It's... been a while. By that I mean several minutes, but probably not an hour. I was still hugging the hourglass that got me to this state, eyes shut. But... it felt sort of anticlimactic. I opened my eyes. The sky was oddly moody. Where was I?

I peered down to take a peek on what was below, but there was a forest that seemed to be not so far away. I wished for a safe landing, but I already knew I was done for. There was possibly no way I would survive.

I shut my eyes once again as I embraced myself. I felt my body slam against branches and leaves. That really hurt. That probably left some scratches. I heard alot of rustling, assumably the leaves on the trees. I kept tumbling down the branches. But a few seconds later, I felt my body splash into some sort of water. I held my breath and opened my eyes. I was alive! Somehow. Before I could celebrate, a hand grabbed my arm. I turn my head to see a purple hand grip tightly onto my arm. I successfully pry it off my arm, and swam up with the hourglass in one arm.

My head popped up to the surface. I scrambled over to the edge and grabbed on, pulling myself up. I let the hourglass down and dropped my hands onto my knees, panting. That was quite a fall. After I gathered myself, I look up. I landed into some creepy forest. Well, now I know where I am to some extent. I pick up the hourglass and examined its features. It was like any other hourglass, but with some fancy handles. Instead of being plain wood, there were two yellow beads and one top hat in the middle.

Huh. That's neat, I guess. But don't know what this does. Hourglasses don't really tell you what time it is, do they?

Unable to get any information from this strange object, I decided to try to explore. There's really no way back up, so I guess I'll have to do with what's down here. I walked onto the path, and followed it. I observed my surroundings as I walked, taking in on the background. There were some creepy nooses, and I could see some spiders crawling on trees. There were also some doll-looking things with one eye. They were all staring at me. Wonder why? Do they not get alot of visitors? If so, I can definitely see why.

I kept on going until I stumbled upon an area filled with tree trunks and stumps. There was a river there, and more of those doll things. I could also see some snake looking creatures with masks. I remember seeing them near the Twilight Bell, but I never knew what they were called.

I snuck my way into the village, not wanting any attention from those... dolls. There seemed to be some trunks with doors, so I assumed they were their houses. I went to the nearest trunk and opened the door. There was nothing inside. I guess this means nobody lives here. I went inside and closed the door. I was expecting nothing but black, but the hourglass seemed to be some source of light. I guess this is my new home! Kind of. It was really empty, and there wasn't alot of space to work with. Sleeping here wouldn't be comfortable, and I don't have any food so far.

I stood up and went outside, deciding to leave the hourglass behind. I needed to find something to substitute as a pillow. I started scanning the village, but there didn't seem to be anything. I suddenly felt like something was watching me. I look up to see one of those one eyed guys look down at me. I jumped, and stood still. I then slowly backed up and spedwalk away, not wanting to interact with it.

I was back on the path. Not wanting to get lost, I followed it until I reached a REALLY huge tree. It had colorful glowing mushrooms growing on it, and it was surrounded by a small body of water. It looked to be hollow, as there was an entranced carved out. I walk up to it and crossed the spiky vine that served as a bridge to it. I entered what looked to be a furnished home. Scanning the room, my eyes landed on some soft looking pillows sitting comfortably in a large armchair.

Those were perfect! Surely whoever's living here won't mind. I walked up to the couch and climbed up. I grabbed all three pillows that were on there. It was perfect! They were normal sized, unlike this huge chair. I skedaddled away before I got caught, treasuring my prize. I ran back to the village and hurried into my new home, and placed down the pillows. I clasped my hands, proud of what I accomplished so far. I sat down to lay on the fluffy pillows. They were perfect!

Sadly I couldn't enjoy this fluffy heaven for much longer, as my stomach growled, asking for a treat. I sighed. I procrastinated my stomach's request, not moving a limb. I kept on doing this for a few minutes, but my stomach was begging for food. I knew I should've ate breakfast before going out...

I stand up, and went outside to find some form of edible food. I was back on the path once again, avoiding the eyes of the doll creatures. It was an uneasy feeling. All of a sudden there was a circle of purple vines in front of me. They were small. I slowly step up and crouch down. The vines were purple and black. I slowly pointed my finger towards it and touched it. It didn't seem to do any harm. I stood up and walked through it, as it didn't pose as a threat of any sort. That was a mistake.

The vines suddenly sprout up, and the area begins to warp. The ground below me changes, and I can hear lightning strike around me. I was surrounded by helpless souls screaming for help. I flinched in surprise, taking everything in. As a cherry on top, some random guy just hopped up in front of me.

"AHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!" They yelled.

What was happening-? Why did this happen in a circle of vines!? I was still shocked from the chaining events, but I tried to gather myself. The guy in front looked like some ghost with a yellow face.

The ghost looking thing then followed up their laugh with another booming yell.

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLL!" They yelled, extending the word.

"You blew it! You've totally screwed yourself! Nobody enters my home and leaves with one piece!" It continued. They? It? I don't know, but this surely isn't a time to think about pronouns.

"But wait... hold on a minute. You get to live! That's right, aren't you lucky!?"

..really-? I do? Then what was the first sentence for?

"Well, that's if you cooperate! You see, I'm lacking employees to command, and I can't be the one doing ALL of the chores," he said.

"You're lucky I needed some braindead servants, because by now you'd be an empty shell without a soul. So tell ya what! Since you hit the jackpot, why don't we make a deal?" They speak. A piece of parchment and a quill pops out of nowhere, defying gravity by floating in the air.

"You work for me, and you get to live! It's that simple! Just sign your signature at the bottom... don't bother reading the details!" They said, clasping their hands.

I took my moment to take that information in. I then walk up to the paper to see the details.

"[  ] Locate the Toilet of Doom
  [  ] Trap or dispose of it

You may check the whole forest for the Toilet. Be wary of the danger zone.

I'll keep the following hostage:

[YOUR SOUL]

...but keep anything you find along the way!

Signed: ___________________"

I turn around the paper.

"I hereby totally agree to do this Snatcher dude's dirty work. And also absolve him all injuries I will most likely sustain from this work. Also, I'll give up my soul. No taksey backsies!"

Uh... I don't know why anyone would agree to this. I look back up at him.

"And what if I don't want to sign-?" I ask.

"Well... you die! It's simple, kiddo. Just sign your signature on the paper," he instructed.

I switched my eyes from the paper to him multiple times. I noticed that Snatcher's face was faltering a little. Or at least I think that's what his name was.

"Cmon kiddo, it's simple! You don't really have any choice. You don't want to end up like the souls around us, do you?" He said, attempting to persuade me.

I sighed. There didn't seem to be any way out, and I guess doing free labor for a bit wasn't that bad... but a question popped into my mind.

"Can I live here then? Assuming you own this place and all," I requested, hoping for a positive answer.

He paused a bit, looking like he's putting some thought into my reply.

"That's a bold request. I'll let you for now, but no promises kid. Don't get your hopes up," he replied. "Now, sign your signature."

I held the purple quill in my fingers and pointed it on the paper. I never really knew what "signature" meant. I read it in a book before though. We didn't really need to do paperwork in Alpine. I look up at him again, and he seemed to be getting impatient. Hopefully what I'm going to ask won't make him mad...

"Uhm.. so... what's a signature?" I ask.

He sighed, his smile turning to a frown.

"Really? Don't stall my time like this. It's just your name, first and last. Just sign the paper, I don't have all day!" He said with a bit of temper.

The problem was... I never really had a name. The Nomads surprisingly never called me anything. I remember them asking for my name when I woke up on Alpine, but we got interrupted so we never got to that. I tried to make up a name fast, because I'm pretty sure this noodley ghost guy won't wait for another minute. I couldn't come up with anything, so I just randomly jotted down the word "Leaf". Don't know how I randomly chose that out of all possible words and names. After the ink has been spilled, the parchment rolled up to a scroll and poofed away from existence.

"AHHHHAHAHAHAA!!! That seals the deal, we're in business! Now, let me grab this..."

He snapped his fingers, and the clouds rumbled above. Purple lightning struck my body, and I winced in pain. I could feel something struggle to stay in me. It was probably my soul... maybe. I got down onto one knee, trying to endure it. It felt like there was a battle going on inside, a battle between the lightning and my soul. The lightning attempted to pull my soul out, grabbing and reaching. But somehow I felt my soul stay in place, resisting the powerful shock of the lightning. After the lightning stopped, I stand back up and clutch where the pain struck. It surprisingly went away fast.

I moved my head up to see a confused Snatcher staring at me. His eyes scanned the area. After a few seconds, he grumbled.

"Ugh... I guess the soul escaped somehow. I'll have my minions go look for it later," he said to himseld. "Anyway, get to work! I'll be waiting!"

He quickly proceeded to dive into the ground, and went through the floor instead of colliding. The area warped back to normal.

What. Just. Happened-?

I... I feel like I still have my soul. It just somehow fought against the lightning. But... maybe it's best not to let him know about that. Wouldn't want to go through that again.

The contract somehow made it into my pocket. Didn't notice that. I took it out and read what I had to do. I guess I need to... look for a toilet-? Why? I guess that's a question for another time. The Snatcher dude didn't really say that there was a deadline, so I just shoved it back into my pocket and kept walking.

Wait, wasn't I doing something? I could have sworn- oh, that's right! Food! Thanks for rumbling, tummy. Would have forgot.

I kept walking and tried to find some source of food, but couldn't find anything. I tried to explore off the path. Surely I could find my way back. The forest looked really massive, but I think I'll be fine. I stepped my foot out of the path, and off I went. There wasn't really any difference so far, I only ran into some purple swamp. Curious, I crouched down to take a closer look. Huh. Water isn't really purple. Wonder what it could be? It gave off an eerie vibe. I stretched my arm over to the water and dipped a finger in it for a few seconds. All of a sudden, a hand grabbed my arm.

"AH-!" I audibly say of surprise. It was the same thing that grabbed me in the beginning! How did I forget?

I attempted to pull my arm out, my other hand having a tight grip on my arm. The hand didn't show any sign of mercy, as it kept on pulling me in. It was like a game of tug of war, but instead of getting rope burn, it was your life on the line!

It finally gave up and released, making me fly backwards. It descended back into the swamp, where it belongs. And should stay! I get back up and continued exploring, trying to avoid the swamp. I can't imagine how hard it would be if you accidentally fell in and stayed for a long period of time. I imagine the hands grabbing my limbs and pulling me under.. I immediately pushed that to the back of my brain. I just moved on.

So far... I haven't found anything. That's just wonderful. Im getting pretty hungry too... and I doubt I'd get any free food from anyone here. As I was wondering what I was going to do, I stumbled upon this headless statue. Headless statue. It's just a beheaded statue, but it's giving me weird vibes. It feels like it- wait. Did it just move? I could of sworn I saw it move towards me by a centimeter. I back away a few steps to make sure. All of a sudden, it just started charging at me!

I booked it and RAN. No way I was going to chill around a POSSESSED statue. What's wrong with this place!? I kept running and running, each breath getting shorter. My heart rate increased with every step. I could still hear the thumps of the statue following me. I kept running until I couldn't hear anything but myself. I slowed down into a walk and then into a stop. I sat down on the ground and took my breath. I turn my head to see that the statue was long gone, thankfully. After I calmed down from that experience, I stand back up.

There was something weird in front of me. It somehow chased me to here. It was some sort of broken... ruin? Some glass and some gears were just casually floating in the air. There was this strange orb in the middle. A pink one. Or was it purple? It had this strange aura. I kind of wanted to touch it. I go closer, and it got chilly. It lured me in, and I reach for it. My fingers slowly inched towards the mysterious orb, which produced weird sounds. When my fingers collided with the orb, everything flashed white. The bright light blinded my eyes. I shielded my face with my arms, as the light engulfed the area.

My body didn't feel like it was in this forest anymore. It was like it was getting moved somewhere. It was like space and time was warping, warping me somewhere nobody knows of. I don't know what was happening, but it felt magical. I still had my eyes closed, I felt like I shouldn't open them yet. Then... I felt my feet touch solid ground. I was in a different place. I open my eyes to see a strange place. Icy ground with racoons in.. pajamas? They were sleeping peacefully on the floor, hugging their pillows comfortably.

In front of me was some cylinder looking thing. On top looked like something I could open. I walked up to it, but suddenly heard the crumple of paper. I immediately stepped back and turned my head down. It was a picture. I pick it up and wiped off the dust of my footprint. It was a photo of two young children. One was looking up at the other. One was on a tree branch, the other was waving. Interesting. The two kids look familiar. Maybe it's just one of those things where you make up a memory that isn't real? Like when you say you read this one book but you actually didn't?

It suddenly got set on fire with a blue flame. I immediately dropped the paper. As it slowly descended, it went into flames and burnt into tiny ashes on the cold floor. The ash suddenly disappeared. I look back up to the cylinder thing, and it opened. There was a click, then the lid opened up. It beckoned me to go inside. I climbed up and hopped in.

I suddenly dropped down... into nothingness. I felt acceleration the longer I fell. The dark void didn't show anything. Nothing but black. I couldn't do anything but fall. The eerie silence didn't help. I only heard the sound of me falling. All of a sudden... I feel this sort of emotion. It was strong, yet it didn't seem to stay with me. It faded in and out.

Was it sadness? Anger? Grief? I couldn't tell. Or perhaps it was all of those things? It was like something was taken away. No, not my soul. But something else. It wasn't quite clear why this was happening. Was I reliving something? I don't know. I just touched an orb and suddenly I was here. I suddenly felt a feeling of betrayal. Did something happen in the past? This wasn't normal. These feelings kept on repeating. That was until... they faded away. It was like time sped up in a rapid rate. All I could feel was nothing.

Suddenly, my eyes were forced shut.

(AN: I know, no mischief yet. No goofy yet... but we're gonna get there :)