused. "Well, not we. I'm going to climb that. You can stay out here and brood."

"Hold on, kiddo!" Snatcher crossed his arms. "You're thinking of climbing all of that, and you don't think I can do the same?"

"...yeah?" Hattie lifted an eyebrow. "And?"

Snatcher sighed heavily as she failed to understand what he was implying. "You're a kid," he emphasized. "And I'm not. Yet you think you're more capable of climbing this than me?"

"Ohh." Her face cleared a moment before it turned amused. "Yup. That's exactly what I think."

Snatcher glared indignantly. "How dare you!"

"You just recently relearned how to walk!" she argued. "You'll kill yourself if you try to climb this thing, which would not be fun for a child to watch!"

"I've died before," Snatcher argued, waving her off. "I'll be fine."

"You won't be fine, you'll be dead." Hat Kid put her hands on her hips. "Besides, you died motionless in a dungeon. Parkour and falling to your death might be too intense for you."

Snatcher swallowed a retort. Thinking about his own death was... chilling, to say the least. And reliving it would be all too real now that he was human- alive- again.

He clasped his hands together, rubbing his thumb against his fingertips. They were still warm. Good. The last time he felt these hands, they were icy.

"It'll be a quick in and out," the kid told him. "Ten minutes." She darted inside and shut the door before he could say another word.

Alone now, Snatcher frowned and lowered his gaze. With a heavy sigh, he turned and leaned against the wooden doors.

How did the kid know so much about his death? He'd never told her. Was she smart enough to put together the pieces just by visiting Vanessa's manor...?

That couldn't be. Unless she had it all written out in that diary of hers, of course. The kid was nosy enough to read that.

The thought made Snatcher shudder. Is she proud of chaining me up? Does she gloat about it at all?

He hoped it wasn't a bragging matter. He hoped that Vanessa felt only dread and remorse when she thought about what she did to him. But knowing her, that was probably too much to ask.

Uggh, stop thinking about her! Almost on their own, Snatcher's hands reached up and pressed hard against his head. Think about something else! Stop focusing on her!

On command, his mind drifted to his current situation. How had he ended up here? First of all, stuck in his weak human body, and second of all, where was he?

He'd woken up on a cliff's edge and passed out again a few minutes later. And then he was in a completely different place! Hat Kid had told him he was so stressed he passed out, but it didn't make sense. The second time he woke up, he was balancing perfectly fine. He hadn't felt stressed at all until he'd come to awareness of his situation.

Just thinking about it was stressful, but it certainly wasn't enough for him to pass out.

He ran a hand through his hair and immediately jerked away, hyper-aware of his habit. How many times had he done this when he was alive? Snatcher lowered his hands and clasped them again. His thumb brushed up against the smooth, cold metal of the crown around his wrist.

He slid it into his hands and studied it, half-formed ideas circulating in his head. Every time he'd "fainted," the crown wasn't on his head. Snatcher could remember putting it on, and a moment later, the crown was in his hands again.

He narrowed his eyes. What was going on? Was he imagining things? Should he test his theory? He automatically raised the crown to his head.

No. Wouldn't that just make him pass out or forget or whatever again? Maybe he should just get rid of it.

Snatcher eyed the nearby cliffside. He walked over.

Stopping with his toes at the cliff, he held the crown over the ledge and opened his hand.

The crown fell for less than a second when panic overtook Snatcher. He lunged and caught the crown before it could plummet to an unreachable point, digging his heels hard into the ground to steady himself. He met the gaze of the steep drop and the swirling clouds below him.

Snatcher's insides were churning both from his sudden terror and the height. What was I thinking!? He bit back rising tears and clutched the crown safely to his chest. His free hand, trembling, ran through his hair desperately, attempting to calm himself down. I could've lost that forever. I need it!

His own thoughts sounded ridiculous. I need it. Really? His crown was nothing more than a shameful reminder of a legacy he never left behind.

But his fear was all too real. Snatcher couldn't get his trembling hands to let go of the crown. He was clinging onto it as if it were a lifeline. How woefully ironic.

He backed away from the chasm and straightened himself, cringing at the feeling of his heart pounding against his chest. What a disgusting sensation.

Movement caught his eye. He turned and noticed someone approaching on the flag line. He squinted as they came closer.

It was a woman with long blond hair, lightning-blue streaks on her face, and a flower tucked behind her ear. She landed at the end, stretching her arms above her head. Her eyes alighted on Snatcher.

He tensed. She smiled and walked over.

Uh-oh, was Snatcher's only coherent thought.

"Fancy seeing you here!" she exclaimed, stopping just before him. "So you're making the rounds in Alpine, I take it?"

Does she know me? Snatcher wondered. He forced himself to keep his eyes on her face and not study her. He was struggling to ignore how stiff his body was. HOW does she know me?

An awkward second passed before he realized he was supposed to answer. "Oh, um, yeah," he lied, forcing a smile. Who is she, and WHY must I be forced into interacting with her?

"That's cool!" She beamed and nodded. "Where are you planning on going next- the Lava Cakes or the Twilight Bell?"

I have no clue. "We'll see."

The woman's smile dampened. She was picking up on how uncomfortable he was. "...right."

They stood in silence for a moment more. Snatcher dropped his gaze; he couldn't look her in the eyes. His mind swam with questions, but he didn't have the strength to ask any out loud. Who ARE you? Do you know me? What the heck is the Twilight Bell? Or the Lava Cakes? Why are you talking to me? Can't you just leave me alone?

"Oh!" Her eyes brightened suddenly. "I know! Have I told you about the flowers around here yet?"

Snatcher ignored the implications that they'd conversed before and just shook his head.

"I think there's some over here..." She glanced around the area, then pointed to a small patch near the corner of the Windmill. "There they are! Come look!" She waved him over, moving over to inspect the flowers.

Snatcher reluctantly followed her. The woman crouched down and gently lifted the petals with two fingers. It was a brilliantly deep shade of purple, with large petals and spiny stalks. Snatcher leaned a little closer. He certainly was no stranger to purple hues.

"These," she said proudly. "They're all around Alpine. They're called Helminth Flowers!"

Snatcher frowned at the name. He'd heard it before. Maybe not specifically the flowers, but...

"They're magic," she continued. "If they can't access the sun, water, or sufficient nutrients, they can magically generate their own power." She looked up at him, grinning. "Cool, right?"

Snatcher finally managed a question. "Aren't helminths parasitic?"

She wasn't smiling anymore. A chill ran down Snatcher's spine.

"HEY!" Snatcher stiffened more at the voice but relaxed when Hattie came to his side. She narrowed her eyes at the woman. "What are you doing here, Karmin?"

Karmin dropped the petal and stood. "Just showing your friend here some flowers," she said. The cheeriness in her voice was tense like a rope pulled tautly.

Hat Kid glanced between the two. "...okay. Did you have fun, ladies?"

Snatcher glared at her. She shot a smug look back at him. "It was lovely," he said, a note of annoyance in his voice. "But, um, I'm afraid we need to move on now-"

"No, no, don't let me stop you." Hattie raised her hands passively. "You two keep talking all you want."

Snatcher shot her a wide-eyed glare. She bit down a grin.

"...right." Karmin folded her arms, not even hiding her displeasure. "Clearly, I came at the wrong time. I'll see you later, I guess. Hopefully, you'll be in a better mood, Elliot."

Snatcher's blood ran cold. He hadn't heard that name since...

He finally lifted his eyes to meet Karmin's. "How do you know that name?" he asked, his voice quieter than he intended.

"LET'S GO!" Hat Kid suddenly blurted. She grabbed his hand and pulled him away, dragging him back to the flag line.

He didn't take his eyes off Karmin. "Dude, just forget about her!" Hattie hissed.

"How does she know that name?" he repeated.

She does know me. Or... she knows the old me. But we haven't talked before... and the kiddo's awfully quick to get me out of there... Self-consciously, he slipped the crown over his wrist again.

His steely gaze turned to Hat Kid. Her expression was hard, but he could see the alarm in her eyes. "I don't trust her," was all she said. "Let's get out of here, okay?"

Snatcher glared back at Karmin, but her back was to the duo. She was admiring the flowers again. "I don't trust her either," he reluctantly agreed.

Hattie looked away. She's hiding something, Snatcher realized. "And I don't trust you, either."

She gave him one last glare before they zipped down the line. "The feeling's still mutual, peck neck."